EXPLORING WOMEN LED DEVELOMENT

Introduction

The world is currently transitioning to a development paradigm,in which the  development of the excluded and  gender mainstreaming have emerged  as the core area  for development, despite t the multiple  challenges,whether  regional or  global.In the middle  Women Led  Development  is a new   Slogan   coined with  G-20  that  been spreading around  the globe to  empower women.

This concept   aims to make women as the drivers of development  rather treating them as the beneficiaries. This theory calls for the inclusion of women in development planning and decision-making. The  W20 focuses WLD as ‘gender inclusive economic growth’ ,with the core areas of its advocacy as: Labor Inclusion, Financial Inclusion and Digital Inclusion  by reducing the gender gap in the labour force participation by 25% by 2025(1).

Transition of women’s empowerment theory from WID,WAD,GAD and now  WLD is a reward  for the  longstanding struggles and advocacy work  by feminist for  gender equality and women’s empowerment. The UN insistence on its member countires  for a better world, of course  paved the way for  agreeing  for   a common minimum commitment    looking at  the   demands on  development of women  and children, though at a superficial level. The governments and the international development  stake holders   began gender mainstreaming through  the implementation of   women empowerment   policies  during the internatonal women’s year   and in the decade of women’s empowerment. It has passed the WID age, followed by WAD and also the GAD .

SDGs continues to play  a pivotal role in  promoting gender equality at the center stage of development discourses  with  the goal no 5 as GENDER EQUALITY  and having gender equality as a cross cutting  component in all the goals. The gender mainstreaming  engagements   has resulted  in  pheriperal  impacts, and  it has secured a  place in  all the   development planning of  the UN member countries’. Over the years , the emerging multilateral forum G-20  with its heterogenic  membership   has  included women’s concern in their agenda.

However  the women world over continue to be the victims of  inequality, discrimination and violence  and  also the victims of multipronged  miseries of   poverty, war ,disaster  and economic  shortfall.Most recently  the  aftermath of the pandemic exacerbating the existing problems of political and military insecurity, growing geopolitical rivalry, economic downturn and social inequality, climate change, and the evolving energy crisis. Notwithstanding the ongoing deliberations on the role of women, the world remains largely led by men. Research by the World Bank suggests that 2.4 billion women of working age still lack equal economic rights. Out of the 190 countries reviewed, 178 still have legal barriers that hamper women from full-fledged participation in economic activities, and 86 countries run into some form of limitations for work. Ninety-five countries do not legally guarantee equal pay for men and women, while 76 nations have legislations that limit the rights of women over land, a major driver of overcoming poverty.(2) This also reveals that the promises and the policies  of the government  has failed to address the women’s concerns.  The gender disaggregated data of each country vouch   as evidence  for the backwardness  of women except in few developed  countries. (FINLAND,SWEDAN)  .

In addition to overcoming the aforesaid  obstacles, the very issue of transitioning from women’s development to women-ld development is complicated. Experts point out that changing the narrative from one of women’s development to that of women’s leadership may not be quite that straightforward. Some of the key issues to create a gender-equal, just and sustainable environment would need to include redistribution of unpaid care-giving duties, closing the literacy gap, bridging the gender digital divide (especially with female labour force participation having dropped precipitously in many parts of the world),(3) ensuring women’s economic empowerment, increasing women’s representation in politics as well as full and equal participation in social and cultural decision-making. The conditions need to be put in place for these to happen, for a conducive, inclusive, fostering environment that can nurture growth. Change on the ground would need to be reinforced by leaders at the top.

The   feminist    discourses  to address the above     preconditions that  are deterrent to women’s  empowerment   don’t happen in a vacuum, nor as isolated events but usually progressed  in stages    into  Social/economic movements . The advocacy and lobbying efforts of feminist and civil society  have resulted in acknowledgement of     women’s empowerment measures as WID,WAD and GAD  and thus the  feminist vocabulary is popularised  by UN agencies and other development stake holders.

The transition from WID to WLD  took different stages and the challenges  in  progressing women’s empowerment  still continues .The shift that happened between WID/WAD and GAD was the change in language, from dealing with ‘women’ in the context of development, to ‘gender’ ,hence it is essential to  examine thoroughly how   the WLD efficiently  will  address the concerns of women and children and  lead to  women’s empowerment. Will  the WLD  Transform, Thrive, Transcend’?will it take to translate rhetoric into reality? Does it has the power to unleash far-reaching impact, what, in tangible terms, does this actuality mean? Are  some of the pressing concerns needs to be explored.(4).

This paper aims to recapitulate  the  concerns of global south  feminists   with the following

Objectives:

To critically examine   the  opportunities, challenges and raise concerns in order to build a framework(s) for women led development as a paradigm for women’s empowerment and gender equality that is grounded in global South needs and realities and can be implemented by various stakeholders including governments, IFIs, UN agencies, NGOs etc. And  framed   the following as the Research questions

What is women-led development?

Analyse what has been achieved and build on these to assess what needs to be done

• Examine the theoretical underpinnings of the problem itself: is the problem on the ground, or the approach itself?(-gaps.)

• Investigate ways to bridge theory with practice

• women led development be transformative paradigm to ensure gender equality and women’s empowerment for all women and girls.

The methodology   followed   was  to re-examine the    concepts of women empowerment framework WID TO GAD and  critically looking at the  ongoing frame work of WLD  by the G-20, SDGs and other development stakeholders and to  capture   the  discussions around G20 processes on WLD , and also from the  feminist perspective  from global south.

A webinar was organized   to draw from the immense wisdom of feminist scholarship and activism over decades in the context of how different development frameworks and paradigms have promoted women’s empowerment and gender equality globally. BFW (BRICS Feminist Watch) in partnership with Best Practice Foundation, Asian Development Alliance, and its members Gen Dev, Inequality Movement, Espaço Feminista, Solidarity Foundation and PWESCR  hosted an online seminar:

This webinar contributed to the exploration of the current development  paradigm  in the  context of   prior  development paradigms.

Exploring Paradigms of Women-led Development.

What are women-led development?

Women led development was one of the over-arching, cross cutting theme for G20 India in 2023 that profiled women as not just beneficiaries of development, but as leaders and equal participants who set the agenda for development and are key to achieving the 2030 Goals. The mainstream  development  stakeholders call for women to take on leading roles in the economic, social and  political progress through SDGs. Goal No 5 speaks about  Equal opportunities and rights,free from discrimination  and  adopting gender dimension’s in all the 17 goals, and it  is about encouraging  women to ‘Transform, Thrive, Transcend.’

The feminsts view  WLD as“women led development represented an organic combination of women, wisdom, intelligence, opportunity, confidence in their capacities.. supported by education and awareness” which, she felt, could change women’s perceptions about their “capacities and capabilities in family and society”.

The discussants of the webinar  reinforced that the concept of development should lead to well-being, well-living, living in sustainability, in harmony with the environment, and paradigms of thinking about a different way to engage socially and with ecological balance. It as a multi-faceted gender equal, just and sustainable is about  economic equality, fairness and reshaping the social construction of gender power dynamics and  culture, most notably around land ownership, redistribution of unpaid care giving duties, closing the literacy gap, bridging the gender digital divide (especially with female labour force participation having dropped precipitously in many parts of the world) marriage, domestic violence, and inheritance. WLD is when the state recognise and encompass  the role of  women, irrespective of caste,class,gender,age,race,geographical  remoteness,disability ,educational  and health status  and inclusion of inter-sectionality in development planning  to entrust women as leaders of decision making in matters  affecting them.WLD  is where Initiatives focusing on policy content and process  essentially unpacking transformative change for a more gender equal society and voices to direct and shape policies that affect women, that actually affect the whole world.

WLD, as a transformative paradigm for gender equality, has the potential to shift women’s roles from beneficiaries to decision-makers, it is the  development of a new consciousness around development projects from the bottom  to top  approach  to achieve gender justice by  recreating  power relations. WLD  is  operating  in the  decolonial framework of gender equality and women's empowerment. look like and how to come to that.

Decolonial feminism holds relevance for discussions on ecology, economy, government, spirituality, and knowledge, offering a powerful lens to examine and understand “other” ways of life, particularly in the global south. It’s a call for collective and transnational action, urging the construction of de-colonial knowledge that reflects the realities of women of color and promotes justice systems rooted in interconnectedness and mutual trust. In other words, it stands as a radical and inclusive movement that seeks to “un-patriarchalize” revolutionary struggles and foster a more just and equitable world. De-Colonial feminism - Subha Chacko - Charting a Path Towards a Just and Liberatory Tomorrow(5).

WLD Paradigm -the promise of Hope

Looking at the building blocks in the context of G-20  declarations, the global south Feminsits  view  the frame work WLD is a promise   for  those who are looking for women’s empowerment and gender equality. G-20  declaration are placing women at the center stage and projecting women as drivers of development. The declaration said, “We commit to closing gender gaps, promoting full, equal, effective women’s participation in the economy as decision-makers.”

Over the years,G-20 have launched gender-31 mainstreaming strategies  as  the  agenda such as to accelerate women's 35 leadership and empowerment in the private sector, recovery and women's economic empowerment. it has   labour inclusion, financial inclusion and digital   inclusion to bridge the gender gap.

Countries of the G20 began to pay attention to women's empowerment issues about a decade ago, with member countries committing to take concrete measures against barriers holding women back from full participation in economic and social processes. Women20 (W20), a women's engagement group within G20 established in 2015, has emerged as one of the more active and efficient G20 dialogue spaces.G-20 Communicator is a strong message for all G20 nations to place women as drivers of growth and improve their national gender strategies using gender sensitive data. The acceptance of WLD as a framework in G-20 gains significance as a guarantee for gender equality since powerful nations are vouching for women-centric development.

These countries are also  adopted SDGs and  taken up various efforts  for  achieving the goals through the budgetary allocations and incorporating gender budgeting.Gender equality languages emerged from women-led coalitions and movements, have found their way into the vocabularies of powerful institutions and are commonly used in gender equality policies, strategies, toolkits, and indicators by IIs (Infrastructure institutions). This paradigm shift in language around women-led development can be a sign of real progress.

Infrastructure institutions (IIs) communicate to the world through statements using feminist language about the importance of gender equality, gender analysis, and ambition, informing the concept of development, feasibility studies, and announcements on their gender-focused measures for gender equality. Creating space for  Gender  specialist in AIIBs and other  IFIs gives us hope.

Initiation of  the Southeast Asian Women's Economic Empowerment Fund, which is a woman led fund specializing for  women's economic empowerment  is yet another hope  accelerating  gender equality.

AIIB  activating  the  pension funds and bring in  gender lens  in  major investors and investment in the region and the willingness to  do more also need to be seen as a positive outcome.

The countries are developing leadership at the  grassroot level, in the local governance   system pancyayats, ( the local governance body  inIndia) women are becoming entrepreneurs, can see the increase in  numbers of women in  non-stereotypical sectors. Thus,the major building block is the countries mainstreaming  gender  through  variety of women empowerment policies and laws to protect and ensure  safety of women.

Alarming gaps  and disparities

Though the  G-20 declarations  and gender mainstreaming initiatives of  development stake holders  seem  promising, experiences has shown  that   the promise and achievement are always out of sync   for   women empowerment frameworks  such as WID,WAD and GAD.Jumping to another catchy slogan without first examining the flaws of the current development  paradigm, with relevant   evaluation though appropriate data bases, has failed to produce  the   expected results, forcing development stakeholders  to announce  or reword a framework to appease  those who demand gender equality.

However  the feminist’s  continue to fight for a  comprehensive frame work  for gender equality and  have urged  mainstream development stake holders to  identify , strategize and address the  gaps through  framework  of oppression (patriarchy).To understand  how it functions in tandem with capitalism, caste structures, religion, and heteronormativity. Lack of understanding of the structural oppression in the context of social, political, economic, and cultural processes fails to address women’s concerns and  gender inequality.   Similar to earlier   paradigms on women’s empowerment, WLD is bound by various  gaps,as gender disparities have impacted every aspect of women’s growth and development. Few of the data  presented here shed light on  the stark realities of gender disparities, despite the launch of WLD as a new paradigm .

The  2024 report on  gender gaps  shows  India ranks 129th among 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index 2024 (WEF), falling from 127th the previous year. These examples tell different stories of disparities, discrimination, and underdevelopment.(7)

This paper analyses the gender gaps  in the  following realms   and tried to consolidate  the countless  challenges/gaps  within the given  realms.Socio-cultural space, Economic space, space for growth  and development,Space for  healthy life  and survival, ( water, sanitation,safety)  Space for  leadership.

Socio cultural  space

The age old socio-cultural   practices  ,instilled  through  generational socialization  (for which women are responsible for enforcement   ) domesticates women  and  make them feel  like  they are the custodian’s of  upholding and transmitting  cultural values, principles and beliefs to the  generation next. Women   are made responsible to manage the household  needs,while they are excluded and discouraged  to  take part  in the public life and  decision making  process. Many  a women were    taught to take pride in  the practices of discrimination and inequalities  even  to their own daughters and for themselves, though their aspirations and identities are undermined  and  are made  the victims . Thus inequality  and discriminatory practices   continued to  rule the society  while  few women are  courageous to challenge,  majority do not join fearing social wrath and physical violence. this  practices are  influenced by the politico-religious structures , the  enforcement bodies of patriarchy  and are the  major impediment  for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Thus the   opportunity  for women’s contribution and participation  is undermined, restricted and minimised   in every field, the “women  know nothing “ attitude  challenges  women’s  potential   and   excluded as an equal participant with men. Therefore the resources,exposoures,and skill enhancement  are overlooked   as components of women’s growth.

Few of the data  presented here shed light on  the stark realities of gender disparities, despite the launch of WLD as a new paradigm .

The  2024 report on  gender gaps  shows  India ranks 129th among 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index 2024(8) (WEF), falling from 127th the previous year. These examples tell different stories of disparities, discrimination, and underdevelopment.

Economic  Space – invisible  Hands  of women

Women’s   economic contribution in the  informal sector, including agriculture , home based and small enterprises  are underreported and undervalued, as they are  hidden workers who  are denied  access to  means of production, exposure to technological inputs and marketing knowledge and skill development.

Women entrepreneurs, a survival strategy  adopted primarily  by single and poor women,  are now gaining attention, but they continue to  struggle  for  access to adequate   credit , while  the  credit needs   of mega entrepreneurs  are  met, they  are also  confronted  with the challenges of skill upgradation, reskilling, techno-know how ,financial and  marketing management  and so on.For example   India has 11% women landholders(9) yet  decisions about  land use, crop patterns and the marketing are unfamiliar  to them, despite the fact that  women are  the primary participants in  family  agriculture. The  financial resource provided  to  women are  then  handled and used by  men.   The state must provide   skill enhancement , financial  literacy, negotiation skills, support services to supplement  women’s care roles, as well as    technical know- how  and  strict  monitoring to prevent  mens’ involvement./infringement.

Women’s workforce participation indicates that while women's share in the workforce is relatively high in unincorporated sectors, the share of women as unpaid family workers is as high as 59%.(10) This is an alarming concern about the gaps and the mismatch between promises and realities. Coming to  the global  data on LFPR, the female LFPR is very low compared to the male counterparts; in 2023, the male LFPR was pegged at 78.5; and the women LFPR was 37. The world women LFPR rate is 49, according to the World Bank figures. The female LFPR had been steadily declining since 2000 and touched 24.5 in 2019, before inching up, particularly in rural areas. But the writers point out that notwithstanding the modest improvements, employment conditions remain poor.(WEF).()Also reported on the decrease on  women’s workforce representation  at all levels of seniority across the examined industries in the early 2023 data (-0.31 percentage points), and the decline is stronger for senior leader positions (-0.33 percentage points). the share of women in senior leadership positions – where “senior leadership” is defined as Director,13 Vice-President (VP)14 or C-suite15 – is at 32.2% in 2023 nearly 10 percentage points lower than women’s overall 2023 workforce representation of 41.9%

The basis of  lower representation, or invisibility  is  linked  to the structural disparities projected through socio-cultural barriers, in which  women are  forced to fulfil the gender  prescribed tasks of home  and care work  as their major obligation ,notwithstanding their advancement in society  as a  successful individual, political leader or a business tycon. If they  failed to do something they were made to feel bad and criticized.This is  a  key hindrance to   growth and development  and  it involves  women in a wide range of concerns  across  all sectors.

Space for growth  and development-Education

Women’s mobility and advancement are viewed as secondary in patriarchal cultures. Higher education for  women is receiving  less emphasis   in terms of resource allocation, so as the upscaling and rescaling, opportunities for technical know-how,and leadership are overlooked and under prioritized.Even if it is addressed in policy, the government did not provide  adequate support.Transportation, reproductive health care and care work support are   inadequate, making it difficult for women to advance up the career  ladder, experience  shows that   only a few women achieve  top  leadership  after a good battle.

This  is also because of the eexclusion of gender sensitive persons in the planning and implementation of women’s empowerment   initiatives including G-20 platforms, appears to  underrepresent people from varied backgrounds, compromising their ability to represent their concerns. The experience is underlined in the report of G-20 Women-Inclusion or Exclusion by BFW. The world leaders of G20 have the opportunity to do a lot to address gender gaps, and address some pressing issues impacting women and girls. But this has not been really a priority – even if it makes it on paper, it either does not get implemented or the implementation is adhoc. (G-20 Women-Inclusion or Exclusion by BFW .)(11)

Employment in Digital aveneus for women is an opportunity, yet  women  working in the digital space  face  the  same obstacles  as women working outside the  home , with  practical constraints in the job market ,transportation issues, safety concerns, and duties of care work. The modern women are prey to cyber attacks, gender bias being spread through technology  and  gender discrimination in digital spaces   is a major issue.

The lack of gender-disaggregated data in each sector and not  having geo-specific indicators for SDG stands as  a barrier in measuring the progress.

Space for Healthy Life and survival

The gender specific duties of domestic chores, care work, and attending  home based livelihood chores, as well  reproductive obligations, wreak havoc on women’s health, and a lack of adequate care infrastructure, including access to basic services, has a negative impact  on their  lives. Women have less options and rights over their bodies, and women health is till not considered a right; patriarchal policies continue to  rule.

The elderly  health  is completely  neglected, and the  government’s health focus is primarily on  girl children  and women  of  reproductive age. Advocating for cuts in public spending on one hand and committing to providing employment, social protection to women on the other hand are seen as two contradictory  for  creating space for  healthy life. Resource  allocation, innovation to reduce the drudgeries affecting women’s health , and support services for  women  are not prioritized. Reduction in government budgets results in terminating several essential social services, especially for women.

Space for  Political /Decision making

All most all the top leadership positions are held by men,quoting the example of G-20 who promoted WLD,women's participation in governance and structure continues to be extremely limited. Most G20 Heads of States are men and women continue to be either on the periphery or only on paper. Elite engagement group within G20 brings a very affluent class of women entrepreneurs and high-powered business women to the policy table and they speak on behalf of the economic elite which in no way represents women of the world, especially not women in developing countries – poor, single, rural, migrants etc. G20 spaces do not represent the women from the global South in all their diversity and their realities.

Another example is the representation of women in recently held election of Indian  parliament, the decision-making body, has only 13.63% of women, with 12.9% of MPs belonging to the right-wing ruling party. Women’s participation in decision-making platforms in central Africa and the Republic appears fragile and subjective, highlighting the necessity to fight for equality since misogynistic beliefs stigmatize and project women in an inferior shade.(Hindu Data point-July 9TH 2024)(12)

This  development raises concerns about the authenticity of the promises made, and whether these platforms provide opportunities for women to be leaders? Do they allocate funds or begin  up-scaling initiatives for women,regardless of sector and rank to promote them to positions of leadership or department head? Or has it started aWLD dialogue within the sector/department? Apart from organizing international and national meetings, what tangible plans and policies have each government implemented to translate WLD?

Silence of the state –  Gender  Policies & Adherence as the  challenge

“institutional standards and ethics” continue to be “male-centered,” and even women who have benefited from the liberalization, privatization, and globalization of the economy continue the same patterns and standards, which should serve as a “warning signal for leaders of the new age.”

Investments without   lack of integrated gendered approach for  the projects designed by IFI   and other financial insitutions  and they say it as gender neutral, the gender neutral is often not gender sensitive. without engaged participation of people, especially women, are neither inclusive nor sustainable models of development and can cause more harm than good to people's lives and environments.

The above  observation’s  were made during the  webinar discussions.. The feminists  claimed  that the policies  by and large  ,especially  trade and economic policies are  gender blind   towards  the  working class women ,can exacerbate poverty  The  Present WLD  is limited rhetorical ,superfluous conversations about poverty, structural causes of inequalities, livelihoods, women farmers, burden of unpaid work in subsistence livelihoods, women's work in the informal economy, climate justice or rural economies .Poverty is conceptualised only in economic dimensions. Most of these extremely rich and powerful corporates that are part of the G20's structure and decision making are North based and much wealthier than several countries in the South. Multinational Corporations (MNCs) are also part of the global supply chains in developing countries,eventually their polcies  affect the poor and especially women workers. Top-down approach of development framework (W20,SDGs) not only leaves a majority of women behind, but also renders feminist leaders from the global South.

Although the state advocates women’s empowerment, the influence of socio-cultural norms frequently prevents the state from addressing women’s specific needs through legislation and policies such as supporting, and it failed to take stringent action against prepetuaters of violence against women, nor did it challenge women’s prescribed roles of domestic chores, care work, reclamation of pubic spaces, and opportunities for technical advancement.The state undervalues gender specific obligations and responsibilities.The femiists emphazised  that the state’s silence on equitable distribution of wealth, labour rights, environmental protection and accountability mechanisms poses a threat to gender justice.

Challenges to CSOs

On the one hand,  governments are   moving towards gender  mainstreaming  through various   innovative initiatives, but e violence against women is on the rise, both physically and in  cyber space. Women’s commodification is rampant on social media. Civil society organizations have typically   supported the affected women, challenging  structural power dynamics as well as  the lack of  and  adherence to policies promoting  gender equality and women’s empowerment. CSO activities are curbed  down the civic space  and oppression of human Rights Activists  by through draconian laws. The  austerity measures on social spending have also become a global phenomenon  as a result  of  tied aid.

Feminists from the global south must stand together, speak the same  language, and challenge the  existing  neo liberal development paradigm in the true sense as the  pro-suppressive ideology is seen silencing feminist critiques that demand systemic and just transformation because liberal feminism and its more insidious twin economic neoliberalism have captured mainstream development discourse,  and we need to move  towards de-colonial feminism requires massive support  and collective action.

Ways forward

Having said  about the structural barriers and the gaps in  various sectors of development,t he sustenance of this  condition is solely due to the lack of political will  by the  governments.  The rule of law index  refers to the weakening of the institutional mechanisms and  social justice and human rights due to the authoritarian  regimes   across the world. Countries adopt development paradigm in agreement with the global pressures are however  put back the  agendas or lethargic in implementation due to lack of political will  compounded with   their own  belief system (patriarchial ) in the oppressive structural systems.

Therefore    we continue to see the slowness in  progress of development initiatives, although women’s concerns  are   tabled  as a mainstreaming development agenda. It is essential  that the development paradigm needs a revamp  , the  journey from  WID to  WLD  should be  leading towards the gender transformative  changes.

Government  must ACT ON

The essence of WLD should lead  the governments for   Gender Transformative Changes,GTC  includes  addressing  the needs of   people  of different   inter-sectionality, geo politics, religio-politics ,  caste, race ,ecomomic the strong detriments  for  human rights and gender equality, and in the context of  socio-cultural  structure of  the global south.

It is an appreciable move to include women in climate actions as it recognizes women as environmental saviors and guarantees food security. This needs to acknowledge and promote the efforts of women at the grassroots on their food security, nutrition, and well-being practices in food production and conservation, which also means governments saying no to corporates on cash crops and mega projects. Women’s presence is an important component in the decision-making process at all levels; women must lead, and women-led development must occur in all G-20 countries.

To address gender-based violence stemming from patriarchal stereotypes, it is critical to examine the care infrastructure, which requires a significant transition from a patriarchal perspective to a gender equality framework. This will help governments prioritize gender-focused measures important to gender equality, including women-led development at top leadership levels. This will provide answers to all the queries of gender discrimination.

Communities across the globe still  fighting for the inclusion of their rights in the national  agendas, so looking   Women Led  Development  as the new   Slogan  requires a significant overhaul:it must transition from a  Eurocentric  colonial perspective   to   a  decolonial  framework, that  is inclusive and empowering, with a focus on   fraternity . Governments in the global south  should be able to  evaluate  and reinterpret systemic   barriers to  work. Policies and laws must be reframed  to challenge the  gendered ness  and the power dynamics.

To translate WLD, all the development actors, including top leaders, bureaucracy, media, infrastructure institutions (IIs), and development agencies such as banks, must improve their understanding of WLD while also adhering to the ideology of its origin by stakeholders, importantly by the ruling government.

We as feminsts from the  global south believe that ,the Global North and the Global South need to go towards different paths, addressing the need for de-growth of the Global North from colonizing the atmosphere and the environment through excess carbon emissions and extraction in the Global South.

While  popularizing  frame works on women’s empowerment through the platforms of  SDGs/G-20, the global southern prespective needs tobe highlighted. As feminist we  argue  that transnational connections and women’s networks among feminists are vital for  highlighting  gender injustice and structural inequalities that affect  women,as well as effecting change.

BRICS, as a transnational organization, should apply pressure for feminist conversations to take place, and we should think about a G20 feminist watch to keep Women 20 relevant through developing critical consciousness.

As Feminist from global south   to continue . Our multiple engagements  in    monitoring the G-20  promises,to resisting  subaltern agendas , should be continued  though  networks,  on going  discussions, dialogues and  protests.

Conclusion

As feminists of the global south, we accept the transition of development paradigms and the mainstreaming  of gender concerns; the government must demonstrate  strong political will to adopt  gender lens in  all  approaches  and actions of resource planning, allocation, schemes support systems for women and challenging  social norms.

By – Ms. Josephine