Why and how to improve women

1
Why and how to improve womens programs?Enhance
income generation activities and Improve food
quality.

• Results of a 5 months survey in Baharaks valley
  (Badakhshan).
• Cécile Duchet, agronomist, junior researcher.

2
Plan

• Objectives of this study
• Presentation of Baharaks valley
• Which difficulties have to be faced by womens
  programs in rural Afghanistan?
• How womens programs can move on to  nutrition
  security  programs?
• Which ways forwards for income generation
  programs?

3
Objectives of this fields study

• Understand with a comprehensive view
• Womens roles in agriculture
• Womens roles in decision making power inside
  and outside the households.
• Households eating habits and the main
  challenges of food in Baharak.

4
Background Baharaks valley
Good opportunities for farming activities

• Women are involved in many farming activities
  inside their compound
• Vegetables and fruits processing

An attractive  sub-urban  area

• Different ways of life.
• Markets opportunities.

but with constraints of remote places

• Few women are literate.
• Difficult access to the market during winter.

5
Which difficulties are faced by womens
programsin rural Afghanistan?

• Women are  hiding behind walls  because of
• Social pressure
• Local history

6
Which difficulties are faced by womens
programsin rural Afghanistan?

• Womens activities do not generate  visible 
  incomes
• Womens work is hardly visible.
• Women exchange goods instead of selling them.
• Women do not have enough time and material to
  produce surplus (handicraft).
• Men do not let women exchanging expensive
  products.

7
Which difficulties are faced by womens
programsin rural Afghanistan?

• Women cannot be considered as a coherent group!
• Womens roles in decision making process depend
  on different factors
• womens generative status
• relationship between women within the villages
  (harmony)
• households composition

8
Which difficulties face womens programs in rural
Afghanistan?

• The issue of relevance and sustainability of
  womens programs
• Women are not considered as an economic worker
  (failures of literacy courses).
• Programs do not consider the whole production
  chain (example of carpet weaving).

  If women do not receive any oil, wheat or
other goods during the courses, they are not
motivated to come. Women would rather stay at
home to take care of children and do the
housework.  A woman teacher from Baharak.
9
Which difficulties face womens programs in rural
Afghanistan?

• The lack of coordination between NGOs puts at
  risk the beneficiaries involvement like
• Enhance a passive behavior instead of making
  people aware of their responsibilities. (example
  of womens remarks in Baharak).
• Break the trust of communities towards NGOs and
  International institutions (examples of
  aberrations)

The lack of coordination threats programs
sustainability
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How womens programs can move on to  nutrition
security  programs?
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Why women are a key element in food programs?
Women have a thorough knowledge of production and
consumption units.
Women are the only ones to be responsible for the
children health.
12
Why is it an emergency to encourage  nutrition
security  programs?
Sanitary diseases
Micronutrient deficiencies
  The population of Afghanistan suffers from one
of the poorest health and nutrition situation in
the world. 
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Why going further than the idea of  food
security ?
gt 2500 Kcal/day
!

• in  food secure  areas!

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Improving the  diet quality 

• QUALITY means
• DIVERSITY and BALANCE increasing consumption of
  vegetables and fruits and warning the risks of
  new imported products.
• FOOD SANITATION hygiene education.
• CONSISTENCY improving incomes generation

in taking into account the cultural eating
habits!
15
How women could be more involved in nutrition
programs?

• Kitchen gardens programs assets and limitations
  (example of Afghanaids programs).

• Nutrition education with a  participative
  approach 
• Involve womens groups according to their
  customs, their skills and their specific
  requirements.

•  In kind and cash  income generation
  activities.

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Which ways forwards to improve  income
generation programs ?

• Womens cash incomes generation is meaningless!
• (in addition the increase of cash income for the
  households, exchanges and barter should be
  supported)

• Including men in mixed programs
• Men attitude towards women is one of the key
  issues for womens programs to be sustainable.
• The balance between men and women should not be
  disrupt by a program including a  gender
  approach .
• Men would more value womens activities if they
  generate households income.

• Encouraging integrated programs
• Example of the Self help Groups implemented by
  Afghanaid in Baharak (microfinance activities and
  literacy notions)

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As a conclusion

• Going  step by step  with a comprehensive view
  of the field (in depth assesment phase before the
  project implementation).

• Targeting both communities and households
• Community level for non-income generation
  programs (like nutrition education with womens
  groups).
• Household level for cash and in-kind incomes
  generation programs.

• One more question Are women really wishing to
  be financially independent?

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Thanks for your attention

• Its over to you!