Gender Policies and Feminisation of Povertyin Mozambique

Presentation of report series 2008-2010

VIP Hotel, MaputoMaputo 30.09.2011

Inge Tvedten, CMIMargarida Paulo, Cruzeiro do SulMinna Tuominen, AustralCowi

Introduction

• Gender equality high priority in government as well as among donors

• High score on the Gender Empowerment Measure: 61 of 116 countries

• Low score on the Gender Development Index: 123 of 130 countries

• Study series looks into these issues by testing the notion of an ongoing ‘feminisation of poverty’ in Mozambique

The Policy Context

• Gender equality emphasised by Frelimo before and after Independence

• Mozambique signature of all international gender agreements

• Importance of gender equality recognised in PARP/A

• Donors have gender equality as ‘cross-cutting issue’

• Institutional survey (22): Main areas of progress and areas of continued challenges

• Areas of most progress: • Pol. participation (55%)• Education (32%)• Areas of least progress: • Domestic violence (45%)• Econ. Participation (41%)• Perceived main constraint:• Socio-cultural conditions

(41%)• Capacity to implement

policies (36%)

The Studies

• 1st report based on existing national quantitative data (2008).

• Large variations within the country on key indicators

• 2nd and 3rd reports based on qualitative methodologies in Nampula and Gaza (2009-2010)

• Continued limited impact of gender policies on the ground, with some exceptions

Social Indicator (Percent) Nampula Gaza

Proportion FHH 15 41

Adult literacy rate – women 24 55

Primary school attendance - girls 43 77

Under-five mortality rate (1000) 220 156

HIV-AIDS - women 6 30

‘Accepting’ attitude dom.violence 62 59

Key Findings Nampula

• Matrilineal tradition, patriarchal impact of Islam and ‘cultural dependence’

• Low proportion of Female Headed Households (polygamy)

• Very limited income generation outside agriculture

• Low primary school attendance among girls, but higher in FHH

• Poor health conditions in FHH, early marriages and early sex

• Urban FHH higher income, better education and fewer health problems than rural FHH

• Scores low on the Gender Equality Index (0.327)

«Se homens e mulheres fossem iguais, todos nos seriamos simplesmente pessoas»

• Patrilineal tradition, extensive male migration and ‘relative economic independence’ for women

• High proportion of Female Headed Households, incl. single mothers

• High involvement in informal economy and agriculture

• High primary school attendance among girls

• Relatively good health indicators except HIV-AIDS

• Urban and rural FHH relatively equal in terms of income, education and health

• Scores high on the Gender Equality Index (0.423)

Key Findings Gaza

«Não fica bem que uma mulher seja chefe quando existem homens»

Main Findings Political• High political representation of women

in the central state apparatus – but not necessarily reflected in more ‘women-friendly’ policies

• Women’s representation in Districts and Localidades low, but higher in the South and in urban areas than in the North and in rural areas

• Women increasingly represented at the bairro/quarterão and localidade/ povoação level

• Men still control leadership positions in local organizations (religious/ social), but women represent the bulk of the membership

• Men dominate traditional institutions, but female leaders (rainhas) are relatively common in the North

Main Findings Economic

• Low formal employment of women; higher in the South than in the North.

• Women dominate agriculture (North) and the informal economy (South), but generally have lower income than men.

• Processes of change apparent in the urban economy, where women show entrepreneurship and may work independently

• Urban FHH show the most consistent reduction in poverty between 1996/97 and 2008/09.

• The very poorest and most destitute households continue to be female headed

Main Findings Socio-Cultural

• Most women still prefer to marry, and single mothers are often stigmatised

• Yet ‘living together’ relationships are increasingly common particularly in urban areas

• Traditional values being challenged by poverty in rural areas, and by increasing social space for women in urban areas

• Proportion of FHH increasing, de jure in the South and de facto in the North through polygamy

• Growing matriarchy in urban areas, with sign of a ‘masculinisation’ of poverty among the very poorest

Conclusions

• Important and clear policies for gender equality and women empowerment in Mozambique, but still:

• Limited political impact on the ground as the state and judiciary are too weak to implement policies to the local level

• Limited economic impact on the ground as liberal economic policies do not ‘trickle down’ to the very poorest women

• Limited donor impact as ‘streamlining’ gender has pulverised responsibilities to follow up gender issues in program-mes and projects

• Main changes for women and female headed households found in urban areas – largely the outcome of structural change

Recommendations (I)

• Policies and interventions must relate to existing socio-cultural differences in the country to be effective

• Strengthen the technical capacities and economic resources of the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs and related institutions

• More donor money should be challenged through the specialised agencies (UNIFEM, UNFPA)

• Target interventions to raise women’s control of resources in agriculture (rural) and in the informal economy (urban)

Recommendations (II)

• Among donors ‘mainstreaming’ gender should be complemented by more concrete programmes and projects

• More emphasis should be put on working through existing institutions that have a strong impact on gender, i.e. NGOs/CBOs, associations, traditional authorities, churches, mosques etc.

• A limited set of key gender-specific indicators should be identified to ease implementation of gender monitoring

Muito Obrigado !