WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT IN PASTORAL SOCIETIES Fiona Flintan SEPTEMBER 2008 ACRONYMS ABRDP Arsi Bale Rural Development Project AIWO African Indigenous Women’s Organisation AKRSP Aga Khan Rural Support Programme ALDEF Arid Lands Development Focus APDA Afar Pastoralist Development Association AU/IBAR African Union/Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources BRAC Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee BVW Basic veterinary workers CAHW Community animal health workers CBNRM Community based natural resource management CBO Community based organisation CEMIRIDE Centre for Minority Rights Development CRTC Chinmaya Rural Training Centre CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CMW Celebration of Mountain Women DAWN Development Alternatives for Women in New Era EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation FGM Female genital mutilation GB Great Britan GEM Gender empowerment measure GL-CRSP Global Livestock – Collaborative Research and Support Program GOs Governmental organisations GTF Gudina Tumsa Foundation GWP Gobi Women’s Project HLFFDP Hills Leasehold Forestry and Forage Development Project HPI Heifer Project International IASC Inter-Agency Standing Committee ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development ICRISAT International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics IDRC International Development Research Centre, Canada IED Innovations Environnement Développement IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute IIED International Institute for Environment and Development IIN Indigenous Information Network IIRR International Institute of Rural Reconstruction ILO International Labour Office IDRNC Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation i ITDG Intermediate Technology Development Group ITK Indigenous technical knowledge IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature JFM Joint forest management KCC Kenya Creameries Company MBOSCUDO Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association MPIDO Mainyoito Pastoralist Integrated Development Organisation MWEDO Maasai Women Development Organisation MWEEP Maasai Women’s Education and Empowerment Program MYWO Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organisation NGOs Non governmental organisation NORDA Northern Region Development Agency NRM Natural resource management NTFPs Non-timber forest products ODE Open and distant education ODI Overseas Development Institute OSSREA Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa PCAE Pastoralist Concern Association Ethiopia PCI Pastoralist Communication Initiative PEAR Group Participatory Education, Awareness and Resources Group PENHA Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa PRA Participatory rural appraisal PWC Pastoralist Women Council REFLECT Regenerated Freirean Literacy through Empowering Community Techniques SCPP Strengthening Capacity for Pastoralist Participation SDC Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SCF Save the Children Fund SEAGA Socio-economic and gender analysis SIDA Swedish International Development Agency SOPHIA Society for Promotion of Himalayan Indigenous Activities TBAs Traditional birth attendants UNCCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification UNDP United Nations Development Program UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNOCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs UNSO UNDP Office to Combat Desertification and Drought USD US Dollar WAVE Women as the Voice for the Environment WHO World Health Organization WISP World Initiative for Sustainable Pastoralism WWF World Wide Fund for Nature WWSF Women’s World Summit Foundation ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACRONYMS........................................................................................................................................................................................i table of contents................................................................................................................................................................................ iii FOREWARD ......................................................................................................................................................................................1 1.0 INTRODUCTION TO EMPOWERMENT......................................................................................................................................4 1.1 Defining empowerment............................................................................................................................................................4 1.2 Types of Power........................................................................................................................................................................4 1.3 Levels of Power and Empowerment ........................................................................................................................................5 1.4 Empowerment as a Goal .........................................................................................................................................................5 1.5 Empowerment as a Process....................................................................................................................................................6 1.6 Approaches to Empowerment amongst Development Actors .................................................................................................7 1.7 Measuring Empowerment........................................................................................................................................................7 1.7.1 Gender Empowerment Measure ......................................................................................................................................7 1.7.2 CIDA’s Empowerment Indicators......................................................................................................................................8 1.7.3 Women’s Empowerment Framework ...............................................................................................................................8 1.8 Framework for this Study.........................................................................................................................................................9 2.0 Basic Survival: The Power to Support Oneself and One’s Family .............................................................................................10 2.1 Providing Food Including in Times of Stress..........................................................................................................................10 2.1.1 Food as more than something to eat..............................................................................................................................11 2.1.2 Societal rules governing access to food.........................................................................................................................11 2.1.3 Supplying food in times of stress....................................................................................................................................11 2.1.4 Collection and eating of wild foods.................................................................................................................................13 2.1.5 Fuel for cooking food......................................................................................................................................................13 2.2 Providing Water .....................................................................................................................................................................13 2.2.1 Providing water during times of stress............................................................................................................................15 2.3 Providing Shelter....................................................................................................................................................................15 2.4 Ensuring Health .....................................................................................................................................................................16 2.4.1 Traditional Harmful Practices .........................................................................................................................................16 2.5 Women and Domestic Violence.............................................................................................................................................19 2.6 Reducing Vulnerability To the Above.....................................................................................................................................19 2.7 Summary................................................................................................................................................................................20 3.0 Entitlements and Access to Resources: Introduction.................................................................................................................22 3.1 Entitlements and Effective Command....................................................................................................................................22 3.2 Image, Identity and ‘Belonging’..............................................................................................................................................22 3.2.1 Identities