Gênero, Juventude, e Inclusão Social No Acesso a Terras e Oportunidades Econômicas

Resumo Da Avaliaçâo Inicial Com As Comunidades Na Área Da Novo Madal

Por meio do programa Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG), a USAID está trabalhando com a Novo Madal, uma das maiores empresas agrícolas em Moçambique, para promover investimento de terras e agronegócio inclusivos, devolução de terras às comunidades locais e envolvimento com pequenos agricultores que beneficie mulheres, jovens e outros grupos marginalizados. Em novembro de 2020, a organização NANA (Associação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento), que implementa a atividade a nível local, realizou uma avaliação inicial sobre gênero, juventude e inclusão social nas áreas limítrofes às propriedades da Novo Madal no distrito de Quelimane, na província de Zambézia. O objetivo do estudo foi analisar a situação atual e percepções das comunidades-alvo sobre gênero, juventude e inclusão social para informar o plano de implementação da atividade que visa documentar as terras cedidas pela Novo Madal às comunidades, apoiar a empresa no desenvolvimento de políticas e práticas sensíveis ao gênero, aumentar a participação das mulheres na tomada de decisões nas comunidades e aumentar as oportunidades das mulheres para o uso produtivo da terra e empoderamento econômico.

O estudo combinou análise documental, observações diretas, e entrevistas semiestruturadas por meio de grupos focais de discussão com mulheres (incluindo casadas, solteiras ou viúvas), homens, mulheres jovens (12 a 20 anos), homens jovens (12 a 20 anos) e equipe da Novo Madal. A coleta de dados foi realizada em oito comunidades (Inhangulue, Marracua, Machimano, Magalá, Naiver, Gumira, Milato e Mussuloga) nas propriedades de Temane e Malacuari, perfazendo 60% do total das comunidades-alvo. Os objetivos específicos incluem conhecer o papel que homens, mulheres e jovens desempenham na produção agrícola; identificar as perspectivas e necessidades de homens e mulheres (e subgrupos relevantes) relacionadas ao acesso, uso, e controle de terras; identificar as normas, papéis e responsabilidades de género nas comunidades; e compreender melhor a perspectiva e capacidade da empresa Novo Madal em relação à igualdade de gênero e empoderamento das mulheres.

Gender, Youth, and Social Inclusion in Access to Land and Economic Opportunities

Summary of the Initial Assessment of the Communities in the Novo Madal Area

Through the Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) program, USAID is working with Novo Madal, one of the largest agricultural companies in Mozambique, to promote inclusive land investment and agribusiness, provision of land to local communities, and engagement with smallholder farmers that benefit women, youth, and other marginalized groups. In November 2020, the organization NANA – Associação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento, which is implementing the activity at the local level, carried out an initial assessment on gender, youth, and social inclusion in the areas bordering the Novo Madal properties in the district of Quelimane, Zambézia Province. The objective of the study was to analyze the current situation and perceptions of the target communities on gender, youth, and social inclusion in order to inform the implementation plan. The overall activity aims to document the land ceded by Novo Madal to the communities, support the company in the development of gender-sensitive policies and practices, increase women’s participation in decision-making in the communities, and increase opportunities for women in productive land use and economic empowerment.

The study combined desk review, direct observation, and semi-structured interviews through focus groups with women (married, single, or widowed), men, young women (12 to 20 years old), young men (12 to 20 years old), and the Novo Madal team. Data collection was carried out in eight communities (Inhangulue, Marracua, Machimano, Magalá, Naiver, Gumira, Milato, and Mussuloga) on the properties of Temane and Malacuari, making up 60 percent of the total target communities. Specific objectives included understanding the role that men, women, and young people play in agricultural production; identifying the perspectives and needs of men and women (and relevant subgroups) related to access, use, and control of land; identifying gender norms, roles, and responsibilities in the communities; and better understanding the attitude and capacity of Novo Madal on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Gender and Land in Traditional Land Management Area (TLMA) Mwansambo in Malawi: Gender Assessment Brief

The USAID Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) program is working with the government of Malawi to support gender-responsive customary land registration in the traditional land management area (TLMA) Mwansambo in Nkhotakota District.

Traditional Authority (TA) Mwansambo is predominantly rural and farming dependent. It is a Chewa matrilineal area that normally has broader women’s rights to land, but with a patrilocal form of marriage (chitengwa) that tends to restrict women’s land rights. ILRG will provide technical assistance to strengthen the district-level land registry and support land clerks; promote the inclusion of women and youth in the land documentation process; engage key stakeholders to shift gender norms around women’s land rights; and convene dialogues with national and international stakeholders to discuss lessons learned and build positive momentum.

To better understand the barriers and opportunities for gender-responsive and socially inclusive customary land registration and inform program implementation, a gender assessment was carried out in September and October 2021. Quantitative data was gathered through a semi-structured questionnaire with 447 respondents. Qualitative data was collected through in-depth key informant interviews with 19 stakeholders at national, district, and community levels, as well as 15 focus group discussions (FGD) and participatory exercises with 180 men, women, young men, and young women from seven communities. This brief provides an overview of the findings and recommendations of the assessment; the full gender assessment report with details on the methodology, a socioeconomic profile of TA Mwansambo, findings, recommendations, and data collection tools can be found here.

Gender and Land in Traditional Authority Mwansambo in Malawi: Gender Assessment Report

Over 70 percent of land in Malawi is administered under customary laws. In 2016 the government enacted a series of land laws, including the Customary Land Act 2016, that allows all customary land holders to formalize ownership through registration of their parcels. Despite this legal framework for rights registration, the formalization of customary land governance arrangements faces significant challenges that may constrain inclusive and gender-responsive customary land administration. As a result, progress on women’s customary land rights has been cumbersome and slow, and women’s tenure insecurity remains high.

With funding from the Women’s Economic Empowerment Fund at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) program is working with the Land Reform Implementation Unit at the Ministry of Lands and Urban Development to support gender-responsive customary land registration in the Traditional Land Management Area (TLMA) Mwansambo in Nkhotakota District, which is predominantly rural and farming dependent. ILRG will provide technical assistance to the district-level land registry and clerks; promote the inclusion of women and youth in the land documentation process; engage key stakeholders to shift gender norms around women’s land rights; and convene dialogues with national and international stakeholders to discuss lessons learned and build positive momentum.

To better understand the barriers and opportunities for gender-responsive and socially inclusive customary land registration and inform program implementation, a gender assessment was carried out in September and October 2021. The study design, data collection, and data analysis were guided by the five domains framework for gender analysis recommended by USAID ADS 205.1 A literature review was complemented by primary data. Quantitative data was gathered through a semi-structured questionnaire with 447 respondents. Qualitative data was collected through in-depth key informant interviews with 19 stakeholders at national, district, and community levels, as well as 15 focus group discussions and participatory exercises with 180 men, women, young men, and young women from seven communities.

The assessment found that although the legal framework in Malawi provides for gender equality in land rights and equal representation in local governance structures, social and gender norms hinder women’s access, ownership, and control of land and their participation in land governance. Traditional Authority (TA) Mwansambo is a predominantly Chewa matrilineal society but with a predominant patrilocal form of marriage (chitengwa) that tends to restrict women’s lands rights. Customary land is perceived to belong to the clan or family and there is resistance to registering land in the name of women, as it is feared that it could lead to the clan losing that land. Women have limited access to information, restricted physical and social mobility, and a disproportionate share of unpaid household tasks, which constrain their ability to know about and exercise their land rights. Men are considered “heads of household” and make decisions related to land in the household and in local governance. Gender-based violence is prevalent and accepted. These barriers affect certain sub-groups of women even more. In addition to these challenges, the assessment highlighted opportunities to promote gender-responsive customary land registration and to strengthen women’s land rights, making a series of recommendations for ILRG and other government and international stakeholders planning and implementing land programs in TA Mwansambo and other parts of Malawi.

Brief: Women’s Land Rights and Economic Empowerment in Cocoa Communities in Ghana – Gender Assessment

Due to its commercial value, cocoa is considered a man’s crop and gender inequality is pervasive in the cocoa sector. Indeed, although women are involved in nearly all activities of cocoa production in Ghana, their role and contributions remain unseen, undervalued, and often unpaid. This is caused by a combination of unequal access to productive resources, unbalanced power relationships, and harmful gender norms. Land ownership is a key factor. Because women typically do not own or lease land on their own, they are often not perceived as farmers by themselves or others and have low representation in cocoa producer groups, which are an important vehicle for receiving inputs, extension services, financial services, and technology. However it was found that when women are allocated a parcel of land to control and manage, they recognize themselves as farmers, as do others. Women also have little to no involvement in the sale of cocoa and limited decision-making power over use of income from cocoa production. Evidence from other women’s empowerment initiatives has shown that empowering women in the cocoa value chain leads to increased productivity and benefits to their households.

To address these barriers, USAID is working with Ecom Agroindustrial Corp. (ECOM), a global commodity trading and processing company specialized in coffee, cocoa, and cotton, as well as brands who buy cocoa from ECOM such as Hershey, to strengthen women’s land rights and economically empower women in the cocoa value chain in Ghana. Implemented by the Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) program, the two-year activity will engage both the sustainability and commercial branches of ECOM to integrate gender equality into its standard business operations and core training programs offered to farmers. This will provide ECOM with the knowledge, resources, and best practices to work with community members to empower women in Ghana and potentially more broadly in West Africa. This work could ultimately scale benefits to nearly 1 million farmers: 120,000 cocoa farmers ECOM engages with in Ghana and over 800,000 in Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria.

An initial gender assessment was carried out between November 2020 and March 2021 to provide a better understanding of the barriers and opportunities for gender equality, social inclusion, and women’s economic empowerment in the cocoa value chain in Ghana, particularly focused on ECOM’s current practices and capacity regarding gender equality and women’s empowerment, women’s access to productive resources in target cocoa communities, and crop diversification opportunities for women. The gender assessment included a review of existing primary and secondary data, interviews with 40 ECOM staff and local stakeholders, and focus group discussions with 122 women and men farmers in Assin Fosu and Antoakrom Districts.

This brief shares a summary of the findings and recommendations according to five domains: 1) laws, policies, regulations, and institutional practices; 2) social norms and beliefs; 3) gender roles, responsibilities, and time use; 4) access to and control over assets and resources; and 5) patterns of power and decision-making. Detailed findings and recommendations are available in the full gender assessment report.

Click here to download the full gender assessment brief.

Women’s Land Rights and Economic Empowerment in Cocoa Communities in Ghana – Gender Assessment

Executive Summary

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is working with Ecom Agroindustrial Corp. (ECOM), a global commodity trading company, as well as their international brand name partners, including Hersheys, to strengthen women’s land rights and economically empower women in the cocoa value chain in Ghana. An initial gender assessment was carried out by the Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) program to provide a better understanding of ECOM’s current capacity and the barriers and opportunities for women’s economic empowerment in two target districts, ultimately informing a two-year activity with ECOM and Hershey.

The assessment included a review of existing primary and secondary data, as well as new qualitative data obtained through interviews with ECOM staff and local stakeholders and focus group discussions with women and men farmers. This gender assessment report analyses findings according to five domains: 1) laws, policies, regulations, and institutional practices; 2) social norms and beliefs; 3) gender roles, responsibilities, and time use; 4) access to and control over assets and resources; and 5) patterns of power and decision-making.

Although the legal framework in Ghana provides for equal rights to land ownership and inheritance, in practice women face barriers to owning and making decisions about land. Land ownership determines not only who is considered a cocoa farmer, but also membership in farmers’ groups, and access to resources. As women usually do not own land, they have less access to inputs, training and extension services, technology, and financial services. These constraints negatively affect the quantity and quality of cocoa they can produce, and their income. The dynamics between indigene land owners and immigrant family tenants, and women’s roles in each, further influences if and how women access and control cocoa fields.

Social norms and related beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors limit women’s participation and benefit-sharing in the cocoa value chain in Ghana. Cocoa is considered a man’s crop, with men typically considered to be farmers and women to have a supportive role, even though they actively perform several tasks in cocoa production. The assessment found that women who head households on their own face additional barriers to participation in the cocoa sector and that gender-based violence is socially accepted and prevalent in the target communities. Because men are socially accepted as heads of households and considered more knowledgeable about cocoa, they have greater decision-making power. Men have the discretion to make decisions about cocoa production, resources, and income without consulting women, but the reverse does not apply.

Roles in cocoa farming are highly gendered: tasks considered to require physical strength, high level skills, and key decision-making power are reserved for men. These include land clearing, pruning, spraying, harvesting, fermentation, bagging, and the sale of cocoa. Women carry a disproportionate burden of unpaid household labor, so they have less time to work in cocoa farming, participate in training, and engage in income diversification activities.

ECOM has promoted gender equality within the company and in how it engages with cocoa farmers in Ghana, although clear policies, strategies, and expertise to guide such efforts remain a critical gap. Based on these findings, the assessment includes recommendations to strengthen ECOM’s gender capacity and ways in which to integrate gender equality and women’s empowerment into ECOM’s core business.

Mozambique Gender, Youth, and Social Inclusion Assessment

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Women’s economic empowerment and removing land tenure-related obstacles to women’s development is a primary focus of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Integrated Land and Resource Governance (ILRG) program. In Mozambique, the project has supported the delimitation of land parcels and the establishment of land associations in Ile District in Zambézia Province, an area dominated by a matrilineal and matrilocal social structure. The district has a very young population, with approximately half of inhabitants under 15 years old.

In Ile District, the Mozambican organization Associação Rural de Ajuda Mútua (ORAM) received a grant from ILRG in 2019 to establish community land associations and water user associations and delimit around 3,000 land parcels in five communities. Previously, in 2018, ORAM had established land associations and delimited over 10,000 land parcels in 20 communities through the Land: Enhancing Governance for Economic Development (LEGEND) project, funded by the Department for International Development (DFID). Through these projects, ORAM supported the establishment and capacity building of community land associations as legal community representatives on land and natural resource management. The projects facilitated delimitation of community boundaries and the delimitation of land parcels that had been previously acquired by families or individuals. The community land associations then provided each titleholder with a declaration of their right to occupy and use the land, called a Direito de Uso e Aproveitamento da Terra (DUAT).

The objective of this assessment is to address youth and gender relationships and their influence on decision-making related to land and land use within families and community land associations. This will give a better understanding of how the matrilineal context interacts with women’s and men’s land use and tenure, and how land delimitation and titling have affected land rights in the area in order to inform future ILRG activities.

The assessment focuses on the following key aspects:

  1. Gender relationships and their influence on decision-making on land issues within households;
  2. Gender relationships and their influence on decision-making on land issues in community land associations;
  3. Joint titling vs. sole titling; and
  4. Communications, training and implementation tools and materials.

The assessment is primarily based on qualitative field work carried out in Ile District in February 2020. The data was collected in two rural communities, and a total of 79 persons were interviewed; eight of them were technicians or local experts, and 71 were community members. Quantitative data, collected during the delimitation projects, has also been included in the analysis.

 




 

Brief: Gender Assessment of the Wildlife Sector in Zambia

The government of Zambia recognizes the need for community involvement in management and conservation of natural resources and has taken steps to decentralize natural resource governance to the community level. Rural livelihoods are dependent on forests and wildlife as an important source of both food and income. Its estimated that 60 percent of rural households rely on forests for income, and in some areas forest-related goods contribute to up to 20 percent of rural household income, providing at least 1.4 million jobs nationally (Wathum, Seebauer, & Carodenuto, 2016). Forests also provide a safety net in times of climatic stress and shocks.

Women and men have distinct social roles and responsibilities at the household and community levels that shape knowledge and understanding of the local environment and the use of natural resources. These gender differences between women and men play an important part in natural resource governance and management. Depletion of these resources also impacts women and men differently.

The assessment was carried out to analyze the drivers and threats to Zambia’s wildlife and forestry resources management in relation to gender issues, with the aim of providing information and recommendations for the United States Agency for International Development’s Integrated Land and Resource Governance Program to integrate into strategies, scopes of work, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning plans and to act as a resource for Zambia’s wildlife sector on gender inclusive natural resource management.

 




 

ILRG Gender Assessment For Zambia and Mozambique Findings and Recommendations for Gender Integration into Activity Design and Implementation, 2019–2021

INTEGRATED LAND AND RESOURCE GOVERNANCE TASK ORDER UNDER THE STRENGTHENING TENURE AND RESOURCE RIGHTS II (STARR II) IDIQ

INTRODUCTION

Governance (ILRG) program’s Gender Integration Strategy to project objectives and activities in Zambia and Mozambique pertaining to four areas: (1) documentation of customary/community land rights; (2) administration of customary/community land rights; (3) land use planning; and (4) governance of forestry and wildlife resources. The findings of this report will be integrated into each annual work plan and as new grantees and implementing partners are brought onto the project. Each country’s gender advisor will also use this assessment as a basis for their own work planning activities on a quarterly basis. The assessment will be built upon through time, as the management and technical team periodically review the report to ensure that principles and activities are actively integrated. Toward this end, the project works with governments, communities, civil society and the private sector.

The primary source of data for the assessment relates to work that was previously done under the Tenure and Global Climate Change (TGCC) program in Zambia and the Responsible Investment Pilot in Mozambique, which focused largely on customary/community land rights documentation. The assessment is therefore weighted toward this area of ILRG focus. This work builds on gender analysis previously conducted on TGCC activities in Zambia, and land and resource governance more generally in the project areas.1 The assessment is forward-looking, intended to inform practical steps that can be taken by ILRG staff and implementation partners to ensure a robust integration of the gender strategy and to flag urgent and important issues for follow-up. The assessment is limited in scope by time. With only one week in each country, spread between the respective capital cities and three project sites, the assessment team did not attempt to do deep substantive research, but rather to gain enough knowledge as quickly as possible to identify and begin to explore risks and opportunities moving forward. Finally, not every fact or impression captured in the assessment is presented in this report; rather the author seeks to condense findings and recommendations to those of highest priority and potential impact.

Specific objectives of this assessment include:

  1. To gain a more thorough understanding of impediments to women’s equal participation in land and resource governance, and rights to land and resources, within the project communities, and how the project can address these over time.
  2. Using the ILRG gender strategy as a guide, to identify gaps in gender equality in processes and outcomes related to planned project components and activities (with emphasis on the year one work plan), and provide strategies for addressing these.

The year one work plan provides little guidance on how to implement the project objectives in a way that equally includes and benefits both women and men. Per the ILRG gender strategy, access points for working on gender within the work plan are many. The challenge is to identify the combination of channels and approaches that will best foster gender equitable processes and outcomes and, at the very least, ensure that the project does not further entrench gender-biased social norms that continue to keep women and other vulnerable groups in the cycle of poverty. The assessment recommendations take note of the need to balance robust gender integration with efficiency of process.

During the course of the assessment, the project team had an opportunity to discuss in more detail the gender vision for the project, coming up with three working priorities. These incorporate a broad range of project values and guide the substance of this report, particularly the recommendations.

  1. Do no harm. The first objective for the project’s gender-related work is that we do not further entrench existing inequities through project design and activities. Given the high level of existing gender bias related to land and natural resource rights and governance in the project areas, and the lack of specific national expertise on gender in the project teams,2 there is a very serious risk that ILRG and other land rights documentation/recognition/ formalization projects will lock into place a gender-biased cultural approach at a time when cultural and social norms and trends are actually in great flux, due to urbanization, globalization, breakdown of traditional household and community institutions and traditions, and swiftly changing demographic patterns. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is not a passive bystander, but is rather actively engaged in formalizing rights and moving toward commoditization of rights to land and natural resources through ILRG and other programs. What if the outcome is that women are disproportionately locked out of the benefits? What is the impact of that now? In ten years? For future generations? It is of urgent importance to identify at the outset what steps can be taken to mitigate and address these risks.
  2. Support gender champions within the project areas. Some key leaders in both customary and state institutions within the project areas are already committed to gender equitable land and natural resource governance and have been working to strengthen women’s land rights. These include particular chiefs and chieftainesses, headmen and headwomen, leaders of farmer cooperatives, and certain local officials. The project will seek ways to support these champions, leveraging their voice for broader awareness and potential behavior change within a culturally appropriate framework.
  3. Provide space, time, and mechanisms within project areas for positive social changes related to gender to take place alongside project activities, and to be reflected in activities and outcomes. It will be important to make sure that gender-related dialogues around land and natural resource governance are taking place within communities3 that allow for organic shifts and changes around gender to take place, and for these to be reflected in project implementation.

The remainder of the report contains a short methodology section, followed by a section on findings in both Zambia and Mozambique, and concluding with a section on recommendations. The report has two annexes; one on legislative and policy issues for follow-up, and a second on issues for further data analysis.

 




 

Gender Assessment of the Wildlife Sector in Zambia

INTEGRATED LAND AND RESOURCE GOVERNANCE TASK ORDER UNDER THE STRENGTHENING TENURE AND RESOURCE RIGHTS II (STARR II) IDIQ

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Zambia has a relatively robust legal framework for protecting women’s rights and encouraging community participation in forest and wildlife management through acts and policies such as the National Gender Policy (2014), the Anti-Gender-Based Violence Act No. 1 (2011), Gender Equity and Equality Act No. 22 (2016), Zambia Wildlife Act No. 14 of 2015, National Parks and Wildlife Policy (2018), National Forestry Policy (2014), Forest Act No. 4 (2015), and Statutory Instrument 11 of 2018 Forests (Community Forest Management) Regulations. Yet implementation on the ground remains weak, with social norms and structural issues limiting women’s inclusion and participation, particularly within the wildlife and forestry sectors. This report presents a literature review and field assessment of gender issues related to community-based natural resource management in Zambia, examining issues and providing recommendations related to: cultural norms and attitudes; governance; employment; women’s livelihoods and entrepreneurial activities; intersection between wildlife, forestry, and land rights; policy, legal, and regulatory issues; and gender-based violence (GBV) concerns.

BACKGROUND

It is estimated that 60 percent of rural households rely on forests for incomes, contributing approximately 20 percent of rural household incomes and providing at least 1.4 million jobs nationally (Wathum, Seebauer, & Carodenuto, 2016). Wildlife provides an important source of protein and can be the main source of income in some communities, mostly through illegal hunting and sale of bushmeat. Men focus their efforts largely on activities that have potential to earn high income; for example, the three highest value products, charcoal, timber, and honey (Giesecke, 2012). Women tend to focus on daily subsistence and food security needs, including firewood, fruits, nuts, seeds, roots, mushrooms, plant-based medicines, caterpillars, and grass for thatching houses. Firewood collection in particular, is a reason that some girls leave school early and can place girls and women at greater risk of GBV.

FINDINGS

Harmful gender norms are working against women. In all chiefdoms visited, there was a strong cultural belief that men are “strong enough” and women are “too weak” to engage in some of the roles associated with wildlife and forest management, despite women performing equally when given the opportunity. Women who were willing to work in the sector and travel from home faced local stigma, for example being accused of prostitution. Polygamy has made women feel less secure in asserting independence for fear of being sidelined by their husband. These attitudes are not restricted to rural communities, but are pervasive in urban and rural environments alike.

Women’s representation in community governance is very low. Out of the 76 community resource boards (CRBs) found nationally, only four were led by women at the time of the assessment, in part due to few women having resources or social space to run successful election campaigns, family pressure against women taking time away from families to serve, and educational and language requirements. With an increased burden at the household level, women found less time for community leadership (CRBs and village action groups [VAGs]). Women self-selected away from even considering these positions.

Even if elected, women face challenges to equal participation. At the national level, it was single/widowed women, rather than married women, that made it to the top-most level of the CRB structure. When women are elected to local community groups, they rarely occupy positions of authority.

Women’s interests are rarely represented in wildlife governance decisions. When funds come into community resource management, they are often directed to settle a backlog of salary arrears, leaving very little for developmental projects. In some instances CRBs spent funds on projects labelled as “women’s empowerment,” but the projects were not necessarily about women nor did they reflect women’s own priorities. An example of one such a project was the community organized football tournament that was regarded as women’s empowerment project for merely allowing women to take part. Distribution of game meat within communities placed women at risk. For example, safari operators distribute meat from their sanctioned hunts with neighboring communities. However, in some cases delivery results in a free-for-all among community members fighting for meat, resulting in injury and long-standing animosity among community members.

Community wildlife sector employment opportunities are not equitable. The assessment found that the women who had been employed in a community scout role were widely regarded as good and efficient workers. Yet women are not adequately targeted in recruitment, and scout selection is overly focused on physical fitness requirements that are defined in ways that are inherently gender-biased, and are less focused on other important qualities for the job. An example has been the approach in some communities to only select the top finishers in a footrace rather than demonstration of (men or women’s) ability to meet physical requirements, such as running 10km with a pack. When employed, women are culturally expected to carry out additional chores, for example cooking and cleaning, in addition to their hired responsibilities. Female scouts played a role in sting operations for the investigations unit of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife. This role involves luring poachers and spending time with them to gain insight into their activities. The work has created risks of GBV for the scouts involved and requires additional protection measures, which should be more fully factored into these risky operations. GBV is a common problem that has been culturally tolerated within society; as a result, communities underestimate its impact. GBV risks are partly responsible for discouraging women from participating in community leadership.

RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Adopt top-down measures that promote women’s participation and representation, particularly in CRBs and VAGs. Set realistic goals to increase women’s participation and leadership. Review the VAG and CRB election guidelines; while maintaining transparency of the process, simplify the rules of the game and remove costly provisions.
  • Once women are elected into resource management groups, provide training to both women and men and their spouses, to increase knowledge and capacity to address gender issues as well as specific leadership and empowering skills for women.
  • Traditional authorities play an important role in maintaining beliefs and practices and have the power to bring about change. They should therefore be targeted for any meaningful change that will benefit women.
  • Develop and adopt national-level regulations on transparency of all budget processes and systems in CRBs and VAGs that increase chances of women to participate and benefit from the CRB resources.
  • Implement household level interventions on behavior change to encourage more women to seek leadership positions in natural resource management and create male champions to support them.
  • Prioritize women’s political, social and economic empowerment interventions to benefit women within the CRB and VAG structures, such as women’s leadership courses to build confidence, exchange visits or convening for women CRB members in different regions. This includes access to information and skills development opportunities.
  • Create and disseminate awareness on women’s involvement in the wildlife sector. Develop briefs on success stories to tackle cultural attitudes towards engagement of women in the sector. Demonstrate a case for increasing trends on the role of women in law enforcement.
  • Advocate for adoption by the government of specific targets for promoting the participation of women in trainings, recruitment, and for increasing the hiring of women in the wildlife sector by both the government and CRBs.
  • Support the development of strong and gender-inclusive district and chiefdom-wide integrated development planning processes and enforcement mechanisms that consider forestry and wildlife resource use. There is a need to develop a best practice prototype for addressing gender considerations in integrated development plans.