Crafting collective community-based economies by/for the marginalized: The case of Baluch women needleworkers in peri-urban Iran

Ashtari, Atyeh

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124637 Copy

Description

Title

Crafting collective community-based economies by/for the marginalized: The case of Baluch women needleworkers in peri-urban Iran

Author(s)

Ashtari, Atyeh

Issue Date

2024-04-21

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Miraftab, Faranak

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Miraftab, Faranak

Committee Member(s)

• Doussard, Marc
• Novoa, Magdalena
• Hossein, Caroline Shenaz

Department of Study

Urban & Regional Planning

Discipline

Regional Planning

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Community-based Economies
• Social and Solidarity Economy
• Diverse Economies
• Commoning
• Intersectionality
• Lived Experience
• Marginalization
• Social Reproduction Theory
• Equity Planning
• Feminism
• Iran
• Informal Settlement

Abstract

The worldwide movement of social and solidarity economy (SSE) aims to change the dynamics of poverty by replacing exploitation, exclusion and marginalization propagated by capitalist relations with practices of cooperation, participation, and inclusion. It operates by identifying the practices, organizations and initiatives that share similar characteristics and commitments, and linking them to this growing movement. Unfortunately, SSE proponents mostly fall short of identifying and linking the cases in the Middle East region and the informal indigenous SSE practices and solidarity networks, especially among marginalized and mostly low-income Muslim women. Furthermore, except for a small portion of studies, the proliferating literature associated with SSE remains mostly gender and race-blind and analytically limited in terms of the tensions, contradiction and nuances accompanying the central role of care and non-market work (not only at the household level but also at the level of the community and beyond) that shapes and sustains such practices and their broader effects throughout the community. Moreover, there is an increasing concern among SSE practitioners about the ambiguity of how solidarity works in practice within SSE initiatives. Provoked by these glaring gaps in SSE literature, this dissertation takes us to the most marginalized informal settlements of Iran, at the border of Pakistan, to study a group of mostly Sunni-Baluch women needleworkers and their grassroots organization. These ethnic and religious minoritized women use their indigenous knowledge of needlework to establish a collective income-generating community-based organization and utilize their local community-based forms of Sandooqs, academically known as ROSCAs (Rotating Savings and Credit Associations), to extend democratic finance opportunities for the women in their community. Pushing against intersectional layers of oppression, they further engage in collective acts of care and community-based development by generating, claiming, and distributing resources for their collective and broader communities; and offer a more humane economic alternative within a highly competitive and exploitative needleworking economy in Iran. Using a qualitative mixed-methods case study approach with elements of participatory action research, this dissertation seeks to answer these overarching questions: (1) What is the role of marginalized women solidarity networks as instruments for poverty relief & economic development? (2) How do community-based economies actually work for/by the marginalized? To answer these questions, it draws on and puts in conversation various bodies of literature such as the Diverse Economies; the Black Feminism insights on Intersectionality and Lived Experience; the Black Political Economy; the Intersectional Feminist formulations of Social Reproduction Theory, Commons, and Commoning; and equity planning. This dissertation presents an approach with the potential to fundamentally transform the field of social economy from a charity-based and capital-centric model to one of community economies and solidarity model which could lead to sustainable community-based development. By recognizing and elevating the overlooked and undervalued roles of marginalized women and their solidarity networks as instruments for poverty relief and community-based development, we have the potential to transform the way resources are normally allocated in Global South communities. The Findings provide important insights for scholars, policymakers, community organizers, and NGOs; contribute to international community economies and development debates; and advocate for an interdisciplinary and intersectional approach to issues of social justice and equity in planning.

Graduation Semester

2024-05

Type of Resource

Thesis

Copyright and License Information

(Copyright 2024 Atyeh Ashtari)

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