Transnationalism Reversed: Women Organizing against Gendered Violence in Bangladesh (SUNY Series, Praxis: Theory in Action)

Acid attacks against women and girls have captured the attention of the global media, with several high-profile reports ranging from the BBC to__The Oprah Winfrey Show__. In Bangladesh, reasons for the attacks include women's rejection of sexual advances from men, refusal of marriage proposals, family or land disputes, and unmet dowry demands. The consequences are multiple: permanent marks on the body, disfiguration, and potential blindness. In__Transnationalism Reversed__, Elora Halim Chowdhury explores the complicated terrain of women's transnational antiviolence organizing by focusing on the work done in Bangladesh around acid attacks--and the ways in which the state, international agencies, local expatriates, US media, Bangladeshi immigrants in the United States, survivor-activists, and local women's organizations engage the pragmatics and the transnational rhetoric of empowerment, rescue, and rehabilitation. Grounded in careful ethnographic work, oral history, and theoretical and filmic analysis,__Transnationalism Reversed__makes a significant contribution to conversations around gendered violence, transnational feminist praxis, and the politics of organizing--particularly around NGOs--in the global South. Examines transnational movement building through a focus on acid attacks and organizing against acid violence in Bangladesh. Acid attacks against women and girls have captured the attention of the global media, with several high-profile reports ranging from the BBC to The Oprah Winfrey Show. In Bangladesh, reasons for the attacks include womens rejection of sexual advances from men, refusal of marriage proposals, family or land disputes, and unmet dowry demands. The consequences are permanent marks on the body, disfiguration, and potential blindness. In Transnationalism Reversed, Elora Halim Chowdhury explores the complicated terrain of womens transnational antiviolence organizing by focusing on the work done in Bangladesh around acid attacksand the ways in which the state, international agencies, local expatriates, US media, Bangladeshi immigrants in the United States, survivor-activists, and local womens organizations engage the pragmatics and the transnational rhetoric of empowerment, rescue, and rehabilitation. Grounded in careful ethnographic work, oral history, and theoretical and filmic analysis, Transnationalism Reversed makes a significant contribution to conversations around gendered violence, transnational feminist praxis, and the politics of organizingparticularly around NGOsin the global South. This book is an outstanding exploration of the complexities and contradictions of women, gender justice, and feminist organizing in the global Southand of the ways in which these initiatives and campaigns enter the discourse of transnational feminism. Piya Chatterjee, author of A Time for Women, Labor, and Post/Colonial Politics on an Indian Plantation This groundbreaking book will become an indispensable reference point for anyone thinking about transnational feminist practice, NGOs, and gender violence. Chowdhurys careful analysis of local and transnational campaigns against acid violence in Bangladesh is sharp and eye-opening. Scrupulously sensitive to the agency and experiences of actual women victims, Chowdhury offers a compelling critique of the ways violence against women gets appropriated in international politics. Lila Abu-Lughod, author of Veiled Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society Winner of the 2012 Gloria E. Anzaldua Book Prize presented by the National Women's Studies AssociationAcid attacks against women and girls have captured the attention of the global media, with several high-profile reports ranging from the BBC to The Oprah Winfrey Show. In Bangladesh, reasons for the attacks include women's rejection of sexual advances from men, refusal of marriage proposals, family or land disputes, and unmet dowry demands. The consequences are multiple: permanent marks on the body, disfiguration, and potential blindness. In Transnationalism Reversed, Elora Halim Chowdhury explores the complicated terrain of women's transnational antiviolence organizing by focusing on the work done in Bangladesh around acid attacks—and the ways in which the state, international agencies, local expatriates, US media, Bangladeshi immigrants in the United States, survivor-activists, and local women's organizations engage the pragmatics and the transnational rhetoric of empowerment, rescue, and rehabilitation. Grounded in careful ethnographic work, oral history, and theoretical and filmic analysis, Transnationalism Reversed makes a significant contribution to conversations around gendered violence, transnational feminist praxis, and the politics of organizing—particularly around NGOs—in the global South. Acid attacks against women and girls have captured the attention of the global media. In Bangladesh, reasons for the attacks include women's rejection of sexual advances from men, refusal of marriage proposals, family or land disputes, and unmet dowry demands. The consequences are multiple: permanent marks on the body, disfiguration, and potential blindness. The author explores the complicated terrain of women's transnational antiviolence organizing by focusing on the work done in Bangladesh around acid attacks--and the ways in which the state, international agencies, local expatriates, US media, Bangladeshi immigrants in the United States, survivor-activists, and local women's organizations engage the pragmatics and the transnational rhetoric of empowerment, rescue, and rehabilitation In 1999, ABC aired Connie Chung's "Faces of Hope" report on The television news program 20/20, which focused on the plight of two female Bengladeshi victims of acid attacks. While applauding the attention the award-winning TV show brought to this issue, Chowdhury (women's studies, U. of Massachusetts) is critical of international feminist, UN, and other human rights groups' co-opting of their story as one of Western saviors of third-world victims. She presents counter-narratives emphasizing the campaign of local women activists against gendered violence. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com). Feminist Negotiations : Contesting Narratives Of The Campaign Against Acid Violence In Bangladesh -- Local Realities Of Acid Violence In Bangladesh -- From Dhaka To Cincinnati : Charting Transnational Narratives Of Trauma, Victimization, And Survival -- Feminism And Its Other : Representing The New Woman Of Bangladesh -- Transnational Challenges : Engaging Religion, Development, And Women's Organizing In Bangladesh Elora Halim Chowdhury. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.