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Summary culture, gender equality and development cooperation

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Concerns about culture are frequently raised in relation to initiatives for gender equality in development cooperation. In some cases, program officers or partners are concerned that promotion of gender equality would “interfere with local culture”, and therefore feel that gender equality s...

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  • July 5, 2023
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Questions about culture, gender equality and development cooperation

Why this note? Concerns about culture are frequently raised in relation to initiatives for gender
equality in development cooperation.
In some cases, program officers or partners are concerned that promotion of
gender equality would “interfere with local culture”, and therefore feel that gender
equality should not be promoted for ethical reasons. In other cases, the cultural
values of a particular area are described as a major constraint on efforts for gender
equality, and therefore action is considered to be difficult for practical reasons.
Are these concerns valid? What should we be doing as development workers?

What do we mean When we talk about “culture” we often mean intellectual and creative products,
by “culture”? including literature, music, drama, and painting. Another use of “culture” is to
describe the beliefs and practices of another society, particularly where these are
seen as closely linked with tradition or religion.
But culture is more than that. Culture is part of the fabric of every society, including
our own. It shapes “the way things are done” and our understanding of why this
should be so. This more comprehensive approach is proposed in the definition of
culture adopted at the World Conference on Cultural Policies (Mexico, 1982) and
used in ongoing discussions on culture and development:
“Culture… is… the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual
and emotional features that characterize a society or a social group. It includes
not only arts and letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the
human being, value systems, traditions and beliefs.”1

How is gender Expectations about attributes and behaviours appropriate to women or men and
related to about the relations between women and men – in other words, gender – are
culture? shaped by culture. Gender identities and gender relations are critical aspects of
culture because they shape the way daily life is lived in the family, but also in the
wider community and the workplace.
Gender (like race or ethnicity) functions as an organizing principle for society
because of the cultural meanings given to being male or female. This is evident in
the division of labour according to gender. In most societies there are clear
patterns of “women’s work” and “men’s work,” both in the household and in the
wider community – and cultural explanations of why this should be so. The
patterns and the explanations differ among societies and change over time.
While the specific nature of gender relations varies among societies, the general
pattern is that women have less personal autonomy, fewer resources at their
disposal, and limited influence over the decision-making processes that shape their
societies and their own lives. This pattern of disparity based on gender is both a
human rights and a development issue.

Are cultures and Societies and cultures are not static. They are living entities that are continually
traditions being renewed and reshaped. As with culture more generally, gender definitions
unchanging? change over time. Change is shaped by many factors.
Cultural change occurs as communities and households respond to social and
economic shifts associated with globalization, new technologies, environmental
pressures, armed conflict, development projects, etc. For example, in Bangladesh,
changes in trade policies allowed for the growth of the garment industry, which
drew large numbers of women into the urban labour force. This process has
involved a reinterpretation of the norms of purdah (female seclusion) by the women


CIDA: Questions about culture, gender equality and development cooperation /1

, entering this employment and by their families. The much greater visibility of
women in cities such as Dhaka is also influencing public perceptions of possible
female roles in the family and the workplace.2
Change also results from deliberate efforts to influence values through changes in
the law or government policy, often due to pressure from civil society. There are
many examples of efforts to influence attitudes about race relations, the rights of
workers and the use of the environment, to name three areas in which cultural
values shape behavior. Efforts to reshape values about women and gender
relations have focused on concerns such as the number of girls sent to school,
women’s access to paid work, and public attitudes to domestic violence.
New cultural definitions are formed through a process in which some segments of
society promote change through advocacy and example, while others resist it. In
other words, societies are not homogeneous and no assumptions can be made
about a consensus on “cultural values.”

If it is As suggested in the point above, cultural values are continually being reinterpreted
“cultural” in response to new needs and conditions. Some values are reaffirmed in this
is it process, while others are challenged as no longer appropriate.
unquestioned? A member of the Cambodian government uses a vivid image when describing the
need to question the cultural norms that reinforce gender inequality. She says the
aim is not to overturn the cultural identity of the nation, but to focus on the
elements within it that oppress women:
“There is a Cambodian saying that men are a piece of gold, and women are a
piece of cloth. The piece of gold, when it is dropped in mud, is still a piece of
gold. But a piece of cloth, once it’s stained, it’s stained forever. If you are a
prostitute, if you have been raped, it you are a widow, you are no longer that
virginal piece of cloth. But men, whether they are criminal or have cheated on
their wives, they are still a piece of gold. When there is such a saying, a
perception, then there is something wrong with that culture and that’s when you
want to change it.”3

Are there We noted that gender identities and gender relations are critical aspects of culture
different interests because they shape daily life. Changes in gender relations are often highly
that we should be contested, in part because they have immediate implications for everyone, women
aware of? and men. This immediacy also means that gender roles – and particularly women’s
roles as wives and mothers – can be potent symbols of cultural change or cultural
continuity.
The political potential of such symbols is evident in the ways that religious and
political movements have focused on women’s roles. This has served to highlight
adherence to religious or cultural values – and resistance to “western” influences.
In such contexts, internal efforts for change become even more complex as those
advocating change can easily be dismissed as unpatriotic, irreligious, or tainted by
the west. However, religious beliefs and national identity are also important to
women. This is evident in the efforts by different groups of women to review
interpretations of religious texts and to reaffirm values and traditions that support
freedom and dignity for women.4
This example reinforces two points made earlier: that cultural values are constantly
evolving rather than fixed and that there are different interests intervening in the
process. Views about the role of women and about gender equality that are held by
one person or group will not necessarily be held by others (and views will differ
among women as well as among men). A balanced assessment of the potential for
gender equality initiatives requires consultations with a range of actors, including
those working for equality.

CIDA: Questions about culture, gender equality and development cooperation /2

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