[Stoves] Women's empowerment

[Ronal W. Larson]

Dr.  Samer and list;  cc Nikhil

	Since you have highly recommended this article and Nikhil has panned it,  I hope you can add a few words on why you liked it.   I have read (really skimmed)  both the shorter and longer versions - but not seen much that related to stoves.  The exception is on the word “rape”, which you have written a lot on - as relates to stoves.

	Clearly gender issues should be foremost on this list.  Can you explain more on why you strongly recommended this article?

Ron

> On Oct 5, 2017, at 9:16 AM, Nikhil Desai <pienergy2008 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Sorry, Samer.  These "feminists from the Global South" did not care about the drudgery of cooking in women's lives. The Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 - where Mrs. Clinton led the US delegation if I remember correctly - had nothing to say about cooking. 
> 
> Nor for that matter the World Development Report on Gender, circa 2007/8. I am glad that even with Julia Roberts and Oprah Winfrey, GACC got the feminists to talk about cookstoves. 
> 
> Those women who understand "“empowerment” as the task of “transforming gender subordination” and the breakdown of “other oppressive structures” and collective “political mobilization.”" usually do not cook and have no experience collecting, transporting and stacking wood.  
> 
> Like "clean", women's empowerment is contextual. Take a survey of 15-year old school-going girls among the "households using solid fuels" and ask how many of them want to cook and how many still on open fires. 
> 
> If the objective of "contextual design and promotion of clean biomass stoves" is defined in terms of cook-friendly service standard - i.e, as "pleasing the cook" - I assure you a pleased woman feels less powerless. 
> 
> That is empowerment.  
> 
> Nikhil
>  
> 
> 
> On Thu, Oct 5, 2017 at 10:40 AM, Samer Abdelnour <samer.abdelnour at gmail.com <mailto:samer.abdelnour at gmail.com>> wrote:
> A great piece for those interested in cookstoves + social impact.
> 
> https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/opinion/the-myth-of-womens-empowerment.html <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/opinion/the-myth-of-womens-empowerment.html>
> 
>  
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