Gender Policies and
Feminisation of Poverty in Mozambique
Presentation of report series 2008-2010
VIP Hotel, Maputo Maputo 30.09.2011
Inge Tvedten, CMI
Margarida Paulo, Cruzeiro do Sul Minna 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
• 1
streport based on existing
national quantitative data (2008).
• Large variations within the country on key indicators
• 2
ndand 3
rdreports 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
