[afro-nets] Food for a discriminatory thought

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

Food for a discriminatory thought
---------------------------------

MORE ON THE POLITICS OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Human Rights Reader 68

SOME ASPECTS OF THE POLITICS OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND THE POLITICS
OF EMPOWERMENT (Part 14 of 16)

140. Discrimination against women (and minorities) is still com-
mon in countries that have undergone significant economic growth
where one would have expected these groups' rights to also have
improved. [But then, 'economics is a relatively macho culture'].
The 'empowerment' measure most used these days to address the
violation of women's rights is income-generation-activities and
micro-credit-schemes for them (plus perhaps primary-education-
for-girls). Yes, income earned by women is, to a much higher de-
gree than men's, used for family wellbeing expenditures. But let
us be clear: These activities for women do not correct the roots
of the immiserizing (poverty-creating) process of an unfair po-
litical and economic system that ultimately explains their
status.

141. The point here is that governments (as well as other or-
ganizations) that only passively respect or actively claim to
protect poor women's entitlements (to food, care and health
among many other), but do not proactively fulfill their state
obligations to change the system that is perpetuating the prob-
lems should be openly confronted. Women's rights violations will
not respond unless immediate, underlying and basic causes are
tackled simultaneously, i.e., interventions at each individual
level are necessary, but not sufficient.

142. Therefore, sharing a common conceptual framework has proven
to be crucial to understand and act upon the causes of all human
rights (HR) violations and to develop at least the budding of a
shared political view on these issues... and that is where our
personal-interpretative-political-acumen comes in.

143. Efforts to revert the violation of human rights in the
world should thus start with a declaration that effective democ-
racy, economic equality AND the empowerment of women must under-
pin any proactive efforts to revert such violations. Unfortu-
nately, we always append this requirement at the very tail end
of proposals and never focus on it as a real prerequisite.

144. This brings us to the issue of empowerment. Empowerment is
not an outcome of a single event; it is a continuous process
that enables people to understand, upgrade and use their capac-
ity to better control and gain power over their own lives. It
provides people with choices and the ability to choose, as well
as with the chance to gain more control over resources they need
to improve their condition. It ultimately thus expands the 'po-
litical- space' within which Assessment-Analysis-Action proc-
esses operate in any community.

145. Furthermore, what needs to be unmistakably understood is
that --in a mostly zero-sum game-- the empowerment of some, most
of the time, entails the disempowerment of others: usually the
current holders of power.

146. As a corollary, social mobilisation is a needed step in the
road to empowerment. Here, social mobilisation is to be under-
stood as the community development approach that gets people ac-
tively involved in development (Assessment-Analysis-Action)
processes that address the more basic causes of maldevelopment.
This, in an effort to increase their power base; social mobili-
zation engages people in actions in which they actively fight
for their rights and for positions from where they can gain
greater control over the resources they need. Social mobilisa-
tion aims at mobilising resources, placing concrete demands,
networking, building coalitions and consolidating sustainable
social movements.

147. But, beware, not any social mobilization is empowering. For
social mobilisation to be empowering it has to:

* Articulate people's felt needs into concrete demands and these
into claims so they can ultimately better fight for their rights
(i.e., mobilization of their social power).

* Mobilize people's own and other identified needed resources
from outside including those not previously used.

* Exert an effective demand for resources other than those read-
ily available.

* Organize people's actions to effectively use and progressively
control external resources (leading to a consolidation of a new
and growing power base).

* Network with others, striving to achieve a critical mass of
concerned people (locally and externally) and, in the process,
building coalitions (i.e., expanding the power base through
solidarity).

* Operate in complete Assessment-Analysis-Action cycles, thus
collectively identifying problems, searching for solutions and
implementing needed activities to, then, assess their im-
pact...and so on.

* Give people power over key decisions thus increasing their
self-esteem and self-confidence.

* Increase local democracy, with people (especially women) par-
ticipating more actively in local government.

* Decentralize decision-making, including shifting control of
finances to the local sphere (i.e., devolution of power).

* Include working proactively and concertedly with all strategic
allies.

148. Not all of us are, therefore, currently involved in work
that really empowers beneficiaries. I contend that we tend to
choose tracks in our careers according to our preference - plus
the level of tolerance of frustration we can stand in our work.
The question is: Do a political ideology and ethical commitments
also play a role in our choices, when faced with only snail-
pace-progress-in-what-we-do? In other words, are ultimate goals
of social transformation part of the equation in our choices? If
the answer is 'no', I see a bleak future for the role our guild
can play in the battle against HR violations in the world;
changes will come about without and despite us; history will by-
pass us.

149. [I actually worry further, because I see these future chal-
lenges that will have to be faced by our young and upcoming col-
leagues not being clearly spelled out in their curricula during
their undergraduate and graduate training].

150. More activism is badly needed along with our efforts to
overcome specific HR violations. We need to recommit ourselves
to it. We also need to train our new generations of colleagues
accordingly, not neglecting preparing them much better for their
role as activists with a clearer understanding-of and capacity-
to intervene in the political dimensions of HR work.

Claudio Schuftan
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
mailto:claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn