DIPLOMARBEIT - ÖH Uni Wien - Universität Wien

3.2. Situation of Women in Developing CountriesMore than half a billion women in developing countries do not have an adequate income, noaccess to medical services and no securities. Most of the poor people today are female whichis why experts talk about a feminization of poverty. Women are the ones who suffer mostfrom hunger, diseases, lack of education, property, water and energy. This got worse duringthe economic crisis in the 1980s and 90s with the structural adjustment programmes (SAPs)of the World Bank. In fact also middle-class women have to be included in the group of thepoor because while they have a rich husband they most likely do not have control overresources and money. These problems have to be faced and fought against by governments tosupport women`s economic empowerment (Nzomo 1995: 138). In addition to that womenoften have limited opportunities since they are excluded from decision-making processes andhave to deal with a huge workload (ADA 2006b: 3). Women in sub-Saharan Africa have thehighest fertility rate and at the same time the lowest life expectation which is even gettingworse today through the spread of HIV/Aids (Momsen 2004: 18).In developing countries women are assumed to fulfil three roles: the reproductive andproductive role as well as the one in community management. Social reproduction includesgiving birth to children, domestic work and caring for the elderly and sick which is usuallymore time-consuming in developing countries than in industrialized ones. It also includescommunity management, that is unpaid voluntary work, like providing collectivecommodities such as water, education and health care or organising religious and socialactivities in order to improve the status of the family. In addition to that women are alsoresponsible for the health, education and socialization of the children. The productive rolecomprises generating income through work on the field or market and is assumed to be worthmore than reproductive work because it generates income (Tasli 2007: 6; Momsen 2004:47f.). Activities of household and family care, like cooking, firewood and water collection orwashing clothes, are usually ignored in national accounts, although they are crucial for theeconomic development of human capital for the nation. These essential jobs are done bywomen all over the world (Momsen 2004: 66f.). Project planners often put up with thetraditional gender roles and gendered division of work in developing countries because theyare assumed to be sacred cultural fields where it is not allowed to interfere. Hence, culturalnorms are not included in the mandate of development (Goetz 1991 in Parpart 1995: 228).33