Handout 3 - Module 7
Empowering Women in Community Decision-Making: Transitioning from Traditions
The Real Outcomes of the Project
Below are actual activities conducted by the coastal practitioners with support of Ratu Timoci:
Before developing a plan for involving women, these activities were conducted: 1. Focus Group Interviews with the Village Women
The women in each village were invited to a focus group interview. The coastal practitioners aimed for having an equal distribution of women, based on education levels and age groups. The objective
was to identify the women’s level of awareness regarding coastal management in the village and
the LMMAICM projects.
These interviews showed that the women had a general awareness of the village rules but did not
know about the LMMA management plans or the reasoning behind the rules. The women also
explained their thoughts about the gender roles in the village. The women did not participate much
in the village meetings since the men did not seem to respect their ideas. Also, the women ‘s
household workload left them little “extra” time to engage in such activities.
The coastal practitioners concluded from these focus groups that the women needed to be informed of the issues and activities as a first step before making decisions about their level of involvement.
2. Background Research
Village population data was collected prior to visiting the site. Results indicated that the population was increasing significantly due to a large in-migration of Fijians attracted to the local tourism
industry. This population data was useful in developing scenarios regarding past and future nutrient loading. The data also helped in estimating the nutrient sources – e.g. waste from villages, hotels,
pig farms.
3. Gender Awareness Workshop for ICM Practitioners
There was a clear need to increase the awareness of the coastal practitioners working in the LMMA and ICM projects of the gender issues in the village since these practitioners already had the trust
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Empowering Women in Community Decision- Making: Transitioning from Traditions
and respect of the villagers. Toward that end, The Women in ICM: Leadership Development WILD project organized a national gender and population-mainstreaming workshop for coastal practitioners.
Local experts in gender and demographics were invited to share their experiences and lessons. This workshop helped focus attention on the linkages between gender, population and coastal resources.
The national level participants identified ways that they could influence Fiji as a whole.
Gender and Demographic Mainstreaming Recommendations Offered by the Coastal Practitioners to the Village
1. Conduct Population Surveys that Address Gender Dimensions
WILD was also able to assist the LMMA project in modifying their socio-economic surveys so its data was desegregated by sex. This would facilitate gender analysis. Based on the limited population
and gender data collected in the background work, the coastal practitioners conducted population surveys to highlight the gender dimensions. A participatory population appraisal was tested with
one village.
2. Coastal Management Awareness Workshop and Action Planning for Village Women
Building upon the focus group interviews, an awareness workshop was held for village women – to provide them with background on the LMMA and ICM projects. The workshop addressed how the
issues had been identified and the management actions developed. The women reviewed and discussed how they would have prioritized issues and solutions differently
than the men had. Based on their issues, and their preferences for involvement, the women chose to work on solid and liquid waste management. They wanted to be responsible for this activity and
take the lead for implementation. They thought that this activity fell within their “traditional” gender role related to health. The women felt that other LMMA actions – for example, setting
village regulations or serving as fish wardens – were more suitable for the men.
Invitations to the workshop were issued through the village headmen. It was somewhat surprising when some of the village headman accompanied their village women to the workshop. This situation
had a positive outcome. When these women returned to their villages and their village meetings, their headman openly supported their action plans and ideas. Within a few weeks, many of the
women organized the building of village rubbish disposal facilities and started village clean-up programs.
3. Support Village Women with Training and Technical Assistance
