The feminist movement is facing serious challenges such as armed conflicts, the advance of HIV/AIDS, the rise of fundamentalisms, and the increasing scarcity of resources for work on gender equality. This book argues that a revision of the internal dynamics and work of feminist organisations is necessary in order to face these challenges effectively.
This book is an international collection of essays and case studies which explore diverse strategies of women's and feminist organisations and analyses the important lessons learned in the process. For example, women's groups and NGOs must put in place clear mechanisms, internal policies and resources that ensure inclusion, participation and accountability at organisational level to avoid accidentally replicating patriarchal values and structures. Different leadership styles and decision-making models must be explored and applied within feminist organisations to ensure that issues of empowerment and leadership are dealt with. Reconnecting with grassroots and building constituencies at the ground level is extremely important to communicate what the feminist movement has achieved at intergovernmental level. In order to gain political sustainability, feminist organisations must change their approach to funding and re-politicise their relationship with donors by creating spaces in which to discuss funding priorities and define terms of engagement on the basis of a women's rights' agenda common to the whole movement.
By: Alpizar Duran, L., Payne, N. and Russo, A. (eds)
Published by: Zed Books
Published: 2007
This book can be previewed here
To order a print copy of the resource, contact Women, Ink.