Taking the Initiative Responses of Kenyan Women's Groups to Development Challenges
Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Hicks, Barbara
Keywords
Women in Development, International Woman's Rights, Gender and Development, Grassroots Organizations
Area of Concentration
Political Science
Abstract
Over the past two decades, the humanitarian crises plaguing African people, especially women and children, have brought the previously underrepresented gender variable to the forefront of the development debate. National and international agencies put pressure on states to include and account for women's economic interests in development policy. The activities of national and international organizations thus, help to politicize the low economic status of women. On the local level, however, grassroots women's groups focus primarily on collaborating to provide subsistence resources for their families and basic needs for their communities. These initiatives are usually carried out separately from the formal political sphere. The differences in activities at the international, national and local levels raise the question as to whether the experience of participating in local initiatives will encourage women to become more active participants in the political process shaping development policies. Combining the theoretical approaches of feminism and Marxist feminism enables an examination of the relationship between women's positions in the economic and political spheres and of the potential of activism on multiple levels to increase women's political participation thereby effecting greater gender equality in Kenya.
Recommended Citation
Comerford, Kathryn, "Taking the Initiative Responses of Kenyan Women's Groups to Development Challenges" (2003). Theses & ETDs. 3218.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/3218
Rights
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