A development focus on gender should not result in women being overburdened with work and in men being underemployed. Historically, Eastern Congo was a fertile land. The region of North Kivu was once known for its coffee and food exports. But more than eight years of civil conflict and coffee disease in the region have resulted in the destruction of basic infrastructure, a crisis in agricultural production, a major decline in the rural standard of living and changes in social structure and gender roles. A November 2002 evaluation of a project financed by the Belgian Survival Fund that had targeted existing women’s associations in this region generated some important lessons on the need to target men. One of the results of the prolonged conflict and coffee disease is that a large number of men are now underemployed. This includes those men who were formerly involved in growing coffee as a cash crop or in working on large coffee plantations, as well as others. Farming is now very difficult. Looting and theft of livestock are common. In recent years, many rural people have been unable to harvest what they plant because one or other group has regularly raided what little has been grown or produced. Many men are no longer contributing to household income. For all practical purposes, these households are de facto headed by women, although men may be physically present. The evaluation notes that the men are “discouraged, passive and apathetic”. Women are now increasingly taking over the responsibilities of men and tasks that were originally carried out by their husbands. In a sense, this is empowering for the women, but it also increases the workloads of the women, which are already considerable, since so few services of any kind are available and everything takes more time. The project that was evaluated provided a couple of illustrations. The most common income-generating activity supported by the project was goat-keeping. In North Kivu, this had formerly been an activity of the men, unlike in many cultures in which the women are in charge of goats. Certainly, women said they felt empowered by now having such assets, but it also increased their workloads. The forestry component of the project also targeted women. In order to grow local seedlings, women obtained new information and technology that men did not have. In fact, some members of the women’s associations that were involved in the project started to plant trees on plots owned by their husbands, as well as by themselves. They are also beginning to negotiate with local traditional chiefs over customary property rights on communal plots. All this is good from the point of view of women’s empowerment, but, again, men are left out. Therefore, in a sense, the economic roles are now being reversed. Before, when coffee was being grown, it was the men who paid for the school fees, the drugs and the maintenance of the household. Now, it is the rural women who have to pay for these one way or another. The evaluation observes that, “There is an imbalance between men’s and women’s family contributions and men are so discouraged that they show no interest in initiating or taking over new income opportunities.” It could well be that men’s self-esteem also needs a boost, and donors need to look for ways to provide new and challenging opportunities for men to contribute also to the food needs and living expenses of the family. It would not be to women’s longer term advantage if they must continue to support their husbands and families, while the men become increasingly discouraged and remain unemployed. Donors should avoid exclusively targeting women in situations where men are underemployed and women are overtaxed with work. This is not the true nature of the gender approach. Most women, if asked, would probably prefer that their menfolk take on a fair share of the workload. The targeting of men, too, seems justified in such situations. Adapted from: Democratic Republic of Congo: Support for Women’s Groups in North Kivu, Completion Evaluation Report, Rome: IFAD, November-December 2002.
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