Women’s empowerment has become, in recent decades, a highly debated topic at international level. In fact, since the end of the 20th century, the term “empowerment” has been used by minority groups to describe the condition of social injustice and discrimination in which they live and, therefore, their claim to equality. These groups are mostly composed of immigrants, Negros, and women. It is precisely on the latter that this thesis work focuses on. Women are traditionally discriminated in several ways; both within the family, as mothers, wives, and sisters, and in the work environment. In this context of inequalities the notion of “empowerment” made its appearance, spreading amongst the international community. This thesis work starts from a project on Gender Empowerment and Agency, part of the Food Insecurity and Poverty Survey in Naivasha, Kenya. The project aims at assessing women’s empowerment in seven clusters, located around the Lake Naivasha; the purpose is to provide a description of women’s empowerment in life domains related to productive activities, personal autonomy, perceptions and time allocation, in Kenya. Before illustrating the project, its structures, and achievements, the main characteristics of empowerment and the difficulties in its measurement are outlined. Although the term empowerment is used at international level, its meaning has been much discussed. For this reason, the first chapter analyses the different definitions of empowerment that we can find in literature and its core concepts: resources and choices, agency, achievements. The difficulties in defining empowerment make its measurement and identification of indicators problematic. Therefore, the second chapter of this thesis analyses the possible complications that scholars and researchers may encounter in measuring empowerment, paying attention to the reference context, an element that can influence its characteristics and conception by individuals. Paramount here is to find appropriate measurement methods that consider the reference context. The relevance of the context in defining empowerment led to an analysis of the reference area. In fact, within the third chapter women’s conditions in Kenya, where traditional laws still influence female social status, are examined. Women are still living in a patriarchal system, where the husband is the head of the household, resulting in deprivation of several rights and in expansion of inequalities. Nonetheless, attempts have been made by women to emerge from this condition of inferiority. The present work analyses the attempts made in Kenya, from microcredit and membership in religious groups, to bargaining power within the household, with reference to single women. From the analysis of the context we move on to an analysis of the project: what its goal is, how is it structured, to whom it is addressed and how the data collection occurs. In the fourth and last chapter, the questionnaire is described, and the collected data analysed. The aim of the study is to analyse and contribute to the conceptualization of empowerment. The project is made up of two parts: a) the questionnaire, conducted among 600 households, both couples and singles, which collects quantitative data; b) the focus groups, conducted among two clusters, Kanjogu and Ndabibi, and divided between men and women. In first place, quantitative data are analysed and further integrated with qualitative data, in order to better investigate men's and women's opinions on several aspects of their lives, also in relation to the context.
L’empowerment delle donne è divenuto, negli ultimi decenni, un tema molto dibattuto a livello internazionale. Dalla fine del XX secolo, infatti, il termine "empowerment" è stato utilizzato dalle minoranze, per lo più di immigrati, persone di colore e donne, per descrivere la condizione di ingiustizia sociale e discriminazione nella quale vivono e, quindi, rivendicare l’eguaglianza. È proprio sulle donne che si focalizza il presente lavoro di tesi. Esse vengono tradizionalmente discriminate sotto diversi aspetti; sia all’interno del nucleo familiare, come madri, mogli e sorelle, che nell’ambiente di lavoro. Proprio in questo contesto di disparità il concetto di "empowerment" delle donne ha fatto la sua apparizione. Il presente lavoro di tesi prende avvio da un progetto su Gender Empowerment e Agency, parte del Food Insecurity and Poverty Survey in Naivasha, Kenya. Il progetto mira ad analizzare l’empowerment delle donne in sette cluster localizzati attorno al lago Naivasha; l’obiettivo è quello di fornire una descrizione e una concettualizzazione accurate di empowerment delle donne in settori di vita legati ad attività produttive, autonomia personale, percezioni e distribuzione del tempo. Prima di andare ad illustrare il progetto, la sua struttura e i risultati ottenuti, si delineano le caratteristiche principali di empowerment e le difficoltà che si incontrano nella sua misurazione. Nonostante il termine "empowerment" venga ampiamente utilizzato a livello internazionale, non mancano le discussioni riguardo il suo significato. Per questo motivo, il primo capitolo analizza le diverse definizioni di "empowerment" che possiamo trovare nella letteratura e gli elementi che, secondo molti studiosi, lo costituiscono: risorse e scelte, agency, risultati. Proprio la difficoltà nel definire "empowerment" rende problematico anche il suo processo di misurazione e di identificazione degli indicatori. Il secondo capitolo di questa tesi analizza, quindi, le possibili complicazioni che studiosi e ricercatori possono incontrare nel misurare empowerment, ponendo particolare attenzione al contesto di riferimento, elemento che può influenzarne caratteristiche e concezione da parte degli individui. Fondamentale è, quindi, trovare metodi di misurazione adeguati che tengano conto del contesto di riferimento. L’importanza che il contesto riveste nel definire empowerment ha portato ad analizzare l’ambito di riferimento del progetto. Nel terzo capitolo viene, infatti, esaminata la condizione delle donne in Kenya, dove tradizioni e consuetudini influenzano ancora notevolmente il loro stato sociale. Tutt’ora le donne si trovano a vivere all’interno di una società patriarcale, dove il marito è considerato il capo-famiglia, con la conseguente privazione di numerosi diritti e l’estendersi di disuguaglianze. Ciò nonostante, esistono alcuni tentativi da parte delle donne di uscire da questa condizione di inferiorità. Il presente lavoro analizza quelli che sono i tentativi compiuti in Kenya, dal microcredito alla partecipazione a gruppi religiosi e al potere di negoziazione all’interno della famiglia, con particolare riferimento anche alle donne single. Dall’analisi del contesto in cui le donne vivono si passa ad analizzare il progetto: quale è il suo obiettivo, come è strutturato, a chi è rivolto e come avviene la raccolta dei dati. Il quarto capitolo è, quindi, dedicato all’analisi empirica del progetto. L’obiettivo dello studio è, infatti, quello di analizzare e contribuire alla concettualizzazione di "empowerment". Il progetto si compone di due parti: il questionario, che raccoglie dati quantitativi su 600 households, e i focus groups, svolti su due cluster, che raccolgono dati qualitativi. In primo luogo vengono analizzati i dati quantitativi, successivamente integrati con quelli qualitativi al fine di comprendere meglio i diversi aspetti di empowerment, anche in riferimento al contesto.
Women's Empowerment: A Case Study in Naivasha
RUSCONI, VALENTINA
2019/2020
Abstract
Women’s empowerment has become, in recent decades, a highly debated topic at international level. In fact, since the end of the 20th century, the term “empowerment” has been used by minority groups to describe the condition of social injustice and discrimination in which they live and, therefore, their claim to equality. These groups are mostly composed of immigrants, Negros, and women. It is precisely on the latter that this thesis work focuses on. Women are traditionally discriminated in several ways; both within the family, as mothers, wives, and sisters, and in the work environment. In this context of inequalities the notion of “empowerment” made its appearance, spreading amongst the international community. This thesis work starts from a project on Gender Empowerment and Agency, part of the Food Insecurity and Poverty Survey in Naivasha, Kenya. The project aims at assessing women’s empowerment in seven clusters, located around the Lake Naivasha; the purpose is to provide a description of women’s empowerment in life domains related to productive activities, personal autonomy, perceptions and time allocation, in Kenya. Before illustrating the project, its structures, and achievements, the main characteristics of empowerment and the difficulties in its measurement are outlined. Although the term empowerment is used at international level, its meaning has been much discussed. For this reason, the first chapter analyses the different definitions of empowerment that we can find in literature and its core concepts: resources and choices, agency, achievements. The difficulties in defining empowerment make its measurement and identification of indicators problematic. Therefore, the second chapter of this thesis analyses the possible complications that scholars and researchers may encounter in measuring empowerment, paying attention to the reference context, an element that can influence its characteristics and conception by individuals. Paramount here is to find appropriate measurement methods that consider the reference context. The relevance of the context in defining empowerment led to an analysis of the reference area. In fact, within the third chapter women’s conditions in Kenya, where traditional laws still influence female social status, are examined. Women are still living in a patriarchal system, where the husband is the head of the household, resulting in deprivation of several rights and in expansion of inequalities. Nonetheless, attempts have been made by women to emerge from this condition of inferiority. The present work analyses the attempts made in Kenya, from microcredit and membership in religious groups, to bargaining power within the household, with reference to single women. From the analysis of the context we move on to an analysis of the project: what its goal is, how is it structured, to whom it is addressed and how the data collection occurs. In the fourth and last chapter, the questionnaire is described, and the collected data analysed. The aim of the study is to analyse and contribute to the conceptualization of empowerment. The project is made up of two parts: a) the questionnaire, conducted among 600 households, both couples and singles, which collects quantitative data; b) the focus groups, conducted among two clusters, Kanjogu and Ndabibi, and divided between men and women. In first place, quantitative data are analysed and further integrated with qualitative data, in order to better investigate men's and women's opinions on several aspects of their lives, also in relation to the context.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/170