Women's informal associations in developing countries. Catalysts for change?
March, K.S.; Taqqu, R.L.
Women' s informal associations in developing countries Catalysts for change?: 154
1986
Document Number: 344224
This book evaluates the impact of development programmes on women's informal associations. The participation of women in development via their informal networks presents a dilemmna insofar as intervention by development organizations in the formal sphere often forces women to use their associational resources defensively and, at times, even insulates them from development itself. Credit, labour, ritual, and religious associations are examined; structures are compared; differences are described; and the capacity of these women's organizations to make use of developmental assistance is assessed. Mobilizing existing associations is often an inappropriate development strategy, and new associations should be created by 'analogy', using knowledge of informal organizational structures to generate new groups modelled after the old.