Promoting cultural diversity and the rights of women: the dilemmas of ‘intersectionality’ for development organisations

Overview

Work with women belonging to indigenous groups in Latin America needs to take into account both their identity as women and their identity as indigenous people, and the interplay between these identities. Indigenous women do not reject their culture, but want to change certain traditions in order to promote justice. Novib and Hivos, two Dutch development organisations, organised a workshop with local experts to discuss how to support indigenous women. Two important dilemmas were identified: the tension between collective and individual rights, and the need to link and address social and economic exclusion with cultural discrimination. Holistic solutions are needed. Changing power relations is a long-term process, which also needs to deal with fighting gender-based violence. NGOs need to change their attitude towards their target groups, and think and work for the long term. This is a challenge, given the current emphasis on short-term, measurable results. We thank Chantal Verdonk and Els Rijke of Hivos for their comments on earlier drafts.

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