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Street trading is a highly gendered form of economic activity practiced by the urban poor in most global south cities. Drawing from focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, this paper examines the everyday struggles facing female street traders with children as they negotiate access to contested urban spaces to make a living in Harare's Central Business District (CBD). The paper argues that public spaces in Harare's CBD act as both 'livelihood spaces' and places of intense vulnerability for women who have caregiving roles. Female street traders struggle to balance between selling their goods as well as watching for municipal surveillance. These challenges are dire for women with children. The women often engage in precarious strategies to evade municipal enforcement including using their children as 'shields' for protection from a highly repressive state machinery that is less sympathetic to the plight of the urban poor. Despite facing these constraints, women enact creative practices to lay claims to urban space. This paper contributes to the ongoing scholarly debates on gender and the informal economy in global south cities. We suggest that urban planning initiatives should be attentive to gendered experiences and needs to create more inclusive and equitable urban environments, where female street traders can engage in their livelihoods without facing harassment or violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's contributions to rangeland cultivation in Tunisia and the effects of climate change upon their livelihoods are both policy blind spots. To make women's contributions to rangeland cultivation visible and to provide policy inputs based on women's needs and priorities into the reforms currently being made in the pastoral code in Tunisia, we conducted fieldwork in three governorates. We conducted focus groups and interviews with 289 individuals. We found that men and women are negatively affected by rangeland degradation and water scarcity, but women are additionally disadvantaged by their inability to own land and access credit and by drought mitigation and rangeland rehabilitation training that only target men. Women are involved in livestock grazing and rearing activities to a greater extent than is assumed in policy circles but in different ways than the men from the same households and communities. Understanding how women use rangelands is a necessary first step to ensuring that they benefit from rangeland management. Women's growing involvement in livestock rearing and agricultural production must be supported with commensurate social and economic policy interventions. Providing all farmers with appropriate support to optimize rangeland use is particularly urgent in the context of resource degradation accelerated by climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender is emerging as a central analytical construct in exploring landed property ownership and tenancy relationships in India. This article explores the nature of land tenure and landed property rights in slums in India from a gender perspective. The author raises key issues that need consideration in developing a gendered vision of urban land rights, tenure, and reform by documenting some of the central findings of her field research conducted in slums in Ahmedabad, India, in collaboration with the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA). In each case, the author also draws out policy recommendations for redressing discrepancies in women's ownership of urban land and housing. Key words--gender, land rights, land tenure, slums, India, South Asia doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2007.02.003

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-8947.2007.00153.x Byline: Bipasha Baruah (1) Keywords: Public-private partnerships; Water; Sanitation; NGOs; Slums; Women; India Abstract: Abstract The Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) is a trade union founded in 1972 to organize women in the informal sector in the western Indian state of Gujarat for better working conditions and social security provisions. The Gujarat Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (MHT) and the SEWA Bank are independently registered SEWA sister organizations that facilitate self-employed women's access to housing and financial services, respectively. This paper seeks to document and critically analyze the experiences of MHT and SEWA Bank in partnering with the state, the private sector, funding agencies, urban local bodies and other NGOs in developing and delivering housing, water and sanitation programs for low-income urban families living in slums. Using MHT as a case study, this paper will shed light upon challenges and opportunities NGOs may face while collaborating with partners with different core philosophies, motivations, working styles, strengths and constraints. The paper also makes recommendations that would enable different actors to play an optimal role in partnerships designed to improve the living and working conditions of the poor. Author Affiliation: (1)Department of Geography, California State University, Long Beach, CA Article note: Dr. Bipasha Baruah is Assistant Professor at the Department of Geography, California State University, Long Beach, CA. E-mail: bbaruah@csulb.edu

The contemporary era boasts about the growing consumerism potentials among children. The advertisers accordingly are locating new product categories and redesigning their advertising campaigns to attract the children. Advertisements aired on Indian television of certain product categories portray the new changes in children advertisements. Such modifications are initiated to develop Pester Power in children. As Pester Power has grown to be a significant tactic in children advertising, the advertisers are trying their best to utilise it. The generation of pester power can lead to purchase actions. This tactic was initially developed and employed by advertisers for children products. But, now-a-days this technique is used for Family Products. Employing a Descriptive Research Design, the researchers have conducted a study on Pester Power level of children aged 8-12 years. Also, the differences (if any) between pester power level and children’s age was studied. Following the children consumerism in new product categories, the advertisers have located Tourism advertisements as one promising product category. Therefore, the study focuses on Tourism products. The study area chosen was Kamrup, Assam. The study revealed Pester power ranges between Above Average-Below Average Level. The findings also directed about the existing differences between the age and level of pester power for Tourism advertisements. Responses indicated that with age the pester power level varies. Further, the researchers also concluded that Age acts as an important factor for determination of pester power. The contemporary era boasts about the growing consumerism potentials among children. The advertisers accordingly are locating new product categories and redesigning their advertising campaigns to attract the children. Advertisements aired on Indian television of certain product categories portray the new changes in children advertisements. Such modifications are initiated to develop Pester Power in children. As Pester Power has grown to be a significant tactic in children advertising, the advertisers are trying their best to utilise it. The generation of pester power can lead to purchase actions. This tactic was initially developed and employed by advertisers for children products. But, now-a-days this technique is used for Family Products. Employing a Descriptive Research Design, the researchers have conducted a study on Pester Power level of children aged 8-12 years. Also, the differences (if any) between pester power level and children’s age was studied. Following the children consumerism in new product categories, the advertisers have located Tourism advertisements as one promising product category. Therefore, the study focuses on Tourism products. The study area chosen was Kamrup, Assam. The study revealed Pester power ranges between Above Average-Below Average Level. The findings also directed about the existing differences between the age and level of pester power for Tourism advertisements. Responses indicated that with age the pester power level varies. Further, the researchers also concluded that Age acts as an important factor for determination of pester power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic development activities in the Narmada River Valley, India, highlight the political, economic and moral issues of contemporary development efforts. The activities have not only led to the displacement of indigenous people but have also caused anguish on the women who have difficulty in adjusting because of physical and psychological stress, and the breakup of social ties. Thus, the Narmada controversy emphasizes the need to move towards a sustainable development concept which employs the right balance between economic development and social issues.

Climate change disproportionately affects livelihoods of poor and vulnerable people. The Upper West Region of Ghana is a climate-affected area where agrarian livelihoods have become unsustainable, with migration to the Brong-Ahafo Region (BAR) becoming a key adaptation strategy. There is little research on postmigration experiences in BAR. Using qualitative methods, this article explores migrant farmers' premigration expectations and postmigration experiences. The findings reveal that BAR is also experiencing environmental degradation, which makes farming less profitable. The study highlights the benefits and disadvantages of agrarian migration as a response to climate change, and the need for proactive policy action regarding climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We draw on scholarly literature on the phenomenology of power and disability to understand both the impact of acid violence upon survivors’ lives and the motivations of perpetrators. We employ a human capabilities approach, espoused by prominent development theorists such as Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, to propose policy responses and support systems based not solely on the provision of financial and material resources, but also on improving the social position of acid violence survivors. We show how engaging simultaneously with these frameworks will help move the political and philosophical discourse on acid violence forward and also enable us to frame more responsive and enabling policies to support survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]