Listening to the Subaltern in Rwanda: Bottom-Up Gender Perspectives on Development Concepts
Listening to the Subaltern in Rwanda: Bottom-Up Gender Perspectives on Development Concepts

Summary/Abstract: While interpreting development through post-colonial theories, this paper deals with gender dimension in development context in Rwanda. Taking bottom-up approach, which emphasises importance of good knowledge of the local context, the paper analyses two indexes that measure gender dimension of development, and tackles identified discrepancies and gaps. Assuming that development policies and strategies are successful only when they have positive effects also on the most vulnerable and marginalized groups, this research focuses on the perspective of the identified subaltern group − house-girls in Rwanda. The paper presents discrepancies between the measures of indicators on which gender indexes are based, and the findings of the field research focused on the identified subaltern group. While gender indexes are too often taken at the face value by decision-makers, the paper draws attention to complexities of Rwandan society that remain overlooked.

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