Gendered Development and Marginationalisation of Women

Even after many waves of activism and increased level of awareness, marginalisation, discrimination and outright oppression of women continue unabated in the country. There seems to be a gulf between empowerment-development programmes of the state targeting women and the realities on the ground. Though India has numerous schemes and spends millions of rupees on empowerment-development programmes. the country's human development indicators of health, nutrition, literacy, educational attainments, skill levels, occupational status are still worrisome, and in the case of women the record is particularly disappointing. It is in this juncture that the essays in this volume examine the gendered character of development to shed more light on the marginalisation of women. If development takes place not in a gender-neutral way, how it functions to be an enforcer of patriarchy? Do the women in developmental experiments get new avenues to challenge the hold of patriarchy? Can women engage with development differently from men? Is human development more about the development of women's capabilities? - These are some basic but pertinent questions this volume tries to address.