Fighting Hunger Worldwide Women Empowerment in Niger: from Markets to Households to Communities VAM Gender and Market Study #11 2017 VAM Gender and Market Study 1 The Zero Hunger Challenge emphasizes the importance of strengthening economic empowerment in support of the Sustainable Development Goal 2 to double small-scale producer incomes and productivity. The increasing focus on resilient markets can bring important contributions to sustainable food systems and build resilience. Participation in market systems is not only a means for people to secure their livelihood, but it also enables them to exercise agency, maintain dignity, build social capital and increase self-worth. Food security analysis must take into account questions of gender-based violence and discrimination in order to deliver well-tailored assistance to those most in need. WFP’s Nutrition Policy (2017-2021) reconfirms that gender equality and women’s empowerment are essential to achieve good nutrition and sustainable and resilient livelihoods, which are based on human rights and justice. This is why gender-sensitive analysis in nutrition programmes is a crucial contribution to achieving the SDGs. The VAM Gender & Markets Initiative of the WFP Regional Bureau for West and Central Africa seeks to strengthen WFP and partners’ commitment, accountability and capacities for gender- sensitive food security and nutrition analysis in order to design market-based interventions that empower women and vulnerable populations. The series of regional VAM Gender and Markets Studies is an effort to build the evidence base and establish a link to SDG 5 which seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. ________________ All rights reserved in all countries English edition, 2017-2018 Copyright © World Food Programme Regional Bureau Dakar Author: Mathilde Boddaert Revision, Layout and Translation from French: William Ndiaye For more information contact: World Food Programme Simon Renk (Regional Markets Advisor): [email protected] Desiree Zwanck (VAM Gender Specialist): [email protected] 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................... 2 List of Acronyms ..................................................................................................................................... 4 Table des Illustrations ............................................................................................................................ 5 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ 6 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 7 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 11 1.1 The Gender and Markets Initiative ........................................................................................... 11 1.2 Phase 1 results of the “Gender and Market” study in Niger .................................................... 12 1.3 Objective and methodology ...................................................................................................... 14 1.4 Definition and reflexions on empowerment ............................................................................. 14 1.5 Research methodology ............................................................................................................. 16 2. How to Measure Women’s Empowerment ................................................................................. 22 2.1 Empowerment spheres and theoretical variables .................................................................... 22 2.2 Perceptions of surveyed people on women’s empowerment .................................................. 23 3. Women Empowerment’s Determinants and Actors: Enablers and Hurdles ................................ 30 3.1 Hurdles or preconditions to women’s empowerment ............................................................. 30 3.2 Actors-facilitators of women’s empowerment ......................................................................... 35 4. Consequences and Output of Women’s Empowerment .............................................................. 41 4.1 Negative consequences and risks ............................................................................................ 41 4.2 Positive consequences and women empowerment output: from improved living conditions to strengthening women’s position .......................................................................................... 44 5. Empowerment Dynamics and Transfers between the Market, Community and Household Spheres .......................................................................................................................................... 51 5.1 The starting point: the Household sphere ............................................................................... 51 5.2 Community-Market-Household transfers through women’s groups ...................................... 51 5.3 Market to Community and Household transfers: Income, as a vector of women’s relative empowerment .......................................................................................................................... 52 5.4 Conclusion: the development of a virtuous circle of relative empowerment ......................... 56 6. Conclusion: How to Support Women’s Empowerment? .............................................................. 58 6.1 Recommendations on women’s empowerment approach ..................................................... 58 6.2 Programmatic recommendations ............................................................................................ 58 ANNEXES .............................................................................................................................................. 61 Annex 1: WFP in Niger, Niger’s gender profile by UN Women, and WEAI ..................................... 61 Annex 2: Sample actually reached .................................................................................................. 65 Annex 3: Answers to closed and multiple-choice Questions for Women merchants .................... 66 Annex 4: Answers to closed and multiple-choice Questions for “Wives” ...................................... 73 Annex 5: Answers to closed and multiple-choice Questions for “Husbands” ................................ 78 Annex 6: Documentation photos taken in the field ........................................................................ 82 3 List of Acronyms 3PA : Three-Pronged Approach 3N : Nigeriens feed Nigeriens initiative (Initiative Les Nigériens Nourrissent les Nigériens) C2C : Communes de Convergence CRS : Catholic Relief Services ENISED : National study for the evaluation of socioeconomic and demographic indicators (Étude Nationale d’Évaluation d’Indicateurs Socio-Économiques et Démographiques) FAO : United Nations Food and Agriculture Organizations FFA : Food assistance For Assets GBV : Gender-Based Violence GER : Gross Enrolment Rate HEA : House Economy Approach HIV/AIDS : Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome ICA : Integrated Context Analysis IGA : Income-Generating Activities NER : Net Enrolment Rate NGO : Non-Governmental Organization P4P : Purchase for Progress PCP : Participative community planning (Planification Communautaire Participative) PSME : Livelihood-based seasonal programming (Programmation Saisonnière basée sur les Moyens d’Existence) RBD : Regional Bureau Dakar (WFP's regional bureau for West and Central Africa) RGPH : General census for population and habitation (Recensement Général de la Population et Habitat) RWEE : Accelerating Progress towards the Economic Empowerment of Rural Women programme SCI : Save the Children International STD : Sexually Transmissible Diseases UNFPA : United Nations Population Fund UNICEF : United Nations Children's Fund USAID : United States Agency for International Development VAM : Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping unit of WFP WEAI : Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index WFP : World Food Programme 4 Table of Illustrations Figure 1. Composition of the study sample ................................................................................... 17 Figure 2. Women’s answers to the Question: “How have you achieved your economic empowerment?” ........................................................................................................ 35 Figure 3. Couples answers to the Question: “How or why (your/your wife’s) economic empowerment strengthened (your/her) decision-making power or capacity to act in an autonomous manner in the household?” ........................................................ 36 Figure 4. Women’s answers to the Question: “Since you are more economically empowered, are you more involved in the household’s decision-making in the following subjects?” ........................................................................................................................ 53 5 Acknowledgements The consultant would like to thank the World Food Program teams in Dakar and Niamey for kindly dedicating time and for the enriching exchanges, as well as the Tahoua and Zinder teams for their warm welcome and for their valuable help in our field research