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Women And Their Organizations In Rural Development In Sierra Leone

Posted on:2014-02-24Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:Theresa Tenneh DickFull Text:PDF
GTID:2256330401972315Subject:Agriculture and Rural Development
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
Organizations are among the preferred outlets women use to not only voice out societalprejudices against them, but to also showcase their potential for rural/communitydevelopment. There is an increasing advocacy for gender equality, women’s empowermentand the integration of women folks into the socio-economic, political and cultural fabrics ofsociety. Girl-child education and women-based capacity building programs such as micro-finance, entrepreneurship, political activism, etc. have surfaced prominently on thesewomen’s empowerment efforts.In this study, a questionnaire-driven survey is conducted in two districts in southern SierraLeone. The survey covers120influential women in120town-level communities in thecountry. The study analyzes the personal and organization characteristics of the women inrelation to social perceptions and rural/community development. A large percent of thewomen surveyed are educated, married and belong to social organizations. In addition toother social/development organizations, women’s organizations are also present in each ofthe surveyed communities. Most of the women organizations are local in nature and operateentirely on funds raised from within the local communities. This display of organizationalability of the surveyed rural women shows a significant perceptional shift towardsrecognizing women folks as productive counterparts in our societies. This trend alsopsychologically strengthens the women community to take on tangible responsibilities thatwere once meant for men only. The analysis also shows that rural women hold managerialand other administrative positions in the organizations which are strongly oriented towardsvarious forms of rural/community development. This is a significant positive deviation fromthe traditional perception which has unduly confined the women folks to the backyard forcenturies now.This trend not only has the potential of benefiting the millions more women languishing inthe developing world, but also helping affected countries to realize full national potentialsof their God-given human resources.
Keywords/Search Tags:Sierra Leone, rural development, social perception, gender equality, women’sorganization
PDF Full Text Request
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