As a structure and a discourse, gender permeates all areas of human social life. Yet gender was not always visible in development discourse, so that ‘gender’ as an analytical category and gender mainstreaming as key strategy in development cooperation were adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing 1995). The UN would later promote the Women, Peace and Security (WPS 2000) Agenda to address gender-based violence, especially rape and other forms of violent conflict, and highlight women’s roles in peacebuilding. In this iteration, gender mainstreaming takes the form of protection and empowerment. Gender equality was one of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals for 2015, and still pursued in the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Despite global achievements, progress towards gender equality has been limited in many countries and sectors, and continues to be contested and politicized. Critical feminist, queer, and postcolonial approaches highlight that gender issues are political, historically rooted, and socio-culturally embedded – complexities glossed over in mainstream development interventions. Thirty years since Beijing, gender is a development buzzword, yet a range of gender-based violence persist and gains towards gender equality are under threat, including from right-wing populist mobilizations.

Course design
The seminar has a three-part structure and eight sessions: (I) introduction (sessions 1-3), (II) case studies (sessions 4-5), and (III) indications (sessions 6-8). The introduction begins with working concepts and the historical context of their emergence, linkages, and use. The case studies survey diverse perspectives and strategies in the use of gender and development in Southeast Asia, focusing on issues of land, conflict, and migration. The last part is on current critiques and the challenges that persist on gender and development as fields of studies and advocacies.

Learning outcomes
• Understand and analyze key concepts and selected topics on gender and development
• Critically reflect on how these concepts have been/are translated into development cooperation and academic studies
• Develop skills in reading and analyzing scientific works and presenting them to an audience