The failure of externally-driven advocacy initiatives to contextualise sub-Saharan "marginalised women"

This paper challenges the assumptions and practices of many externally-driven women's advocacy initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. It examines much misunderstood concepts (advocacy, agency and empowerment) and highlights how their constructions are fundamentally flawed. It draws conclusions from...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDevelopment in practice Vol. 31; no. 2; pp. 259 - 267
Main Authors Bedigen, Winnie, Mdee, Anna, Temlong, Rinmicit, Thorley, Lisa, Tshomba, Patricia
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 17.02.2021
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Advocacy
Civil society - NGOs
Empowerment
Gender and diversity - Disability
Illiteracy
Labour and livelihoods - Poverty reduction
NGOs
Nongovernmental organizations
Oppression
Poverty
Rights
Sub-Saharan Africa
Training
Women
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Summary:This paper challenges the assumptions and practices of many externally-driven women's advocacy initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. It examines much misunderstood concepts (advocacy, agency and empowerment) and highlights how their constructions are fundamentally flawed. It draws conclusions from advocacy training for women conducted by an international NGO in Nigeria and DRC. Illiteracy, poverty and unequal access to and control over resources all constitute barriers to advocacy. The study highlights the ineffectiveness of externally driven advocacy initiatives delivered through training events. It suggests that more nuanced and context-appropriate processes of change will more effectively identify and challenge structures of oppression.
ISSN:0961-4524
1364-9213
DOI:10.1080/09614524.2020.1836129