The purpose of this descriptive study is to examine how two Western women‟s NGOs represent women in the “Third World”. The examined cases are the progressive NGOs Kvinna till Kvinna (Sweden) and the American counterpart Women for Women International (US).Qualitative research methodology has been utilized throughout this study. This thesis is also based on the social theory of constructivism and its ontological assumptions. Since both Sweden and USA are said to be strong promoters of gender equality- a comparative study design, examining two progressive NGOs is one suitable way to analyze the specified research questions. The analysis is based upon the article “Under Western Eyes” (1986) in which Chandra Mohanty discusses Western feminists‟ representation of “Third World women”, summarized in six main stereotypes. Mohanty‟s six claims regarding Western representation of “Third World women” designed the framework that has been used to analyze the collected data, which consists of the two organization‟s own material that is available on their individual websites. The formulated research questions asks whether Kvinna till Kvinna and Women for Women International represent “Third World women” as a homogeneous group sharing a similar experience of oppression in the ways described by Mohanty and if there are any differences in the ways of representation when comparing Kvinna till Kvinna and Women for Women International.

<p>This thesis is an analysis of how international policies on HIV prevention can be understood through a postcolonial perspective and how these prevention strategies are reflected nationally and locally in Babati, Tanzania. To gain knowledge of these aims I have focused on UNAIDS and the US’ government policies to get an idea of where the international discourse about HIV prevention stands. My empirical data in Babati is collected by semi-structural interviews with people who work with HIV prevention. I have used Chandra Talpade Mohanty’s understanding of Third World women, together with Jenny Kitzinger theory about women in HIV discourses and Karen M Booth’s view of how international policies are trying to empower women to reduce their risk of HIV infection. To assist my analysis I have focused on three notions, which are recurring in the HIV prevention discourse, these are: empowerment of women, condom use and sexual behaviour. These notions help to establish the HIV discourse and later I have compared the results with my theoretical framework and empirical findings. My final conclusion is that international policies on HIV prevention can be seen as imperialistic as they are promoting a certain change in sexual behaviour, such as reduction of partners and abstinence until marriage.</p>

This thesis is an analysis of how international policies on HIV prevention can be understood through a postcolonial perspective and how these prevention strategies are reflected nationally and locally in Babati, Tanzania. To gain knowledge of these aims I have focused on UNAIDS and the US’ government policies to get an idea of where the international discourse about HIV prevention stands. My empirical data in Babati is collected by semi-structural interviews with people who work with HIV prevention. I have used Chandra Talpade Mohanty’s understanding of Third World women, together with Jenny Kitzinger theory about women in HIV discourses and Karen M Booth’s view of how international policies are trying to empower women to reduce their risk of HIV infection. To assist my analysis I have focused on three notions, which are recurring in the HIV prevention discourse, these are: empowerment of women, condom use and sexual behaviour. These notions help to establish the HIV discourse and later I have compared the results with my theoretical framework and empirical findings. My final conclusion is that international policies on HIV prevention can be seen as imperialistic as they are promoting a certain change in sexual behaviour, such as reduction of partners and abstinence until marriage.

This MA thesis examines the decision-making capacity of young women married during adolescence within the context of their sexual and reproductive health in an urban ghetto in the city of Ahmedabad, India. Specifically, the development literature on married female adolescents (MFAs) is characterized by negative health indicators such as higher rates of unwanted pregnancies, reproductive tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases, high infant and maternal mortality and morbidity coupled with the phenomenon of early marriage, poverty and an overall lower social status. The result is a disempowering discourse that constructs and presents them as powerless victims who lack any decision-making capacity and are perpetually oppressed. This research is an effort to move the discussions of “Other third world women” outside the realm of victimization by challenging and destabilizing this disempowering, hegemonic discourse. We must ask what does decision making look like for these women, as exercised within the context of their sexual and reproductive health. This qualitative analysis is informed by primary research through focus groups and semi-structured interviews with young married women, and was conducted with the help of a local NGO, Mahila Patchwork Co-operative Society. The study provides insights on the young married women’s participation and role in determining their own health outcomes (negative and positive) to better inform programs and services offered by the community NGOs.

This MA thesis examines the decision-making capacity of young women married during adolescence within the context of their sexual and reproductive health in an urban ghetto in the city of Ahmedabad, India. Specifically, the development literature on married female adolescents (MFAs) is characterized by negative health indicators such as higher rates of unwanted pregnancies, reproductive tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases, high infant and maternal mortality and morbidity coupled with the phenomenon of early marriage, poverty and an overall lower social status. The result is a disempowering discourse that constructs and presents them as powerless victims who lack any decision-making capacity and are perpetually oppressed. This research is an effort to move the discussions of “Other third world women” outside the realm of victimization by challenging and destabilizing this disempowering, hegemonic discourse. We must ask what does decision making look like for these women, as exercised within the context of their sexual and reproductive health. This qualitative analysis is informed by primary research through focus groups and semi-structured interviews with young married women, and was conducted with the help of a local NGO, Mahila Patchwork Co-operative Society. The study provides insights on the young married women’s participation and role in determining their own health outcomes (negative and positive) to better inform programs and services offered by the community NGOs.

This MA thesis examines the decision-making capacity of young women married during adolescence within the context of their sexual and reproductive health in an urban ghetto in the city of Ahmedabad, India. Specifically, the development literature on married female adolescents (MFAs) is characterized by negative health indicators such as higher rates of unwanted pregnancies, reproductive tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases, high infant and maternal mortality and morbidity coupled with the phenomenon of early marriage, poverty and an overall lower social status. The result is a disempowering discourse that constructs and presents them as powerless victims who lack any decision-making capacity and are perpetually oppressed. This research is an effort to move the discussions of “Other third world women” outside the realm of victimization by challenging and destabilizing this disempowering, hegemonic discourse. We must ask what does decision making look like for these women, as exercised within the context of their sexual and reproductive health. This qualitative analysis is informed by primary research through focus groups and semi-structured interviews with young married women, and was conducted with the help of a local NGO, Mahila Patchwork Co-operative Society. The study provides insights on the young married women’s participation and role in determining their own health outcomes (negative and positive) to better inform programs and services offered by the community NGOs.

This MA thesis examines the decision-making capacity of young women married during adolescence within the context of their sexual and reproductive health in an urban ghetto in the city of Ahmedabad, India. Specifically, the development literature on married female adolescents (MFAs) is characterized by negative health indicators such as higher rates of unwanted pregnancies, reproductive tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases, high infant and maternal mortality and morbidity coupled with the phenomenon of early marriage, poverty and an overall lower social status. The result is a disempowering discourse that constructs and presents them as powerless victims who lack any decision-making capacity and are perpetually oppressed. This research is an effort to move the discussions of “Other third world women” outside the realm of victimization by challenging and destabilizing this disempowering, hegemonic discourse. We must ask what does decision making look like for these women, as exercised within the context of their sexual and reproductive health. This qualitative analysis is informed by primary research through focus groups and semi-structured interviews with young married women, and was conducted with the help of a local NGO, Mahila Patchwork Co-operative Society. The study provides insights on the young married women’s participation and role in determining their own health outcomes (negative and positive) to better inform programs and services offered by the community NGOs.

The challenging living conditions of many Senegalese families, and the absence of a providing spouse, have led women to covet new economic opportunities, such as microcredit loans. These loans offer Senegalese women the possibility to financially support their households and become active participants in their economies by starting or sustaining their micro businesses. The study takes place in Grand-Yoff, an overpopulated peri-urban area of the Senegalese capital city Dakar, where most people face daily survival issues. This research examines the impact of microcredit activities in the household of Senegalese female loan recipients in Grand-Yoff by examining socio-economic indicators, in particular outcomes of health, education and nutrition. The research total sample is constituted of 166 female participants who engage in microcredit activities. The research combines both qualitative and quantitative methods. Data for the study were gathered through interviews, surveys, participant observation, focus-groups with the study participants and some of their household members, and document analysis. While some women in the study make steady profits from their business activities, others struggle to make ends meet from their businesses’ meager or unreliable profits. Some study participants who are impoverished have no choice but to invest their loans directly into their households’ dire needs, hence missing their business prerogative. Many women in the study end up in a vicious cycle of debt by defaulting on their loans or making late payments because they do not have the required household and socio-economic conditions to take advantage of these loans. Therefore, microcredit does not make a significant impact in the households of the poorest female participants. The study finds that microcredit improves the household well-being - especially nutrition, health and education - of the participants who have acquired significant social capital such as a providing spouse, formal education, training, business experience, and belonging to business or social networks. The study finds that microcredit’s household impact is intimately tied to the female borrowers’ household conditions and social capital. It is recommended that microcredit services and programs offer their female clients assistance and additional basic services, financial guidance, lower interest rates, and flexible repayment schedules.

The aim of this essay is to critically consider Arundhati Roy’s novel The God of Small Things from a postcolonial feminist perspective, with a special focus on how she models different representations of women, taking as a background the discussions within postcolonial feminism about subalternity and the representations of women from the so-called Third World in theory and literature, as well as the concept of agency from Cultural Studies. This purpose is reached by studying and comparing three main female characters in the novel: Mammachi, Baby Kochamma and Ammu, centering on their different ways of relating to the male hero of the novel, Velutha, an Untouchable in the lingering caste system of India. The essay argues that Roy has contributed with diverse representations of subaltern women in the ‘Third World’ who—despite their oppressed and marginalized status—display agency and are portrayed as responsible for their own actions.

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