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Religion, Gender, and Development. November 24, 2004. Religion, Gender and Development. Does gender inequality retard development? Is religion responsible for gender inequality?. Development as Freedom: Amartya Sen. The goal of development is the enhancement of human freedom - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Religion, Gender, and Development
November 24, 2004
Religion, Gender and Development Does gender inequality retard development?
Is religion responsible for gender inequality?
Development as Freedom: Amartya Sen The goal of development is the enhancement
of human freedom
The enhancement of human freedom is the chief instrument of development
Gender Inequality: 100 Million Missing Women
Gender-based poverty
Infanticide
Perinatal mortality
Health Inequalities
Violence
What Does Religion Have To Do With Gender Inequality?
Male/Female Sex Ratios
22 of 32 countries with sex ratios exceeding 102/100 are Muslim
India has a sex ratio of 106/100
China has a sex ratio of 117/100
Male/Female Literacy Gap
Muslim countries: 18.7
Catholic countries: 4.3
India: 26
China: 19
Variation Between Muslim Countries Turkey
Indonesia
“The central values separating Islam and the West revolve far more centrally around Eros than Demos.”
- Pippa Norris and Ron Inglehart,
Sacred and Secular (2004)
How Does Gender Equity Promote Development?
Increases GDP Reduce illiteracy gap, raise GDP 1%
Reduces fertility Raise education level 3 years, reduce birth rate
by 1 child
Reduces inequality 1% increase in labor force with secondary education
increases income to poorest 40 percent by 6-15%
The China-India-Kerala Comparison: China: compulsory one-child policy 1979-92
reduces birth rate to 2.0
India: non-compulsory family planning reduces birth rate to 3.7
Kerala: female literacy, health care program reduces birth rate to 1.8
Increase Female Employment Raises marriage age
Increases birth spacing
Increases household income
Improves child survival rates
Improves child weight-height measures
Reduces spousal abuse
Progress in Empowering Women
Improve Female Political Participation Makes government less authoritarian?
Improves welfare and health expenditure?
Women’s Empowerment: How to Get There Electoral quotas for representation
Targeted investment in female education
Microfinance loans to women
Case Study: Grameen Bank, Bangla Desh Female poverty and credit
Credit and purdah
Credit and gender discrimination
Microcredit and Islam
Personal Status Law
Liberalize and equalize divorce law
Equalize women’s rights in sharia law
Enforce property rights for females: inheritance, divorce, succession
Opposition
Authoritarian political leaders
Patriarchal family heads
Religious authorities
Women
Women’s Opposition
The value of religious freedom
The value of women’s autonomy
How to Bring Them Along:
Frame this as a development program, not as a women’s issue
Frame this as a local strategy, not a Western one
Work with men, not against them
Work within local institutions, not against them
Secure women’s consent: do not take it for granted
Is Religion Responsible for Gender Inequality?
Religion as a language of social justice
Religion as a language of patriarchal authority
Religion as a language of individual improvement
Religion as a site of political struggle