Gender far from reality

The way ‘gender’ is introduced by NGOs is far from the day-to-day realities of communities – new study

Family members of police in Naguru Hill police Barracks

- How about me? I am a husband and a father. I am expected to bring money to the house, but no one seems to care; in Uganda the gender activists, they say it is about men and women, but ... if I can say so, they only want to help the woman, says John Asaba, 28. Poverty made him leave the village, and he is now trying to make it as a boda boda, motorcycle passenger driver in Kampala.

In a recent study, Irene Kakooza, an independent researcher with the DRB Coalition, draws our attention to the fact that a poor man in Uganda figural speaking is imprisoned, not only by his poverty, but also by the gender role, attributed to him by culture and history – just as his wife is. When you have your legs upon someone’s neck to hold them down, you are also tied down and cannot move, Kakooza cites.¹

Gender equity is too abstract
She establishes that the enactment of the Domestic Relations Bill (DRB) in Uganda was pushed by ‘elite’ women. She suggests that fresh campaigns for the bill explore in more details its benefits to men, as well as to women at grassroots level.

While meant to be an equitable family law, the Domestic Relations Bill is mostly regarded a women’s issues legislation. Men have been at the periphery of the debate. And if they have ever heard of it in the village, few women there are engaging with the DRB. One wonders, why?

Could it be that the DRB has suffered the same fate as the widely propagated message of gender equity? Could it be that ‘domestic relations’ is a term as abstract and alienating to ordinary people as the call for ‘gender equity’?

Missing the critical point
Could it be that, while struggling for a just cause for the recognition of women’s rights, gender activists are missing the critical point by focusing solely on the oppression of women? By leaving un-named the plight of the majority of men – those who are struggling for survival while trying to maintain their fading dignity as breadwinners and heads of households?Kakooza’s research supports this suspicion. So do new studies by Community Development Resource Network, CDRN and the Transform Gender Network.²

Comparing experiences of local communities with gender projects of NGOs, CDRN found that community members regard gender a Western concept, used by NGOs in ways that are far from their day-to-day realities: They listen to us only when it is within their program, said a village woman.

Leave preconceived notions behind
Ordinary people are affected by clan culture, religious revival, war, HIV/AIDS, drought, and last but not least biting poverty. While they often find themselves caught up in conflicts, in the house or among kith and kin, their stories also indicate that poverty is making them work together – disregarding traditional gender divisions.

Be it John Asaba in Kampala or the ordinary villagers, the message is clear: If you want to support us, please, leave your preconceived notions about gender behind. Come, listen, learn from us – and then make your NGO start acting accordingly. While you are reading this article, CDRN is busy preparing a program for appropriate action. Let it be ready, rather soon than late.

Susanne Possing is Development researcher at Community Development Resource Network, E-mail: susanne@cdrn.or.ug