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DAWN's RESEARCH THEMES
DAWN's research and advocacy is focused on three theme areas:
In the Global Advocacy and Regional Engagments you will find the events and research within these themes, including the UN conferences processes such as Financing for Development (FfD) and World Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR), and other activities including the World Social Forum. Political Economy of Globalisation DAWN's first global analysis provided a strong critique of the dominant economic model. DAWN's theme of Alternative Economic Frameworks, which provided the focus for the network's continuing work on the economic growth model until 1995, was renamed Political Economy of Globalisation in 1996. Under this theme, DAWN monitors and analyses the systematic processes of economic globalisation and trade liberalisation and their impacts on poor women of the South, working closely with other global development networks for greater accountability and radical restructuring of institutions like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations system and (from 1999) the World Trade Organisation. DAWN also participates in policy-changing initiatives set up as a consequence of women's criticisms of the World Bank at the Beijing Conference (Structural Adjustment Participatory Review Initiative - SAPRI - and the External Gender Consultative Group - EGCG); engages strategically in mainstream institutions and development networks to engender their analysis and advocacy efforts; and develops economic literacy programmes on globalisation for civil society organisations in the South. The research coordinator for the Political Economy of Globalisation is Gita Sen.Sexual and Reproductive Health and RightsDAWN's second substantive global analysis, Reproductive Rights and Population: Feminist Voices from the South was produced for the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPC), held in 1994. The analysis illustrated DAWN's niche role in providing historical analysis, conceptual clarity and strategic direction to organisations working to secure gains for women in the areas of sexual and reproductive health and rights and development. It broke new ground by placing the issues of population and reproductive health and rights within a broader development framework that is people-centred, holistic, sustainable and empowering for women. The research coordinator for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights is Sonia Corrêa.Political Restructuring and Social TransformationDAWN's work on the theme of Political Restructuring and Social Transformation (PR&ST) began in 1998 and assumed priority within the network in 1999/2000. The work entailed developing a Southern feminist global analysis of the state and governance, power and politics and the role of social movements, in the context of globalisation. The resulting book, Marketisation of Governance: Critical Feminist Perspectives from the South, is DAWN's third global analysis. Based on the findings of commissioned regional research and consultations, the analysis strongly critiques global financial and trade institutions for remodelling the state to support global economic, financial and trade liberalisation and for eroding its capacity to meet national social development needs. The analysis highlights the challenges and dilemmas for social movements pursuing economic and gender justice in the era of globalisation, and lays down a number of fundamentals which cannot be compromised. The research coordinator for Political Restructure and Social Transformation is Viviene Taylor.
Political Ecology and Sustainabilty DAWN is very pleased to announce that Anita Nayar will join the DAWN Steering Committee as Research Coordinator of our emerging political ecology theme. From the outset DAWN's analysis has included an understanding of sustainable livelihood concerns of women in the global South. More recently as the margins of ecological survival are shrinking particularly for impoverished communities, and in many places nature is already 'answering back,' we recognize the need to pay greater attention to the health of the planet alongside our human rights. However, ecological issues cannot be disassociated from women's rights, including the adverse effects on their sexual and reproductive health, or from political and economic concerns over the inequitable allocation of natural resources. Our intention therefore is to develop DAWN's political ecology analysis from a southern feminist perspective, conceptually linked to our continuing critique of global trends in the body politics, governance, and political economy arenas. |
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