Empowerment and development planning: a forced South Asian marriage?

From:: Department for International Development
Published: 1 January 2009

Document Type:: Research Paper
Theme:: Social Change
Authors:: Shaheed, F.

Abstract

This paper examines what happens when a concept that originates in a critique of current power arrangements as well as development processes and calls for a bottom up approach is adopted by top-down development planning. Questioning the extent to which it is possible to harmonise empowerment as conceptualized by feminists with the concerns of development planning, it asks whether inserting empowerment into policy planning is not some ways a ‘forced marriage’ with attendant problems.

Citation