In her essay Development, Ecology and Women, Vandana Shiva describes maldevelopment as “the violation of the integrity of organic, interconnected and interdependent systems, that sets in motion a process of exploitation, inequality, injustice and violence”1 (6). Notably, her criticism of maldevelopment does not present it as the opposite of development, but rather the same process merely viewed under a different paradigm. Specifically, while development and globalization are typically depicted as positive actions toward a prosperous economy, by characterizing this “progress” as maldevelopment rather than development, one can see numerous accounts of its imminent consequences of poverty (particularly for women and the environment), as well as
…show more content…
Firstly, there is the larger issue of water and water-dependent resources being less available and for a higher cost than before. While this economic shift hurts all who are poor, it is more likely to impact women, many of whom depend on water access not only for themselves but also for their families. Additionally, women who relied on water for the purposes of subsistence farming are less able to utilize their environmentally-sustainable technologies and methodologies. As Yang puts it, these women are now in a position where they “find it more difficult to tap into groundwater to irrigate their subsistence crops using traditional, manual techniques.”
Moreover, the consequences of this maldevelopment specifically on the environment are unquestionable; after a history of deforestation that has warranted a declaration of water as a national security issue, the loss of 67,000 acre-feet of water is particularly substantial for a country whose lakes are already drying. Ultimately, there is an evident prioritization by …show more content…
The second change demands that men’s roles convert from “life-threatening” to “life-enhancing”8. Returning to the concept of men commonly favoring development projects in pursuit of its immediate profits, this conversion would have men only go after profits that are sustainable and contribute to humanity and nature at large, rather than the personal profits that damage the environment. The last of these changes is in regards to how one views nature: rather than seeing it as a large supply of profitable resources that must be utilized, nature must be viewed as an organism in and of itself that requires care and balance, not just exploitation. Essentially, these three paradigm changes are interconnected, and by replacing capitalist ideals with the combination of these three viewpoints, Shiva argues, the pattern of desecration and maldevelopment can be successfully
Firstly, there is the larger issue of water and water-dependent resources being less available and for a higher cost than before. While this economic shift hurts all who are poor, it is more likely to impact women, many of whom depend on water access not only for themselves but also for their families. Additionally, women who relied on water for the purposes of subsistence farming are less able to utilize their environmentally-sustainable technologies and methodologies. As Yang puts it, these women are now in a position where they “find it more difficult to tap into groundwater to irrigate their subsistence crops using traditional, manual techniques.”
Moreover, the consequences of this maldevelopment specifically on the environment are unquestionable; after a history of deforestation that has warranted a declaration of water as a national security issue, the loss of 67,000 acre-feet of water is particularly substantial for a country whose lakes are already drying. Ultimately, there is an evident prioritization by …show more content…
The second change demands that men’s roles convert from “life-threatening” to “life-enhancing”8. Returning to the concept of men commonly favoring development projects in pursuit of its immediate profits, this conversion would have men only go after profits that are sustainable and contribute to humanity and nature at large, rather than the personal profits that damage the environment. The last of these changes is in regards to how one views nature: rather than seeing it as a large supply of profitable resources that must be utilized, nature must be viewed as an organism in and of itself that requires care and balance, not just exploitation. Essentially, these three paradigm changes are interconnected, and by replacing capitalist ideals with the combination of these three viewpoints, Shiva argues, the pattern of desecration and maldevelopment can be successfully