Gender relations and alternative livelihood strategies : effects of a ban on shrimp fry collection in the southwest coastal region of Bangladesh | |
| Author | Sikder, Ratna Rani |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.AQ-05-18 |
| Subject(s) | Shrimp fisheries--Bangladesh Women fishers--Bangladesh |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. AQ-05-18 |
| Abstract | The Southwestern coastal area of Bangladesh, as one of the highly productive areas in terms of water and land resources, provides considerable roles not only in the social and economic development of the country but also in the regional ecological balance. Among all water resources, shrimp fry resources play an important role for the livelihood of the coastal poor people by way of collecting and trading from these areas. Recent ban on shrimp fry collection from the coastal areas has led to a significant impact on the income activities of shrimp fry collectors, especially women. There have been several state interventions initiated to alleviate their socio-economic conditions, but they have not yielded desired results. It is an established fact that a lack of holistic approach to deal with lack of gender concerns has been the major weakness of most external interventions. Thus it is important to draw more attention on women livelihood development for sustenance while establishing the sustainable livelihood development policies for shrimp fry collectors. The objectives of the study are; 1) to assess the impacts of banning on the income crisis of women in terms of paid work as compared to men; 2) to determine any change in the livelihood of shrimp fry collectors due to the ban on shrimp fry collection; 3) to analyze gender roles and workload sharing at the intra-household levels; and 4) to make recommendations to develop a sustainable livelihood by incorporating gender issues. A total of 90 shrimp fry collectors were interviewed on recall basis, 45 male and 45 female from the selected village (Chilla village of Mongla sub-district of Bagerhat) where most of the poor people are engaged in shrimp fry collection. Participation observation technique was also applied. After imposing ban on shrimp fry collection, men shrimp fry collectors have quickly shifted to other available occupations in order to maintain their families, whereas women still continued to catch shrimp fry resources due to social restriction. limited institutional facilities and gender inequity. Out of 11 occupations identified by the respondents, men were involved in 9 occupations, of which mostly (33.3%) were engaged in daily labor. rickshaw/van pulling (22.2%) and shrimp beheading (13.3%), whereas women were still illegally collecting shrimp fries (100%) from the wild sources and also engaged in domestic maid work (22.2%) or collecting leaves and fuel wood (20°o) which take more time (as much as I hour/day) than shrimp fry collection. Limited occupations of women shrimp fry collectors led to the vulnerability of their family. For examining the vulnerable condition, the families were categorized into two families, 1) Husband has other occupation and wife do shrimp fry collection (HO & WS); 2) Husband and wife do shrimp fry collection with extra occupation (HS & WS). The average yearly income of both family categories (HO&WS and HS&WS) decreased after the banning of shrimp fry collection. In the HO & WS category, there was a decrease of Tk. 846.67 (husband) and Tk. 7715.00 (wife), whereas in the HS & WS category, the decrease was Tk. 750.33 (husband) and Tk. 5775.00 (Wife). Due to gender inequity in terms of labor activities and its time allocation, decision making power, access to and control over resources, personnel insecurity etc. women encounter difficulties in finding alternatives livelihood. However, due to poor economic condition, the wife in a HS & WS family sometimes breaks gender roles by engaging also in income and non-income generating activities but these opportunities are limited. The study shows that there are no existing alternative livelihood opportunities for women to alleviate their vulnerable condition. Thus certain recommendations such as reducing gender inequity have been made could provide 'an efficient mechanism to deal with livelihoods and the gender relations |
| Year | 2005 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. AQ-05-18 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Management (AQ) |
| Chairperson(s) | Kusakabe, Kyoko;Somsak Boromthanarat; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Yakupitiyage, Amararatne;Gallardo, Wenresti; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA)/ Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2005 |