Gender Inequality and Intra-household Allocations

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Gender Inequality and Intra-household Allocations
Conflict and Cooperation: Gendered Roles and Responsibilities within Cotton Households in Northern Mozambique
CITATION Pit96 \l 1033 (Pitcher) study on conflict and cooperation a case study of gendered roles and responsibility within cotton households in northern Mozambique highlights issues of gender inequality and intra-household allocations. (Pitcher, 1996)’s research sought to examine gendered division of labor, household income and control of food production for the family and especially cotton in Northern Mozambique. Northern Mozambique has rare cultural practices unlike many places in Africa that embodies matrilineal land inheritance. Therefore, (Pitcher, 1996) sought to understand to what degree does the control of food, oncome and decisions regarding purchases for the household different from other parts especially areas which do not observe matrilineal land inheritance. She also discusses how privatization of state farms will change the gendered division of labor and responsibility in the household.
(Pitcher, 1996) adopted a (Pitcher, 1996) used both secondary and primary research methods to conduct her research. She extensively used credible secondary cases to make her case on northern Mozambique farming in relation to the family sector. The research necessitated many variables and hence she relied on data and findings collected by other researches. In the end, she administered questionnaires to find out more about how household income is handled and distributed in the family; which is a primary research method. Therefore, (Pitcher, 1996) used a hybrid research method of both secondary and primary research methods for her study.
(Pitcher, 1996) found out that there is relative equal division of labor in most families in the northern Mozambique. Women and men are involved in domestic activities alike and importantly women are not suppressed or overlooked. The women retain authority and autonomy in the household despite the impact of colonial-capitalism. Women are also involved in spending the family income and in most cases they keep the income they jointly earn with their spouses. (Pitcher, 1996) attributes this to matrilineal land inheritance since she observed that women are more likely to keep the income from land they inherited from their families while men tended to keep the income from land they inherited from their families. However, privatization and other structural issues brought by the same tend to disenfranchise women. After studying the grandes familiares, (Pitcher, 1996) observed that ‘as land was acquired elsewhere and plot size increased, women became less involved in cash-generating activities and in controlling the proceeds.’ This is a dangerous precedence and ‘policymakers and private companies should take steps to ensure that privatization and the move to a market economy in Mozambique do not undermine women's role in cash-generating activities nor reduce their participation in household decision-making.’
This study leads me to understand the role women play in promoting the upward mobility of a society. In the case of northern Mozambique, the society is flourishing by...