Women Culture And Development

Community, by Seyla Benhabib

This volume combines philosophical inquiry with economic concerns regarding women's equality in the developing world. Adopting Amartya Sen's capability framework, international contributors tackle issues of cultural relativism vs. cultural imperialism and local tradition vs. universalist critical judgement.

Straddling disciplines and continents, Feminist Futures interweaves scholarship and social activism to explore the evolving position of women in the South. Working at the intersection of cultural studies, critical development studies and feminist theory, the book's contributors articulate a radical and innovative framework for understanding the linkages between women, culture and development, applying it to issues ranging from sexuality and the gendered body to the environment, technology and the cultural politics of representation. This revised and updated edition brings together leading academics, as well as a new generation of activists and scholars, to provide a fresh perspective on the ways in which women in the South are transforming our understanding of development.

Focusing on seven crucial debates in the field of gender and development, this compilation shows why development policy must respond to cultural differences and illustrates the rewards of doing so.