2020 Volume 96 Pages 63-82
A number of past studies have addressed the racialized and gendered representations of people from Third World countries by examining the public fundraising and advocacy materials produced by development and human rights non-governmental organizations （NGOs）. These studies have highlighted the
fact that the history of colonialism and contemporary global material inequalities tend to be erased in the name of humanitarianism and by the victimization
of Third World women and children. However, since most of these studies have
focused on prominent international NGOs located in European countries and the
United States of America, the representational practices of Third World NGOs
are rarely discussed.
This paper aims to explore how gendered visual representations are
employed within the materials that Third World women’s NGOs produce for
the First World public by analyzing a photobook published on the Internet by a
Bangladeshi women’s NGO that provides support for the survivors of acid violence.
The results of a quantitative content analysis and a semiological analysis
have clarified that many of the female survivors portrayed in the photobook
overcame their suffering and achieved self-realization through inner spiritual
strength. However, the images of these survivors also contribute to the dominant
logic of global capitalism by depicting women smiling as they participate
in income-generating activities, rear children in their capacity as housewives in
nuclear families, and initiate family planning programs in rural communities. By
obscuring the complex global forces of economic globalization that have exacerbated
violence against women in the Third World, the photobook reproduces
the colonial relationship between Third World women and First World donor
agencies.
