1.0 Introduction
Gender issues and gender relations are socially determined relations between men and women within and outside their households and communities. These relations are socially constructed through gender biased socialization over time and space and are institutionalised in society. Gender issue vary from community to community, and most of time the family or household, market, community and the state combine their practice and reinforce the ideology of the social construction of gender.
Social construction of gender in the community result to gender differences between men and women to represent socially constructed norms regarding the division of labour, and the distribution of power, responsibilities and rights between men and women, the basis for differentiation continues to be traced back to biological difference. This paper will discuss social construction of gender in community around the Nguru Mountains in Mvomero District, Morogoro.
1.1Background information
The community around the South Nguru landscape (1425 km2), located in the South Nguru Mountains, comprises the Kanga Forest Reserve (67 km2), Nguru South Forest Reserve (184 km2) and Mkindo Forest Reserve (86 km2) in the Mvomero District, Morogoro Region. The community is located 220 km northwest of Dar es Salaam at 500-2,300 m. above sea level. The community consists of 7 wards which include Kanga, Diongoya, Mhonda, Sungaji, Kibati, Maskati and Hembeti. The South Nguru Landscape is inhabited by approximately 108,993 people, of whom 50,000 are estimated to live in villages adjacent to the forest. The South Nguru community is characterized by signs of rural underdevelopment and environmental deterioration which typify many parts of Tanzania. About 26 percent of the population of the community lives below the basic poverty line (Tanzania’s basic needs poverty line is equivalent to US$ 0.79 per capita per day). The dominant ethnic groups are the Nguu and Kaguru, who are native to the area, and the Zigua, Luguru, Chagga, Pare, Bena, Sukuma, Kinga, Hehe, Nguni, Nyakyusa and Maasai, who are in-migrants. Agriculture is the principle source of livelihood and the main crops are maize, beans, yam, sorghum, cassava, sweet potato, banana, rice, coffee and cardamom. The small minority of the population (less than 2%) not dependent upon agriculture is engaged in brewing, livestock keeping, casual labour and operating small retail shops
Although Mvomero district council have explicit gender mainstreaming policies, a lack of practical experience in gender issues at local level means that the integration of gender considerations in development programming is not assured, this has resulted into gender inequalities which are social gender constructed. Therefore, there is a need to improve the real involvement of women in local development institutions.
2.0 Theoretical literature review
The experience shows that the community around the Nguru Mountains in Mvomero District experience gender inequalities and this is gender constructed whereby, male fail to ensure the appropriate inclusion of women in decision-making fora and management structure (LIVING Project, 2006). Stakeholders’ analysis research done around the South Nguru Mountains in Mvomero District, Tanzania (Kim el tal, 2006) showed that women, who head households 30% in Mvomero, bear at least 80% of the labor burden but do not have equal opportunities and rights concerning ownership and inheritance of land and do not generally control the earnings from crop sales. According to source of (http://www.unfpa.org/gender/violence.htm, 2007), this is to show that despite many international agreements affirming their human rights, women are still much more likely than men to be poor, malnourished and illiterate. They usually have less access than men to medical care, property ownership, credit, training and employment. They are far less likely than men to be politically active and far more likely to be victims of domestic violence.
Kabeer Naila, (1995) reports that norms and rules have material consequences for issues of women and men's relative access to and claims over different categories of resources. The normative underpinnings of sex difference lead to differences in the way responsibilities are allocated, resources are distributed, and rights are granted. Asymmetries or inequalities thus grow to represent "conflicts" of interest, so that challenges to the way social rules are constructed represent challenges to the entire organisation of society. How women negotiate these changes will vary depending on the ability or capacity of a woman to risk changes to the way her life has been lived. Social construction of differences between men and women is the basis on which rules/ resources/ responsibilities/power and rights are distributed or allocated between women and men in society resulting in discrimination. Hence discrimination is socially constructed and is based on social rules or norms. What are rules? Simply put, social norms or rules are "ways of doing things" or patterns that become routine over a period of time. These patterns are so socially legitimized that they become reproduced with economy, because of the intricate ways in which identity and roles are intertwined. For example, a social rule or norm is that men are breadwinners and women are home makers or that men are leaders and decision makers and women are followers and implementers of decisions. In accordance with the rules, starting from the household, women are expected to be obedient, submissive and fulfill household responsibilities while remaining in the background. None of the institutions provide resources to them - economic or social, which are seen (from the perspective of the social construction of gender) as irrelevant for them. This has serious consequence for women.
According to the source of http://www.unfpa.org, 2007, in nearly every country, women work longer hours than men, but are usually paid less and are more likely to live in poverty. In subsistence economies, women spend much of the day performing tasks to maintain the household, such as carrying water and collecting fuel wood. In many countries women are also responsible for agricultural production and market work. Often they take on paid work or entrepreneurial enterprises as well. Unpaid domestic work – from food preparation to care giving – directly affects the health and overall well being and quality of life of children and other household members. The need for women’s unpaid labour often increases with economic shocks, such as those associated with the HIV/AIDS pandemic or economic restructuring. Yet women's voices and lived experiences – whether as workers (paid and unpaid), citizens, or consumers – are still largely missing from debates on finance and development. Poor women do more unpaid work, work longer hours and may accept degrading working conditions during times of crisis, just to ensure that their families survive.
The source still argues that, in some developing countries, practices that subjugate and harm women – such as wife-beating, killings in the name of honour, female genital mutilation/cutting and dowry deaths – are condoned as being part of the natural order of things. Throughout much of Asia, a preference for male children results in the neglect and sometimes infanticide of girls, or their elimination by abortion in places where prenatal tests are available to determine the sex of the fetus.Forced early marriage of young girls or adolescents is another practice that can cause lifelong psychological as well as physical problems, especially those resulting from early childbearing. And as conflicts among ethnic groups rage, women and girls have increasingly become pawns of war, and face rape and forced pregnancies. FGM/FGC, coerced sex and early marriage are also factors in the spread of HIV to women.
3.0 Policy review
Due to inequalities between men and women as the result of gender socially constructed in many of the countries in the world, governments, the international community and civil society, including non-governmental organizations and the private sector, are called upon to take strategic action in the following critical areas of concern:
~ The persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women
~ Inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to education and training
~ Inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to health care and related services
~ Violence against women
~ The effects of armed or other kinds of conflict on women, including those living under foreign occupation
~ Inequality in economic structures and policies, in all forms of productive activities and in access to resources
~ Inequality between men and women in the sharing of power and decision-making at all levels
~ Insufficient mechanisms at all levels to promote the advancement of women
~ Lack of respect for and inadequate promotion and protection of the human rights of women
~ Stereotyping of women and inequality in women's access to and participation in all communication systems, especially in the media
~ Gender inequalities in the management of natural resources and in the safeguarding of the environment
~ Persistent discrimination against and violation of the rights of the girl child(United nation,1995)
At nation level gender inequalities exist because of gender social construction, this situation has been acknowledged by the government. According to (United Republic of Tanzania, 1992), Tanzania accepts and recognizes that important reproductive role played by women in the society. Historically women throughout the world have had the responsibility of nurturing the family. They are the reproducers, the nurturers and guardians of children and family. They are in the fact the nurturers of society. Despite the various steps taken, our country has not been completely successful in ensuring that women have the freedom, opportunity and respect that are enjoyed by men in economic, political, social and cultural development.
Also (United Republic of Tanzania, 1992), pin point that Tanzanian women are poor than men despite that fact that women are the major actors in productive and reproductive activities. The total population, approximately 51.6 % are women. They comprise about 54% of the economically active population in rural areas are engaged in agriculture, producing about 60% to 80% of all domestic work. Despite their contribution to society, Tanzanian women do not receive adequate remuneration for their work. Traditionally and culturally barriers still block women access to and control of land and other properties. Although women contribute most of the labour in productive activities, they have little access to the income generated as men continue to dominate decision making not only within the household but also at national level. Tanzanian women have limited access to employment opportunities in the formal sector. As a result, many have had to adopt survival strategies through the informal sector where many operate without support to extension service or credit. Many of the activities in the informal sector have increased the burden on women.
In education, the girl child has limited opportunity to pursue education. Despite special focus on girl’s education, enrollment in primary schools is still lower than that of male pupils because of parental preference for boy’s education. Only 27.3% of form V students and 24.3% of form VI students are women. This lower representation of women continues up to university level.
4.0 Empirical review
4.1 Over view of social gender construction in community around the Nguru Mountains
In general, gender issues and relation have been socially constructed. In most of the communities, gender inequalities exist, and consider men are better compared to women, and most of good things believed that are possessed by men. Communities consider men as strong, capable for sport and computer skills, have right for paid work, pursue physical science, right of power, rational and are self-reliance while women are considered to be soft, have the right for unpaid work, cooperation, powerless, emotional and pursue humanities. Taking a case study of the community around the Nguru Mountains, experience gender inequalities socially constructed as the result of their culture and history.
The Nguru Mountain community perceives that:-
Men make good leaders and have power in decision making on family and community benefit.
Women are dependent on men
Men have right to have education rather than women
Men are required to access and control resources at household level and community level in general.
Boy child is more valuable compared t girl child
Women are not good in leadership and business opportunities.
Women are not good in family expenditure decision making
Men are competent in searching market of family products compared to women
Home works (such as washing dish, clothes cooking etc) are the right to be performed by female only.
Women have got no right to inherit home’s properties
Women are not required to attend meeting, seminar and community development activities due to cultural prohibitions.
Women have got ability to fear from expressing themselves in front of audience, this seems to be a result of being neglected historically.
Women are not strong to perform some of the works which are considered to be harder works for instance faming.
Social gender constructed has resulted to differences among men and women, and in turn women lag behind in the development process from household level to national level. According to the gender issues assessment conducted by (Care Tanzania, 2007) in community around the Nguru mountains, the following results were revealed based on:-
4.1.1 Knowledge of Nguru mountains community on difference between sex and gender
Assessment results showed that 51.5% of men and 62.7% of women who participated in exercise said women cannot propose marriage to men, also 60% of men and 64.7% of women said that women are created to take care of children, another thing is that 54.5% of men and 64.7% of women said that it is a sex issue for men to be family leaders while it is gender issue. These percentages show that society assume some of gender issues as sex issues, which is implying that society has low knowledge on differences between gender and sex issues.
Also results shows that 66.7% of women who participated in filling questionnaires pointed out that women can’t be religious leaders, 62.7% of women said that there are more male miners than female miners, 64.7% of women said that it is not the job of father to change nappies, and 58.8% of women said that is a sex (biological) issue for men don’t cry when are in problems. This result shows that women are in a situation not able to differentiate between sex and gender issues. Also it shows that women agree with cultural and historical situation of being undermined by men in the society since they agree some of gender issues as right to be sex (biological) issues
4.1.2 Gender roles in Nguru mountains community
Assessment results showed that 60.6% of men said that taking care of children is both men and women’s responsibility, while 64.7% of women said that it is women’s responsibility. 43.9% of men said that cooking is both men and women’s responsibility, while 68.6% of women said that it is women’s responsibility. 56.1% of men said that buying items in market is both men and women’s responsibility, while 74.5% of women said that it is women’s responsibility. It shows that men were not read to fill in questionnaire that those responsibilities are done by women only shying from researchers. And more than 50% of participants said that the following responsibilities are done by female only and are biological such as bread feeding, giving birth etc). Also more than 50% said the following responsibilities are done by both male and female such as educate children, cultivating farm, weeding, be a leader in society, harvesting etc.
4.1.3 Access and control of resources and benefits in Nguru mountains community
Assessment results showed that more than 50% of men and women, said that both male and female access and control resources together in the society. And less than 10% of men and women said that women access and control resources such as land, farm, house, etc. It implies that even if women are involved in access and control of resources, still women are not empowered to access and control resources their own.
4.2 Social construction of gender at workplace
4.2.1 Rationale
CARE’s vision of a world of “hope, tolerance, and social justice” challenges the organization to work towards the eradication of discrimination in all its forms. CARE recognizes that in our societies and organizational cultures, biased stereotypes and social norms prevent women and men from exercising their free choice and from taking full and equal advantage of opportunities for individual development, contribution and reward. It is increasingly clear that gender disparities and biases undermine the effectiveness of CARE’s operations, in both stable and emergency contexts. CARE recognizes that gender equity is a critical component of the organization’s commitment to diversity. CARE Gender Policy, along with related policies that support diversity, seeks to clarify the organization’s expectations and guidelines to assist staff in their efforts to advance gender equity. The policy is marked by two fundamental principles:
· That all people, by virtue of their shared humanity, carry inherently equal dignity and rights. Therefore, CARE should always affirm and uphold the equal rights, opportunities and status of men and women.
· That each person, by virtue of her or his particular character and context, has a unique identity and combination of aspirations and abilities. Therefore, CARE must strive to understand how the particular conditions of each individual or social group shape its ability to achieve equal fulfillment, and create tailored opportunities for each to thrive.
4.2.2 Gender policy statement
In order to fulfill CARE mission and vision, CARE is dedicated to advancing Gender Equity in organization and in programs. CARE will improve the ability of men and women to work creatively and effectively in the organization and in communities in the developing world by increasing awareness of gender inequities and, by working with women and men to change the conditions that create and maintain them. We will advance gender equity within the institution through our management of human resources and the organizational culture, and within the communities we serve through our programming and our advocacy. Ultimately, by harnessing the full potential of all women and men, this commitment will improve our organizational effectiveness and the quality and impact of our programs.
4.2.3 Implementation of gender policy in workplace
CARE community recognizes that gender equity progress at different rates and by different means around the CARE world. Staff respects the flexibility of this process; at workplace, staff is accountable for achieving measurable progress toward a situation where men and women enjoy equal opportunities, rights and access to power and resources. Due to CARE gender policy, it has required changes in the way staff works. CARE staff and partners must develop innovative approaches that provide responsible support to communities to explore gender dynamics and advance gender equity.
5.0 Conclusion
Gender inequalities in the community are not innate, instead, are socially constructed and has created gap between men and women in all aspect of life. For instance, denial of chances to the woman for education by the family leads to fewer options in the work place or the fact that women are solely responsible for childcare in the family leads to disapproval of working women and women who seek market place substitutes for child care. The women are unprepared to be competitive in the market which exploits them as cheap labour as they are not seen as needing the same wages as men. They are also then denied participation in community decisions, and in turn have limited rights in household decisions as they are seen as not having enough exposure or on the grounds that it is not their role. Because of their lack of decision-making powers and capacity in the public sphere, they are unable to influence the market. Their lack of decision-making in the public sphere also means that they are denied valuable economic and political rights by the state. Because of the disadvantages they face women in turn are unable to influence the state as critical political constituencies. In this manner a cycle of discrimination is established and justified on the basis of the expectations of society with regard to women and men. The denial of equality and rights for women is based on biological difference as well as a notion of equivalent rights: men have a right to education to earn a living, women are economically provided for, or that change is costly.
Men need to be involved if gender equality is to be achieved Some research shows that men also want to be involved, and that many welcome the idea of mutually satisfying relationships built on trust and communication. Women cannot achieve gender equality and sexual and reproductive health without the cooperation and participation of men. Men – as community, political or religious leaders – often control access to reproductive health information and services, finances, transportation and other resources. As heads of state and government ministers, as leaders of religious and faith-based institutions, as judges, as heads of armies and other agencies of force, as village heads, or indeed as husbands and fathers, men often wield enormous power over many aspects of women’s lives.
In general, every individual and institution is expected to play their role in order to attain equity and equality goals. The target should be to mainstream gender issue into every aspect of life within our society. In doing so poverty will be reduced, hence national strategy for growth and reduction of poverty will be attained, as well as millennium development goals.
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