Men as Partners: Distribution of Land and Land Ownership

A Gender and Development Project in a Box: Men as Partners: Distribution of Labor & Land Ownership

There is also the concern of the work that women do not only in the home, but also in the fields, and how that labor should be divided to make things more equitable

A MAP causerie that asks men to think critically about these issues could help open the door to a more equitable relationship in the fields and household

Introduction

If what you want to do in village is improve the equitability in labor and land rights , then this project can help you specifically with getting the male population on board.

Steps

There are certain things that need to be planned and considered in order to hold a MAP health talk on family planning. Use the below mentioned steps to make sure that your event is a success.

• Who should you contact in village to help you initiate this project? Having a counterpart in village who feels strongly about your causerie, and is willing to partner with you to help implement it is important. (Because this activity is MAP having a male homologue partnership could prove to be more useful than, a female)
  • Possible Partner Suggestions:
  • Primary Homologue
  • Motivated Farmer
  • Affaires Social Staff (equivalent to a social worker)
  • Teacher
  • CVD
  • I-Cat worker
• Choose the location of your event, picking a place that suites the specific needs of your MAP talk are important. If the talk is for a small group pick a smaller more intimate location, if it is a massive sensibilization, pick a place that a lot people can and will gather.
• Get the support of important members in the community for your MAP causerie. Make sure to find time to speak with your chief, Imam, priest, or CVD so that they can “bless” your causerie, and possibly help spread the word around for maximum attendance.
• Pick a date and time for the causerie, consider whether it’s wet or dry season, when people in village are the most active. Making sure that your possible audience is actually available to attend your causerie. Be careful of the chosen date during rainy season, men work in the fields then all day. The same goes for whatever major religion or practices that may occur in your village, don’t schedule events during religious services.

Once you have tackled the above steps you are ready to put on a health talk.

Content

Brise-Glace: Agree or Disagree

Always start a causerie with an engaging activity or mini game. For a Map talk on the division of labor & land ownership, the Brsie-Glace: Agree or Disagree is a great way to introduce the topic.
Rules: Have two sheets of paper with the words agree (d‘accord) or disagree (pas d’accord) written on them. Hang the two sheets on opposite sides of the room.

Have the assembled group stand in the center of the room while you read out a statement, then tell them to stand under either the agree sign or disagree sign, based on what they believe is the correct response. After everyone has chosen a side, ask for a volunteer for each side to explain their reasoning. (Technically there are no right or wrong answers, this should not be the point where you explain your own reasoning, be impartial.)

When the discussion is over and both sides have made their arguments move on to the next question.

List of Statements:

• Men make all the decisions for their households (Hommes prennent toutes les décisions pour leurs ménages)
• Men who ask their wives opinion when making decisions are weak (Les hommes qui demandent à leurs épouses avis lorsque des décisions sont faibles)
• Men work harder than women (Les hommes travaillent plus dur que les femmes)
• Taking care of children is woman’s work (S’Occupier des enfant est le travail de la femme)
• Men cannot cook (Hommes ne peuvent pas cuisiner)
• Only men should be farmers ( Seuls les homes devraient être des agriculteurs)
• Women are bad at managing money (Les femmes sont mauvaises dans la gestion de l’argent)
• Only sons can inherit property (Seuls les fils peuvent hériter des biens)
• The work of women is easy (Le travail des femmes est facile)

After the Brise-Glace begin discussing the issues of division of labor and land ownership.

• Discuss the cultural factor that determines what activities are for men and which are for women
• Have them list male versus female activities
• Have them think about how they spend their day versus how women do
• Ask them to imagine life as the opposite gender
  *Then have them make a day/week schedule that outlines what a women typically uses her time doing. Then have them create the same schedule for themselves
• Have them look at their schedules and ask them to evaluate them and consider them.
• Discuss activities that show up on the chart and what they mean work wise.
• Discuss how willing the men would be to trade tasks or do extra work.
• Discuss why land ownership is mostly for men
  • Have them list the positives and negatives of the current situation
  • Ask them if they would be willing to leave property to their daughters if that was all they had
  • Suggest that there are possible benefits to giving land to their wives, land that the wives can manage themselves
• Have a discussion about partnership in marriage
  This is a causerie where having male homologues to help lead the sessions is important. However a female voice or to might help highlight the female perspective.
  The point of a discussion like this one is to get the men thinking about the broader issue, do not expect people to radically change their position on these issues. Just putting the thought into their heads is productive.

Monitoring and Evaluation

This is a critical step in a project and something that should be considered a part of every project large or small.
For a Men as Partners causerie, make sure to send around a sign in sheet that takes down the name and ages of all the participants, this info is crucial for volunteer reporting.

Other Resources
http://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/library/M0086_PACA_Idea.pdf – Great information on how to do a daily activities list. Use it to make your weekly task planners.