Gender and development
Calvo, A.
Journal of Agriculture and Environment for International Development 93(3/4): 147-156
1999
DOI: 10.1080/13552074.2010.524432Document Number: 531188
In the gender and development debate of these last years, rural women have played an important role. In the human development process, the gender biases in the world's agricultural system present a big obstacle to achieve the goal of a sustainable development: with respect to men, rural women have more limited access to land, credit, extension services, secure employment, rural organizations and political bodies. In the last 30 years, however, we have assisted at many interesting evolution of thoughts that improved gender concept in the development process: WID (Women in Development), GAD (Gender And Development), Ecofeminism, Gender and Environment, Gender Mainstreaming, Empowerment. Many of the origins of these 'key words' are closest to the grassroots experience of the rural women than in the theories of the researches: it is sufficient to think to the strongest women's environmental movement of the rural areas of the South of the world, concerning wood fuel, dams, water, forestry, soil exhaustion, etc. Rural women are now a crucial element in the participatory methodology of projects, because of their role that points out the human and social aspect of development.