Women in Niger: Socio-Economic Roles in Agro-Pastoral Production, NaturalResource Management and Off-Farm Production

摘要

Women's role in Niger's rural economy is profiled in the study. An initialsection presents an overview of Nigerien women, covering both general issues, such as health, education, and employment, and special topics, such as ethnic diversity, social stratification, divorce, seclusion of women (only in the Hausa tribe), gift-giving practices (considered a form of social security), and religion. The next section describes the role of Nigerien women in agropastoral production systems, with information divided according to geographic area and ethnic group; thirteen different ethnic groups are discussed. The report then analyzes women's roles and responsibilities in natural resource management and off-farm production. The text addresses issues of gender specificity in household economic roles, family welfare, time and labor management, and work responsibility in grain production and in gardens, in the context of both family and individual fields. Examining caste, class, age, and other differences within and across ethnic groups and agro-ecological zones, the report confirms that women in Niger are not a homogeneous group, and that evidence of intra-group differentiation is significant. A major need is for training at the grassroots and intermediate levels to raise the extremely low literacy rate of women.