Feminists issue in evaluation

In this infinite mysterious magical interconnected multi universe, my existence is on planet earth as Mira Savara. I hold a PhD, was previously with BBC World Service Trust, and am now an independent freelance consultant with the non-profit social research centre Shakti.

No… Don’t stop reading, I am making a point.

The introduction tells you that I see myself as part of my environment.

An opposing view is that I am the centre, an individual atomised self. I control my own life.

This as an example of how life is literally perceived differently. Different women, especially women from a different culture, have a different conception of a good life.

Research evaluation has tended to see the individual as the centre. I argue that research and evaluation need to expand the view. Because how one sees oneself, the view we have of life, gives meaning to different things.

Lessons Learned: I was once asked to design a massive women’s empowerment programme amongst a family based economic system. “Why?” I asked.
“The women are very oppressed by patriarchy, men, and they don’t want to change,” said the tired bureaucrat.
Interesting. He knows the politically correct word, the big P, I thought. “And why are you interested?”
“You see,” he tells me, “this international organisation has given us millions of dollars for expansion. But they say that it has to go through women-only cooperatives. And the women don’t want to join. The organisation says we have to empower the women so that they see that they are oppressed, and agree for only women cooperatives.”

Sounds familiar? So what’s wrong?

Should I be telling other women that I know better than them what is better for them?
When we do feminist evaluation we need to question how the project has been conceptualized and whether there is not an imposition of a view of the world. Would that create and maintain unequal relationships between civilizations, favoring the more powerful civilization?