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Call for Papers: Gendered Perspectives on International Development (GPID) Working Papers

Michigan State University invites the submission of article-length manuscripts (6,000 - 9,000 words) for peer review and publication in our GPID Working Papers series. We seek materials at a late stage of formulation that contribute new understandings of women and men’s roles and relations amidst social, economic, and political change in the developing world. The goals of GPID are: (1) to promote research that contributes to gendered analysis of social change, (2) to highlight the effects of international development policy and globalization on gender roles and gender relations, and (3) to encourage new approaches to international development policy and programming.

GPID cross-cuts disciplines, bringing together research, critical analyses, and proposals for change. Individual papers in the series address a range of topics, such as gender, violence, and human rights; gender and agriculture; reproductive health and healthcare; gender and social movements; masculinities and development; and the gendered division of labor. We particularly encourage manuscripts that bridge the gap between research, policy, and practice. Accepted papers are individually printed for distribution as well as published online. We are an open access publication, and previously published papers can be viewed at http://gencen.isp.msu.edu/publications/papers/. You can also follow us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/gpidworkingpapers/.

If you are interested in submitting a manuscript to the series, please send a 150-word abstract summarizing the paper’s essential points and findings to Dr. Amy Jamison, Editor, and Kelly Birch Maginot, Managing Editor, at [log in to unmask]. If the abstract suggests your paper is suitable for the GPID Working Papers, the full paper will be invited for peer review and publication consideration.

The Gender, Development, & Globalization Program at MSU is also pleased to announce three new working papers in our GPID series (download PDFs free of charge on our website):

WP #307 Competing Gender Perspectives in Security Sector Reforms in Turkey, by Sabine Mannitz, Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, and Stephanie Reckhaus, Mainz Institute for Social Pedagogic Research

http://gencen.isp.msu.edu/files/6314/7889/2002/1066_Mannitz_FINAL.pdf

Abstract:  Since the 1990s, the human security norm has contributed to reframing the discourse and practice surrounding Security Sector Reforms (SSR). People-centered security thinking brings vulnerable groups into the center of attention and declares gender-sensitive approaches to be crucial. However, while the inclusion of gender perspectives into SSR may seem perfectly logical in the theory, it creates dilemmas in practice: Who represents whom? How should SSR programs involve women (and which ones)? Should women’s organizations cooperate with state institutions that regularly fail to protect women at all? A study of local women’s rights organizations in Turkey illustrates that there cannot be just one definition of women’s security needs. The diversity of female life-worlds leads to public contestations surrounding the right forms of representation. It is, however, essential to recognize that such conflicts are important contributions in the evolution of localized gender security norms. The article draws on fieldwork with Turkish women’s organizations and expert interviews carried out in 2013 and 2014.

WP #308 Empowering Women for Food and Income Security: The Case of Pigeon Pea in Malawi, by Nathalie Me-Nsope and Michelle Larkins, Michigan State University

http://gencen.isp.msu.edu/files/8814/9062/7331/WP308.pdf

Abstract: Legume-intensified maize systems have been identified as a potential “one stop” solution to the problem of food insecurity in Malawi. Previous research has failed to examine how gender relations and intra-household dynamics may influence decisions and potential food security gains at the farm level, or how gender may impact participation, performance, and benefits at later value chain stages. We identify gender-based constraints and opportunities along the chain and their implications for household level food security and poverty. We find the decision to adopt/expand pigeon pea at the farm level; the ability to participate at the various nodes of the value chain; and control over the gains derived from value chain participation are influenced by intra-household gendered patterns of resource allocation, the gendered division of roles and responsibilities, and differential power relations in decision-making between men and women. For example, lack of transportation assets and cultural restrictions on women’s mobility limit their participation in markets, affecting their access to and control over income derived from legume sales. Our findings must be taken into account by development efforts targeting food, income, and nutrition security via the development of legume value chains. We argue that empowering women economically is essential for harvesting the potential food security and poverty reduction benefits of legume expansion and commercialization.

Working Paper #309 On the Frontlines of Health Care: Xhosa Nurses in South Africa’s Rural Ciskei, 1960s-1980s, by Leslie Anne Hadfield, Brigham Young University

http://gencen.isp.msu.edu/files/3814/8345/5924/WP309.pdf

Abstract: The work and history of female Xhosa nurses in the Ciskei region of South Africa’s Eastern Cape has largely been ignored by scholars; yet, the region has the longest history of training African professional nurses in South Africa and it is representative of rural or “homeland” health care. The purpose of this article is to highlight the important role these nurses played in delivering western biomedicine during the dynamic period of the 1960s through the 1980s, by analyzing their successful characteristics and approaches. Based upon archival research and interviews with 67 retired nurses, this article argues that the nurses’ dedication, training, and acknowledgment of “traditional” beliefs contributed to their success. In doing so, the article presents these nurses as an historical example of how women from local communities have been vital to delivering health care and building rural communities.