In approaching this in this way actionaid uk illustrate the problem perfectly. They are a charity more concerned about western issues and western politics than those in the developing world.
Ive said this time and again. Those who have least power have no voice. They are missing from conversations like this precisely because they have so little power. We should be looking for the voices that are completely absent rather than merely those who shout loudest.
In theory the biggest stakeholders and right holders for actionaid uk's work should be those they set out to help. Women in the developing world.
They are not. Talking about bloody stakeholders etc in this way just emphasises how fair removed actionaid uk are from their front line work and how much they are just about paid charity jobs in the uk.
Instead this nonsense will be western charities who sit at the table and talk about this and decide the philosophical definition of a woman and how actionaid should proceed rather than there being any consideration for this being a complete first world load of bollocks which has doesn't stop the abuse and deprivation of women in the reality of the developing world.
And those charities will spend time (and money) running their charity and their stakeholders (all the little charities they donate to) will spend time (and money) having a circle jerk meeting to declare how they have considered the definition of a woman, how they have received the advance of Stonewall and how they will implement their institutionalised sexism effectively in a completely tone deaf way. And they will smile, say 'look how good we are. Look what we did' and then give themselves a big pat on the back. We all know that the outcome of this has already been decided because they are not focused on women and girls in the developing world - they are focused on what a woman means in the uk and their lack of ability to recognise and understand the simple word 'sex' is part of the equality act with legal exemptions and that gender does not trump it.
The stakeholders meanwhile will continue to get the crumbs off the colonial table and be instructed as to the definition of a woman going forward and completely missing the point that in order to campaign to stop sexism and harm in the developing world you have to understand what it looks like in the first world too otherwise you are institutionally sexism and this harms your ability to do you fucking job properly.
If you cant see sex you cant see sexism.
This whole exercise should not be happening. This is not hard stuff to do. Yet no one running the charity is prepared to be a grown up, put their foot down and say 'we are a charity aimed at helping women and girls who face discrimination and harm on the basis of their sex in the developing world' because they are too fucking cowardly. They are too wrapped up in first world drivel about gender which has no meaning whatsoever to anyone they claim to serve and is the political baby of out of touch campaigners using the charity to further their aims over and above the ambition and purpose of the charity.
Once again, their reaction should make you sit up, pay attention and avoid like the plague because they dont give a shit about the issues they are campaigning against.