SOCIAL NORMS, GENDER AND NUTRITION PART 1: INTRODUCTION TO A PILOT PROJECT IN TUNDURU, SONGEA AND MADABA DISTRICT COUNCILS IN RUVUMA
COUNSENUTH with funding support of Irish Aid is mainstreaming gender into Lishe Ruvuma, an integrated community based nutrition Program, in Ruvuma region with the objective of enhancing gender equity, better gender relations and caring practices for women and children; and thereby expected to lead to better nutrition outcomes. This Newsletter describes the first phase of this initiative.
The initiatives to improve nutrition cannot achieve lasting success without taking into consideration the social, economic and biological differences between men and women and in particular, the gender inequalities which stand in the way of good nutrition. Women who are primary caregivers in the society and play the central role in nutrition are particularly vulnerable to deficiencies in care, diet, health and sanitation services. The mother’s primary responsibility for child rearing depends on her ability to understand the need for nutrition and the safety nets available around her in the community to support child care which includes support from boys and men. It is therefore, vital to ensure women have equal opportunities to education, access to the resources, capacities to make decisions, leadership and knowledge to benefit from community and household production resources. They also need to be free from gender based abuses and be engaged at all levels from the household, community and local government level.
INTRODUCTION
Gender equality, human rights and rights based
approach have always been cross cutting components of COUNSENUTH’s community programmes. Likewise, when in 2013, the Centre for Counselling, Nutrition and Health Care (COUNSENUTH) proposed to Irish Aid, Lishe Ruvuma program whose aim was to reduce childhood stunting through a package of Essential Nutrition Actions, mainstreaming of gender equity concerns affecting the health and nutrition of women and children was among key interventions.
The 5 Year Program was designed to be implemented in Songea, Madaba and Tunduru district Councils, Ruvuma region in close collaboration with the Local Government Authorities at all levels.
The first step was to conduct a rapid appraisal into the barriers posed by social norms, gender disparities and related factors that could negatively affect maternal, infant, young child and adolescent health and nutrition.
The results of the rapid appraisal revealed staggering results, as indicated in table 1
Table 1: Gender Inequities identified in Ruvuma Region
- Women’s low level of decision making power over family resources.
- Low level of male participation in child caring practices, health services for children and women, household chores and family wellbeing matters.
- Girls being exposed to local harmful beliefs and practices through “jando and unyago”, a tradition that exposes girls to early childhood sex.
- Boys generally being preferred and valued over girls and being encouraged to pass exams, complete Primary School and advance to higher education while girls are barred from passing exams.
- High prevalence of teenage pregnancies and high rates of primary and secondary school drop outs among girls.
- Girls being forced to enter into childhood marriages (ages 15-19), leading to high childhood conception and birth complications.
- Generally inadequate support and care for women and children in families and high family abandonment by men.
- Strong influences of mothers in law especially in decisions about child feeding and caring practices
- Gender based violence against women and girls.
