1. Religion, Gender, and Development November 24, 2004

2. Religion, Gender and Development Does gender inequality retard development? Is religion responsible for gender inequality?

3. Development as Freedom: Amartya Sen The goal of development is the enhancement of human freedom The enhancement of human freedom is the chief instrument of development

4. Gender Inequality: 100 Million Missing Women Gender-based poverty Infanticide Perinatal mortality Health Inequalities Violence

5. What Does Religion Have To Do With Gender Inequality?

6. Male/Female Sex Ratios 22 of 32 countries with sex ratios exceeding 102/100 are Muslim India has a sex ratio of 106/100 China has a sex ratio of 117/100

7. Male/Female Literacy Gap Muslim countries: 18.7 Catholic countries: 4.3 India: 26 China: 19

8. Variation Between Muslim Countries Turkey Indonesia

9. “The central values separating Islam and the West revolve far more centrally around Eros than Demos.” - Pippa Norris and Ron Inglehart, Sacred and Secular (2004)

10. How Does Gender Equity Promote Development? Increases GDP  Reduce illiteracy gap, raise GDP 1% Reduces fertility  Raise education level 3 years, reduce birth rate by 1 child Reduces inequality  1% increase in labor force with secondary education increases income to poorest 40 percent by 6-15%

13. The China-India-Kerala Comparison: China: compulsory one-child policy 1979-92 reduces birth rate to 2.0 India: non-compulsory family planning reduces birth rate to 3.7 Kerala: female literacy, health care program reduces birth rate to 1.8

14. Increase Female Employment Raises marriage age Increases birth spacing Increases household income Improves child survival rates Improves child weight-height measures Reduces spousal abuse

15. Progress in Empowering Women

16. Improve Female Political Participation Makes government less authoritarian? Improves welfare and health expenditure?

17. Women’s Empowerment: How to Get There Electoral quotas for representation Targeted investment in female education Microfinance loans to women

18. Case Study: Grameen Bank, Bangla Desh Female poverty and credit Credit and purdah Credit and gender discrimination Microcredit and Islam

19. Personal Status Law Liberalize and equalize divorce law Equalize women’s rights in sharia law Enforce property rights for females: inheritance, divorce, succession

20. Opposition Authoritarian political leaders Patriarchal family heads Religious authorities Women

21. Women’s Opposition The value of religious freedom The value of women’s autonomy

22. How to Bring Them Along: Frame this as a development program, not as a women’s issue Frame this as a local strategy, not a Western one Work with men, not against them Work within local institutions, not against them Secure women’s consent: do not take it for granted

23. Is Religion Responsible for Gender Inequality? Religion as a language of social justice Religion as a language of patriarchal authority Religion as a language of individual improvement Religion as a site of political struggle