DVA4805
ASSIGNMENT 2 2025
UNIQUE NO. 206112
DUE DATE: 11 JUNE 2025
, DVA4805 A/2/25
Postcolonialism and Feminism as Critical Discourses in the Gender and
Development Debate
Development has long been presented as a neutral, technical process aimed at
improving the material and social well-being of people, particularly in the Global South.
However, critical discourses such as postcolonialism and feminism have challenged
these assumptions by interrogating the power dynamics, gender biases, and cultural
impositions embedded in mainstream development theory and practice. These
frameworks have enriched the gender and development debate by offering incisive
critiques of both the concept of development and the roles assigned to women within it.
This essay explores how postcolonialism and feminism critique traditional development
paradigms and reshape understandings of women's roles in development processes.
Postcolonial Critique of Development
Postcolonial theory critiques development as a modern reincarnation of colonial
domination, whereby Western powers maintain ideological and economic control over
the Global South. Development, in this view, is not a neutral process but one embedded
in colonial histories and power imbalances (Escobar, 1995). According to Escobar
(1995), development discourse constructs the Third World as “underdeveloped” and in
need of Western intervention, effectively continuing the colonial mission of civilizing the
"Other."
This critique draws attention to the ways in which development projects often silence or
marginalize local voices. Spivak (1988) famously posed the question, "Can the
subaltern speak?" to highlight how development narratives often strip marginalized
populations, especially women, of agency by framing them as passive recipients of aid
or modernization. This erasure reinforces the idea that Western actors must speak and
act on behalf of women in the Global South, thereby perpetuating cultural imperialism.
ASSIGNMENT 2 2025
UNIQUE NO. 206112
DUE DATE: 11 JUNE 2025
, DVA4805 A/2/25
Postcolonialism and Feminism as Critical Discourses in the Gender and
Development Debate
Development has long been presented as a neutral, technical process aimed at
improving the material and social well-being of people, particularly in the Global South.
However, critical discourses such as postcolonialism and feminism have challenged
these assumptions by interrogating the power dynamics, gender biases, and cultural
impositions embedded in mainstream development theory and practice. These
frameworks have enriched the gender and development debate by offering incisive
critiques of both the concept of development and the roles assigned to women within it.
This essay explores how postcolonialism and feminism critique traditional development
paradigms and reshape understandings of women's roles in development processes.
Postcolonial Critique of Development
Postcolonial theory critiques development as a modern reincarnation of colonial
domination, whereby Western powers maintain ideological and economic control over
the Global South. Development, in this view, is not a neutral process but one embedded
in colonial histories and power imbalances (Escobar, 1995). According to Escobar
(1995), development discourse constructs the Third World as “underdeveloped” and in
need of Western intervention, effectively continuing the colonial mission of civilizing the
"Other."
This critique draws attention to the ways in which development projects often silence or
marginalize local voices. Spivak (1988) famously posed the question, "Can the
subaltern speak?" to highlight how development narratives often strip marginalized
populations, especially women, of agency by framing them as passive recipients of aid
or modernization. This erasure reinforces the idea that Western actors must speak and
act on behalf of women in the Global South, thereby perpetuating cultural imperialism.
