Rights of Coastal Communities: A Feminist Perspective

Women in Fisheries Sector  Productive roles of women in pre- and post- harvest at household and community level  Shouldering responsibilities in ensuring household’s food security  Understanding and knowledge of environment and natural resources  Productive roles of women in pre- and post- harvest at household and community level  Shouldering responsibilities in ensuring household’s food security  Understanding and knowledge of environment and natural resources

Women remains invisible in fisheries, despite their active contribution  Expectation of women’s duty to perform (cooking and looking after children) because of social perception - level of participation of women in community development.  Women are displaced as the fishery are modernised: cheap labour in fishery processing, unskilled/informal/ unprotected/labour  Expectation of women’s duty to perform (cooking and looking after children) because of social perception - level of participation of women in community development.  Women are displaced as the fishery are modernised: cheap labour in fishery processing, unskilled/informal/ unprotected/labour

Women remains invisible in fisheries, despite their active contribution (cont.)  Discrimination: rights to ownerships of housing, land and property (in some countries, patterns of inheritance of access and tenurial rights will often differentiate between male and female descendants)  Vulnerability in disaster: post tsunami rehabilitation lacks of gender sensitivities, esp. ethnic groups, migrant workers, dalits women  Discrimination: rights to ownerships of housing, land and property (in some countries, patterns of inheritance of access and tenurial rights will often differentiate between male and female descendants)  Vulnerability in disaster: post tsunami rehabilitation lacks of gender sensitivities, esp. ethnic groups, migrant workers, dalits women

Women’s work focuses on sustaining life In the existing development paradigm where only production for the market has value, sustaining life has no value and is therefore invisible

The existing development paradigm  Based on production for the market and not for use  Based on control of resources by a few and exploits natural resources in unsustainable ways  Based largely on oil – nonrenewable resource  Condones the use of violence to safeguard control of resources – is therefore violent  And therefore is basically patriarchal  Based on production for the market and not for use  Based on control of resources by a few and exploits natural resources in unsustainable ways  Based largely on oil – nonrenewable resource  Condones the use of violence to safeguard control of resources – is therefore violent  And therefore is basically patriarchal

The crucial threats to the coasts and coastal communities come from the hinterland  The impact of development on coastal population dynamics and ecosystem changes – a recent study compared three locations on the west coast of India  Revealed the following  The impact of development on coastal population dynamics and ecosystem changes – a recent study compared three locations on the west coast of India  Revealed the following

A booming fishery supported by state subsidies rapidly depleted resources it was almost totally export oriented Social indicators were not as high as in less booming areas Dowries had increased in marriage There was discrimination against the girl child with a falling female sex ratio

If women’s work is made visible and given value and their role in decision making is taken seriously there would be more focus on life and livelihood rather than mere profits from centralised production and market centered development

 The right to life and livelihood requires a development focus that:  values life, the living systems, the interconnectedness of the coasts to the hinterland  Focuses on equity  Develops masculinities that value nature and nurture  The right to life and livelihood requires a development focus that:  values life, the living systems, the interconnectedness of the coasts to the hinterland  Focuses on equity  Develops masculinities that value nature and nurture

1.How do we make our development paradigm more life and livelihood- centered? 2. How do we make women’s roles in fisheries more visible and central in fishery development