Beyond ‘victims’ and ‘heroines’: Constructing ‘girlhood’ in international development

Abstract

Girls are receiving increasing attention from international development actors. However, this attention has been insufficiently analyzed within development studies. Therefore, this article aims to reflect on the emergence of girls as a focus of concern. The instrumentalist benefits of girls’ schooling and awareness of the disproportionally high rates of HIV infection amongst adolescent girls stand out as two major reasons why development actors have focused on girls. Whilst these constitute worthy issues, analysis of the construction of girlhood suggests that problematic depictions of girls as either ‘victims’ or ‘heroines’ are pervasive and prevent the understanding of the complexities of girls’ lives.