Reframing resilience: visual narratives of women’s poverty and empowerment in the Global South

Historical and current realities of women's poverty in the Global South are based on structural inequalities, colonial past, and socio-economic exclusions. Poor women have been framed by mainstream media narratives, humanitarian appeals, and international policy debate for far too long as passive victims, reproducing stereotypes that disempower and deny agency. For this paper, the author critically examines the visual framing of women's poverty, tracing historical discourses and deconstructing new trends of change in media representation. It examines photographs used in journalism, poverty reduction initiatives, and digital storytelling to illustrate that the visual narrative of poverty changed from victimization to empowerment. The study also delves into the roles of feminist activism, grassroots mobilization, and the new media in reframing the representation of women's poverty. Participatory media has been able to give women the voice to re-tell their narrative, which challenged hegemonic representation and prompted policy reforms addressing system blockages. Ethical concerns of representation are also discussed, drawing on dignity, self representation, and not using exploitative images. The longer more stereotypical representations of poverty linger, the more emphasis on women's agencies in visual messages is necessary to challenge systematic inequalities and create positive socio-economic change. In chronicling the change in representation, this study adds to the gender, media, and development literature, and highlights the power of visual representation in public opinion and policy intervention.