THEME:
Targeting of rural women can work well if sociocultural myths are
ignored and sociocultural pitfalls avoided.
A
1997 IFAD review of projects in the Republic of Yemen argues that
that priority targeting of women is now becoming more acceptable.
But such targeting has to be carried out carefully. Sociocultural
and political constraints need to be taken into consideration. Otherwise,
targeting can be counterproductive.
According
to the study, rural women in Yemen value ‘gender’ projects.
However, in the past, such projects have often failed to address
rural women’s core constraints and their need for:
- appropriate
technology to reduce their workloads and increase productivity;
- more
accessible water supplies (also a workload issue, as lack of water
limits their productive potential); and
- better
health services and medicines.
Among
the common mistakes found in projects targeting women were:
- Overgeneralization of cultural constraints and traditions.
For example, whereas it might be socially unacceptable for women to
engage in marketing, this does not apply to poor women, who cannot afford
to respect such cultural norms.
- Overestimation of women’s decision-making power within the
household. Such overestimation can lead to women’s training
having no impact on actual practice or behaviour. A case in point is
nutrition and health education. Usually Yemeni men make decisions about
what food items to buy for the family or when a sick child should be
taken to the clinic. Women may have the right knowledge about such matters,
but they may be unable to implement their ideas without a man’s
permission.
- Not targeting men in addition to women, when women alone cannot
always transfer learning to practice (as in the above case).
- Underestimation of the value of income-saving opportunities,
for instance, where women can sew clothing for their families to avoid
having to spend money on clothing purchases.
- Giving too much visibility to women’s activities, as when
special women’s centres are constructed. Such centres may be acceptable
in some parts of the country, but in others they can result in vocal
opposition, accusations of their ‘corrupting’ women, and requests
that they focus on religious teaching instead of on skills training.
Women themselves often prefer to meet in a village member’s or
the village leader’s home.
IFAD and other donor-supported projects in Yemen have
developed some useful general lessons on targeting women. Extension services
and training activities have demonstrated the importance of working through
male village leaders to ensure that they introduce, legitimize and support
a project and its representatives. Targeting credit to women has illustrated
the need to take women’s multiple constraints into account and to
adjust procedures accordingly.
In situations such as those in Yemen, targeting women
works best when it is based on an understanding of both the women and
the culture. The final targeting strategies usually need also to consider
men at some point in the process, in order to effectively reach women
and have an impact.
Adapted from:
Hashem, Mouna H. 1997. Thematic Study on Rural Women Development
in Yemen: Lessons Learned from IFAD, Government and other Donors’
Experiences with Gender Issues. Rome: IFAD.
