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A review by lattelibrarian
Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development by Vandana Shiva
4.0
There’s a story out there where a woman works hard to sweep and keep her house clean. And then a vacuum cleaner factory stations itself in the town, and all the women buy a vacuum cleaner--after all, they're so much more effective! Yet the factory causes so much smoke and dust to settle on the floor that it takes twice as much effort for the woman to keep her floors clean.
That's what's been happening in India for nearly the past century. More and more dams are being built, businesses are reliant upon the forests, and in "creating" opportunities for work and capitalism, they displace entire villages, separating families from the life sources that are water and foliage. And, of course, this isn't to mention the fact that the climate is changing and that much has changed in the past 30 years.
Women have physically put their bodies on the line while men have allowed themselves to be corrupt, gaining extra food and money while existing in a society that doesn't need extra food or mainstream money. Women are the ones doing most of the hard labor on farms and crops, and are the ones doing most of the labor indoors. And yet they are the ones being affected the most--health problems are on the rise for both them and their children (both in and out of utero).
But where are the men? Hopeful that development will lead to progress--though Shiva's book argues that progress isn't linear, and that developmental progress is not progressive for those who are most affected by it.
Staying Alive is a hugely informative book written by one of the most well-known land justice advocates out there. If you're searching for a place to begin on this topic, this would be it. Though this isn't exactly an easy read, it's a hugely important one that I urge all of my peers to read.
Review cross-listed here!
That's what's been happening in India for nearly the past century. More and more dams are being built, businesses are reliant upon the forests, and in "creating" opportunities for work and capitalism, they displace entire villages, separating families from the life sources that are water and foliage. And, of course, this isn't to mention the fact that the climate is changing and that much has changed in the past 30 years.
Women have physically put their bodies on the line while men have allowed themselves to be corrupt, gaining extra food and money while existing in a society that doesn't need extra food or mainstream money. Women are the ones doing most of the hard labor on farms and crops, and are the ones doing most of the labor indoors. And yet they are the ones being affected the most--health problems are on the rise for both them and their children (both in and out of utero).
But where are the men? Hopeful that development will lead to progress--though Shiva's book argues that progress isn't linear, and that developmental progress is not progressive for those who are most affected by it.
Staying Alive is a hugely informative book written by one of the most well-known land justice advocates out there. If you're searching for a place to begin on this topic, this would be it. Though this isn't exactly an easy read, it's a hugely important one that I urge all of my peers to read.
Review cross-listed here!