Women's Empowerment and the Feminization of Poverty among

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2011 of some of the mothers of the children in its Street Children Project (SCP) at Centre Afak inTaroudannt. The project’s five aims target Rowlands’ dimensions of selfhood, relationships andcollective action; incorporate the objective of Kabeer’s process of change toward the ability to makechoices; and seek outcomes of Kabeer’s resource, agency and achievement:AIM OBJECTIVE OUTCOMETo increase women’sconfidence and selfesteemTo build mutual supportnetworks among thewomenTo support women toexercise their legalrights and access publicservicesTo improve preventativehealth care practicesincluding hygiene andnutrition and encouragew o m e n t o s e e kprofessional medicalhelp when necessaryTo promote positiveparenting practices andreduce violentdisciplinary practicesTo provide a safe space for thewomen to discuss daily problemsthey faceTo provide leisure activitieswhere women can have funTo raise the women’s awarenessof their rights under Moudawanaand services that are available tothemTo i n c r e a s e t h e w o m e n ’sknowledge of preventative healthcare practices including hygieneand nutrition and of recognizingwhen professional medical helpis neededTo i n c r e a s e t h e w o m e n ’sawareness of their influence ontheir children as parents andsupport them to change harmfulparenting practicesIncreased level ofconfidence and selfesteemMutual support networksoperating among thewomen in the projectExercise by the women oftheir legal rights underMoudawana and accessto available servicesImproved health carepractices in the home andan increase in seekingprofessional medical helpwhen necessaryIncreased positiveparenting practices andreduced violentdisciplinary practicesTo monitor women’s empowerment as a multidimensional process of change toward theability of female heads of household to make choices, this project required baseline data. This dataalso contributes to the demonstration of how survival is negotiated over gendered burdens ofpoverty, per the two core assumptions of the feminization of poverty theory: women becomingpoorer than men; poverty as a process of inequality within households. The short baselineinterviews conducted with the six women who are still active group members provide relevantinformation on demographics, literacy, parenting practices, health and hygiene, and self-esteem.While all the women have children participating in the SCP – from 3-8 children – this is oneof the only demographic commonalities. The sample represents a range of life stages, from 27 to 47years-old. One married woman and one widow are from Taroudannt whereas the others are29
originally from Agadir, Ouled Berhil (village in Souss Valley), and Taliouine and Mantaga (Berbervillages in the Atlas Mountains). None of the women are literate (four have basic math skills) andfive of the women work, either full- or part-time in addition to or in substitution of a husband. 17Marital Status of Women in the GroupMarried4Widowed2For the purpose of this in-depth study, the sixth woman is not identified as a female head ofhousehold as she relies solely on the financial support of her husband as well as his fulfilment ofchild-rearing responsibilities of their three children. Mernissi’s Islamic feminist perspective of theMoroccan “traditional image of the Muslim woman, an image that confounds virility with economicpower and femininity with the passive status of consumer,” defines an ‘atypical’ Moroccan femalehead of household as financially active or independent (1985: 148). Thus, the sixth woman’scontribution as a married, uneducated and unemployed woman originally from Taroudannt, servesas a comparison of the status of a ‘typical’ married female non-head of household to the fiveidentified female heads of household.Responsibilities of Female-Headed HouseholdsPrimary IncomeShared IncomeChildcare0 1 2 3 4 5Number of womenMarriedWidowed17Unless otherwise cited, all the following data are based on the 6 women’s interviews listed in the bibliography. Tomaintain confidentiality, all the married heads of household are identified here as M1, M2 and M3; the married nonheadas M4; the widowed heads as W1 and W2. Translations to English by the researcher from French originals.30
Page 4 and 5: I. INTRODUCTIONAttitudes about gend
Page 6: II. ANALYSIS OF EXISTING LITERATURE
Page 9 and 10: In recognition of the importance of
Page 11 and 12: women’s empowerment, the feminiza
Page 13 and 14: “Although women are often victims
Page 15 and 16: III. METHODOLOGYThis chapter begins
Page 17 and 18: Phase IOf the four phases of my pri
Page 19 and 20: acutely aware of the limitations of
Page 21 and 22: Despite the very recent historical
Page 23 and 24: (Ibid.: 716). In sum, de jure Mouda
Page 25 and 26: change which requires a period of a
Page 27 and 28: Cultural situationAnalyzing Morocca
Page 29 and 30: defiance of tradition, and society
Page 31: there is faith in the city’s life
Page 35 and 36: Dwyer’s observation that “a str
Page 37 and 38: Social networksSocial networks can
Page 39 and 40: dimension. When asked to identify h
Page 41 and 42: VI. CONCLUSIONThe participatory res
Page 43: BIBLIOGRAPHYAbiad, N. (2008) Sharia
Page 46 and 47: McIlwaine, C. (2012c) “Women’s
Page 48 and 49: InterviewsEch Chenna, Aicha, Presid
Page 50: Appendix B - Focus groupAimTo find

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