The Voice of Marginalised Women in Controlling in Small Scale Development Projects: Some Lessons from India

Kilby P¹*

1. Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia

There has always been a tendency for the development expert to define what the development problem is and how it should be solved in almost any situation, particularly when it applies to the most poor and marginalised in any community. This view has changed little in the past fifty years, despite the work done on participation, gender and most latterly empowerment.

This paper explores through a number of case studies from Western and Southern India on how women’s voices can be heard and allowed control of development process3s. This however will require a fundamental shift of how development work is undertaken and a shift in accountability towards those most marginalised rather than upwards to those who control the purse strings. The paper ends with practical examples of how the voices of the most poor and marginalised can be heard in development planning. This may lead to some changes in the role of the so-called expert in development.

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