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71. The Crisis of Capitalism, the Noun

Author:
Nancy Folbre
Publication Date:
05-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract:
This paper explores the challenges that feminist theory, stratification economics, and intersectionality pose to the characterization of capitalism as a unitary system. Attention to the structural basis for inequalities based on gender and race weakens traditional Marxian concepts of exploitation based on the appropriation of surplus value. On the other hand, the continuing relevance of many forms of collective conflict heightens appreciation of the ways in which capitalist institutions discourage the forms of cooperation necessary to address both ecological threats and shortfalls in care provision.
Topic:
Economics, Race, Capitalism, Intersectionality, Gender, and Feminist Theory
Political Geography:
Global Focus

72. The Gendered Nature of Poverty: Data, Evidence and Policy Recommendations

Author:
Francesco Burchi and Daniele Malerba
Publication Date:
01-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:
Poverty and gender equality are at the heart of the 2030 Agenda and are key strategic areas for Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It has been often argued that poverty is gendered: at the 1995 UN World Conference on Women, 70 per cent of the world’s poor was said to be female. However, that figure is not backed by sound scientific evidence. There are several challenges to examining the relationship between gender and poverty. The main one is that monetary poverty is calculated at the household level: it is not possible to distinguish the poverty status of different household members. Theoretically, it is possible to analyse poverty by gender by focusing on non-monetary dimensions, as several feminist scholars advocate. However, the most well-known indices of multidimensional poverty have the same problems as those for income poverty: they are computed at the household level. Therefore, we do not really know if – or to what extent – poverty is gendered. Recent studies conducted by IDOS researchers help fill this gap by analysing gender disparities in multidimensional poverty in more than 80 low- and middle-income countries and using individual-level indices, which encompass three dimensions: education, health and employment. This policy brief summarises the main findings of the IDOS studies and presents key policy recommendations. The research reveals the female face of poverty. In recent years, female multidimensional poverty has been higher than male multidimensional poverty almost everywhere: on average, the former is about 70 per cent higher than the latter. Depending on the specific poverty index used, women make up between 54 and 63 per cent of the impoverished population. Gender disparities vary substantially across the world: the largest disparities are visible in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and South Asia. The research also shows that from the late 1990s/early 2000s most countries experienced increased gender disparities in poverty, a process often referred to as the “feminisation of poverty”. This largely occurred in Europe and Central Asia, as well as in Latin America and the Caribbean. The very large gender disparities in MENA and South Asia have persisted for decades. The studies also find that the increase in gender disparities occurred especially in rural areas and was mostly driven by an increase in disparities in access to paid employment. To tackle the gendered nature of poverty, we recommend: • Incentivising women’s employment and pro-moting the care economy. Care policies can partly free women from their care duties and/or recognise the economic value of care work, thereby increasing employment opportunities for women. Expanding the (professional) care sector – and more generally, the service sector – also creates job opportunities for women. • Adopting gender-responsive social protection. Cash transfers can benefit women in particular but should include clear gender-equality goals and be designed to challenge existing gender norms (rather than reinforce them). • Tackling gender norms. Eliminating discriminatory laws and regulations can help in the short term; education and awareness campaigns are critical in the long run. • Advocating for and realising the (gender) data revolution. It is necessary to invest in ad-hoc data collection focused on individual and female experiences of poverty.
Topic:
Poverty, Equality, Gender, and Development Policy
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

73. Covering the Greater Middle East Crisis: The Problematic Representation of Cultural and Political Issues in International Media

Author:
Giacomo Buoncompagni
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Review of Human Rights
Institution:
Society of Social Science Academics (SSSA)
Abstract:
Through the analysis of international media content, this study focuses on two phases of the recent Afghan history and its media representation—the end of the American military campaign and the beginning of the new Taliban government. Specifically, the analysis involves two questions: first, how the Western mainstream media publicly narrated the crisis following the establishment of the Taliban government; second, how the voices of Afghan women and journalists were reported within the news environment. Focusing on two dimensions, political and cultural, the article argues that the country has embarked on a process of "de-modernization," which needs to be checked.
Topic:
Human Rights, Politics, Religion, Women, Media, and Gender
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Middle East, and Taliban

74. Supporting Safer Digital Spaces

Author:
Suzie Dunn, Tracy Vaillancourt, and Heather Brittain
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:
Various forms of digital technology are being used to inflict significant harms online. This is a pervasive issue in online interactions, in particular with regard to technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) and technology-facilitated violence (TFV) against LGBTQ+ people. This modern form of violence perpetuates gender inequality and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and has significant impacts on its targets. As part of a multi-year research project Supporting a Safer Internet (in partnership with the International Development Research Centre) exploring the prevalence and impacts of TFGBV experienced by women, transgender, gender non-conforming and gender-diverse people, as well as TFV against LGBTQ+ individuals, an international survey was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). The survey examined the influence of gender and sexual orientation on people’s experiences with online harms, with a focus on countries in the Global South. Data was collected from 18,149 people of all genders in 18 countries. The special report provides background information on TFGBV and TFV against LGBTQ+ people by summarizing some of the existing research on the topic. It then presents the quantitative data collected on people’s experiences with, and opinions on, online harms. A list of recommendations is provided for governments, technology companies, academics, researchers and civil society organizations on how they can contribute to addressing and ending TFV.
Topic:
Governance, Internet, Violence, LGBT+, Gender, and Digital Space
Political Geography:
Global Focus

75. Online Gender-Based Violence in Brazil: New Data Insights

Author:
Mariana Valente
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:
This paper focuses on the Brazilian results from the Supporting a Safer Internet survey, undertaken by CIGI and the International Development Research Centre and carried out by Ipsos. The survey looked at the prevalence of online gender-based violence in 18 countries worldwide, with a special focus on the Global South. Other studies and literature referring to gender, sexuality and race are used to complement, contextualize and interpret the country-based data for Brazil. Brazilian respondents, particularly women and LGBTQ+ individuals, reported heightened negative effects on mental health, and low trust in or resort to law enforcement and other institutions. The experiences of high-profile individuals — 83 percent reported experiencing some type of online harm (connected to the very pressing issue of political violence in Brazil) — and the issue of image-based abuse are also discussed. The paper concludes with recommendations addressing some of the gaps concerning the public sector, the private sector, and the cultural or public debate in the response to tackling technology-facilitated gender-based violence in Brazil and globally.
Topic:
Governance, Internet, Gender Based Violence, Gender, and Safeguarding
Political Geography:
Brazil and South America

76. Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan: Foreign Policy Responses

Author:
Farkhondeh Akbari and Jacqui True
Publication Date:
07-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Women's Development Agency (IWDA)
Abstract:
Nearly two years on from the Taliban’s takeover, diplomatic efforts have so far failed to anticipate or halt the unfolding regressive regime in Afghanistan. Feminist foreign policy approaches can guide both normative and practical efforts to protect and defend women’s fundamental rights in the country and support local actors to create alternative spaces for women’s and girls’ to reclaim their rights to education, employment, and political agency. This paper makes the case that governments employing a feminist foreign policy approach – as well as those who claim to prioritise gender equality – must use the term “gender apartheid” to signal their condemnation in the strongest terms. The situation of women and girls in Afghanistan is becoming more critical every day under the Taliban’s terror regime of gender apartheid. The international war fought by militaries has ended but the war against women and girls has escalated. Egregious violations of human rights and pervasive gender-based violence are occurring, targeting women protesters, women associated with the previous government, and ethnicminority women. The Taliban regime not only restricts the rights of women, but also commits new forms of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), such as abducting women who protest peacefully, raping them in custody, burning the hands of Panjshiri women, and lashing Hazara women. The latter are specific tortures for specific ethnic identities. These acts are also intended to dishonour the families and communities of the victims.1 The war against women is an extension of conflict by other means. The Taliban’s barbaric treatment of women and the international community’s apparent impotence to gender oppression emboldens the Taliban regime and its extremist ideology. The Taliban threatens regional and global peace and stability as extremist groups and regressive leaders in other countries are galvanized by the Taliban’s success. Despite not formally recognising their regime, some regional countries, namely China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar, have chosen to cooperate more with the Taliban by giving them control of Afghanistan’s consulates. To date, diplomatic engagements to negotiate with the Taliban regarding its political and ideological gender policies have been futile and ineffective. The brutal oppression of women has been the defining characteristic of Taliban rule and a chief symbol of its grip on power.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Apartheid, Development, Human Rights, Taliban, Women, and Gender
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and South Asia

77. Gender Apartheid in Iran: Foreign Policy Responses

Author:
Jacqui True and Alison Ross
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Women's Development Agency (IWDA)
Abstract:
One year after the “Women, Life, Liberty” protests in Iran following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, Iranian women’s rights activists and international human rights experts have united to denounce the brutal Islamic Republic and call for the international recognition of “gender apartheid”. Countries with values-based foreign policy – including feminist foreign policy - that aims to promote human rights and gender equality can and should support this call, in alliance with like-minded countries. “We must constantly keep our goal in sight. Our path to freedom will necessarily lead to the removal of the Islamic Republic and the elimination of political Islam from the (sphere of) governance” – Bahareh Hedayat1 In September 2022 an unprecedented, nationwide uprising in Iran began following the extrajudicial killing in detention of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini, who was arrested for not wearing her hijab “properly.” The national uprising prompted the first Middle Eastern revolutionary movement led by women and motivated by women’s demands for fundamental human rights. The slogan of the movement highlighted that women’s emancipation is the basis for democracy in Iran and the toppling of Islamic fundamentalism in the region: “Zan, Zendegi, Azadi / Women, Life, Freedom!” Global public opinion and media rallied behind the uprising. The movement has its roots in women’s protests in Tehran against the compulsory hijab immediately after the establishment of the Islamic Republic (IR) in 1979. Iranian women have realized that their dignity and rights are irreconcilable with the IR. Young women mobilized the entire society – people of all ages, groups and regions and restored their courage to stand up to their oppressors. The shooting of more than 500 peaceful protesters on the streets, including 70 children in response to the movement, exposed the true nature of the extremist Islamic regime.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Apartheid, Human Rights, Women, Protests, and Gender
Political Geography:
Iran and Middle East

78. The Last Hurdle? Unyielding Motherhood Effects in the Context of Declining Gender Inequality in Latin America

Author:
Mariana Marchionni and Julian Pedrazzi
Publication Date:
11-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:
We assess whether motherhood could be the last hurdle to achieving gender equality in developing countries by exploring the link between motherhood and the overall gender gap in the labor market for 14 Latin American countries over the last two decades. Using pseudo- panels built from harmonized household surveys and an event study approach around the birth of the first child, we find that the arrival of the first child leads to a sharp and persistent 35% decline in mothers’ earnings. This result is explained by a reduction in employment and a prompting shift towards occupations that favor more flexible work arrangements, including part-time and informal jobs. These effects are pervasive across countries and population groups. Furthermore, using an extended version of the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition, we identify motherhood as the primary source of income inequality between men and women. Motherhood explains 42% of the remaining gender gap and has progressively gained relative importance over the last two decades while other contributing factors, such as education and its associated returns, have shown a waning impact. Moreover, we find no clear cross- country association between the motherhood-related gap and per capita GDP or gender norms, while the contribution of other factors to the gender gap in earnings diminishes with higher per capita GDP and more gender-egalitarian social norms. This suggests that gender gaps stemming from the motherhood effect exhibit greater rigidity than other drivers of gender inequality.
Topic:
Development, Inequality, Gender, Decomposition, Motherhood, and Child Penalty
Political Geography:
Latin America

79. 100 more by 2030! How to create a more gender-balanced democracy

Author:
Frances Scott, Rainbow Murray, Kiran Mahil, and Emma Best
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
While there are currently 225 women in the House of Commons, an all-time high, women continue to be underrepresented in Parliament, local government, and public life. To rectify this, ‪@Parliament-cc8sw‬ has set an ambitious target to have 100 more women in Parliament by 2030. On Thursday 23 March, as the UK's major political parties ramp up their efforts to select candidates for next year's general election, this discussion took stock of their efforts. Frances Scott (the founder and director of 50:50 Parliament), Professor Rainbow Murray (QMUL), Kiran Mahil (Labour Women's Network) and Emma Best (Conservative member of the London Assembly) reflected on the success of leading pressure groups and evaluated how much progress has been made in recent years to create a better, more gender-balanced democracy.
Topic:
Women, Inequality, Domestic Politics, Representation, and Gender
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

80. Forum on Rahul Rao’s Out of Time, Part II: Rethinking Homonationalisms

Author:
Jasbir Puar and Shirin Deylami
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Contexto Internacional
Institution:
Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:
In this Forum, six scholars reflect on Rahul Rao’s recent book Out of Time: The Queer Politics of Postcoloniality from other geographies, themes and radical possibilities. Part II explores the analytic of homonationalism in dialogue with Rao’s Out of Time. Jasbir Puar, who coined the term in an earlier path-breaking work, thinks with and against Rao’s book on the relations between homonationalism and what Rao called homocapitalism. Puar also explores how the caste-gender politics of Radical Sikhi during the Farmers’ Protests in India (2020-2021) can serve as an alternative source of inspiration, companion to the queer and trans Dalits of Rao’s book. Shirin Deylami reflects on Rao’s work by exploring the disoriented grammars of the Iranian Islamic state. Specifically, Deylami analyses the way in which the discourse of westoxification has influenced and challenged the divergent state responses to transgender claims for care versus gay and lesbian rights claims.
Topic:
Post Colonialism, Caste, Queer Theory, Gender, Homonationalism, Homocapitalism, and Westoxification
Political Geography:
Iran, South Asia, Middle East, and India