RFI: Men's Involvement in Women's Empowerment Projects
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Dear All,
I am a young woman from Burkina Faso who is also a graduate stu-
dent at the University of Minnesota doing a Master in Public
Policy. My concentration is in Community and Economic Develop-
ment, and my thesis is on the topic of "Men's involvement in
women's empowerment projects."
For the past few decades the field of gender has focused more on
women's than men, and much of this focus has been on capacity
building and increasing access to services. Today however, there
is a growing sentiment that the over-empowerment of women is
causing men to be disempowered. Similarly, many projects aimed
at empowering women have now started to include men in their
projects not just as participants but as beneficiaries just like
women. This approach is particularly common in the fields of
girl's empowerment, domestic abuse, and microfinance, where men
and women work together to tackle the issues that affect them
both.
Do you know of any organizations or do any of your partners who
work in the field of development have projects with mixed par-
ticipation? In other words, do you know of organizations dedi-
cated to women's empowerment who include men in their activities
and projects? This is a new area, and the literature is very
limited. Most of the information is available in the form of
project reports, so access is complicated.
If you have any information about projects or organizations that
might use this approach, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for your time, and your anticipated assistance.
Best,
Ghislaine H.Y. Ouedraogo
Graduate Student
University of Minnesota
Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
Master in Public Policy
Address: 5725 Nicollet Ave. South
Minneapolis, MN 55419, USA
Cell: +1-646-320-8422
mailto:oghislaine@gmail.com