Gender and Sustainable Rural Development: Perspectives from

Nigeria

Olanike F. Deji (Ph.D.)Associate Professor, Department of

Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Obafemi Awolowo

University, Ile Ife, NigeriaE-mail:dejiolanike@gmail.com

A Paper presented at a Conference Organised by Humboldt University of Berlin, 25-26 January, 2013

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

Introduction

• Women in the rural areas of Nigeria concentrate in agriculture, and other non-agricultural activities such as food processing, wholesale and retail trade predominantly in the informal labour market (self-employment)

• Despite women’s critical contribution to rural development and in general, to national accounts, their rights and priorities remain insufficiently addressed in macro-economic policies; legal framework; political transformations witnessed in the last few decades.

What we know………..

Women lack access to critical resourcesLand and landed properties (as male children often

inherit land directly from fathers)Credit: rural women are under-served by banks and

financial houses; inability to present requisite co-laterals etc

Farm inputs – fertilizers, seedlings, extension services (who often assumed farmers to be men) etc.

Formal education, especially technical educationNew technologies e.g. ICT

Gender stereotypes /gender biases inhibit women from full participation in the development process

What we know ………..• The neo-liberal models which informed economic

reforms since the early 1980s, assumed that free trade, investment liberalization, private sector and financial system deregulation, and the privatization of public-owned enterprises and services would lead to sustained economic growth, improved productive capacities, and higher growth and productivity.

• In reality, neo-liberal models have negatively impacted on men and women in the developing countries as Nigeria.

Gender Gaps in Nigerian Rural Economy

High level of poverty (In Nigeria 65% of women live below poverty line)

Rural women lack access to critical resources – land, capital, and technology etc.

High maternal mortalityLow growth rate Low Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) with

implications for African Human Development Index;High Gender Inequality IndexWomen’s work do not enter national accountsWomen’s work remain largely unpaid for

Gender Gaps in Nigerian Rural Economy

• Mortality• Natality• Access• Control• Professional• Ownership• Household

Roles of Policies and Programs in Nigerian Rural Economic Gender Gaps• The traditional norms and values of Nigerian

society is characterised by gender inequality and patriachal systems. Generally, in Nigerian society, maleness/masculine is a symbol of strength, accomplishment, prestige, superiority, boldness, and courage, while the opposites are associated with femaleness/feminine.

Contd…• Problem of sustainability (as it remained an individual pet project).• Problem of finance (as such programmes only depended on donor funding rather

creating a niche for women’s concerns within the mainstream governance.• The rural women were never organized to be sustainable, nor exposed to lifelong

entrepreneurial skills.• Most programmes exhibited what was latter called ‘femocracy’ (a parallel

government by the First Ladies, though such power were not backed up by the Nigerian Constitution).

• Lack of technical skill in building women’s capacity to move beyond practical gender needs to strategic gender needs i.e. the status quo remains).

• Sometimes, cold war between the First Lady and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs where control is not given to the First Lady on a platter of gold.

• The rural women were not usually carried along as partners in the process.• Exploitation, lack of accountability and credibility.• More often than not, the programmes were hijacked by the female elites and men

for self aggrandizement.

WHY WOMEN’S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

• Achievement of poverty reduction goals – poverty reduction model;

• Empowering women makes a business/economic sense (women being about 50% of the African population) – leading to the growth of businesses and markets – The Efficiency model

• Improved quality of life for family members; and growth of national economies

THE EMPOWERMENT MODEL

- Its Dimensions

CONCEPT OF EMPOWERMENTSarah Longwe’s Empowerment and Gender Equality Model:5. Control

4. Participation

3. Conscientization

2. Access

1.Welfare

Critical factors in Women Empowerment/ Gender Equality (MDG3 Plus Approach)

THE EMPLOYMENT SECTOR

II. WOMEN EMPOWERMENT: EFFORTS MADE SO FAR

1. The role of the State: The International Policy Environment

Declarations/Treaties/Conventions on Women Empowerment which most member nations were signatories

United Nations Commitment to Gender Equality and Women Empowerment

The Regional Policy Environment The Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, African Union

(2004) The National Policy Environment

Development of National Gender Policies across African States; Creation of Women Machineries Gender Mainstreaming in governance Improving women’s access to financial institutions Best Practices now emerging in Africa (Rwanda; Tanzania; Uganda;

South Africa; Ghana)

THE NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE

Creation of Women MinistriesAdoption of the National Gender Policy (2007)Gender Mainstreaming In Sectoral Policies and PlansTargeting maternal health and children issues;Women In Agriculture programmesMicro credit projectsSupport for Women in PoliticsPartnership with Development Partners on women/children issuesPrivate Sector Initiatives on GEWE have been very minimalCreation of Women Centres - where women learn vocational skills,

numeracy etc.Some level of research on the situation of women and gender issues

in the country e.g. Studies on Engendering national budget; Maternal mortality; Economic Indicators in the Gender Sector; Grassroots mobilisation for GEWE

SELECTED WOMEN EMPOWERMENT INITIATIVES•Micro credit delivery to the grassroots women in 22 States – Women Fund for Economic Empowerment (WOFEE) – with a revolving loan of N6 Million per state. Each women group was to make a deposit of 10% of the amount approved for them – Rural Women could not meet with this obligation hence the programme could not achieve stated objectives (FMWA&SD and its counterparts);•The Women Housing Project Plan by the Federal Govt to achieve housing for all by the year 2015 (targeting widows, singles, and female headed households)•The Moremi Initiative for Women’s Leadership in Africa (NGO) – 2004•The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) – a fund raising and grant-making initiative - established June, 2000…… among others.

III. WHY WE HAVE NOT ACHIEVED FULL EMPOWERMENT FOR WOMEN

1. Women empowerment was often carried out within a WID framework (thereby failing to challenge the status quo)

WID framework: Women seen as the problem (blaming the victim) Focus on women targeted projects; and failure to

challenge the structures that created gender inequalities in societies;

WE Model mainly addresses women practical gender needs.

Failure to use a system-wide approach to achieving women empowerment;

THE APPROACHViews women as the centre of a devt problem

THE FOCUSwomen

THE PROBLEMExclusion of women from devt esp. production process

THE GOALMore efficient, effective, and just devt

The Solution

Integrate women into devt process

THE STRATEGIESWomen’s projectsWomen’s componentsIntegrated projectsInreased women’s productivity;Increased women’s empowerment to contribute more to the hshold maintenance

WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT (WID) APPROACH

GAD Model

Looks at how power is negotiated between men and women; Both men and women are seen as actors in the development

process; each has a role to play in development Household economy is recognized as an emerging economic unit

where power is negotiated for economic empowerment; Women empowerment is seen as a means to an end (achievement

of gender equality); while gender equality is an end in itself (human rights); and also a means to an end (being the development of nations)

Important therefore to challenge gender stereotypes and gender biases in nation building

GAD model addresses women’s strategic gender needs.

GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT (GAD) APPROACH

THE APPROACHDevt of women and men

THE FOCUSRelations betw women and men

THE PROBLEMUnequal relations of power (rich/poor, women/men) that prevent equitable devt and women’s full participation

THE GOALEquitable, sustainable devt with women and men as decision –makers

THE SOLUTIONEmpower the disadvantaged and women, and transform unequal relations

THE STRATEGIESIdentify and address practical gender needs determined by men and women to improve their lives;Address women’s and men’s strategic gender needs;Address strategic interests of the poor through people-centred devt.

Comments on GAD Model• Conditions for instituting a GAD Model is yet to be fully

institutionalised;• Most instruments where this has been applied do not

enjoy appropriate political will (in implementation) e.g. the Nigerian National Gender Policy (domesticated only by Ekiti State out of all the 36 states in Nigeria)

• Application of GAD model is often seen as threatening the status quo

• Poor supportive infrastructure to instituting the National Gender Policy:– Lack of technical capacity in gender mainstreaming in

both public and private institutions;

Contds…….Gender budgeting is still a new concept to Nigeria (and many

African States);Government is yet to engage the Private Sector re

responsibility towards adopting the National Gender PolicyGender inequality structures go unabated in the grassrootsGender Management System is yet to be properly adapted

by the various institutions of government and the Private Sector

Poor Monitoring scheme to ensure the implementation of the National Gender Policy

Nigerian Constitution, is in principle, discriminatory towards women

Failure to engender macro economic policies

Gender statistics are rarely used in planning and policy formulation

The first time Nigeria would ever consider gender issues in macro economic policies was with NEEDS and later the Vision 20:2020 (both flawed by failing to treating women/gender issues as cross-cutting with sectoral policies and plans

Failure to professionalised the Women Affairs Ministry and its organs

No direct commitment from the private sector to engender their institutions (current realities present women in the organisation to work out their own coping mechanisms for breaking through the ceilings, rather than organisations accepting ‘gender equality’ framework as a core value for modern organisation

Forward looking strategies and agenda setting for Rural Women Economic Empowerment

• Sharpening of the tools of engagement with RWEE:– Sensitisation/Advocacy;– Gender Diagnosis tools/Gender Audit– Gender Mainstreaming Tools– Gender Budgeting Tools– Gender Statistics– Methodologies of doing gender research– Gender indicators monitoring

Research and Documentation• Disseminate data from gender-based research

widely;• Produce and disseminate information leaflets on

women’s/gender issues• Collect oral history of women• Properly document and analyze successful and

failed programmes in the Gender Sector• Collect cross-cultural case studies• Involve women as agents (instead of objects) of

research

Sensitisation/Advocacy on Gender Issues

• Dialogues with stakeholders• Raise gender issues with policy makers• Review of legislations inhibiting on women• Affirmative actions where necessary• Provide enabling environment for child care in

the workplaces

More gender sensitive women and men in decision making positions

Promote gender awarenessSupport for gender sensitive laws, legislations, policies

and programmes;Gender mainstreaming as an administrative tool;

Better health facilities for womenBetter nutritionImproved technical and entrepreneurial skillsBetter relationship with the MEDIA on gender issuesEmbrace principle of inclusion/ diversity at all levels of

governance

Sustainability Issue

Gender budgeting across sectorsBuild technical competencies in the area of gender

mainstreaming;Monitor the implementation of gender-focused policies

and disseminate results widelyPromote gender researchBuild capacity for gender analysis at the local community

level.Government to provide private sector institutions that

key into the National Gender Policy and/or any issue relating to women’s empowerment with some level of incentives