|
|
Health
Women
Battle The Bread-line
by Amrita Nandy-Joshi
These are
ruthless times. The current food crisis is an assault on the already
difficult lives of the poor in developing countries. Picture this: In
Ivory Coast, women clashed over rising food prices; the unrest left one
dead. Afghan women are reported to buy leftover food, otherwise sold as
fodder for cows and sheep. Outside the Congress building in Peru, over
1,000 women staged a symbolic protest against high food prices by
banging empty pots and pans. A group of Sri Lankan housewives protested
outside a newspaper office demanding to know where they could find
affordable rice. Women and children in Mogadishu, Somalia, led a march
that turned violent when it was joined by thousands of unruly men. The
troops opened fire, killing two and injuring several others.
In all these examples, what is most striking is that the specter of this
catastrophe looms heaviest over poor women. In fact, it threatens them
with critical and far-reaching ramifications that may shadow them for
the rest of their lives.
It is a cruel paradox that women, despite their intimate relationship
with food, are the worst affected. Millions of women cultivate, harvest,
process and cook; thus leading Sisyphean lives that revolve around food.
From the field to the kitchen and the plate, food has traditionally been
an integral and constant part of women's roles. Statistics have long
established that women produce between 60 and 80 per cent of the food in
most developing countries (Global Employment Trends Model, International
Labor Organization, 2006). This quintessential reality has also been
historically captured in literature and art - the picture of the woman
feeding the child or the family is central to many cultures.
Food has carried a range of cultural meanings for women and their
identities. Yet, why is it that women suffer the most during any kind of
food crisis? Primarily, it is because of poor women's limited access to
financial and agricultural resources. Often, poor women workers even
lack control over their own wages. A food crisis worsens their already
vulnerable situation. Besides shouldering the 'double burden' of a job
and household responsibilities, they may be forced to work longer hours
or seek another small job. Working hours in insecure and unhealthy
working conditions of the informal sector, these women also have no
steady wages or social benefits. Yet, this is not the description of a
small group of women. Statistics reveal that poor women outnumber men in
the informal sector: 'The majority - 50 to 90 per cent - of the total
female workforce in developing countries is employed in the informal
economy' (Women, Work and Poverty, UNIFEM; 2005). The immediate upshot
for women is deteriorating health and higher stress levels, thus,
further affecting their physical and financial well-being.
A food crisis also impairs female-headed households, created by the
exodus of males for better wage employment. Estimates by the UN World
Food Programme suggest that in one out of three households around the
world, women are the sole breadwinners. In almost all countries,
female-headed households are located among the poorer strata of society
and often have lower income than male-headed households. Experts fear
that the food crisis could lead to an increase in violence, especially
against poor women heading households.
Last, but not the least, women suffer more during a food crisis because
of andocentric traditions and cultures that have always placed women at
the bottom of the family's pecking order. The mother, wife, sister and
daughter eat last - and even least - in many families. Moreover, poor
women are already at a disadvantage when food and nutrients are
distributed within a household. Studies have shown that during lean
periods, the calorie intake of the family is weighed towards its male
members. In a culture that privileges the male, women imbibe this
deep-rooted misogynist bias too and feed their sons better than they do
their daughters. This is of particular concern for a country such as
India, which is struggling to improve its statistics on child
malnutrition. According to the 2008 UNICEF State of the World report,
malnutrition is more common in India than in Sub-Saharan Africa - one in
every three malnourished children in the world lives in India. In fact,
the largest absolute number of newborn deaths occurs in South Asia, of
which India bears the greatest burden - one million. If the food price
crisis continues, or worsens, it may also adversely affect pregnant
women and nursing mothers. A reversal or negative impact on women and
child-related social indicators will slow down India's progress in
achieving its health and nutrition-related targets under the Millennium
Development Goals. Since malnutrition is both a cause and consequence of
poverty, poor women have to be constantly protected from this vicious
cycle.
Women and food security are closely interconnected. Yet, given their
social, economic and cultural subordination, women are most susceptible
to any food crisis. Therefore, the ideal and primary preventive measure
needs to strike at the cultural roots of their marginalized position.
Concurrently and more immediately, short-term initiatives need to be
designed and implemented to bulwark poor women against the food crisis.
Crucially, women's key role in food production and security needs to be
recognized and rewarded. It is ironical that cultures that project woman
as a domestic goddess, almost as an embodiment of food itself, can be so
blind when it comes to her own sustenance.
May 18,
2008
By arrangement with
WFS
Top
|
Health
|
|
