Intra-household allocation

The pathway from women’s empowerment to improved nutrition and food security is influenced by decision-making power within households (Malapit et al., 2014).

Strengthening women’s bargaining power²⁶ and control over resources is key to increasing the allocation of income to a household’s food budget (Duflo and Udry, 2004; Hoddinott and Haddad, 1995; Mofya-Mukuka and Sambo, 2018). The extent of women´s control over money, cash earnings and expenditures also plays a crucial role for household’s food security (Eswaran, 2014).

26Anderson et al. (2017) argue that higher education for women in Tanzania increases women’s authority in cash decisions, thus improving their bargaining power.

Looking at the RAIN²⁷ project in Zambia, Kumar et al. (2018) show that nutrition and gender-sensitive agricultural practices led to significant increases in women’s social capital and improved their access to and control over agricultural decision-making. However, these practices had no impact on decision-making power in non-agricultural areas (e.g. spending on child education, health and food) (Kumar et al., 2018).

Ruel and Alderman (2013) find that the time women allocate to agriculture has an impact on their own nutrition and that of their children (Ruel and Alderman, 2013).

One of the most laborious activities for women in rural settings is food preparation (Johnston et al., 2018).

Intra-household allocation in Eastern Province

Research attests a dualism in formal and informal participation of women in Zambia; despite having formal equal rights, many women suffer from limited access to education, interaction with public services, technologies and credits (Mo Ibrahim Foundation, 2019; Neubert et. al., 2011). As expected, the findings show an uneven intra-household labour division coupled with women’s limited bargaining power and high work-burden. The time burden is greatest during the peak of the rainy season, during which pregnant women are especially vulnerable, as they usually work right up until childbirth while caring for their other children.

FANSER interventions address health and feeding practices to strengthen women’s bargaining power on health, education and food decisions in the household.

However, conservative gender roles and male resistance to renounce household power are a barrier to change, as reported by experts.

Household’s spousal bargaining power and decision-making

Gender roles and household dynamics are major obstacles to improving the nutrition status of the target group. Women stated that their control over agricultural products was limited. The study of Mofya-Mukuka and Sambo (2018) highlights women’s limited financial control over different agricultural crops (Table 18).

27 The Realigning Agriculture to Improve Nutrition (RAIN) project was a partnership between Concern Worldwide, Mumbwa Child Development Agency (MCDA) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Its objective was to design, implement and evaluate a model for integrated multi-sectoral interventions to reduce the prevalence of chronic malnutrition in Mumbwa district of Zambia’s Central Province.

Table 18: Control over income from different crops Women’s control of selected crops (in %)

Groundnuts 47.9

Fruits and vegetables 43.6

Livestock 38.9

Beans 33.4

Maize 22.4

Source: Mofya-Mukuka and Sambo, 2018.

However, male farmers reported that women’s bargaining power and control over household resources increased (see Table 19). Following the farmers’ accounts, this increase can be attributed to extension services and gender trainings.

Experts and women reported that gender roles are slowly changing with regard to food preparation and consumption. For instances, boys are only little involved in food preparation.

Table 19: Control of household resources

Control of household resources Water &

firewood

Water and firewood for daily household activities (i.e. cooking, laundry, household hygiene) are the sole responsibility of women. In the community, men control the administration of water sources.

Transport Bicycles are the most important mean of transport in the region (ZDHS, 2015).²⁸ Even though both spouses use bicycles, men control them. Women who need to use them must get their husband’s permission first. This is even the case when the women are the ones who bought the bicycle.

Agricultural production

Control of income from agricultural production depends on the crop (see table 16). The findings indicate that men control income from typical cash crops (i.e. maize, cotton) and women from crops with lower profit margins such as beans or millet (and vegetables)

Agricultural inputs

Women feel that they have little bargaining power over agricultural inputs and crops. Men justified their authority because they are “regarded as being more knowledgeable on what to grow” (FGD).

Land In terms of control over (arable) land, the results show disagreement between men and women. Men justified their authority as they are the traditional heirs and thus the owner of the household’s land.

Livestock Though men and women own the same type of livestock, decisions regarding large livestock (cattle, goats, and sheep) are usually made by men. Women make decisions on smaller livestock (chickens, guinea fowls and ducks).

Interestingly, women who own large livestock animals may hire men to manage them.

Food decisions

Women make food decisions with money allocated to them by the husband).

However, their husbands sometimes veto their food decisions Source: Own data.

In most households, the consumption level of animal protein among women and children is lower than that of men. Although women decide what to cook, men often reserve the best and largest portions for themselves. In many households, children eat separately from their father or their parents. This conceals the discrepancies between the amounts of food items each household member gets.

28 More than half (54 %) of households possess a bicycle. The other means of transport include animal-drawn carts (9 %), cars (2.5 %) and motorcycles (2 %) (ZDHS, 2015). Bicycles are used for clinic visits, for transport to work or to the maize mill.

The study contrasted views on the control of household resources affecting nutrition-, health- and care-related decisions. Strong disagreement emerged among some husbands and wives over agriculture related issues (Table 20).

Table 20: Male (above) vs. female perspectives on control of resources

Source: Illustration based on 4 FGDs in Petauke and Katete.

Intra-household labour division and double burden of women

The following figures illustrate labour division within the household tasks.

Following local accounts, women and their daughters perform the most time-consuming tasks (mostly related to the preparation of food) (Table 21). Women interviewed did not see specific ways to economize time. Table 22 shows that men oversee most of the livestock production, whereas farm labour is rather shared (Table 23).

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Crops Livestock Money Land Agricultural inputs Bicycle Firewood Water

Male group (N=10) Female Male Both

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Crops Livestock Money Land Agricultural inputs Bicycle Firewood Water

Female group (N=17) Female Male Both

Table 21: Household labour division in terms of food preparation

Source: Illustration based on interviews with the target group in Petauke and Katete.

Table 22: Household labour division concerning livestock

Source: Illustration based on interviews with the target group in Petauke and Katete.

Table 23: Farm labour division between spouses

Source: Illustration based on interviews with the target group in Petauke and Katete.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Getting water Getting firewood Making fire Cutting/preparing ingredients Cooking Serving Deciding who gets what to eat Gather plates Washing plates

Father (N= 7) Mother (N =11) Daughter N =8) Son (N =4)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Feeding Wrangling (morning) Feeding (dry season) Slaughtering Selling

Father (N= 10) Mother (N =10) Daughter (N =2) Son (N =5)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Cleaning/burning the field (residues) Transformation (e.g. drying) Weeding Preparing the field

Father (N=11) Mother (N=13)

5.2.3 Agricultural production and food and nutrition security