Gender Issues – BSJ Community 18/2/12

Our goal of the interview was to try and decipher if any gender issues are occurring in school, or at home within families in the community. We decided to target mothers as a source of investigation as they are primarily involved with the wellbeing of the children and the balance of power within the household. Under the category of Gender issues, we acknowledges two sub categories including, role of women in the house/society, and issues amongst children regarding child preference in education. We observed three separate households and some trends began to develop. We observed that generally the women tend to stay and work at home, maintaining the house with cleaning, washing and cooking, whilst the husband is the bread winner generally in vending (ie. Pillows, cigarettes). On average children attending school, is based on economic situation as opposed to gender, as regardless of gender, those not attending school were either too young or could not be financially supported. In one of our case studies the children themselves stopped attending school in middle school/college, so there is not as much of a drive in education as a means to better their situation. They often are forced to work instead of school, which is beneficial in the short term, but not sustainable as a foundation for knowledge is needed for log term support. The mothers had roughly 4-6 children and were quite young, ranging from 20-25 years old. Upon inquiring why they lived in the community, often the response was that it was because the husband’s family lived there. So the women left their families (some in provinces 8 hours away) to live with the husband and build their own family within the community. Although the women stayed at home to work, we think that it is not a matter of gender inequality, but more an economic necessity.

Of the three families we interviewed, the first was Perla (approx 30 years). Similar to those around her, she worked at home tending to household chores, however also was a part time seamstress. She had 2 children: 1 boy (9 years), 1 girl (4 years). The boy attended the local school, and the girl would be attending at age 6. The husband sold pillows locally and also travelled to the city, returning every night. We were told that the daughter would attend school depending on the economic capability of the family. Although the school itself is relatively affordable, the cost of transportation and food exceeds the family’s budget. Because Perla had fewer children than the majority of families nearby, we saw this as potentially beneficial to her and her family. There appeared to be equality amongst the children, with the real inhibition being economic constraints.

Isabelle in blue shirt in center in her open house

We proceeded to walk through the complex, traversing the mud caked path, and found an open room where we met Isabelle (approx 51 years old), who was our second case study. Interestingly, she informed us that she was not only a vendor of steamed eggs (ballot), but also the mother of 6 and grandmother of 3. She had 5 girls and 1 boy, of which the 5 girls lived away from home, ranging from ages 19-22. Surprisingly of her 5 daughters, only 1 was employed; the others were all married and lived at home with their husbands. Mrs. Non was the breadwinner of the family because her husband because her husband was imprisoned for 5 years, and remains unemployed as he is shunned from society, and consequently unemployed. We can only imagine the struggles and hardship she endured in raising 6 children and working without her husband, and commend her for her strength. In this example, there is definitely no inequality within the house because the woman is empowered through the families’ dependency. Some of her daughters attended college, but dropped out probably due to their marriages and need to care for their own families.

Lovely and her 2 year old son in house

Our final observation was taken off Lovely (21 years). She was not married, but lived with her boyfriend, 2 year old son and was 9 months pregnant. Her boyfriend is 29 years old, and makes a living vending cigarettes. She left her family in the provinces and joined her boyfriend and his family in the community 2 years ago, where they now live. She attended 3 years of high school, but dropped out and became a seamstress. The boyfriend is the primary source of income, and their son will attend school when he is 6. She was inhibited from work, primarily due to her pregnancy and need to care for her young child; therefore we think it is relatively equal.

We managed to collect a range of data considering the time constraints, and have come to the conclusion that opportunity is created based on economic situation instead of gender preference. In terms of household hierarchy, the woman’s role is important, yet majority relied singularly on the man, which in situations such as Isabelle, it becomes a necessity to provide economically for the family.