10.032016

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

By

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

Analytical paper: the right of women to public political space

By

Published by Nazra for Feminist Studies, a group that aims to build an Egyptian feminist movement, this analytical paper examines the rights of women to public political space in Egypt of 2013, following a new wave of revolution which led to the removal of Mohammed Morsi from power. The paper aims to shed more light on policies and laws adopted by different institutions of the state, namely the Constitution and Family Law, and focus on the extent to which these policies affect women's participation in public political space.

The first section is an examination of the status of women in the last constitution of Egypt (suspended by the time of writing), and notes a number of fundamental flaws and examples of deep-rooted gender-based inequalities. These include: the unrepresentative nature of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the constitution, as shown by the lack of Christians, Nubians, Bedouins, and other racial and religious minorities groups, as well as a meagre 6% representation of women; the discriminatory criteria for selection of the members of the Assembly; the reduction of provisions protecting women to a single, non-specific statement on equality; a counter-productive focus on women in the context of family, viewing women as divorcees, widows, and mothers rather than equal citizens; and that even though the constitution prohibited forced human exploitation, abuse, and trafficking, it does so while neglecting to frame such concerns as rights unto themselves.

Next, the authors talk about the status of women in Family Law, one of the most important legislations to be discussed in this context. Women's position in the public space is connected to her position in the private space, since the latter is highly influential when it comes to the formation of the kind of life women experience and want to experience, beyond their roles as mothers and wives. Although most Egyptians laws are supposed to have moved away from the religious courts of the 19th Century, judgements nevertheless continue to engage with and reproduce socially conservatives values and religious customs. Yet, while Family Law may be governed by religious and societal principles that both affect it and get reproduced by it, it also has political dimensions that differ according to the nature of the ruling regime.

In spite of restrictions, women are still organising and making a difference, as exemplified by the amendments won in 2000 which granted increased rights to women concerning divorce, and increased the legal marriage age from 16 to 18. However, conflicts regarding Family Law are far from over. The twin pressure from religious and state gender-based discrimination must be tackled in a way that connects women’s personal affairs in the private space to her ambitions in the public space. So long as Family Law continues to embody inequality, be it through the concept of absolute guardianship (Qawama) of men over women, the unequal sharing of inheritance, or the lack of women’s representation in the courts, then society will continue to reproduce prevailing discriminatory social concepts.

In conclusion, the authors find that public space in Egypt is becoming a crucial area for political power and expression, and that both the suspended Constitution and the long-established Family Law work to prohibit and undermine women’s ability to participate safely and effectively. Laws in place to protect women from harassment and sexual abuse are loose and rarely enforced or investigated. Thus, women’s presence in the public space is a structural issue that affects all institutions, both government and civil society, and they should be included in discussion dealing with women’s issues. It is asserted that forms of political participation should be diversified and widened in order to guarantee the ability of women to criticise the realities of their lives, and to express their visions for...