mssrf•org

Centre without walls.

pro-poor, pro-nature & pro-women.

Undergraduate Curriculum
Gender Issues in Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods: A course for undergraduates in agricultural universities
Dr. Sara Ahmed
Kerala Agricultural University and M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation 2004
"Our lives are no different from that of our bullocks"
Peasant Woman, Himachal Pradesh
Images of rural India carry pictures of graceful women balancing fuel wood on their heads, or bent over double, weeding, transplanting, collecting forest produce, often with a baby slung over her back. But the reality is that of a backbreaking and endless cycle of work, invisible, unheard, and with no control over access to the means of production or the fruits of her labour.

The rural woman's lack of access to and control over resources, an increase in the daily vulnerabilities that arise from the out migration of males into urban centres and into other professions, endemic poverty and her location in a deeply patriarchal society -all increasingly demand gender - sensitive policies in the agriculture sector.

MS Swaminathan Research Foundation and Kerala Agricultural University present this unique course, the first of its kind, that seeks to sensitize students to the issues of gender in rural India.

The aim is to first to build awareness among those who study agriculture at the undergraduate level, and who will go on to be closely allied with the agricultural sector, formulating policy, and as researchers, extension workers, teachers and activists. The course attempts to give students a sweep of knowledge and skills with the final purpose of creating recognition of the role women play in rural livelihoods and bringing about an attitudinal change in those who will be most closely allied with this sector. The course has the following specific objectives:
  1. To build perspective by providing an overview of the social construction of gender and gender inequality
  2. To create skills by identifying gender roles, rights and responsibilities and their bearing on gender relations
  3. To bring about attitudinal change, creating gender sensitivity and helping students internalize equity concerns as fundamental human rights.


Structure of the Course

The generic course framework can be used by teachers as it is, or adapted to suit the learning objectives in any university and to great advantage for undergraduates of any discipline.

The course consists of two modules:

The first module, GENDER RELATIONS AND RURAL LIVELIHOODS, covers twelve different topics: from policy approaches to livelihoods in transition, gender and land rights to the role of microfinance. These twelve form the core topics and are compulsory.

The second module, GENDER ISSUES IN DIFFERENT AGRARIAN SECTORS, covers four sectors: irrigation, forestry, fisheries and livestock. Here the student/university can choose to take up any or all the topics for a detailed study.

Each of these 16 topics is again structured into three sections:

  1. A Unit Framework that provides an overview of a topic and outlines. Concepts. Each Unit Framework is packed with ideas, creating many strands through which the teacher can choose to explore the subject.
  2. Readings are related articles from various books and journals, providing a context within which the subject may be explored. Each Unit Framework has two or more reading extracts
  3. Practical Exercises are what students should undertake at the end of every topic. There is space for short surveys, to research information, and to explore their own environment and understand the complexities of gender in context.


Topics

MODULE 1: GENDER RELATIONS AND RURAL LIVELIHOODS

  1. Poverty, Livelihoods and Sustainability
  2. Understanding Gender
  3. Policy Approaches to Women and Development: From WID to GAD
  4. Gender and Agriculture: An Overview
  5. Understanding Gender Roles in Agricultural Systems
  6. Gender and Land Rights
  7. Technological Change and Gender Relations
  8. Promoting Access to Credit: The Role of Women's SHGs
  9. Gender, Biodiversity and Food Security
  10. Empowering Rural Women: Participation and Governance in PRIs
  11. Livelihoods in Transition: Disasters, Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity
  12. Gender and Organisational Change:Institutional Practice in Extension, Training and Research


MODULE 2: GENDER ISSUES IN DIFFERENT AGRARIAN SECTORS

  1. Gender and Irrigation: Negotiating Water Rights
  2. Gender and Forestry: Managing Conflicts, Moving Beyond JFM
  3. Gender Issues in Fisheries Development: Fighting for Recognition
  4. Women and Livestock: Overcoming Gender Barriers


About the author

Dr. Sara Ahmed has been working on the politics of community participation in natural resource management interventions in India since 1983. After completing her doctorate from the University of Cambridge (1991) she joined the Institute of Rural Management, Anand, Gujarat (IRMA), teaching courses in rural development, gender policy and environmental issues. She left IRMA in 2002 and was a Visiting Fellow for 2003-04 at the Uttara Devi Resource Centre for Gender and Development, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai. Sara is presently based in Ahmedabad, where she works closely with a number of NGOs on gender inclusive, rights-based approaches to livelihood security. In addition, Sara is a member of the National Steering Committee for the Global Environmental Facility Small Grants Programme and a member of the Executive Committee of PRAVAH, a civil society network on water and sanitation issues in Gujarat.

If you would like to get copies in print or CD of the course, please see the attached proforma, which you can download by clicking here

For more information, email us at
Uttara Devi Resource Centre in
M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation
Uttara Devi Resource Centre for Gender and Development
3rd Cross Road, Taramani Institutional Area
Chennai - 600 113, INDIA Phone: +91-44-22541229/1698
Fax: +91-44-22541319 Email: library@mssrf.res.in
 

Copyright © 2007 M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai | All Rights Reserved