Ethiopia

Irrigation and Equality: An Integrative Gender-Analytical Approach to Water Governance with Examples from Ethiopia and Argentina

Citation:

Imburgia, Laura. 2019. “Irrigation and Equality: An Integrative Gender-Analytical Approach to Water Governance with Examples from Ethiopia and Argentina.” Water Alternatives 12 (2): 571-87.

Author: Laura Imburgia

Abstract:

This paper proposes the use of an integrative framework for better conceptualisation and operationalisation of research geared toward understanding irrigation systems, practices and processes, especially as relates to gender equality in water governance. More specifically, it discusses the importance of developing an integrative gender-analytical approach that enables both researchers and practitioners to analyse the complex interactions between technical and social dimensions of water governance, in order to determine how they contribute to, and thus effect, the overall success and sustainability of irrigated agriculture. Consequently, this paper provides a detailed account of the framework’s key components; including how it is informed by feminist, ecological and sociological theories. There is also an account of the framework’s practical application through a focus on specific outcomes in the dynamic field of water governance. To this end, the paper presents some results derived from an application of the integrative gender-analytical framework on data from a comparative study of small-scale irrigation systems in Ethiopia and Argentina. Ultimately, the goal of this paper is to promote a more nuanced and holistic approach to the study of water governance—one that takes both social and technical dimensions into similar account; particularly, if the aim is to promote broader social equality and the sustainability of irrigation systems.

Keywords: small-scale irrigation, gender-analytical framework, water governance, social relations, Ethiopia, Argentina

Topics: Agriculture, Feminisms, Gender, Gender Analysis, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation Regions: Africa, East Africa, Americas, South America Countries: Argentina, Ethiopia

Year: 2019

Social Capital and Disaster Preparedness in Oromia, Ethiopia: An Evaluation of the "Women Empowered" Approach

Citation:

Story, William T., Halkeno Tura, Jason Rubin, Belaynesh Engidawork, Anwar Ahmed, Feysel Jundi, Teshale Iddosa, and Teweldebrhan Hailu Arbha. 2020. "Social Capital and Disaster Preparedness in Oromia, Ethiopia: An Evaluation of the "Women Empowered" Approach." Social Science & Medicine 257.

Authors: William T. Story, Halkeno Tura, Jason Rubin, Belaynesh Engidawork, Anwar Ahmed, Feysel Jundi, Teshale Iddosa, Teweldebrhan Hailu Abrha

Abstract:

Ethiopia is faced with challenges posed by natural disasters, especially drought. Integrated approaches to disaster risk reduction are necessary to improve the lives and livelihoods of those most vulnerable to disaster. The Women Empowered (WE) approach provides economic and social opportunities for women to build resilience to respond to disasters. This study examines the association between WE group membership and disaster preparedness and whether this relationship is mediated by social capital. We used a multi-stage random cluster sampling strategy to select and interview 589 female respondents from Lage Hidha district (298 from the intervention area and 291 in the comparison area). Using Stata 14.0, we employed Poisson regression analysis to study the mechanisms through which WE groups are associated with disaster preparedness. After controlling for clustering and confounding factors, we found that different components of social capital mediate the relationship between WE group membership and disaster preparedness. Specifically, taking action to prepare for a disaster is primarily mediated by emotional support from the group and perceived preparedness for a disaster is mediated by social network support, emotional support from the group, collective action, and trust. This study suggests that the association between WE groups and disaster preparedness operates through social capital in drought-prone areas of Ethiopia. Future research is needed to determine which forms of social capital have the greatest potential to help families prepare for and respond to a variety of humanitarian crises.

Keywords: Ethiopia, social capital, disaster preparedness, women's empowerment, evaluation

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Ethiopia

Year: 2020

Water Insecurity in 3 Dimensions: An Anthropological Perspective on Water and Women's Psychosocial Distress in Ethiopia

Citation:

Stevenson, Edward G. J., Leslie E. Greene, Kenneth C. Maes, Argaw Ambelu, Yihenew Alemu Tesfaye, Richard Rheingans, and Craig Hadley. 2012. "Water Insecurity in 3 Dimensions: An Anthropological Perspective on Water and Women's Psychosocial Distress in Ethiopia." Social Science & Medicine 75 (2): 392-400.

Authors: Edward G. J. Stevenson, Leslie E. Greene, Kenneth C. Maes, Argaw Ambelu, Yihenew Alemu Tesfaye, Richard Rheingans, Craig Hadley

Abstract:

Water insecurity is a primary underlying determinant of global health disparities. While public health research on water insecurity has focused mainly on two dimensions, water access and adequacy, an anthropological perspective highlights the cultural or lifestyle dimension of water insecurity, and its implications for access/adequacy and for the phenomenology of water insecurity. Recent work in Bolivia has shown that scores on a water insecurity scale derived from ethnographic observations are associated with emotional distress. We extend this line of research by assessing the utility of a locally developed water insecurity scale, compared with standard measures of water access and adequacy, in predicting women's psychosocial distress in Ethiopia. In 2009-2010 we conducted two phases of research. Phase I was mainly qualitative and designed to identify locally relevant experiences of water insecurity, and Phase II used a quantitative survey to test the association between women's reported water insecurity and the Falk Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-F), a measure of psychosocial distress. In multiple regression models controlling for food insecurity and reported quantity of water used, women's water insecurity scores were significantly associated with psychosocial distress. Including controls for time required to collect water and whether water sources were protected did not further predict psychosocial distress. This approach highlights the social dimension of water insecurity, and may be useful for informing and evaluating interventions to improve water supplies.

Keywords: water insecurity, Gender, psychosocial distress, mental health, Africa

Topics: Gender, Women, Health, Mental Health, Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Ethiopia

Year: 2012

Analysis of Gender Vulnerability to Climate-Related Hazards in a Rural Area of Ethiopia

Citation:

Belcore, Elena, Alessandro Pezzoli, and Angela Calvo. 2020. "Analysis of Gender Vulnerability to Climate-Related Hazards in a Rural Area of Ethiopia." The Geographical Journal 186 (2): 156-70.

Authors: Elena Belcore, Alessandro Pezzoli, Angela Calvo

Abstract:

Identifying areas of the world, communities, and women and men that could be damaged by meteorological events (like droughts and floods) has been crucial for vulnerability studies in the last decade. Climate change may differently affect female- and male-headed households, especially in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, where they react in a different way to the effects of adverse weather events. The aim of this work was to analyse a population's vulnerability and resilience to climate-related hazards, applying a sex-disaggregated, quantitative methodology at household level. This study was realised in three Woredas (Siraro, Shalla, and Shashemene) of the Oromia Region in Ethiopia. The information used for the evaluation included climatic conditions, socio-economic variables and natural resource availability. All data collected were analysed after disaggregation by sex. Evaluation of the indices shows that the vulnerability of the households is particularly related to the presence of governmental infrastructure, availability of water sources, and external aid. The study reveals that the Woreda of Siraro is the most vulnerable. A better situation appears in the Woredas of Shalla and Shashemene, where women and men have more skills to face vulnerability, as highlighted by the "recovery potential" index. On the other hand, the study points out some differences between women and men. While male-headed households mainly have low vulnerability and high resilience, female-headed households are divided into two main classes: low vulnerability associated with low resilience, and low vulnerability associated with high resilience. When the vulnerability is higher, both women and men show higher resilience.

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Households, Infrastructure Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Ethiopia

Year: 2020

Gender Mainstreaming in Rural Road Construction/Usage in Ethiopia: Impact and Implications

Citation:

Abhishek, Abraham, Cecilia Borgia, Kebede Manjur, Frank van Steenbergen, and Letty Farjado Vera. 2020. “Gender Mainstreaming in Rural Road Construction/usage in Ethiopia: Impact and Implications.” Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Transport 173 (2): 122–31.

Authors: Abraham Abhishek, Cecilia Borgia, Kebede Manjur, Frank van Steenbergen, Letty Farjado Vera

Abstract:

This study investigated the engagement of men, women spouses (WS) and women heads-of-household (WHH) in the planning and construction of rural roads in two Ethiopian districts of Tigray and Amhara, and the differential impacts of rural roads on the mobility and transport of men, WS and WHH. The fieldwork established that there is a strong demand among women for both road use and employment opportunities in road construction. Compared with men, women demonstrated specific priorities with respect to rural road development, such as access to ambulance services, flat, wide and levelled roads, and improved access to means of transport. Although women's concerns have been slowly but steadily pushed up the planning agenda, there are gaps between gender provision in rural road development and implementation. The benefits of roads for women can be enhanced by \ targeting gender mainstreaming provisions to take into account the specific travel and transport needs of WS and WHH.

Keywords: government, local government, infrastructure planning

Topics: Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Households, Infrastructure, Transportation, Urban Planning, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Ethiopia

Year: 2020

“Without Land You Are Nobody”: Critical Dimensions of Women‟s Access to Land and Relations in Tenure in East Africa

Citation:

Verma, Ritu. 2007. Without Land You Are Nobody': Critical Dimensions of Women‟s Access to Land and Relations in Tenure in East Africa. International Development Research Centre. 

Author: Ritu Verma

Annotation:

Table of Contents:
1. Dedication & Acknowledgements
 
2. List of Acronyms 
 
3. Introduction 
 
4. Conceptual and Methodological Points of Departure 
 
5. Common Themes and Issues Across Country Contexts
 
6. Country Specific Issues and Differences 
 
7. Conclusions: Identifying Gaps, Gender-Positive Action & the Way Forward 
 
8. Bibliography

Topics: Caste, Gender, Gendered Discourses, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Land Tenure, Livelihoods, Post-Conflict, Political Participation, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa Countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda

Year: 2007

Gender in Peacekeeping Operations: A Phenomenological Study of the Experiences of Ethiopian Female Peacekeepers in Abyei

Citation:

Kewir, Kiven James, and Seble Menberu Gebremichael. 2020. "Gender in Peacekeeping Operations: A Phenomenological Study of the Experiences of Ethiopian Female Peacekeepers in Abyei." Africa Insight 49 (3): 60-71.

Authors: Kiven James Kewir, Seble Menburu Gebremichael

Abstract:

This paper analyses the role of gender in peacekeeping operations through a review of women’s experiences in the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). This mission is dominated by Ethiopian peacekeepers and Ethiopia has also contributed the largest number of female peacekeepers (FPKs) to the mission since 2013. In spite of this, the proportion of female troops in UNISFA remains very low. We base our analysis on 15 in-depth field interviews, two focusgroup discussions, and direct observation done between 22 July 2015 and 2 August 2015. Traditional security studies have been criticised for being gender blind and state-centric. Using the human security conception of security and standpoint feminism as a framework for analysis, this study reveals that efforts made for the full integration of women in peace operations by the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) have been thwarted by the persistence of negative stereotypes and the working conditions of FPKs in Abyei.

 

Topics: Feminisms, Gender, Women, International Organizations, Peacekeeping, Security, Human Security Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan

Year: 2020

Gender, Agriculture and Agrarian Transformations: Changing Relations in Africa, Latin America and Asia

Citation:

Sachs, Carolyn E., ed. 2019. Gender, Agriculture and Agrarian Transformations: Changing Relations in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Abingdon: Routledge.

Author: Carolyn E. Sachs

Annotation:

Summary:
This book presents research from across the globe on how gender relationships in agriculture are changing.
 
In many regions of the world, agricultural transformations are occurring through increased commodification, new value-chains, technological innovations introduced by CGIAR and other development interventions, declining viability of small-holder agriculture livelihoods, male out-migration from rural areas, and climate change. This book addresses how these changes involve fluctuations in gendered labour and decision making on farms and in agriculture and, in many places, have resulted in the feminization of agriculture at a time of unprecedented climate change. Chapters uncover both how women successfully innovate and how they remain disadvantaged when compared to men in terms of access to land, labor, capital and markets that would enable them to succeed in agriculture. Building on case studies from Africa, Latin America and Asia, the book interrogates how new agricultural innovations from agricultural research, new technologies and value chains reshape gender relations.
 
Using new methodological approaches and intersectional analyses, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of agriculture, gender, sustainable development and environmental studies more generally. (Summary from Routledge)
 
Table of Contents
1. Gender, Agriculture and Agrarian Transformations
Carolyn Sachs
 
2. The Implications of Gender Relations for Modern Approaches to Crop Improvement and Plant Breeding
Jacqueline Ashby and Vivian Polar
 
3. Change in the Making: 1970s and 1980s Building Stones to Gender Integration in CGIAR Agricultural Research
Margreet van der Burg
 
4. How to Do Gender Research? Feminist Perspectives on Gender Research in Agriculture
Ann R. Tickamyer and Kathleen Sexsmith
 
5. Intersectionality at the Gender-Agriculture Nexus: Relational Life Histories and Additative Sex-Disaggregated Indices
Stephanie Leder and Carolyn Sachs
 
6. Diversity of Small-Scale Maize Farmers in the Western Highlands of Guatemala: Integrating Gender into Farm Typologies
Tania Carolina Camacho-Villa, Luis Barba-Escoto, Juan Burgueño-Ferreira, Ann Tickamyer, Leland Glenna, and Santiago López-Ridaura
 
7. "A Bird Locked in a Cage:" Hmong Young Women’s Lives After Marriage in Northern Vietnam
Nozomi Kawarazuka, Nguyen Thi Van Anh, Vu Xuan Thai and Pham Huu Thuong
 
8. Defeminizing Effect: How Improved Dairy Technology Adoption Affected Women's and Men's Time Allocation and Milk Income Share in Ethiopia
Birhanu Megersa Lenjiso
 
9. Implementing "Gender Equity" in Livestock Interventions: Caught between Patriarchy and Paternalism?
Katie Tavenner and Todd A. Crane
 
10. Implications of Agricultural Innovations on Gender Norms: Gender Approaches in Aquatic Agriculture in Bangladesh
Lemlem Aregu, Afrina Choudhury, Surendran Rajaratnam, Margreet van der Burg, and Cynthia McDougall
 
11. Permanently Seasonal Workers: Gendered Labor Relations and Working Conditions of Asparagus Agricultural Workers in Ica, Perú
María del Rosario Castro Bernardini
 
12. Gender Equality and Trees on Farms: Considerations for Implementation of Climate-Smart Agriculture
Tatiana Gumucio, Diksha Arora, Jennifer Twyman, Ann Tickamyer, and Monica Clavijo
 
13. Kinship Structures, Gender, and Groundnut Productivity in Malawi
Edward Bikketi, Esther Njuguna-Mungai, Leif Jensen, and Edna Johnny
 
14. Changes in Participation of Women in Rice Value Chains: Implications for Control over Decision-Making
Sujata Ganguly, Leif Jensen, Samarendu Mohanty, Sugandha Munshi, Arindam Samaddar, Swati Nayak, and Prakashan Cehllattan Veettil

Topics: Class, Agriculture, Displacement & Migration, Environment, Climate Change, Ethnicity, Feminisms, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, Americas, Central America, South America, Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Malawi, Peru, Vietnam

Year: 2019

Women's Land Tenure Security and Household Human Capital: Evidence from Ethiopia's Land Certification

Citation:

Muchomba, Felix M. 2017. “Women's Land Tenure Security and Household Human Capital: Evidence from Ethiopia's Land Certification.” World Development 98: 310-24.

Author: Felix M. Muchomba

Abstract:

This article examines the impact of Ethiopia’s gendered land certification programs on household consumption of healthcare, food, education, and clothing. Ethiopia embarked on a land tenure reform program in 1998, after years of communism during which all land was nationalized. The reform began in Tigray region where land certificates were issued to household heads, who were primarily male. In a second phase carried out in 2003–2005, three other regions issued land certificates jointly to household heads and spouses, presenting variation in land tenure security by gender. Results using household panel data show that joint land certification to spouses was accompanied by increased household consumption of healthcare and homegrown food and decreased education expenditure, compared to household-head land certification. Joint land certification was also accompanied by increased consumption of women’s and girls’ clothing, and decreased men’s clothing expenditures indicating results may be explained by a shift in the gender balance of power within households. Analysis on the incidence and duration of illness indicates that increased healthcare expenditures after joint land certification may be due to joint certification households seeking more effective treatment than head-only certification households for household members who fell ill or suffered injuries.

Keywords: land reform, Gender, bargaining power, intrahousehold resource allocation, Ethiopia

Annotation:

Summary:
This article examines the impact of Ethiopia’s gendered land certification programs on household consumption of healthcare, food, education, and clothing. Ethiopia embarked on a land tenure reform program in 1998, after years of communism during which all land was nationalized. The reform began in Tigray region where land certificates were issued to household heads, who were primarily male. In a second phase carried out in 2003–2005, three other regions issued land certificates jointly to household heads and spouses, presenting variation in land tenure security by gender. Results using household panel data show that joint land certification to spouses was accompanied by increased household consumption of healthcare and homegrown food and decreased education expenditure, compared to household-head land certification. Joint land certification was also accompanied by increased consumption of women’s and girls’ clothing, and decreased men’s clothing expenditures indicating results may be explained by a shift in the gender balance of power within households. Analysis on the incidence and duration of illness indicates that increased healthcare expenditures after joint land certification may be due to joint certification households seeking more effective treatment than head-only certification households for household members who fell ill or suffered injuries.

Topics: Education, Gender, Land Tenure, Health, Households, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Ethiopia

Year: 2017

Women’s Land Tenure Security in Sustainable Development

Citation:

Gebremedhin, Kidu, Yechale Kebede, Vanum Govindu, Desta Luel Tsegay, and Mearg Dagnew. 2019. “Women’s Land Tenure Security in Sustainable Development.” Journal of Production Research & Management 9 (1): 21–30.

Authors: Kidu Gebremedhin, Yechale Kebede, Vanum Govindu, Desta Luel Tsegay, Mearg Dagnew

Abstract:

Appropriate land ownership policy is critical issue in order for vast majority of population living in rural areas whose income is dependent on agricultural. For that land tenure security is momentous concern. Land tenure is Latin word, tenure, which means to hold. Thus, land tenure means a kind of system of land ownership or holding the land. The rules of the land tenure system define how property rights to land are to be allocated within societies. Land tenure security can increase farming productivity through an increased allocate efficiency, which reduces the problem of lack of credit faced by farmers with tenure insecurity. Security of tenure for women and men, so that they can make productive and sustainable use the land for different purposes, equitable access to land for subsistence, commercial and settlement uses, and the need to achieve a sustainable balance in between these. This research is engaged with the land tenure security which incorporates gender analysis based to ensure that particular constraints faced by women which are not overlooked and survey the contribution of women’s land ownership in sustainable development. For this study, data were collected from the selected offices namely, Health, Environmental Protection and Land Administration and Use, Female affairs, Agriculture, Finance and Education in Hawzen Woreda, Tigray. Both primary and secondary data sources were used. Questionnaires, interview, documentation and field survey were the methods conveyed. The collected data were analyzed through SPSS and Excel software and were interpreted qualitatively and quantitatively. Results show that majority of land owners are women either with her husband or women only. Hence gender equality access to land is intensively reformed in the Woreda which is extremely important for sustainable development and natural resources management. Land tenure security of women is critically important to get access of credit, complementary services, improve access to education services and improve access to health services. So these are enhancements in women's education and health which reduce women's poverty and enhance their economic and social status and, in turn, strengthen women's rights to land and their contributions to productivity and environmental management.

Keywords: tenure security, women, sustainable, Ethiopia

Annotation:

Topics: Agriculture, Development, Gender, Gender Analysis, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Gender Equity, Rights, Land Rights, Property Rights Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Ethiopia

Year: 2019

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