Gender Inequalities and Development: a Picture of Fula Women in the Border Area of South-Eastern Senegal Through a Gender Analysis”

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Gender Inequalities and Development: a Picture of Fula Women in the Border Area of South-Eastern Senegal Through a Gender Analysis” Master in Cooperation and development “Gender inequalities and development: a picture of Fula women in the border area of South-eastern Senegal through a gender analysis” Giovanna Basso Supervisor: Ms. Maria Sassi Co-supervisor: Mr. Santiago Rodriguez An Individual Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master degree in Cooperation and Development Academic Year 2013/2014 1 Index Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 1. Context of the study ....................................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Social organization and gender relations ................................................................................................. 8 1.2 Women’s rights situation ......................................................................................................................... 9 2. Methodology................................................................................................................................................ 14 2.1. Background of the study ....................................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Gender analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 15 2.3 Details of tools ....................................................................................................................................... 18 2.4 Details of Data Collection ..................................................................................................................... 22 3. Results ......................................................................................................................................................... 23 3.1 Activity profile ...................................................................................................................................... 23 3.2 Activity clock ........................................................................................................................................ 31 3.3 Focus group ........................................................................................................................................... 33 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................................... 40 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................... 45 2 Introduction The present thesis originated from a study realized under the framework of a cooperation project in Kolda region, Senegal, implemented by the Spanish NGO AIDA (Ayuda, Intercambio y Desarrollo) and the Senegalese NGO MJPI (Mouvement des Jeunes pour la Paix et l’Intégration). The present study based on gender analysis has been conceived to acquire better knowledge on women conditions and capabilities, in particular on gender division of labor and women workload and time use, women’s access and control on key resources in reproductive, productive and community activities, and specific issues as feminine genital mutilations, violence against women and early and arranged marriages. Objectives of the study The objective of the study is to shed light on gender relations in the southern area of Kolda region, on the border line between Senegal and Guinea Bissau, collecting through gender participative analysis tools qualitative data on women’s conditions and power relations at household level as well as community and public decision-making level. This kind of information was not available through secondary sources: if many studies have been produced by Senegalese sociologists and development institutions on women’s rights and gender issues, they don’t focus on the area of the present investigation, remaining too general to be useful in this specific context, since Senegal presents an extremely diversified population, with important regional differences. Gender analysis is meant “to reveal connections between gender relations and the development problem to be solved” (March, Smyth, Mukhopadhyay, 1999), in this case a food security problem. In every society, speaking of gender relations means speaking of inequalities, even if these inequalities are so deeply embedded in everyday life and practice, in language and mental categories, that they are very difficult to perceive. Gender analysis can thus be an useful tool to bring these inequalities to the surface and to the attention of people working in social interventions, to make them more aware of potential bias in outcomes due to unequal distribution of power between men and women, since gender-neutral interventions most likely work for reinforcing existing imbalances. 3 The general objective of the study is to promote an aware, theoretically based empowerment approach by organizations working in the area, focusing not only on equal participation of women and men in development and fair distribution of its benefits, but also on increasing women’s capacity to analyze their own situation and increase their capability to determine their own life choices, at personal as well as political and public level. The organizations – AIDA and MJPI– should benefit of this study under different dimensions: - capacity building on working on gender, to mainstream gender approach in every phase of project cycle, improving quality of the present and future interventions through improved awareness by project staff on gender approaches and concepts; - to be more effective in advocacy activities and information campaigns to promote women’s rights and gender equality at local, regional and national level; - to improve quality and efficacy of specific activities on women rights’ promotion and gender equality, and concerning the currently underway project, information campaigns through the two community radios involved in the project; - the study will be used as support document to justify new interventions in the area, including activities based on the findings of the present study. Structure of the work Thesis is articulated in three main chapters. The first chapter introduces to the context of the study – geographic and socio-economic context of the investigation area, Senegalese juridical and policy framework on gender rights, as well as a brief description of the project within which the study has been conducted. The second chapter explains the methodology used to collect information, while the third presents the main results of the gender analysis. Conclusions offer some final considerations on the study results and an attempt of contextualization of gender concepts in historical perspective and in their local interpretation. 4 1. Context of the study The present study has been conducted under the framework of the project “Soutien au développement rural territorial avec une approche de genre dans la région frontalière du Sud de Kolda (Casamance)”, implemented since April 2014 in 9 villages in the municipalities of Dioulacolon, Salikegne, Guiro Yero Bocar situated in the southern area of Kolda region, in the bordering area between Senegal and Guinea Bissau. Senegal has a population of 13 million, and despite being classified a “lower middle income” country, hosts 1.8 million people living in extreme poverty (<$0.50/day), most of which constituted by rural population (65% of rural population and 58% of urban population live below poverty line), and with particularly high incidence in some regions, among which Kolda region. Kolda region is part of Casamance natural region, the southern area of Senegal separated from the rest of the country by The Gambia. Known for its rich natural resources and the fertility of its land, the Casamance region has supplied the rest of Senegal with an abundance of food for long. However, during colonial rule and into the years following independence in 1960, Casamance resources were used to benefit those in power, while the local population was overlooked and experienced economic disadvantage. The emergence of an armed rebel movement in the early ‘80s resulted in twenty years of bitter conflict and brutal acts of violence on both sides. This led to the destruction of many villages, the displacement of tens of thousands of people, and the stagnation of a once-vibrant local economy. With the arrival of a new president in 2000 and an exhausted civil society, calls for peace grew, with rural women playing an active role. Negotiations with rebel leaders led to the signing of a peace agreement in 2004. As peace becomes more established, Casamance women and their families are returning to their villages to revive their communities, recommence agricultural production, heal the wounds of violence, and build links with connecting communities in the Gambia and Guinea Bissau. Rural women in Casamance are developing their own peasant farmer organizations and networks to take advantage of new opportunities, such as the right to own land and a decentralization process that gives more decision-making and resources to rural communities for their own development. Senegal was chosen to sign a Millennium Challenge Account compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), and this is expected to result in improved road infrastructure
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