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Towards a Radical Re‐appropriation: Gender, Development and Neoliberal Feminism
Author(s) -
Wilson Kalpana
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
development and change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-7660
pISSN - 0012-155X
DOI - 10.1111/dech.12176
Subject(s) - appropriation , gender studies , sociology , feminism , context (archaeology) , queer , marxist philosophy , political economy , political science , politics , epistemology , law , paleontology , philosophy , biology
Tracing a complex trajectory from ‘liberal’ to ‘neoliberal’ feminism in development, this article argues that approaches to gender which are currently being promoted within neoliberal development frameworks, while often characterized as ‘instrumentalizing’ gender equality, in fact rely upon, extend and deepen gendered inequalities in order to sustain and strengthen processes of global capital accumulation in several ways. This is explored through development discourses and practices relating to microfinance, reproductive rights and adolescent girls. Drawing on examples from India, the article goes on to reflect on experiences of collective movements in which the assumptions underpinning this ‘Gender Equality as Smart Economics’ approach are challenged. Finally, it highlights several concepts associated with Marxist, Black, Post‐colonial and Queer feminisms and underlines their importance to projects seeking to critically redefine development, arguing for a radical re‐appropriation of gender in this context.