THE FEMINIZATION OF HUMAN POVERTY IN ASIA VIS-À-VIS INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
An Ethical Review of the Adequacy of the Equality Agenda
Keywords:
Equality, Empowerment, Human Poverty, Integral DevelopmentAbstract
This paper seeks to contribute to the discussions on making integral human development real for all. The feminization of human poverty is a critical issue in this pursuit for integral human development. An exploration of some social, cultural and political issues particularly in Asia shows not only the extent to which poverty is gendered, it also verifies the complexity of contexts, valuations, and approaches. Since inequalities conflate with gender, ethnicity, politics, law, and economics, the growth in perspective to the human development discourse must find a broader moral basis to anchor on. We argue here that the recognition of human dignity and moral interdependence must ground the equality agenda. The moral consideration for authentic human development goes beyond any plea for equality; it is more adequately, the consideration for the common good — the integral flourishing of women, children, elderly, and all, leaving no one behind.
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