Underlying Factors for Gender Inequality in African Agriculture

Transcription

1 Underlying Factors for Gender Inequality in African Agriculture Gender perspectives in research for development (R4D), Annual Conference North-South Centre, ETH Zurich, Tuesday, June 12, 2012 Chinwe Ifejika Speranza (PhD) Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Switzerland

2 Outline > Importance of women in agricultural production > Gender inequality in African agriculture > Limited rural women s individual capabilities > Limited rural women s collective capabilities > Socio-cultural, policy contexts and gender equality > Development matters for gender equality > Conclusions 2

3 Contribution of African Women to Agricultural Production Source IAASTD 2009, p.108 > Yet African women farmers have limited access to inputs Land, fertilizer, labour, credit, improved seeds 3

4 Gender Inequality in African Agriculture Characterised by women s > insecure land rights > smaller plots of land; less land ownership - 5% of registered landholders in Kenya are women > farming of less remunerative crops > limited access to credit relative to men > Agricultural extension services biased in some cases towards cash crops > The above factors affect African women farmer s capacity to increase agric. production, their access to markets and use of emerging opportunities 4

5 Persisting Gender Inequalities due to Limited Rural Women s Individual Capabilities Local level gender norms change slowly due to > Illiteracy & limited skills > Entrenchment in the socio-cultural context > Women s limited economic empowerment > Women s unawareness of their rights > Lack of sensitization > Poverty Ifejika Speranza 2006, AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium,

6 Persisting Gender Inequalities due to Limited Rural Women s Collective Capabilities > Women organised in self-help groups more than men > Group activities (e.g. financial contributions) often collapse during crisis period (e.g. drought) > Many women groups not well versed in advocacy > Interventions need to strengthen individual and collective capabilities to progress gender equality 6

7 Socio-cultural-, Policy Contexts and Gender Equality 7

8 Women s Insecure Land Rights > Legal pluralism - customary Law /statutory laws / religious laws - forum shopping for the enlightened > Primary land rights holders male relatives > Women s rights to land secondary, through male relatives > Exception Women inherit land under Islamic law > Shared rights - community land influencing access to fuel wood in the forest and non-timber forest products > Men control land and decide about its use and development insecure land rights weakens women s position entrenches inequality between men and women affects food production and food security and ultimately the sustainable use of land (AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium, 2011) > Interventions needed that support women s ownership of land (e.g. the Gambia, Ethiopia, Zambia) 8

9 Discriminatory Marriage and Inheritance Legislations > Tensions between State laws and customary laws (e.g. in Tanzania, Lesotho, Swaziland) > While State law addresses gender equality by according women equal status with men, Customary Law constrains women s land ownership or inheritance > Generally, no provision for joint ownership of land by married couples under statutory tenure, hence women s tenure rights are likely to become more insecure (except in countries where this has been done e.g. Ethiopia or under Islamic Law). Sources: Ifejika Speranza 2006a,b, AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium, 2010a, b 9

10 Migration and Gender Inequality > Migration tends to increase rural women's work load > In Makueni District, Kenya, about 30% of the male household heads migrate (Ifejika Speranza 2006a,b) > Despite migration, men still decide about crop production and proceeds > To address this problem, improved rural infrastructure development, (e.g. piped water) can reduce women s workload and well-being. 10

11 Existing National Policy Frameworks poorly Implemented at Local Levels Most African countries have adopted various international instruments to promote gender equality, e.g. > the African Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa (2003) > the Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW; 1979) > National gender policies (e.g. Kenya, Zambia) > Mainstreamed gender equality in other national policies such as on land, education etc. > Yet, implementation at local levels is weak. 11

12 Approaches to Promoting Gender Equality, e.g. Zambia > National Gender Policy 2002 > Quota system in land allocation, setting a 30 per cent minimum target for land to be allocated to women (e.g. Zambia). > Sensitization campaign appealing to all councils to implement this quota when considering allocation of land. > Creation of an Information Centre to inform women and youth on procedures for acquisition of land and the availability of land. (AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium, 2010) 12

13 Approaches to Promoting Gender Equality, e.g. Kenya > National gender and development policy 2000 > Promoting equity in power and resource distribution > Promoting human capital: Various proposed actions to reduce enrolment disparities between regions and across gender > Addressing access to and control over land > Opportunities and Empowerment of women > Participation and affirmative action (at least 30% women representation) > Establishment of gender desk officers > Ministry of Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services 2008 Source: Ifejika Speranza

14 Development matters for progressing on gender equality > Often, the common argument is why gender matters for development yet under certain circumstances gendersensitive development can progress gender equality > For example: Own field work (2008) in a Samburu/Turkana community in Kenya revealed overlapping vulnerabilities: > Frequent human wildlife conflict > High level of illiteracy > Inadequate skills and capacity > Widespread Poverty > No infrastructures 14

15 Addressing Entrenched Cultural Views > In the same community, daily activity schedules showed: > Women work for 16 hours > Men work for 6 Hours > Men spend more time in social activities > Women spend more time in reproductive work. > When brought to the attention of male participants, one responded: > If the work is too much for the women we can marry more wives > Sensitization may help change such a perception 15

16 Conclusions: Multiple Approaches for Addressing Gender Inequality Most issues that need addressing are based on custom > Legislation & Enforcement not enough > Public education and sensitization > Raising women s awareness of their rights (education) > Pilot projects to show the benefits of equal land rights > Targeting women and men separately to sensitize about gender inequality > Caution with individual land titling > Registration of group-owned lands > Engaging with traditional rulers > Supporting women s rights activists (advocacy) > Building capacity - agency 16

17 Thank you for your attention Acknowledgement: The authors acknowledge support from the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North South: Research Partnerships for Mitigating Syndromes of Global Change, co-funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). 17

18 References AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium, 2011: Land Policy in Africa: West Africa Regional Assessment. AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium, 2010a. Land Policy in Africa: Southern Africa Regional Assessment. Walker, Cherryl. Land reform in southern and eastern Africa: Key issues for strengthening women s access to and rights in land. Harare, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Walker, Cherryl. Piety in the sky: gender policy and land reform in South Africa. Journal of Agrarian Change, 3(1 and 2): , AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium, 2010b. Land Policy in Africa: North Africa Regional Assessment. AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium, 2010c. Land Policy in Africa: Eastern Africa Regional Assessment. AUC-ECA-AfDB Consortium, 2010d. Regional Assessment Studies on Land Policy in Central, Eastern, North, Southern and West Africa: Synthesis Report. Fontana, M. and C. Paciello Gender dimensions of rural and agricultural employment: Differentiated pathways out of poverty. Paper presented at the FAO-IFAD-ILO Workshop on Gaps, Trends and Current Research in Gender Dimensions of Agricultural and Rural Employment: Differentiated Pathways Out of Poverty, 31 March-2 April, Rome. Ifejika Speranza C Promoting gender equality in responses to climate change: The case of Kenya. Discussion paper 5/2011, Deutsches Institute für Entwicklungspolitik/German Development Institute (DIE), Bonn, Germany. Ifejika Speranza C. 2006a. Gender-based analysis of vulnerability to drought among agro-pastoral households in semi-arid Makueni district, Kenya. In: Premchander S. and Müller, C (eds.) Gender and Sustainable Development. p NCCR- North-South. Ifejika Speranza 2006b. Drought Vulnerability and Risk in Agro-Pastoral Areas - An Integrative Approach and its Application in Kenya.PhD thesis University of Bern. Jütting, J., and C. Morrisson Women, bad jobs, rural areas: What can SIGI tell us? Paper presented at the FAO-IFAD-ILO Workshop on Gaps, Trends and Current Research in Gender Dimensions of Agricultural and Rural Employment: Differentiated Pathways Out of Poverty, Rome, 31 March-2 April. 18