Introduction : aid, NGOs and the shrinking space for women : a perfect storm / Tina Wallace and Fernella Porter -- A perfect storm. Development from the ground : a worm's eye view / Stan Thekaekara ; Evaluation, complexity, uncertainty - theories of change and some alternatives / Chris Mowles ; Losing sight of our purpose? / Suzanne Walker ; Can girls save the world? / Kate Grosser and Nikki van der Gaag ; Lost in translation : gender mainstreaming in Afghanistan / Anastasiya Hozyainova ; Insulating the developing classes / Tom Scott-Smith ; Reconnecting development policy, people, and history / David Lewis -- Changing conversations. Taking our lead from reality - an open practice for social development / David Harding ; Women on wheels / Meenu Vadera ; Too young to be women, too old to be girls : the (un)changing aid landscape and the reality of girls at risk / Seri Wendoh ; Looking beyond the numbers : reducing violence against women in Ghana / Kanwal Ahluwalia ; From local to global and back again - learning from stepping stones / Alice Welbourn ; Peace practice examined / Bridget Walker ; I don't know...and related thoughts / Ashish Shah ; Apolitical stories of sanitation and suffering women / Deepa Joshi ; Postscript / Tina Wallace.
Summary:
"Several factors are coming together that put pressure on NGOs working in development: the economic crisis, the growing conditionality of aid, and increased competition for funding between NGOs seeking to grow in reach and influence. This creates 'a perfect storm' that focuses attention increasingly on a new language of aid, policies and procedures. Aid, NGOs and the Realities of Women's Lives explores how international NGOs are navigating these fast-moving changes, which raise issues about their role and legitimacy, their values and overall purpose. The authors see a crisis for NGOs as they are pulled further from those they claim to work with and for, but they also explore alternative ways of conceptualizing development, and how to bring about change for the most marginalized and increasingly 'unheard' women. Together they show how important it is for NGOs to continue to find space to articulate concerns, challenge dominant norms and follow ways of working that have meaning for the poor, especially for poor women in whose name many now raise huge funds. THe book calls for a re-examination of theories about change, and a re-focus on ideas of complexity and feminism. It argues for NGOs to learn more from their past experiences and to keep open a challenging and creative space for analyzing aid. This book is essential reading for development practitioners and those working on women's rights in the global North and South, as well as NGO staff and researchers and students of development studies."--P. [4] of cover.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.