[Stoves] Women's empowerment

Thu Oct 5 15:59:05 CDT 2017

Thanks Ron and Nikhil,

Indeed, the piece cautions generic claims of empowerment based on the
dissemination of some form of techno-solution -- be it chickens or
cookstoves -- and as I read the piece I drew so many parallels with the
generic rhetoric spewed by cookstove-gender enthusiasts. Hence, I am a bit
surprised the link to how cookstoves are promoted as an empowerment tool is
not more evident.

I think the piece challenges us take into critical consideration the
aspirational messages that hold cookstoves to be a universal solution to
issues poor women face. Even if they are effective in one context or
intervention, benefits are rarely universal. Here I don't speak about
tangible health impacts such as reduced burns and exposure to smoke when
stoves fit the contexts of their use, or money saved by enabling households
to use less fuel, but the more generic apolitical rhetoric of empowerment.
As Nikhil reminds us, the origins of the empowerment discourse is indeed
more complicated and perhaps impacts may be conceived of in more basic
terms, of which cooks should decide for themselves, and not by advocates or
NGOs passing around free stoves.

Here is another piece that you may or may not see a link:

http://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/deloitte-shifts/women-energy-and-economic-empowerment/261/

It more appropriately look as the structural issue of energy access, but
still, fails to get away from the 'aspirational' rhetoric associated with
technology/entrepreneurship that in my opinion distracts us from looking at
real impacts. Like the work I have done deconstructing the rape-stove myth,
these aspirational memes can become so powerful they are taken as 'fact'
and uncritically reproduced even without supporting evidence.

Best to you,
SA

On 5 October 2017 at 20:40, Ronal W. Larson <rongretlarson at comcast.net>
wrote:

> 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> wrote:
>
>> A great piece for those interested in cookstoves + social impact.
>>
>> https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/opinion/the-myth-of-women
>> s-empowerment.html
>>
>>
>>
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