Elinor Gadon's paper: DEVELOPMENT, DISPLACEMENT AND GENDER INEQUITIES

Above: Channeling waste water Elinor W. Gadon’s paper titled, Development, Displacement and Gender Inequities, was presented on November 8, 2005. Locating it in the state of Orissa, India, she traced the impact that “development” has on the lives of tribal women and men. Massive projects on irrigation, dams and mining have disrupted lives of the indigenous population of the region. The inherent imbalances that such investments impose on local communities completely uproot its members from their communites and many are being pushed into urban slum dwellings. The brunt of such “rehabilitation” efforts is borne by women. Devoid of their rights to agricultural land and its produce, women are reduced to working as daily wage labor, domestic help and even sex workers. Focusing on Salia Sahi, an urban slum in Bhubaneswar, Orissa, she presented a series of photographs taken by photographer Souvan Kumar, that vividly depict the struggles of displaced tribal women and men in spaces where they have been ostensibly rehabilitated. For some pictures visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42433998@N00/sets/72057594056880557/

Those who comprise GaIDI

The GaIDI work group meets every month and Brenda Gael McSweeny is the group Convener. While new members are welcome to join, there are those members who have been part and parcel of GaIDI since its inception. They are: 1. Brimm, Linda 2. Danforth, Nicholas 3. Eini-Pindyck, Nurit 4. Ellerman, Mei-Mei Akwai 5. Gadon, Elinor 6. Geckler, Cheri 7. Graves, Florence George 8. Gullette, Margaret Morganroth 9. Hamill, Mary Oestereicher 10. Lopez, Maria 11. Lopman, Louise Levesque 12.McSweeney, Brenda Gael 13. Nemzoff, Ruth 14. Reinharz, Shulamit 15. Rosen, Ellen Israel GaIDI has affiliates and they are: 1. Ahmed, Fauzia 2. Fishbayn, Lisa 3. Rosenzweig, Rosie 4. Tyre, Marcie And GaIDI's Research Assistant is Rajashree Ghosh. This blog site is moderated by Brenda and Rajashree.

Special WSRC Events

WSRC Scholars’ research in Cuba (Feb./March ’06) – later potentially followed up by an Art Exhibit: Contemporary Cuban Artists – Life in Cuba for a Woman

Core Action Plan for Academic Year 2005-2006: 1. Liaise with the Sustainable International Development program/Gender Working Group of The Heller School on potential areas in which to boost WSRC collaboration and interaction with Students and Faculty on key issues of Gender and International Development: Fall 2005 - Spring 2006

2. Panel and Group Discussions and/or Installation/s on Critical Issues of Gender in International Development Programs, such as:

• Trafficking
• Women in Sweatshops
• Impact of development on women revisited: how do women fare today?
• Women's livelihoods – self-reliant development
• Reproductive health – HIV/AIDS Fall 2005 - Spring 2006.

About Gender and International Development Initiatives (GaIDI)

Welcome to Gender and International Development Initiatives’ (GaIDI) virtual community! We trust that this blog will allow its participants and readers a visual, collaborative, and interactive space. More than a decade ago the Women’s Studies Research Center (WSRC) was established by Dr. Shulamit Reinharz, to build a self-governing community of feminist scholars-women and men-who would contribute to Brandeis University’s canvas while undertaking research and initiating thoughtful cross-disciplinary projects of the highest quality. Today this has developed into a community of researchers in the areas of humanities, social sciences, and art with particular relevance to gender. For more, do visit: http://www.brandeis.edu/centers/wsrc/center.html Under WSRC’s Scholars Program umbrella, we launched the GaIDI with the idea of exploring various dimensions of Gender and International Development. Our goal is to help shape and implement activities in this International Development and Gender domain, plus networking and boosting visibility. Research, art and activism provide the base for our involvement in the so-called 'developing countries.’ Founding Convener: Brenda Gael McSweeney GaIDI blog Moderator: Rajashree Ghosh For any feedback please write to gaidi.wsrc@gmail.com