Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this paper, I explore new perspectives that an ethics of care approach brings to our understanding of, and responses to, poverty and development. Building on the works of care-ethics scholars such as Virginia Held and Fiona Robinson, I argue that an ethics of care approach provides a unique theory-practice nexus that offers alternative concrete ways to tackle human poverty that lends itself to both local and cross-border applications. In addition to providing crucial insights into women’s struggles in varied contexts, such an approach also uses the lens of care to re-envision human securities and vulnerabilities, thereby deserving of greater attention by scholars, practitioners, and institutions in search of effective ethical models of global development. I provide a case-study of Karma Kutir, a women’s development organization based in the city of Kolkata, India, to shed light on context-specific care-centered development practices aimed at alleviating poverty. I show how such practices are highly effective and provide concrete evidence of the value of an ethics of care approach to poverty and women’s development.