Rural women taking Nepal forward
If there is one thing in common with women across the globe, it is the fact that our gender and the responsibilities that come with it generally hold us back. Everyone readily accepts the idea that having to pursue a career while still needing to raise children and manage household matters presents an obstacle to women, but most never think beyond this to recognise the implications. While women in Nepal are certainly gaining support (the favourite statistic being how a third of the Constituent Assembly members are female), this hardly gets to the root of the matter.
Understanding the potential of the economic and social power that rural women have, Executive Director of Women Organising for Change in Agriculture and NRM (WOCAN), Dr Jeannette Gurung, and Annina Lubbock from International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) came up with a project to test just how much positive change women can bring. The idea behind the Rural Women’s Leadership Project is to hold workshops with women at the grassroots level to encourage them in their endeavours and to educate them on policies that they could benefit from.
As Annina explains, “The idea behind the project is the fact that 80 percent of food is created by small farms and a large percent, 45 percent, of it is done by women.” While women are out on farms, they are cultivating the land and generating income with far less access to needed services and input since women are not involved and don’t have the necessary connection and power at all levels to garner support.
IFAD launched the pilot two years ago in Philippines, Madagascar, Senegal, and WOCAN took on implementing the project in Nepal. The pilot term has ended and a
summary workshop was held on Jan 27 at Hotel Himalaya to present the findings to various agriculture and gender development organisations including Helvetas, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Himalayan Grassroots Women’s Natural Resource Management Association (HIMAWANTI), Aastha and Prena. And the results indicate these women are on to something.
Previously women were just working on small farms, but since a large number of able men are working abroad, the women now also manage the land. And across the board there’s been an increase in productivity. Beyond benefiting from their own plots, women have been reaching out to other women in the community. In the short film Change Through Women’s Leadership, screened at the workshop we see case examples of women from the program like Nanu Ghatani from Kavre, and Shobha Karki from Sindhuli.
Nanu, who is a wife and mother, and also chairperson of Kavre District Branch of HIMAWANTI as been one of the major success stories of the program. While managing her land she’s also become a community leader, but her method of leading isn’t the authoritative ‘masculine’ method most associate with leaders. Calm but involved Nanu consults and in a gentle manner she has been able to gain the support of not only fellow women but also of her family and husband. A clip in the film shows a shy husband speaking praises of his wife while Nanu sits in the background beaming with pride.
In her words, “Before people knew me as someone’s wife or before marriage as someone’s daughter or sister, but I’ve been able to create my own identity,” she says with dignity and Nanu has good reason to be proud. Under her guidance, those in her village in Kavre have made roads and are in process of opening a cow farm so that they can generate income and be more independent.
The path to leadership did not come easy for Nanu as her husband protested for about a year before being supportive and Shobha is no exception. When she started taking part in the workshops and becoming more active her family and in-laws went as far as subjecting her to violence and accusing her of trying to become involved in politics but that did little to deter her. Now, she too is a leader in her community.
Besides issues from family and society rural women have to put up with bureaucratic obstacles. Though there are funds allocated for women and for their farms, they are denied access to these provisions as the designated funds are used in other sectors. When going to local leaders the women were often turned away, but instead of being
discouraged they discovered methods that work to their advantage—they still take up issues to local heads but instead of going by themselves they go in groups so they can’t be brushed aside as easily. Now, they are recognised figures and have been learning the essentials skills of negotiation and networking.
While these women are taking a stance and overcoming barriers to better their lives, family, and community, there are looming issues. Many women claim that taking on the role of a leader has been a burden since time management has presented itself to be a large problem. Though husbands and in-laws no longer hold them back, they still have to fulfil all of their household duties. This results in women having to wake up earlier and going to bed later in order to manage. There is a solution to this, Dibya Gurung, Coordinator WOCAN says, “It’s not just about getting support from the family, the family also has to take responsibility,” in essence, households need to share the workload.
And it comes as no surprise that men are reluctant to play assistant to their wives. Yet again, there are means of getting around this. An answer to dividing household work comes in the form of technology. Gita Bohara, another participant who is also the General Secretary of HIMAWANTI says, “Technology makes a difference, because men automatically come running to help with machines. This not only saves time but it allows women to become leaders.”
And if the change women can bring is to be a permanent fixture, it is essential that men are involved. The Rural Women’s Leadership Project workshops did include men and have therefore aided in changing their mentality but men present another problem, once the initiatives taken by women are well on their way to success, the men not only endorse it—they move to take over.
So though the pilot project has brought many issues to light there is always the need to look to the future. It goes without saying that the number one point to be addressed has to be sustainability. While the initiative brings out the leader in a woman, leadership does not necessarily entail a livelihood. Another long term problem is the question of exactly how much men should be involved.
Another factor that can’t be ignored is that issues at the policy level are abundant. To address this, WOCAN initiated ‘Women’s Leadership Circle’ a few weeks ago that links grassroots women to women who have the ability to influence and/or make policies like social worker and CA member Arzoo Deuba. By doing this, a direct bridge is built so that women’s rural agricultural development can be improved from both ends.
Regardless of the issues women across the board have overcome and the problems that the future presents, one thing is for certain—the program is making a difference. Women like Nanu and Shoba themselves express how shy they were in the beginning, but hearing their stories and seeing them now, the change is apparent. These women, who at one point were unaware of their capabilities, are confident and more than that, they are motivated to continue the work that WOCAN has started. More than foreign aid or remittance, these women and their role in agriculture and community development could end up being key players in pushing Nepal forward.
Posted on: 2012-02-04 10:29
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