Part C (Q9): Elucidate various approaches to Women Development.

The strategy for improving the status of women has evolved significantly over the last few decades, moving through three distinct approaches:

1. The Welfare Approach (1950s - 1970s)

• Concept: This was the earliest approach. It viewed women primarily in their reproductive roles as mothers and wives. Women were seen as passive beneficiaries of development, not active participants.
• Focus: Interventions were purely charitable and relief-oriented. They focused on meeting Practical Gender Needs (PGNs) such as providing food aid, basic maternal health clinics, and family planning education.
• Critique: It completely ignored women's productive (economic) roles. It did nothing to challenge the patriarchal structures causing women's poverty and subordination.

2. Women in Development (WID) (1970s - 1980s)

• Concept: Prompted by feminist critiques, WID recognized that women were being left out of economic modernization. It argued that women are productive members of society, and their economic contribution is essential for national development.
• Focus: The goal was to integrate women into the existing economic system. Interventions focused on providing women with vocational training, credit access, and income-generating projects.
• Critique: WID assumed that simply giving women jobs would solve their problems. It failed to address the "double burden"—women were now expected to work outside the home while still doing all the unpaid domestic work. Furthermore, it didn't challenge the fundamental power dynamics between men and women.

3. Gender and Development (GAD) (1980s - Present)

• Concept: GAD represents a radical shift. It focuses not just on "women," but on "gender"—the socially constructed relations of power between men and women. It recognizes that women's subordination is deeply structural.
• Focus: GAD seeks to meet Strategic Gender Needs (SGNs) alongside practical ones. It aims to empower women and transform the unequal power structures. It insists that men must also be included in the process of changing gender roles.
• Interventions: Interventions involve legal reform (property rights, anti-violence laws), promoting women's political leadership, and actively dismantling patriarchal norms. Development is not just about economic growth; it is about gender equality and justice.