scholarly journals Women, Work and Development in Rural India: A Catalogue of Voluntarism in Policy

Social Change ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-159
Author(s):  
Aardra Surendran

This paper seeks to evaluate the conception of rural women’s work evident in the trajectory of development policy in India. It argues that the feature of self-initiated or voluntary participation in development for women is not restricted to the period of structural adjustment. Its antecedents lie within earlier conceptions of national development and women’s role within it which is consistently characterised by a reliance on voluntarism on the part of unspecified community actors. Thus, while the shifting of the onus of women’s development from community voluntarism to small group voluntarism is an important feature of the contemporary period, it does, at another level, extend the trajectory of state policy that has failed to take central responsibility for working women in rural India. Parallel to the shifts in the conception of the rural woman as a receptacle of policy to a consumer of development initiatives through the post-Independence decades is thus the persistence of a half-baked notion of the rural working woman.

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-113
Author(s):  
Nana Tawiah Okyir

This article argues for the strengthening and entrenchment of socio-economic rights provisions in Ghana's jurisprudence. The purpose of this entrenchment is to engender judicial activism in promoting more creative pathways for enforcing socio-economic rights in Ghana. The article traces the development of socio-economic rights in Ghana's jurisprudence, especially the influence of the requirements of the international rights movement, particularly of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The article delves into the constitutional history of Ghana and its impact on the evolution of rights in the country. Of particular historical emphasis is the emergence of socio-economic rights under the Directive Principles of State Policy in the 1979 Constitution. However, the significance of the socio-economic rights only became profound with the return to democratic rule under the 1992 Constitution, again under a distinct chapter on Directive Principles of State Policy. However, unlike its counterpart, the chapter on the Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms, which is directly enforceable, the Directive Principles of State Policy were not. It took the Supreme Court of Ghana a series of landmark decisions until finally, in 2008, it arrived at a presumption of justiciability in respect of all of the provisions in the 1992 Constitution. It is evident that prior to this, the Supreme Court was not willing to apply the same standards of adjudication and enforcement as it ordinarily applies in respect of rights under the chapter on Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms. Having surmounted the non-justiciability hurdle, what is left is for the courts to begin to vigorously pursue an agenda that puts socio-economic rights at the centre of Ghana's rights adjudication framework. The article draws on comparative experiences from India and South Africa to showcase the extent of judicial creativity in rights adjudication. In India, the courts have been able to work around provisions restricting the enforcement of Directive Principles by often connecting them to Fundamental Freedoms. In South Africa, there is no hierarchy between civil and political rights on the one hand and socio-economic rights on the other; for that reason, the courts give equal ventilation to both sets of rights. The article further analyses these examples in the light of ongoing constitutional reforms in Ghana. It argues that these reforms fall short of the activism required to propel socio-economic rights adjudication to the forefront in Ghana's jurisprudence. In this regard, the article proposes social movements as a viable tool for socio-economic rights advocacy by recounting its success in previous controversial issues in Ghana. The article also connects this to other important building blocks like building socio-economic rights into a national development blueprint. Overall, the article calls for an imaginative socio-economic rights enforcement approach that is predicated on legislation, judicial activism, social movements and a national development blueprint aimed at delivering a qualitative life for the Ghanaian.


1974 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald N. Rothblatt

Author(s):  
P. Mohammed Shameem

The Socio-Economic and Caste Census of 2011 shows the extent of deprivations of rural India. Around 73.4 % of families are residing in rural India, where over 77 million households depend on kerosene for lighting; 1 million use wood and as many as 1.2 million households in India remain completely in the dark. Improvement in - Access, Availability, Adequacy, and Quality of energy can contribute to poverty reduction from various aspects. From a policy-making perspective increasing access to modern energy services require, first, the integration of energy access into national development strategies, and then strong and sustainable financial, institutional, and technology frameworks must be set up. The restatement of the theory of critical minimum effort is to make a plan for the effort that needs to break the environment of inertia of energy poverty. This paper discusses the minimum effort necessary to achieve a steady secular supply of basic energy requirements for people in need. It is alarming fact that today billions of people lack access to the most basic energy services, electricity, and clean cooking facilities, and, worse, this situation is set to change very little over the next 20 years. This paper explains how to set the needed change in the orientation and execution for the service delivery mechanism of energy. Aims: The restatement of the theory of critical minimum effort as a plan to achieve a steady secular supply of basic energy requirements for people in need. Study Design: Descriptive analysis. Place and Duration of Study: Macro-level analysis on India based on Socio-Economic and caste census of 2011. Methodology: Review-driven theoretical analysis. Conclusion: Restates those large-scale actions are needed to take people out of the vicious circle of energy poverty.


Author(s):  
Hasyimsyah Nasution ◽  
Yusnadi Yusnadi ◽  
Zahari Zahari

Development planning in the city of Banda Aceh is still experiencing various problems and shortcomings both in terms of the substantial process of implementation and supervision. This is because there is still a lack of regional planning apparatus both in terms of quantity and quality and not yet optimal public consultation in taking government policy in development that directly impacts the community, then development plan deliberations and official head work unit forums as a mechanism for community involvement in planning development is not yet up to and maximal. Commitment to the political communication of the mayor of Banda Aceh wants to build the community of the city of Banda Aceh as a model of the civil city. This political commitment arose from the results of the geopolitical analysis, the natural conditions of the region, the Aceh provincial regional development policy and the national development vision, and the strong desire of the mayor himself. The Mayor of Paradigama in building the city of Banda Aceh referred to the concept of building the Prophet in Medina.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Matilda Hegarty

<p>This dissertation documents research conducted with the 'Asociacion de Mujeres de Acosta'  (AMA), in a mountainous rural region of Costa Rica, in Central America. AMA was originally set up to counter some negative effects of Costa Rican society, such as 'machismo'  and the rural depopulation of women to the capital San Jose. The association implemented a Women In Development (WID) approach, which enabled women to gather and generate an income. The aim of my research is to examine the evolution of AMA since its inception, and to assess its current status in light of international shifts in development policy from WID to Gender And Development (GAD). It provides a rare opportunity to assess an organisation's evolution and its impact on women over a 30-year period. It also enables me to build on Kindon and Odell's earlier research with the organisation in 1990. The research uses qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, a focus group, a questionnaire and field notes, from five months of fieldwork in the community with members of AMA. The key findings show that AMA membership has decreased since its inception in 1980. Compared with results from previous research with AMA in 1990, my findings reveal that AMA has been slow to embrace international policy agendas and continues to adopt a WID approach. AMA does not yet reflect international and national development trends associated with gender and development, particularly in light of some similar organisations in Central and South America. While benefits have accrued to some of AMA members, they do not yet earn a decent wage to satisfy their needs. There are major intergenerational and interscalar issues, which are similar to those identified in 1990. These concerns are associated with power imbalances inside and outside of the association, traditional attitudes towards women due to the culture of 'machismo', and lack of appropriate information and funding sources. These issues appear to be stifling change and raise serious questions about the future sustainability of the association, as well as the relevance of international development policy changes for rural women in associations like AMA. Women of AMA are now looking for new projects and beginning to think about including men in the association. These slow changes, if enacted, may enable the organisation to survive another 30 years.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-116
Author(s):  
Eristian Wibisono ◽  
Amri Amir ◽  
Zulfanetti Zulfanetti

Identification of leading sectors or subsectors is one of the main tasks of the regional government and is an important part of regional development planning before formulating, drafting and establishing a better development policy strategy. The main objective of this research is to analyze and identify subsectors in the manufacturing industry sector that have comparativeness and competitiveness in Jambi Province. Main data of this study are secondary data of districts and cities in Jambi Province during the period 2011–2015 which were sourced from the Central Bureau of Statistics,  and Indonesian Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas). Data were analyzed using descriptive and quantitative analysis methods, namely Location Quotient analysis and Shift Share analysis. Results of the study show that the manufacturing industry subsector of Jambi Province which can be classified as comparative and competitive subsector are timber/wood products industry, paper/goods industry, rubber/rubber goods industry, and furniture industry


1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 103-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Alarcón-González ◽  
Terry McKinley

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