The Future of Gender and Development after 9/11: insights from postcolonial feminism and transnationalism

The area of gender and development has been a site of critical contributions to the field of development studies and has been characterised as bridging practice, policy and theory. Since the policy of gender mainstreaming has been accepted, however, much of the originality and issues raised by the gender and development field have been marginalised and excluded from the development (policy) agenda. Some even argue that gender has been written out of the post- 9/11 development agenda thanks to the new global security regime. This article goes beyond these debates and suggests new ways of thinking about gender and development. Instead of arguing that it is 'dead', I argue that it is the site of innovative and critical thinking about development issues in a transformed and globalised world. The starting point for my argument is the insights provided by postcolonial feminism and transnationalism. While the former has contributed to feminist theorising through such concepts as representation, 'othering' and the silencing of Third World women's voices, the latter helps us understand new global realities resulting from migrations and the creation of transnational communities.