A decolonial feminist perspective on gender equality programming in the Global South

The feminisms emerging from postcolonial regions of the Global South have critiqued gender equality initiatives that adapt to, rather than dismantle, racist, capitalist, and patriarchal systems. They call for an exploration of how these initiatives become hosts to oppressive forces that derail gender equality efforts and worsen the health and well-being of women and girls in the Global South. Drawing on decolonial feminist perspectives, this paper addresses two broad questions: How does a gender equality agenda rooted in capitalist structures impact the health and well-being of women and girls in the Global South? Have attempts at transforming gender equality in the Global South been solely liberatory? The authors examined constructions of gender equality in 17 program documents from contemporary women and girl-centred international NGO programs in the Global South. The findings revealed four key themes related to shaping gender equality in programs and their implications for the health and well-being of women and girls. These themes include: 1) Reinforcing hierarchical knowledge praxis (excluding or silencing knowledge originating from the Global South, 2) Culturalizing violence (violence as an intrinsic characteristic of culture in the Global South), 3) Labelling work as inherently liberating (depoliticizing poverty, glossing over exploitative economic practices), 4) Universalizing human rights discourses (emphasizing neoliberal assumptions of personhood). We conclude by recommending a delinking from Western narratives and instead integrating a decolonial feminist perspective into gender equality programs to uncover and dislodge the myriad manifestations of colonial influences. Failing to do so, international NGO programs and policies will either be counterproductive or limited to partial and temporary success.