Make it Practical #4: Power Cartoons
Illustrating the the multiple dimensions of power via comics
The first three posts in my “Make it Practical” series were about empowerment as a movement and a term. They were about how the concept of empowerment has evolved over time and the different institutional, political, economic, and social forces that influenced this evolution.
Power is central to the concept of empowerment. Each of the three articles I reviewed referenced feminist analyses of power and, specifically, the various dimensions of power and how they relate to empowerment (and disempowerment) processes.
As Carole Biewener and Marie-Hélène Bacqué wrote in the article, “Feminism and the Politics of Empowerment in International Development,” (which I reviewed in Make it Practical #2):
“…feminist empowerment necessitates work at the individual level as well as at organizational and social levels. Indeed, it involves an articulation of at least three different dimensions: (1) an internal, psychological, or subjective level of empowerment in which a person’s ‘power within’ and individual-level ‘power to’ are developed; (2) an interpersonal and organizational level whereby a ‘power with’ and a ‘power over’ are cultivated; and (3) a political or social level where institutional and/or structural change is made possible via collective action.”1
In my experience, the best way to explain these different dimensions of power (to, with, within, over, etc.) is by using stories and images that illustrate its dynamism. I recently commissioned the Kenyan artist-activist (aka “artivist”) TeKarts, to design a set of political cartoons to illustrate different types and forms of power. I wanted to add to the great work of the folks at The Power Cube, which I’ve been using for years.
This first cartoon, which was inspired by the important work of the grassroots organization, Safeplan Uganda. In these four frames, we can explore the different ways that power shows up, how it changes over time, and how it is relational.
The first frame, for example, illustrates the concept of power over. Power over is what we typically think of when we think of power. It is about domination and authority, but also about control over resources and choices.
The woman appears powerless in this first frame, but the subsequent frames show the ways in which she builds her power - and that of her community. We see her up late at night researching deforestation. The fact that she can read, has a computer, and has internet access enables her to exercise her power to. She has the cabilities and resources to educate herself.
Then we see her taking action. She is demonstrating her power for, driven by her conviction that what the sugarcane companies are doing is wrong and unjust. She is beginning to mobilize others to join her. By educating her community and mobilizing them in protest, they are exercising their collective power, aka their power with.
Although not quite as explicit as the other types of power, I think we see her power within throughout all the frames. She takes each step because she knows that she and her community don’t deserve what is happening to them.
What other dimensions of power do you see in this cartoon?
Find this cartoon and two others by TeKarts on our website here.
Additional resources about power
I’ve drawn on a number of resources to help me understand the multiple and intersecting dimensions of power. In addition to The Power Cube website mentioned above, here are some other helpful resources:
Lisa VeneKlasen and Valerie Miller, “Power and Empowerment,” 2002.
Sarah Mosedale. “Assessing Women’s Empowerment: Towards a Conceptual Framework,” 2005 (h/t Alfreda for this recommendation)
Srilatha Batliwala, All About Power: Understanding Social Power and Power Structures, CREA, 2019
Learn more about TeKarts and Safeplan Uganda
Please look up the artist of these cartoons, TeKarts, and his online portfolio. Please also look up Safeplan Uganda - from which this cartoon draws inspiration - and follow their work.
Upcoming Trainings
We’ve recently announced several new trainings on Cynara’s Gender Training Platform. The line-up includes:
March 28 - April 1: Business, Human Rights and Gender
March 29 - April 1: Decolonizing M&E and Research
April 4 - 8: How to be a Gender Trainer
April 26 - 29: Human Rights, Gender, and Advocacy 101
May 2 - 6: Feminist and Intersectional Risk Assessments
May 9 - 13: Gender, Peacebuilding, and Human Security
Find these interesting? Please share with a friend!
Biewener, Carole, and Marie-Hélène Bacqué. “Feminism and the Politics of Empowerment in International Development.” ASPJ Africa & Francophonie 2nd Quarter (2015).
What a great resource and summary, I love it. I hink it is so important to work out the nuances of power. One article that really helped me also think about the nuances of violence was by jennifer piscopo about gender being the mitve, the form or in the impact of political violence. Also worth a read here : https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0032321719881812