On Whose Dollar?
The International Monetary Fund has been the subject of a lot of talk in regards to its relation to Myanmar. In a Reuters article the IMF is framed as being pivotal in the future economic success of the country, but what struck me most about this article article was how it so closely related to the AWID article, ‘The World Bank and Women’s Right’s in Development’. Upon first pondering the topic I was immediately critical of an organization that is headed by a privileged member of a capitalist society whose mission it is to aide ‘underdeveloped’ countries. In the statement released by Hon. U Hla Tun, Governor of the World Bank Group for Myanmar there was talk of the aid given mt the IMF, revenue and expenditures, and economic development, but nothing about how these thing effect the women of Myanmar. This is a critique of mine do to the fact that in some publications, such as the AWID piece, the IMF is framed as caring about, through its partnership with the world bank, ‘women in development’.
I feel it is safe to say that organizations align themselves with like minded organizations, and the same is true for countries. U Hla Tun is affiliated with the World Bank which is charged with focusing on the development of women for the last two decades, yet there is no mention of women in the address or in the article coverage dealing with the consequences as a result of the U.S’s involvement with these organizations and Myanmar.
So my questions are how effective is the IMF and World Bank’s feminist assertion when it is not expressed on a public stage? Does the fact that these and like organizations are headed by members of ‘developed’ countries and 9.9 times out of 10 American? Only speculation is offered here.
The AWID article actually talks about the ways in which he actions of these organizations are harmful to women, for instance when dealing with women’s unpaid labor and the scarcity of food. When this was brought to the attention of the organization they made aggressive efforts to show their dedication to women’s issues, but a few years after these efforts we see no trace of desires to continue this work in deliberate conversation.
It is my contention that these economic issues are the issues of feminists, but its not enough to simply say so. We have to hold people like the governor of the World Bank Group for Myanmar accountable for the promises they make, for the principles they claim to have and the change we want to see.
