A selective literature review
by Shubha Chacko, January 2007
(Introduction and table of content)
How this review came to be
This review is the outcome of a sweep of documents and papers that we (Devaki Jain and I) have gathered over sometime. We have spent considerable time foraging - literally in all the corners of the world (real and virtual) to make a broad selection of documents vis-à-vis the journey of ideas within the UN - about and from women. This was during the period 2001-2003 when Devaki Jain was writing her book Women, Development and the United Nations (Published in 2005 by Indiana University Press) . Further to that we have continued to add to the collection - especially towards the Casablanca meeting.
The collection took all sorts of forms - we actively sought material on areas of interest -trade-led growth, migration, etc. We were gifted with material - by friends and well-wishers; and we would like to thank them all. Email list that we subscribed to pointed us to a stock of material and made our searches easier. Every meeting attended or conversation with friends was an occasion to gather more. And sometimes by absolute serendipity we stumbled on articles and papers that spoke to the issues that we were thinking about - sometimes even echoing our very words.
And then we have had a bonanza from all of you -participants who are here and the many who are here in spirit. Lourdes Beneria, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Amina Mama, Diane Elson, Amrita Basu, Amartya Sen, Sakiko Fukuda Parr, Noeleen Heyzer, Carmen Diane Deere, Caren Grown among others. This then is work in progress and I need all of you to help me in that progressing -by highlighting gaps, pointing to other important sources and also suggestions on how this can feed into a web-site that can become a basis for sharing.
What we collected is an assorted, motley lot. Definitely not the stuff found in a typical academic library. We have dense articles from refereed journals, small pamphlets from NGOs, mainstream UN documents and alternative reports. Many books will be familiar and well-loved some may be new to you. Others hopefully will provoke the urge to read them. (and if so please let us know as we can share them with you) Newspaper articles, local journals, petitions, have all found the way into this review. Bibliographies and reading lists have been important sources by our most valuable resource have been the women in the movement - at all levels. And it's to then that I would like to tip my hat to - for sharing, for encouraging, for teaching.
This review seeks to capture some of the debates, discourses and issues with a particular area. It is not an attempt to be comprehensive (the canvas is far too large and time too short) - but rather seeks to indicate. To flag some issues and draw attention. While most will be familiar to all of you (and the attempt is not to say something unique) what I have sought to do is to bring these issues together and also hopefully to share some of the excitement Devaki and I felt as we made these 'voyages of discovery'. This knowledge base we feel, will help us, go faster and further and yes even higher as it will free us from have to tread the paths already trodden by our many sisters and ourselves.
I have tried to use the inspiration that the title of the meeting Women, Weave, Peace into Globalisation provides to pull the issues together. Obviously this is not the last word but a first - a start point that we can use to launch on dreams.
What it contains
Under the broad rubric of Women I have brought together:
- the status as reflected in the reviews and reports (pages 4-11)
- the issue of the 'woman identity' (pages 11-13)
- knowledge creation and feminist theory (pages 13- 17)
Under Weave
- the coming together, the grassroots level struggles, networks, intersection with other struggles (pages 17-22)
Under Globalisation
- The Phenomena (pages 22-23)
- Poverty and Inequality (pages 23-27)
- Threatening Livelihoods and growing Informalisation of work (pages 27-32)
- Measures (pages 32-35)
- Trade-led Growth (pages 35-37)
- Migration (pages 37-42)
Under Peace - (pages 42-45)
- Issues of Culture (pages 45-47)
- Sustainability (pages 47-51)
- Governance Institutional Spaces (pages 51-52)
- Rights (pages 52-55)
- Politics (pages 55-56)
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