NGOs function as imperial weapons in feminist guise in the Afghan war
Evidence
A network of well-funded NGOs, in collaboration with the UN and its various agencies, has produced what has been referred to as a neoliberal aid regime. Inderpal Grewal and Victoria Bernal noted that in 2000, NGOs disbursed between twelve and fifteen billion dollars and that by 2012, the NGO sector had become more powerful than the state in some parts of the world. Sociologist Zakia Salime’s analysis of the Moroccan context sheds light on the alliances between the state, feminist organizations, and the UN, highlighting how these alliances and NGO involvement are another means through which imperial feminism is reproduced. NGOs, particularly those that receive large grants from corporate sources, have thus become the new missionaries of empire bolstering neoliberal capitalism. General Colin Powell observed that NGOs were a “force multiplier” and “an important part of our combat team” in the Afghan war. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 311
Categorization
- XREF: Directly extends the imperial-feminism mechanism in the vault — Powell’s NGO-as-‘force multiplier’ quote is a strong citable corroborant for Aziz’s claim that ‘gender justice’ rhetoric services war. — connects to: Feminist framing of Afghan women’s oppression concealed harm from U.S. bombing and food-aid disruption. — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race…, 576; NGOs function as corporate-funded missionaries serving imperial warfare; Feminist activists are as implicated in empire as soldiers are — Sherene Razack, Casting Out: The Eviction of Muslims…, 65 (+14 more)
- SHARE: The Colin Powell ‘force multiplier / combat team’ quote about NGOs is a sharp, quotable line a researcher into imperial feminism would want.
Broader Connections
- Feminist framing of Afghan women’s oppression concealed harm from U.S. bombing and food-aid disruption.
#expands(0.95) — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 576 - NGOs’ investigate-expose-shame method fit markets but welcomed military intervention
#expands(0.90) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 61 - Governments weaponize feminist rhetoric to justify wars.
#corroborates(0.85) — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 589 - War-on-terror rhetoric recruits women’s rights to justify imperial conquest
#corroborates(0.85) — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 210 - Feminist rhetoric was co-opted to justify the war on terror
#corroborates(0.85) — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 210 - Liberal humanitarian rhetoric masks imperial violence and infantilizes its targets
#corroborates(0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 471 - Imperial feminism frames saving Muslim women as the West’s civilizing mission
#corroborates(0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 294 - NGOs function as corporate-funded missionaries serving imperial warfare
#corroborates(0.80) - NGOs have become more powerful than states as privatized feminist agents
#expands(0.80) - News juxtaposed Afghan women’s horrors against liberation images to justify war
#exemplifies(0.80) — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 533 - Western feminist outrage over the burka served imperial war aims
#exemplifies(0.80) — Saba Mahmood, Politics of Piety, 1303 - Some American feminism serves imperial goals toward Muslim women.
#corroborates(0.80) - Humanitarian concern for Muslim women weaponizes their bodies for imperial agendas.
#corroborates(0.80) — Carl W. Ernst, Islamophobia in America_ The Anatomy of…, 50 - Feminist rhetoric can function as a tool of imperial and nationalist agendas
#corroborates(0.80) - Feminist activists are as implicated in empire as soldiers are
#expands(0.75) — Sherene Razack, Casting Out, 65