DIPLOMARBEIT - ÖH Uni Wien - Universität Wien

esources and an improvement of the judicial system. In the long term GAD wants „toempower women through collective action, to encourage women to challenge genderideologies and institutions that subordinate women” (Parpart 1995: 236). In order to achieveits goals, a specific gender perspective should be obligate in all projects and programmes ofdevelopment cooperation, be it NGOs, the EU or the UN. It is also an important concern ofGAD to include men in all projects (Pichler 2003: 58) because there can be no change ininequitable gender relations without the cooperation of women and men (Cornwall/Brock2005: 2). It is further essential to be aware of the interdependency between women and menand to avoid constructing selective images of women as victims and “deserving poor”(Cornwall/Brock 2005: 2) and men as useless members of society. Keeping the focus on thenegative aspects of the relationships between men and women, men always remain theproblem while their possible other roles that could support and advocate women, areneglected (Cornwall/Brock 2005: 2). These assumptions that “women-in-general areeverywhere oppressed by men-in-general towards an appreciation of the complexity of genderand gender relations” (Cornwall/Brock 2005: 2) and that women can only win when men losehave to be dismissed. Otherwise, by not overcoming these stereotypes big opportunities tomake a difference will be lost (Cornwall/Brock 2005: 2).The implementation of GAD is more difficult than that of WID because the changing ofgender norms can be seen as cultural interference. It demands the change of structures interms of existing social, economic and cultural processes and challenges existing gender rolesthat oppress women and considers them as active participants of change, rather than recipientsof development aid (Rathgeber 1995: 204ff.). Some programmes that worked with WID lateradopted GAD. In 1985 women activists of the South finally became publicly involved in thedevelopment discourse and established the DAWN network.2.2.3. Development Alternatives with Women for a ew Era (DAW )The network `Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era` (DAWN) is a networkof postcolonial feminists of the South. The first time they gained attention was at the WorldWomen Conference in Nairobi 1985 when they presented their manifest `Development, Crisisand Alternative Visions. Third World Women´s Perspectives` which included theempowerment approach was presented (Kerner 1999: 61ff.). The women of DAWN were socalled`Third world women` with the purpose of empowering women, not only from male, butalso from colonial and neo-colonial oppression. “[T]he struggle against gender subordination21