10.032016

Gender equality as a pathway for sustainable development: lessons learned in Eastern and Southern Africa

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In order to advance sustainable development in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is necessary to address cross-cutting issues on gender, environment, and climate change simultaneously. Despite this, a key challenge remains in ensuring that such coordinated and integrated approaches are prioritised and implemented in national, sector, and local budgets. That is the problem discussed in this gender brief by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), which draws on the experiences of an ongoing partnership between UN Women and the United Nations Development Programme. The brief includes examples of gender, environment, and climate change integration in policy and programming in Mozambique, research in Malawi and Uganda, and programming in Tanzania, as well as in areas concerning the strengthening of institutional capacities and knowledge sharing.

 

The key messages highlighted on the first page of the gender brief emphasise that addressing gender, environment, and climate change as cross-cutting issues can advance sustainable development and empower women, and that this will necessitate the strengthening of institutional and stakeholder capacities. Furthermore, data are needed to demonstrate the added value of integrating gender into climate and natural resource frameworks to convince decision-makers to take action, while proven climate- and gender-smart technologies must be quickly up-scaled.

 

In terms of recommendations, the brief closes by presenting three key pieces of advice:

 

  • The experiences presented in this brief point to the importance of informing policy-makers and practitioners in the design and implementation of cross-sectoral gender-sensitive climate and environment policies and programmes.
  • Concerted action and partnerships leveraging the tools of government, the legislature, civil society, and the private sector are needed to enact the kind of policies that can achieve the SDGs.
  • Partnerships between UN agencies and other multilateral organisations should be strengthened to increase support for the integration of gender, environment, and climate-linked concerns in policies, budgets, and...
10.032016

Gender-focused, community-led development in rural Africa: The Hunger Project’s Epicenter Strategy

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The Hunger Project is a global, non-profit organisation committed to the sustainable end to world hunger. For the last twenty years, they have been supporting the implementation of the African created and led Epicentre Strategy, which has proven to be an effective, affordable, and replicable strategy that has helped mobilise nearly 2000 communities into 123 community hubs known as ‘epicentres’. Around 1.6 million Africans are estimated to have benefited from the strategy, and in 2014 alone, nearly 46,000 people were trained in nutrition, more than 850,000 kilos of food was stored, and 3,665 children enrolled in epicentre-based schools. This brief published by The Hunger Project outlines the Epicentre Strategy, draws on experience to provide lessons learned, and advocate the wider importance of community inclusion and women’s empowerment in sustainable development.

 

The opening section of the brief describes what the Epicentre Strategy consists of, namely four distinct phases: the mobilisation of communities through workshops, and the establishment of networks between communities, and inclusive of local government; the community-led construction of an L-shaped epicentre building, complete with food bank, meeting hall, public latrines, clean water, and a health centre; the commencement of work to address the needs of the community in health and nutrition, education, food security, microfinance, women’s empowerment, advocacy and alliance building, and the environment; and lastly, a two-year transition period where monitoring remains in  place, but the centre is facilitated in becoming self-sufficient and sustainable.

 

A case study is presented in the words of Dina Amartey, who joined The Hunger Project’s women’s empowerment programme and went on to become a trained animator in Ghana. Dina benefitted hugely from the meetings and activities, learning how to be more independent, and developing a vision. The brief goes on to discuss the work of The Hunger Project in empowering communities in: the leveraging of the resources of local government; sustainable food and nutrition security; education and adult literacy; health and disease prevention; water, sanitation, and hygiene; enterprise and youth development; establishing global partnerships; and measuring...

10.032016

Traditional gender roles of men and women in natural resource conservation among the vhavenda people in Zimbabwe: implications for sustainable development

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Natural resource conservation is absolutely key to the concept of sustainable development, yet environmental pressures continue to increase including soil degradation, water availability, and nutrient cycling. Within natural resource conservation, women play an essential, yet differentiated to men, role, meaning that analysis of gender interactions in relation to environmental management is therefore imperative for sustainable development. To this end, this journal paper explores the traditional gender roles of men and women in the conservation of natural resources among the vhavenda people in Zimbabwe, drawing lessons regarding participation, particularly of women, that can inform wider sustainable development efforts.

 

African feminism and post- colonial theory were used as theoretical frameworks to analyse the practices of the vhavenda. while a Harvard analytic framework and the social relation approach to gender analysis were used as tools to map the gender roles in their conservation activities. The research also used a phenomenological research approach as part of the purely qualitative study, to ensure that understanding emerged directly from the experiences of the men and women themselves. In-depth, unstructured interviews were conducted with respondents aged seventy and above, with five females and three males interviewed in the Beit-Bridge district in south west Zimbabwe. These were chosen for their extensive knowledge of traditional methods.

 

The research revealed that the type of resources that were of concern to the vhavenda people included soil, water, and certain plant species that were important sources of firewood, timber, and food. Certain trees are conserved for sacred and cultural reasons, with rules as to who can cut down trees, and how. Conservation of water was not gendered, with both men and women participating in actions such as fencing off water-sources from animals. Soil degradation prevention takes precedence over correction, with men cutting terraces to prevent soil erosion, and women planting grasses. Animal species conservation depended on availability, importance, and use, while the study also revealed that although women and men had different uses and benefits from natural resource, there was an ethic of cooperation, dialogue, and collaboration among men and women when it comes to resource conservation.

 

The study recommends that natural resource conservation in the context of sustainable development, that is, using modern technologies and methods, needs to embrace some of the practices of the vhavenda, among which are complementarity, cooperation, inclusiveness, dialogue, and negotiation between men and women. In promoting equal participation between genders, this approach will help to overcome some of the barriers of participation seen elsewhere, especially unequal gender relations that cause gendered...

10.032016

Literacy and education for sustainable development and women’s empowerment

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That women comprise two-thirds of the world’s non-literate population has been a matter of concern for the development sectors for decades. Despite a number of high-profile literacy initiatives and interventions, the gender disparity is persisting in many countries, leading UNESCO to publish this report examining the ways in which literacy is approached with regard to development. The guiding assumption of the report is that only by looking in depth at the processes of literacy learning and development practice can we start to address the challenge of narrowing the gender gap in literacy attainment.

 

Traditionally, educational policy-makers and planners have focused on literacy access and outcome, while researchers have directed attention to measuring social and economic benefits. Meanwhile, there has been a lack of focus on the social processes associated with literacy learning and development. This report sets out to take a wider lens on literacy, to include a more nuanced examination of how and why literacy programmes can contribute to sustainable development, and processes of women’s empowerment.

 

The authors begin by mapping the conceptual field of sustainable development, providing a short history of the concept from its introduction by the World Commission on Environment and Development in its 1987 report. The role of education within sustainable development is discussed, including the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD, 2005-2014) initiative. The report then discusses women’s empowerment, including in the contexts of formal and informal learning approaches, and raises issues regarding the limitations of planned development interventions.

 

The authors then focus on the implications of taking a sustainable development and women’s empowerment approach to adult literacy and learning, before reviewing trends in policy and programming. The report notes a shift from functional aims regarding literacy, such as teaching women basic literacy to understand specific development goals such as sanitation, maternal/child health, and nutrition, toward a more politicised rights-based approach that directly challenges gender relations and roles. Finally, the report reviews a wide range of adult literacy programmes through a gendered Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) lens that uses what the authors call the ‘three pillars’ of ESD: economic growth, social equality, and environmental sustainability. Programmes are grouped and analysed according to which of the three pillars is the primary objective, though the authors note programmes should, and often do, combine at least two of the three, and are preferably as cross-cutting as possible.

 

The paper concludes with recommendations and action points concerning four key areas that can, if addressed, help to ensure that literacy programmes can respond to sustainable development goals, and that education for sustainability takes a transformative approach to women’s empowerment:

 

  • Literacy policy should build on and strengthen the interconnections between the three pillars of sustainable development by developing a more holistic, cross-sectoral, and empowerment-centred approach. Suggested action points include the planning and evaluating of adult literacy programmes through the framework of ESD by governments and international agencies, and for programme staff and education policy-makers to expand collaboration across sectors.
  • A wider range of research evidence is required to inform policy-making and planning: international development agencies need to build research capacity in partner organisations; policy-makers should promote participatory approaches, at national and local levels, that include poor women and girls; and literacy teachers and programme staff should be trained to conduct research so that they can continuously reflect, learn, and teach.
  • There is an urgent need for education-focused sustainable development to incorporate a gender dimension, and promote a transformative approach to women’s empowerment. Participants in ESD debates must ensure that a gendered analysis of literacy, and a holistic, transformative approach to women’s empowerment, informs future ESD goals and strategies. Such an approach must recognise both formal and informal sectors as agents of change, and be supported through capacity-building in gender awareness and planning.
  • The post-2015 Education for All goals must explicitly recognise the importance of literacy to sustainable development and women’s empowerment. All participants at the conference must advocate for a stronger commitment to adult literacy within the goals. Additionally, governments and international agencies should increase funding for adult literacy, and mobilise the private sector in partnerships with national adult literacy programmes to increase both funding and...
10.032016

Women education as tool for sustainable development: issues and prospects

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Nigeria is a society in transition, and subject to a number of growth and development challenges, not least the systemic discrimination against women common to many developing countries. The best way to support this transition and advance human development is through education, particularly women’s education, so that Nigeria can make best use of its human resources rather than limit the productivity and contribution of one half of its population. That is the argument in this paper which explores the issues and prospects of focusing on woman education as a driver for sustainable development in Nigeria.

 

The paper presents a literature review to discuss girls participation in education, illustrating the positive impacts that can arise when girls are granted their human rights and allowed access to education. Also discussed is the debate on gender parity in education, conceptual frameworks, and the role of education in sustainable development, national unity, and integration.

 

A questionnaire was used to collect relevant data, and background information obtained from the respondents was interpreted and analyzed using t-test. The presentation and analysis of the results was carried out around the research questions that guided the study, namely: is there any significant difference in academic performance between students from educated mothers and those from illiterate mothers? And are there any significant difference in contribution to nation building between educated women and their male counterparts?

 

The null hypothesis of the study was that there was no discernable difference in either case. However, upon analysis, the author concluded that there was a significant discernable difference regarding both questions, thereby rejecting each null hypothesis. In each case, the results were more favourable on the side of educated mothers and women. From this, we can see the importance of women's education, both in terms of generational change and wider national development.

 

The authors note that despite these results, it has been been recognised  in many countries that the development process does not promote gender equity in the distribution of the benefits of economic growth, and that men are disproportionately benefiting at the expense of women. Women’s labour is too often seen as supplementary to that of men, leading to expectations that the development programme benefits will reach women via their husbands and men in their families. Furthermore, socio-cultural restrictions often inhibit women's active participation in the development process, an issue which has become a major focus of research and policy throughout the world.

 

A number of recommendations are made that, if actioned, can help drive sustainable development in Nigeria through education and women's empowerment. These include: the legislation of universal basic education (UBI) as a compulsory act, and free for every school-age child; punishment for parents who violate the compulsory UBI programme by denying their children education; constitutional provision for the fundamental human rights of women and girls, including education; ending economic discrimination, and allowing women equal property, employment, and financial rights; and ensuring, including via the constitution, that a reasonable number of political positions throughout the country are reserved for...

10.032016

Technical seminar on measuring rural women’s empowerment: key issues and challenges

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Global success for policy actions on poverty reduction have been patchy over the last 15 years; East and South Asia have seen significant advances, but in other regions the story is different, in particular in Sub-Saharan Africa where poverty has actually deepened. Facts and figures are abundant in detailing various impacts of such poverty, but consistent data availability and reliability is a huge problem, with universal limitations as well as context-specific challenges. In preparation for a 2015 UN Women technical seminar in Milan on measuring rural women’s empowerment, CeSPI drafted this issue’s paper to explore the specific issues and challenges associated with data gathering in the context of rural women, from design, to implementation, and analysis.

 

The draft defines and conceptualises women’s empowerment through a literature review, before explaining the strategic importance of rural women’s empowerment, and discussing the challenge of making proper measurements and indices. On this last point, the authors talk about the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of gender and development related indices produced by different international agencies, and note that all suffer from a lack of data availability. Lastly, the implications and limitations of the measurement of social institutions are covered, from family to government, with striking commonalities highlighted across all regions and cultures.

 

The paper then picks out ten key considerations from the topics discussed that are important to keep in mind when continuing the debate on proper measurement regarding rural women’s empowerment:

 

  • It is important not to lose sight of the conceptual level in a preoccupation with measuring trends and impact; definition, conceptualisation, and measurement must all be clearly related, understandable, and accessible.
  • Data availability and quality varies greatly around the world, which is a particular problem in developing countries with limited capacities. Such data cannot be considered comprehensive, nor complete.
  • Multiple, complementary measurements should be used when describing something as complex as women’s empowerment. Trade-offs are inevitable, and it is reasonable to limit investigations so long as these parameters are clearly communicated.
  • Data collection is expensive yet invaluable to policy makers, so it is important to make indicators count, to stand for something important, to be time- and place-relevant, and accessible to measurement, and for data to be accessible to as many people as possible to foster innovation and participation.
  • Research should be encouraged to go beyond the micro-macro and quantitative-qualitative paradigms, and experiment with different combinations of research methods and sources, including new opportunities opened by coming data revolution.
  • As many countries and actors as possible need to join in innovation programmes on statistics and data collection, at every level of society, and disaggregated by gender and socioeconomic factors.
  • Smallholder farmers, the majority of whom worldwide are women, must be recognised for, and empowered in, their eco-service provision, yet data collection in rural areas is difficult, complex, and lacking.
  • The debate on the post-2015 development agenda links women’s empowerment to food security and nutrition, recognising the multiple vulnerabilities and proposing transformative goals that address gender inequality and discriminatory social norms; a dual-track of mainstreaming a specific goal concerning gender equality throughout all other goals is required.
  • The last decade has seen a number of frameworks, indicators, and research methods employed, with many strengths and weaknesses identified; these can act as inspiration for enhancement and debate.
  • Finally, the authors recommend that the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) and its sub-indices represent an excellent starting point to measure the interaction between social institutions and women’s empowerment, as it reflects the root-cause societal practices and legal norms perpetuating gender inequalities.

 

It is hoped that these considerations can help inform what remains the key question for discussion at the seminar in Milan: how to practically improve the measurement of rural women’s empowerment in the short- and long-term, at national...

10.032016

Micro-credit as a strategy for poverty alleviation among women entrepreneurs in Nasarawa State, Nigeria

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All over the world, poor people are routinely excluded from the formal finance system, ranging from full exclusion in developing countries, to partial exclusion even in developed countries. This fact contributes to making poverty a major development challenge, with one often touted solution being that of providing access to micro-loans. Research has continued to report mixed findings on the effects of microfinance factors on poverty alleviation. However, the increased involvement of women entrepreneurs in the major markets in Nasarawa State, Nigeria, in the activities of microfinance banks, NGOs, associations, cooperatives, rotating savings groups, self-help groups, and savings mobilisation groups (or adashi) suggests that further investigations on the relationship between microfinance factors and poverty alleviation should be conducted.

 

That is the aim of this study, which was carried out to identify and assess the relationship between microcredit, and self-employment, education, training and skills acquisition, and economic empowerment in a Nigerian context. It begins by contextualising the needs and challenges of women entrepreneurs, and outlining the microfinance environment. Next, the methodology of the study is explained, which includes the adoption of a survey-based research design, a systematic sampling technique to select the elements that completed the research questionnaire, and a regression statistical method, employed to analyse the data collected from the 343 selected respondents of women entrepreneurs.

 

The null hypotheses tested were that micro-credit: has no significant effect on the self-employment of women entrepreneurs; is not positively related to the education, training and skills acquisition of women entrepreneurs; and has no significant positive effect on the economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs. Through literature review, the authors define and discuss the nature of micro-credit, and how it relates to women entrepreneurs, poverty and poverty alleviation, self-employment, and education, training and skills, and economic...

10.032016

Strategies for managing vulnerability of women vegetable farmers in the central region of Ghana

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Women constitute an important part of food systems around the world, as evidenced by the fact that they produce an estimated 70% of subsistence crops, and the fundamental role they play in processing and distribution. However, many of these women lack access to necessary agricultural resources, meaning that they represent a vast, largely untapped source of increased productivity and sustainability. It also means that they face significant vulnerabilities, which must be viewed in a gendered fashion. While research has explored the link between rural women farmers and environmental sustainability and food security, less attention has been placed on the role of rural women farmers during production.

 

This study seeks to fill this knowledge gap, with a look at the vulnerabilities and adaptive responses of rural women vegetable farmers in the Central Region of Ghana. Specifically, the study sought to determine: the vulnerability of women vegetable farmers in the Central Region; the strategies they adopted to sustainably manage their livelihoods; the relationship between the level of vulnerability and strategies adopted; and the factors that best predict livelihood in terms of vulnerability and adopted strategies. The study used a descriptive correlational survey in three districts chosen for their high density of women vegetable farmers, together with personal interviews.

 

Before getting to an analysis of the results, the author presents a brief literature review, focused around four themes: a discussion on the definitions of and relationships between sustainable development and sustainability; different vulnerability contexts, such as seasonal-, shock-, and trend-based; the multifaceted nature of vulnerability faced by farmers, e.g. markets, climate, extreme events, etc; and strategies for managing livelihoods, noted as usually being based on the availability of capabilities and assets.

 

The results of the study showed that the women vegetable farmers were vulnerable to the external environment, notably to the price of agricultural inputs, followed by lack of funds. The results also showed that of the potential vulnerabilities they faced, they were least concerned with social unrest, theft, and land disputes. Responses by the women farmers to mitigate or overcome these vulnerabilities included buying inputs according to their budget constraints, and seeking assistance from local farmer’s groups.

 

Other findings include that family assistance was reported by 8% of respondents, but was deemed to be ineffective overall. Loans from banks and ‘susu’ operators were often accompanied by high interest rates and so deemed unsuitable, while the majority of women farmers did not employ any strategy concerning unpredictable rainfall (97%), price fluctuations (68%), or unfavourable market prices (67%). Responses to these included drying and storing food and selling it later, or moving the produce to sell in a larger, urban area. Around 95% of respondents used pesticides, which they deemed effective, while half of those who reported vulnerability to dry periods effectively used pumps to irrigate their farms.

 

A number of other vulnerabilities were reported by the women vegetable farmers that are worthy of note in the paper’s conclusion. A total of 40 women reported bad health; 81% of those have access to a hospital, and a further 8% self-medicate, each of which was deemed effective. On theft, 75% did nothing to counteract the problem, while the 25% receiving farmer group monitoring deemed it ineffective. Finally, land disputes, insufficient labour, and civil unrest were negligible, uncommon, and non-existent...

10.032016

Inequality, poverty among Nigeria women and youth and the challenges of inclusive growth in post-2015 Millenium Development Goals

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Economic growth is the primary driver of poverty reduction, yet in Nigeria, despite a decade of significant growth and bountiful natural resources, 67% of the population were estimated to live in abject poverty in 2011, while wealth inequality grew. This stands in contrast to the huge gains in poverty alleviation in China and India, which have seen more success toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). To try and identify the source of this discrepancy, this journal article examines the challenges of inequality and poverty reduction among Nigerian women and youth, with a focus on inclusive growth in a post-MDG context.

 

The paper features a literature review which underwent a content analysis to address the problem of the study, using a framework that emphasises inclusive growth based on innovation. This review included the HDI Education Index for Nigeria, and the Gender Development Index, which shows an Intensity of Deprivation for Nigeria at 55.2% for 2013, comparatively high for how wealthy the nation is. The study findings indicate poverty reduction efforts in Nigeria are generally ineffective, mainly due to the misdirection of programmes from rural to urban areas, inadequate funding, lack of control, transparency and accountability, and inadequate coverage of the poor. However, significant progress has been made in terms of primary school enrollment, which is on target to hit the MDG target for 100% enrollment by 2015.

Drawing from the research, the author concludes that a number of actions need to be taken if Nigeria is to improve on its position of 152nd out of 187 countries in the HDI poverty reduction programme. First, entrepreneurial training programmes and capacity-building need to be increased, together with inclusive efforts aimed toward providing education and health facilities, catalysing integrated growth, income distribution, and financing land ownership. Additionally, inspiration could be taken from countries such as Chile and Malaysia, who have successfully boosted their economies by growing their agricultural exports. Other suggestions include national youth service schemes, and prison-inmate empowerment programmes to reduce cycles of poverty and crime. If such an integrated, inclusive approach were adopted,  backed by strong, independent, and transparent monitoring, then poverty in Nigeria can be substantially reduced in the coming post-2015 development...