ABCDEFG? Does Asset-based Citizen-led Development Engage Feminism and Gender?

ABCD KITCHEN TABLE TALKS: ABCDEFG? DOES ASSET-BASED CITIZEN-LED DEVELOPMENT ENGAGE FEMINISM AND GENDER? ABCD Kitchen Table Talks March 17, 2021

ENGAGE!

Women's Empowerment & Active Citizenship Does Asset-based Citizen-led Development Engage Feminism and Gender? | 1

Coady International Institute Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 2.5 Canada License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ca

©

All or parts of this publication may be copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes without requesting written permission, provided the author(s) and the Coady International Institute are explicitly acknowledged as the source of the material.

Any work adapted from this material must also be made available to others under identical terms.

The work presented in this report was carried out with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of Global Affairs Canada or the Government of Canada.

The Coady International Institute Phone: (902) 867-3960 St. Francis Xavier University Phone: 1-866-820-7835 (within Canada) PO Box 5000 Fax: (902) 867-3907 Antigonish, NS coady.stfx.ca Canada B2G 2W5 coady@stfx.ca 2 | ABCD Kitchen Table Talks: ABCDEFG?

ABCD Kitchen Table Talks: ABCDEFG?

Does Asset-based Citizen-led Development Engage Feminism and Gender?

ABCD Kitchen Table Talks, March 17, 2021 Hosts: Anna Sangai (TGNP, Tanzania) Robin Neustaeter (Coady)

Introduction The Coady Institute partners with five organizations to implement the ENGAGE program in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Tanzania. A key component of the Engage program is the priority placed on creating a co-learning environment whereby the partner organizations have ongoing opportunities to share their expertise, learn from each other, and collectively explore new ideas, techniques and tools.

If you have come to Nova Scotia, you will notice that we often do a lot of our talking and decision-making informally at our kitchen tables. The Antigonish Movement was organized around them and Moses Coady and Jimmy Tomkins, our founders, were known for them. We wanted to revive these discussions around the burning issues that are keeping us up at night about ABCD approaches. These talks are provocative, candid, and critical discussion circles on how to deepen our practice and thinking on ABCD. This Kitchen Table Talk was framed around how ABCD and feminist approaches complement, contrast and provide different entry points to addressing gender equality and power imbalances. All six of the ENGAGE organizations are applying feminist lenses to aspects of the project including monitoring, evaluation and learning, research, capacity building, and local community development grounded in ABCD principles and tools. In this talk, TGNP presented their approach to transformative feminism and how they are incorporating ABCD principles into their work. Robin Neustaeter than moderated a small group discussions and a plenary on how the two are connected.

Does Asset-based Citizen-led Development Engage Feminism and Gender? | 1

The TGNP Approach TGNP was formed in 1993 as an activist non-profit organization. TGNP emerged through a collective process of critical reflection by leaders of key women’s and gender organizations. Anna Sangai, Project Coordinator with TGNP, opened the discussion by describing the feminist grounding of the organization’s work in Tanzania. TGNP’s vision is built on transformative feminism which challenges patriarchy and neoliberalism and recognizes the intersections between gender, class, race, and power and social relations. Its goal is to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and other marginalized groups.

Using a two-tiered approach, TGNP connects the local level with the national level through gender-responsive and transformative research, analysis, training, capacity building, and co-creation of solutions. TGNP’s Intensive Movement Building Cycle (IMBC) is a 12-step approach that facilitates community mobilization on gender-based inequalities such as violence, forced early marriage, economic marginalization and other issues that are rooted in systemic patriarchal norms. Facilitators collaborate on participatory action research with communities, establish and support local knowledge centres, and connect local journalists to promote grassroots knowledge and activities. This transformative feminist movement cycle builds collective voice and action to facilitate interactions with government to promote gender responsive service delivery and budget allocation.

2 | ABCD Kitchen Table Talks: ABCDEFG?

As a more recent partner of Coady, TGNP has only recently begun adopting and contextualizing ABCD approaches to their work. This was deepened when in January of 2021, TGNP requested that Coady hold a specialized course on ABCD for their staff and network. As a relatively new partner of Coady, TGNP wished to explore more deeply what ABCD was and how its philosophy, principles and approach was coherent with TGNP’s own Intensive Movement Building Cycle (IMBC). Only two TGNP staff had previously attended ABCD courses, and as a project premised on ABCD, both organizations felt this would be an important entry point into shared and divergent understandings on ABCD, feminism, and more.

Like many organizations, Coady is grappling with how to effectively operationalize Global Affairs Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, especially in contexts where feminism is perceived as a heavily loaded word and concept, and is often considered colonial in both origin and intent. A key question is how we can use the word feminism effectively, identify shared principles, and operationalize them in a manner that is sensitive to local contexts and understandings. TGNP is somewhat unique in that it was an early adopter of feminist discourse and analysis, have operationalized it through their IMBC process, and understand it in an indigenous, African manner. The ABCD course provided the space for participants (including the Coady facilitator) to explore the similarities between ABCD, feminism, and IMBC. Through a reflective process, it allowed them to juxtapose and think about the principles of feminism, ABCD and partnership that FIAP strives to operationalize.

Does Asset-based Citizen-led Development Engage Feminism and Gender? | 3

The presentation then noted similarities and differences between IMBC and ABCD. The IMBC approach uses participatory action research within the transformative feminism ideology to empower grassroots women and men to understand the root causes of social phenomena and become change agents in finding communitybased solutions. TGNP contrasted ABCD is a way of thinking and an approach to development work. It is a conscious effort to focus on the strengths, abilities, and opportunities of a community. The emphasis is on identifying and appreciating a community’s assets and achievements and building upon that foundation. It is an inside-out approach.

While both approaches are community-driven, each has a different focus. TGNP sees that ABCD focuses on the power within a community and of its members to bring changes or solutions to issues affecting them. It explicitly focusses on strengths, abilities, opportunities, and connections that already exist within a community. In contrast, IMBC is a sociopolitical approach aimed at facilitating assessment and analysis of challenges, problems or situations. Its goal is to call for accountability of leaders and the local community.

TGNP shared several examples of how they have introduced ABCD to several of their initiatives. For example, Janeth John Kiko (Executive Director, Binti Makini Foundation) has been working with university graduates and school girls who are underemployed. She has been assisting them beyond their studies with knowledge, skills and opportunities that will help them get employed or employment experience.

Started with making furniture (sofas and the like). This went well, but they found they had left over material. Rather than throw this out, they used this to create hangings and paintings. They have been called to display their products at the research week at the University of Dar Es Salaam and to showcase them at the National Transportation Institute. Working together has also given the participants a space to discuss challenging issues: GBV and sextortion. They can also do the work at home, or to together.

4 | ABCD Kitchen Table Talks: ABCDEFG?

Another example was that ABCD was an ‘aha’ omoment for members of the Saranga District Knowledgge Centre who realized they had skills but also resources in their environment. Of four groups, one chose to use waste products from the market to make fertilizer. The group all agreed to pursue this activity shared the plan with their local government leaders who supported their plans. TGNP linked the Knowledge Centre with the Dar Es Salaam Institute of Technology to training in how to make fertilizer. Now attempting to get 0 interest loan to expand, build concrete tanks, get equipment (shovels, gumboots, wheelbarrows) to generate high quality fertilizer that can be sold or used within their community.

Central to TGNP’s success using ABCD has been starting with the principles that every body has something, often using the ‘glass is half full’ metaphor.

Does Asset-based Citizen-led Development Engage Feminism and Gender? | 5

Kitchen Table Discussion The participants then broke out into several rooms (“Kitchen Tables”) to have small group discussions before reporting back to the larger room. The discussions focussed on several key questions that the groups explored and debated.

Is ABCD feminist or is feminism ABCD? While the ABCD approach does not address gender specifically, it is inclusive and there are efforts to recognize and address inequitable gender relations. For example, ABCD’s leaky bucket exercise can demonstrate gender inequality and marginalization through analysis of the local economy. Recognizing the assets of a community can help create awareness of gender issues and reduce marginalization through economic empowerment at the individual and community levels.

It was noted that in situations where it may be difficult to address gender equality and feminism directly, ABCD can often address these issues indirectly. This can happen when the leaky bucket is brought back from the business to the household, which assists men and women in understanding where money is coming from, where it is going, and how decisions are being made. This can then be a catalyst for further conversations.

6 | ABCD Kitchen Table Talks: ABCDEFG?

ABCD appreciates the power and potential within people. It can be feminist when it recognizes that women are often the poorest and most vulnerable, and supports their empowerment by reducing vulnerability and dependence through an asset-based approach that recognizes their capacities and knowledge .

Participants agreed that to align feminism with ABCD, it must be intentional. By using a feminist lens, women become aware of their rights and ownership of assets and their participation increases in the community. One participant highlighted gender-based violence (GBV) as a concern. If GBV affects a woman’s health, her full participation may be a challenge. Using the ABCD approach, women gain confidence to become more active and involved in local development.

Does ABCD and IMBC complement or conflict with feminism?

Both approaches complement feminism through the appreciation of strengths in a community. IMBC enables community members by developing awareness of their rights. ABCD teaches community members that they have the assets to address their issues. For example, often women are not given equal opportunities to have a say in political processes and decisions. The ABCD approach demonstrates to women that they can contribute and participate in politics. Belief in one’s capacity to act inspires confidence to bring about change and opportunity. Confidence to act is the basis for people to claim the rights they have.

In conclusion, the ABCD and IMBC approaches are complementary to feminism.

While the approaches have different methodologies, they are focused on community development. IMBC can be used to increase awareness of the rights of all community members, especially women and marginalized groups. Once women and the marginalized are aware of their rights, their participation will help them address their concerns. IMBC develops knowledge and awareness. From the ABCD perspective, community members become more active and involved in identifying community assets and developing solutions.

Does Asset-based Citizen-led Development Engage Feminism and Gender? | 7

8 | ABCD Kitchen Table Talks: ABCDEFG?