Of Women and Flowers: Women Empowerment in Pilões (Brazil) PDF Download

Author: Bruna Maria Do Rego Troccoli
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Languages : en
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Book Description
Contexts of poverty, underdevelopment, patriarchy and capitalism highlight serious damages that gender inequality causes on the lives of rural women in the Third World. Only 30% of these women have jobs formal or informal , while this percentage is as high as 60% for men (UNDP, 2011). A portrait of Brazilian women in numbers translates, even if superficially, a gender struggle fuelled by social norms that subjugate supposedly fair and gender-sensitive legal norms there, women will need another 95 years before achieving gender equality (WEF, 2016). The idiographic approach underlying this investigation considers that one can only begin to capture aspects of a social reality through the knowledge provided, firsthand, by context itself and people immersed in it. Therefore, participant observation and eighteen interviews were conducted in order to debate whether and to what extent working at a particular women-headed cooperative empowered rural women members in three different dimensions, considering changes in capabilities and functionings. The case study of Cooperativa dos Floricultures do Estado da Paraíba (COFEP) departs from an analytical framework that include four main potential benefits of cooperatives and its impact on three different empowerment domains namely, economic, gender and social. It proved useful to assessing empowerment of members and non-members, although considering the latter do not enjoy the same set of benefits through the cooperatives channel. A comparison between both groups and their arguments guides the investigation of the research question. Results show that achieving financial autonomy through employment at COFEP allowed members to escape extreme poverty, improve mental wellbeing and decision-making power within the household, decrease domestic violence and develop a better notion of self-worth. Such economic empowerment made members relatively well-off, compared to their previous experience of poverty, in which most families in that community are still trapped. However, the high price the majority pays for it consists of their accumulating paid and unpaid work responsibilities. Additionally, within the cooperative these women established a reliable support network with some expanding theirs beyond it. The most problematic capability concerns women having knowledge of their rights and confidence to act upon its violation. Indeed, discourses of both groups revealed disbelief in their ability to react to the violation of rights so common to their social class (e.g., poor public health assistance). Notwithstanding, this investigation concluded relational poverty and patriarchal social norms are the main limiting factors to women\`s empowerment. Durable effects of poverty, such as low levels of education, prevent these women from exercising active citizenship or being able to choose between a wider range of employment opportunities. Patriarchal social norms remain a struggle at all levels household, community and country. Given this, it becomes clear that preserving, and reinventing, their membership at COFEP is paramount to develop their newfound empowerment. Recommendations for members focus on the need to re-work their statute and establish regular leadership alternation; re-direct investments towards consultancy and other strategic measures to counter agronomic and financial problems; re-assess the relevancy of their membership beyond livelihood and contribute to their communities by promoting gender equality and social norms through grassroots initiatives. For institutional partners, it remains necessary highlighting the need for gender-sensitive interventions tailored to womens needs and constraints. Hence, financial investments and technical training must be combined with awareness-raising guidance that involve committed professionals and involves members and their partners, as well as others in the community.