“Girl Power? offers a compelling argument about how power operates in different ways in the creation, production, and publication of knowledge—not just in the field of development but also within the writing of history more broadly. In the field of African history, women’s histories remain marginalized, and Bellows- Blakely forms a timely contribution to the field, not least through her methodology, which highlights the voices and experiences of female actors in the period studied.”

“Girl Power is a nuanced work of global and intellectual history that pieces together the story of how Girls in Development—a particular kind of girl-focused programming was created, shaped, disseminated and cemented into international norms… . Bellows-Blakely has masterfully woven together the various strands into a comprehensive work of global history. It is a study that will be appreciated by both scholars and activists alike.”

”[A] compelling and sharply argued account of how African girls became key figures in global development policy during the 1980s and 1990s. Far froma straightforward narrative of empowerment, the book traces how diverse and sometimes radical ideas about gender and justice were repeatedly narrowed into a single, neoliberal framework inwhich ‘girl power’ meant littlemore than integration into free-market capitalism.”

“The book covers in depth the people and groups who included a focus on girls in the 1995 platform, showing how the neoliberal point of view, neo-feminism, and Christianity succeeded in shaping the narrative and policy toward girls.”

“One cannot help but be impressed by the level of scholarship that Bellows-Blakely illuminates in this book… Girl Power should be required reading for anyone interested in girlhood studies, humanitarianism, and development studies.”

“The book is a skillfully and carefully crafted history of African women’s organising and makes crucial analytical and methodological contributions to a broader historiography of global gender equality norms.”

“A fascinating, harrowing book. Through eye-opening research, Bellows-Blakely uncovers the processes of erasure surrounding the contributions of African women’s organizations and how their critical girl-focused research was co-opted and retooled into neoliberal feminist forms by international organizations and their multinational corporate donors.”

Sarah Bellows-Blakely is a junior research group leader in Gender Studies and Global History at the Freie Universität Berlin.

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