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gender inequalitues in african society
women's role in agriculture revolution
inequality of women in africa
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Poverty Faming Interlinkages
Globally, women are estimated to constitute the world’s poor people and receive diminutive wages and salaries for their labour. This is attested by Leghorn and Parker (1991) who argue that women’s labour is one-third of the world 's formal labour force and they do four fifths of all informal work, but receive only ten percent of the world 's income and own less than one percent of the world’s possessions. The situation of women described above is termed the “feminization of poverty” in recognition of women 's increasing share of global poverty (Glazebrook, 2011 p.764).
The feminization of poverty espoused by Glazebrook is corroborated by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) report of 1987,
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The rural northeast Ghanaian women engage in peasant forms of farming as their main economic activity with the exclusive responsibility for the daily subsistence needs of their households. Thus, women have become tied down to the daily struggle of survival and in most instances they head households in disguise solely relying on peasant farming. Their responsibilities as “bread winners” for their families, obligate them to engage in peasant farming against the backdrop of constraining factors including lack of access to strategic resources and limited access to farm lands as their major source of …show more content…
First is the high female participation combined with low technology, second hired labour and cultural proscriptions on women’s work outside the home; and, third sharing of farm work between women and men with intensive cultivation. Though this classification helps to emphasize women’s role in farming, women roles are broader than classification as posited by Apusigah above. The rural northeast woman’s role is evident in the first category while third category is outside of the role of women. The second categorization is applicable and aligns with women’s labour and their roles and contribution on farms framed as appreciation instead of being recognized as work.
Apusigah (2009) and Ellis (2000) both conclude that gender inequalities are evident in the farming practices among women in the global South. They further note that women’s efforts in farming is not accompanied by ownership and control of land or by decision making capabilities, all of which are firmly rooted within male domains. This conclusion drawn by both authors is the reality of the northeast woman farmer, she is multitasked and plays no active role in decision making on farming or other social
We cannot deny the imperfection of the world today; poverty, violence, lack of education, and the general overwhelming deficiency of basic daily necessities are among some of the most troubling issues on the agenda. By carefully selecting our critical lens, we can gather that there are many aspects of today’s issues where we can focus our attention and begin the quest for solutions to these pervasive problems. Authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (2009) utilize their book Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide to emphasize the particular struggle of women in the world today and how by addressing three particular abuses of sex trafficking and forced prostitution, gender-based violence (including honor killings and mass rape), and maternal mortality, we may begin “unlocking an incipient women’s movement to emancipate women and fight global poverty” (p. xxii). However, we must first understand the difficulty of addressing such complex issues by a proposing a “one-size fits all” solution and take into consideration the varying feminist perspectives that currently contemplate the oppression of women in societies around the world. To be able to critically digest Kristof and WuDunn’s book we must explore the types of stories and evidence included and how they’re presented, and the generalized theories behind the insight and solutions regarding the women in need around the world. The authors alienate their audience by ignoring the complexity of building a singular feminist movement. Kristof and WuDunn’s book Half the Sky further contributes to the oppression of women because they objectify Third World women by portraying them as victims in need of outside rescue and suggest that an overarching solution...
As a result of this norm, more feminists who recognize the “systematic disadvantage” (Cahill 206) that women face daily in other countries is the reason why many feminists believe governments should oppose typical gender roles and gender stereotypes by protecting the rights of women. However, culture is always subject to change thus, leading developing countries who have neglected the rights of women to improve due to the global influence of other countries who have gender equality. This, in turn, leads countries to be “forced” to accept feminist agendas who “hold[ing] these patterns… to change them, and thus to change the realities that they produce” (Cahill 208). Not only does gender affect social issues but it also has progressed onto the economic sector for business as well, making gender a multifaceted topic for any
2001 “Divisions of Labor on Irish Family Farms”, in Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective, 3rd ed. Caroline B. Brettell and Carolyn F. Sargent, eds. Pp. 271-279. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Poverty is a significant threat to women’s equality. In Canada, more women live in poverty than men, and women’s experience of poverty can be harsher, and more prolonged. Women are often left to bear more burden of poverty, leading to ‘Feminization of poverty’. Through government policy women inequality has resulted in more women and children being left in poverty with no means of escaping. This paper will identify some key aspects of poverty for Canadian women. First, by identifying what poverty entails for Canadian women, and who is more likely to feel the brunt of it. Secondly the discussion of why women become more susceptible to poverty through government policy and programs. Followed by the effects that poverty on women plays in society. Lastly, how we can reduce these effects through social development and policy.
According to United Nations statistics women in rural Africa (where at least 70 percent of the population lives) do 75 percent of the weeding, 60 percent of the harvesting and 85 percent of the processing and storing of crops. They also do 95 percent of the domestic work, which includes cooking, cleaning and walking long distances to fetch water and firewood. (Kofi)
2) Literature Overview: The resources use to complete the assign were Kevin Reilly, Women and the Origins of Patriarchy: Gathering, Agricultural, and Urban Societies; Elise Boulding, Women and the Agricultural Revolution, Gilbert C. Fite, American Farmers, The New Minority, John T Schelbecker, Whereby We Thrive: A History Of American Farming, Sandra Johnson, and a unknown web source. They describe in their own way how the American agriculture was established.
There are foundations out there currently trying to make a difference for women. In fact, according to Wakhungu (2010) “there is the Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology (AKST) which can enhance the contribution of women to agriculture. However, women are marginalized in formal AKST, and this disempowerment compromises their ability to improve agricultural production (p. 3-4). The information learned in this and other agricultural improvements should be available to women and men alike. In the long run, if everyone knew how to maximize agriculture in his or her area, it would be beneficial to those that live there as they should enjoy greater harvests for eating and potentially for exporting to other areas for other goods
In isolated farms and small communities, where women welcomed the opportunity to get out and meet other women is where education and community were at the heart of Women’s Institute activity (Spencer, 2006). The Women’s Institute enabled women to educate themselves while improving the quality of community life. Why did the Institutes grow so rapidly to become the largest women’s group in the world? According to Michael Welton (2013), “the simple answer is that rural women wanted them” (pg. 86).
In today 's society, there is 1 in 7 people living in poverty which is costing Canadian citizens’ money as they are paying for taxes. There are many standpoints in which people examine the ways poverty affect society such as Marx’s conflict theory. Marx’s conflict theory goes over how social stratification being inevitable and how there is a class consciousness within people in the working class. Another way that poverty is scrutinized is by feminization. Feminization is the theory that will be explored throughout this essay. Poverty will be analyzed in this essay to determine the significance of poverty on the society and the implications that are produced.
These issues create hurdles in the way of gender equality, and slows it down in its progression to provide development to the global economy. In her book, “Risk, Vulnerability and Social Protection: International Perspectives”, Naila Kabeer outlines ‘A Three Dimensional Model’ to identify these issues. These three dimensions consist of; Gender specific constraints, gender intensified inequalities and imposed forms of gender disadvantage. Kabeer goes on to explain that gender specific constraints “are made up of those societal norms and practices that apply to women or men by virtue of their gender.” (Kabeer, 2014) This is to say that each gender is given a certain set of attributes by society, that defines their work life and the type of work they decide to do. Generally, women are seen as care takers and family orientate and gravitate towards those careers, whilst on the flip side men are seen to be emasculated when striving for the same jobs. Furthermore, Kabeer also describes that gender intensified inequalities deals with the idea that, “while inequalities between households reflect factors such as class, ethnicity, location and so on, there are additional inequalities between household members that reflect norms and customs governing the distribution of food,
"Women do two thirds of the world’s work...Yet they earn only one tenth of the world’s income and own less than one percent of the world’s property. They are among the poorest of the world’s poor." –Barber B. Conable Jr, President, World Bank
The inequality of genders is a factor to the issue of poverty. Many nations are trying their best to fix the issue of gender inequality. Gender inequality is very visible in the primary and secondary levels of education in Ghana. The amount of boys always tends to outnumber the girls. Due to the fact that many women do not have any educational background, they either end up trading or get engaged in agriculture activity. In sub-Saharan Africa, women are barely recognized in issues that are non-agriculture. About 64% of women are mainly employed in the agriculture sector. The low employment level of women makes poverty a stronghold in the household of women. Women tend to not get enough income to support themselves and their families, especially when they are single parents or the man is unemployed. Women also tend to face low employment rates, and those with a good education, who have the chance of being employed, rarely get the opportunity. The women who are lucky enough to get employed are rarely promoted due to their
...action with others… especially men. This supplies final substantiation of the authors' argument, that women continue to be oppressed by their male-dominated societies. It is a bold undertaking for women to ally and promote a world movement to abandon sexist traditions. Although I have never lived in a third world or non-Westernized country, I have studied the conditions women suffer as "inferior" to men. In National Geographic and various courses I have taken, these terrible conditions are depicted in full color. Gender inequality is a terrible trait of our global society, and unfortunately, a trait that might not be ready to change. In America we see gender bias towards women in voters' unwillingness to elect more females into high office, and while this is not nearly as severe as the rest of the world, it indicates the lingering practice of gender inequality.
The division of labour and education along gender lines, racial inequalities and discrimination, and unpaid domestic labour all contribute to the growing feminization of poverty. Feminists are working to decrease the income gap, to benefit the overall health of women and the population at large. The term feminization of poverty describes the disproportionate amount of women who are poor, and its link to the division of labour along gender lines (Calixte, Johnson, & Motapanyane, 2010). The Canadian Labour Congress reported that in 2005, women working full time earned 70.5 cents to the dollar that every male in a comparable job earned ( as cited in Calixte, et al., 2010, p. 17) Across the board, women are more likely to suffer from poverty than men are (Harnan, 2006). Feminists are constantly trying to decrease the wage gap with activism.
These barriers manifest themselves in different ways but they all contribute to a standstill in development. Cultural or religious normality’s may block the role of women. This in turn leaves half the population without economic, political rights, and education. This undercuts half the population 's ability to contribute to the overall development. Along with this, if women don’t work it also halves the earning capability. Additionally, when women don’t work they stay home and raise children; these women have more children compared to their counterparts who are in the labour force. Countries that have the greatest population are countries where women aren’t involved in business or society. Some countries have seen their population double or triple without their economies keeping pace, that leaves more mouths to feed, and just not enough to go around. Having more children puts a burden on the family because more resources are required to provide for them, but there is less money to help because there is only one income flowing into the household. To be able to provide often times sacrifices must be made, sacrifices such as, the oldest child dropping out of school early to get a job; this continues the cycle of poverty because this child doesn’t have the education necessary to get a job that provides stable amount of income. However when there 's fewer children a poor household doesn’t have to make