What becomes of women’s empowerment? : A case study from the Eastern Province of Zambia

Only abstract. Paper copies of master’s theses are listed in the Helka database (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Electronic copies of master’s theses are either available as open access or only on thesis terminals in the Helsinki University Library.Vain tiivistelmä. Sidottujen gradujen saatavuuden voit tarkistaa Helka-tietokannasta (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Digitaaliset gradut voivat olla luettavissa avoimesti verkossa tai rajoitetusti kirjaston opinnäytekioskeilla.Endast sammandrag. Inbundna avhandlingar kan sökas i Helka-databasen (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Elektroniska kopior av avhandlingar finns antingen öppet på nätet eller endast tillgängliga i bibliotekets avhandlingsterminaler.Feminist development researchers have questioned the efficacy of gender-specific development policies for decades. New to this debate is that some researchers (in this study, Andrea Cornwall for instance) are asking whether some feminist self-reflection is in order. This study approaches gender sensitive development projects from an unorthodox perspective in the sense that, it assesses the gender sensitive development projects just as any other development project, and relies on analysis outside feminist theory. The case in this study is the operational history of Zambian women’s NGO, EPWDA Eastern Province Women’s Development Association, EPWDA. The research material was gathered for this study during a six month field period in the Eastern Province of Zambia using ethnographic research methods. In addition to field material the study includes extensive archival material from the archives of Helsinki University Students Union