Is participation truly the answer to female empowerment? The Case Study of Ghana

Prior to concluding my blog, Participation is a topic I want to touch on. I will analyses the value of participatory development in empowering females in terms of water management, and highlight how women need more influence.

Participatory development entails empowerment through the engagement of community actors (Campbell and Vaino-Matilla 2003).It is prominent in the mainstream agenda, having a relationship with the SDGs, with the practice of participatory development of females, contributing to equality and their empowerment (Goncales et a 2019). Water is a female domain, especially at a household level (Musembi 2015) emphasising the value of a woman’s relationship with water. 

The aim of female participatory development is to give women space within existing development structures (Cornwall 2003).

 In Ghana, by decentralising water supply management, the government aimed to empower local people through participation. Women in the community such as in the Asante-Akim South District have got involved as local water treasurers, whereby they manage and collect tariffs from their local water sources (Boateng et al 2013). They were intentionally put as treasurers since they were considered more trustworthy at handling money compared to the men. This has allowed women to enter the decision making level as treasurers for WATSAN (Water and Sanitation Ghana) team and Water and Sanitation boards, and has become their form of employment (Sahn 2011). WATSAN even has a quota of 40% leadership positions being dedicated to women (Boateng et al 2013).

However, it isn’t enough to put women in the system alongside their other responsibilities (News Security Beat 2019) and hope they get empowered: In Ghana, many women who were water treasurers had other responsibilities, so much so that they complained it became a burden for them. Furthermore, women’s presence and ability at a management level is limited (Sahn 2011), with few women given the role of treasurer in WATSAN, and no female chairpersons thus having little impact on actual decision making (Boateng et al 2013).

The Ghanaian Government have acknowledged the value of women in water supply management, with the presence of MOWAC (Ministry of Women and Children affairs in Ghana), aiming to tackle this alongside many other highly gendered issues. However, they are under-funded and resourced (Sahn 2011). If there is national acknowledgement but little practical action, one does begin to question the tokenistic nature of participatory development.

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The graph above shows women’s barriers to participation identified by Sahn (2011), with the biggest being traditional norms and practices, and education and illiteracy.

Ultimately, the no straight forward answer if participatory is development is beneficial for female empowerment- In theory it should be but the reality is rather different. ‘putting’ women in participatory projects is not an alternative for change in gendered ideas and societies (Mayoux 1995). Aspects such as societal beliefs, traditions, education etc all have an impact on female empowerment, which all need to be accounted for. This emphasises the need for change of deep-rooted ideas, traditions and actions to make the effort to hear the voices of those who are marginalised to ensure successful participatory development (Cornwall 2003).  In order to facilitate women’s participation at a management level in Ghana, there needs legislative action at a governmental level ( perhaps making an active law acknowledging this since one doesn’t currently exist); further funding of MOWAC; And arguably the most important aspect, increased focus on education (Sahn 2011) which I consider to be the best way forward. Not only is this important for girls, since it reduces illiteracy rates giving them more skills to participate with, but educating both men and women will break down patriarchal ideas and practices, allowing for fair participation in all aspects of society, not just water and management. 


Comments

  1. Sophia Saeed5 January 2021 at 15:23

    Great post Laila. it is true, participation is definitely necessary for development. Do you have an example of a project that implemented these methods?

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    Replies
    1. Laila Bhatti6 January 2021 at 10:58

      Yes, I do- I am going to use the example of Ghana based on Sahn’s (2011) thesis. Ghana has had many water managements reforms since the mid-20th century. However, the most significant reform was the decentralising the country’s water supply management by delegating responsibilities to a local level, with the aim of empowering local people (including women) through encouraging public participation. Women in the community have in fact got involved as local water treasurers, whereby women manage and collect tariffs from their local water sources. Women were intentionally put as treasurers since they were considered more trustworthy at handling money compared to their male counterparts. This has fortunately allowed some women to enter the decision making level as treasurers for WATSAN (Water and Sanitation Ghana) team as well as Water and Sanitation boards, and in certain cases, it has become a form of employment for women (Sahn 2011).

      However, as I highlighted in the post, it simply isn’t enough to put women in management on top of all their other responsibilities and hope they get empowered. Likewise, in Ghana, many women who were water treasurers had other responsibilities, so much so that it became a burden for them. In addition, women’s presence and ability at a management level is still, since they have only just begun to enter (Sahn 2011).

      Sahn (2011) identified many barriers such as power imbalances, poverty, but the biggest barriers for women were traditional norms and practices and education and illiteracy. This further highlighting my belief of significant change occurring through education, which in turn can break down traditional beliefs and patriarchal ideas.

      The Ghanaian Government have acknowledged the value of women in water supply management, with the presence of MOWAC (Ministry of Women and Children affairs in Ghana), aiming to tackle these alongside many other highly gendered issues. However, they are under-funded and resourced (Sahn 2011).

      Thus based on this research, in order to facilitate women’s participation at a management level in Ghana, there needs legislative action at a governmental level ( perhaps making an active law acknowledging this since one doesn’t currently exist); further funding of MOWAC; And arguably the most important aspect, increased focus on education (Sahn 2011). Not only is this important for girls, since it reduces illiteracy rates giving them more skills to participate with, but educating both men and women will break down patriarchal ideas, and allow for fair participation in all aspects of society, not just water.

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