2023-09-28 14:46:10 +00:00
|
|
|
abstract: 'Electricity provides a range of desirable services such as the electric
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
light and the use of mobile phones and is regarded as a conditional
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
factor for economic growth. Gender equality and women''s empowerment are
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
also promoted as a key to development on the international agenda.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
However, relatively little is known about how the advent of electricity
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
in new contexts affects gender relations. The present analysis of
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
electricity''s impact on gender relations engages with the concepts of
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
care work and empowerment. Based on two ethnographic case studies in
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
rural communities in Uttar Pradesh, India, and Bamiyan, Afghanistan, we
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
examine how and to what extent the introduction of electricity affected
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
women''s care work practices and empowerment - and potentially
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
transformed gender relations. We also draw on our own empirical material
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
from other parts of India (West Bengal and Jharkhand). We find that
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
electricity affected everyday life in terms of providing important
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
resources and enhancing women''s opportunities to perform their expected
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
role as care workers more efficiently and in a qualitatively better way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The women appreciated this positive effect of electricity in their
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
everyday lives. However, we argue that in India, electricity at the same
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
time reinforced structures of gender inequality such as patriarchy and
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
dowry practices, and we trace this tendency to the conceptualisation of
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
women as care workers in combination with conventional, gender `neutral''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
electricity interventions. In contrast, there are signs that women''s
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
status increased in the Afghanistan case, which we link to the unusual
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
inclusion of women engineers in the electricity supply.'
|
|
|
|
|
affiliation: 'Standal, K (Corresponding Author), Univ Oslo, Ctr Dev \& Environm, Oslo,
|
|
|
|
|
Norway.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Standal, Karina; Winther, Tanja, Univ Oslo, Ctr Dev \& Environm, Oslo, Norway.'
|
|
|
|
|
author: Standal, Karina and Winther, Tanja
|
|
|
|
|
author_list:
|
|
|
|
|
- family: Standal
|
|
|
|
|
given: Karina
|
|
|
|
|
- family: Winther
|
|
|
|
|
given: Tanja
|
|
|
|
|
da: '2023-09-28'
|
|
|
|
|
doi: 10.1080/08039410.2015.1134642
|
|
|
|
|
eissn: 1891-1765
|
|
|
|
|
files: []
|
|
|
|
|
issn: 0803-9410
|
|
|
|
|
journal: FORUM FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
|
|
|
|
|
keywords: 'electricity; gender relations; empowerment; care work; India;
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Afghanistan'
|
|
|
|
|
language: English
|
|
|
|
|
number: 1, SI
|
|
|
|
|
number-of-cited-references: '30'
|
|
|
|
|
orcid-numbers: Winther, Tanja/0000-0002-9527-6063
|
|
|
|
|
pages: 27-45
|
|
|
|
|
papis_id: 83ec977db6a36e542bad38b4625ff84f
|
|
|
|
|
ref: Standal2016empowermentenergy
|
|
|
|
|
researcherid-numbers: Winther, Tanja/Q-7021-2018
|
|
|
|
|
times-cited: '37'
|
|
|
|
|
title: Empowerment Through Energy? Impact of Electricity on Care Work Practices and
|
|
|
|
|
Gender Relations
|
2023-10-01 08:15:07 +00:00
|
|
|
type: article
|
2023-09-28 14:46:10 +00:00
|
|
|
unique-id: WOS:000376267600003
|
|
|
|
|
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
|
|
|
|
|
usage-count-since-2013: '11'
|
|
|
|
|
volume: '43'
|
|
|
|
|
web-of-science-categories: Development Studies
|
|
|
|
|
year: '2016'
|
