Challenges of Gender Mainstreamed Analyses and Development Interventions in the Bangladesh Delta Landscape

Challenges of Gender MainstreamedAnalyses and Development InterventionsIn the Bangladesh Delta Landscape

18 March 2013 – Doug Beare, Ranjitha Puskur, PaulaKantor, Melody Braun and Afrina Choudhury

WHY ?

• Why bother with gender and inequality within the general science of poverty reduction and improved nutrition ? http://www.unsystem.org/SCN/archives/scnnewsextractsmay91/begin.htm

WHAT perpetuates this situation ?

• Socially Constructed Gender Norms and Attitudes;

• Challenge is Multi-dimensional;

• Everyone must Buy-In and Get-It;

• That includes us.

Example of a seasonal daily activities of women and men in Dzinavene, Chivi District, Zimbabwe

Increasing female agency equals more food (economic) production ?

• FAO report on Women in Agriculture- Closing the gender gap for development

Approach must be subtle• A man who consults his wife on

decisions appears weak• A husband and wife should decide

together on how to spend money• Women should not be harassed, even

if they are walking in a public place by themselves

• Men can take care of children just as well as women can

• It is embarrassing for a man to help his wife with household work

• Women are inferior to men in the creator’s eyes

• A woman’s greatest happiness in life comes from being a good mother and wife

Husbands’ reported support during and after pregnancy, by husband’s occupation

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

6467.7 68.3

74.5

60.5 59.8

70.2 67.770.3 72.6 7468.6 67.1

54.9

72.3

63.2

Pregnancy Post-pregnancy

perc

enta

ges

Nobo Jibon Survey in Bangladesh

• Survey divided into Joint and Nuclear Families;

• Nutritional Knowledge Poor;• Husbands and MILs Know

Less than Wives;• Decisions Should be Made

Jointly – Good Starting Point.• Appeal to Other Parts of The

Female Identity, eg. Roles as Mothers;

• More Violence in Nuclear Families. If w

ife go

es ou

t with

out te

lling h

usband

If she

negle

cts th

e chil

dren

If she

argue

s with

her h

usban

d

If she

refus

es to h

ave s

ex w

ith hi

m

If she

does

not o

bey el

ders

within

the fa

mily0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

20%16%

34%

3%

36%

26%

17%

37%

18%

47%50% 51%

66%

26%

72%

Situations in which wife-beating is justifiable

Husband Mother-in-law Wife

CCAFs is directly funding two WorldFish projects in the Bangladesh Delta Landscape which more directly address gender issues; The Smart Farm 

• Fish/rice systems • Vertical horticulture

CCAFs is directly funding two WorldFish projects in the Bangladesh Delta Landscape which more directly address gender issues; Cage Aquaculture

More ‘general’ tactics of Nobo Jibon with more specific tech innovations