Rapid care Analysis. Toolbox of exercise - Texting in Bangladesh. Oxfam Bangladesh. Oxfam Bangladesh. Oxfam Bangladesh

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1 Rapid care Analysis Toolbox of exercise - Texting in Bangladesh Oxfam Bangladesh Oxfam Bangladesh Oxfam Bangladesh

2 Women in Bangladesh work on average 16 hours a day are involved in various unpaid housework. Therefore women work about million hours a year at household work with an estimated value of somewhere between US$69.81 and 91.03billion, if these work were added to GDP than GDP would more than double (Efroymson, Biswas and Ruma, 2007). Northern part of Bangladesh is home to half the country s rural population, whose livelihood primarily depends on subsistence agriculture combined with a few cash crops. Still, 40% percentage of rural people of Bangladesh lives in below the poverty line. In Gaibandha especially in the River Island area situated in basin of Jamuna river and 40% of the river basin. Every year flood hits in this area during the monsoon. During catastrophe flood people loss their crops, livestock, housing structure, natural assets and sometimes lives. The employment opportunity in river island area is very low (32%). There is a disparity in men and women employment 62% men 10% women. Inadequate employment and income opportunities in the area promoted seasonal migration. Only 13% of households produced any food that lasted on average for three months. Thus the HH were deficit in food for nine months a year, indicating high vulnerability. Average literacy rate is 24%, men 31.6% and women 16.5%. The main occupation in the district is agriculture 44.45%, agriculture labor 2.58%, transport 1.89%, commerce 9.11%, service 4.49%, and other 9.76%. To gain a better understanding of how care for people operates in their community and to identify possible practical interventions especially to reduce time or labour required for daily housework and caring for people and thus increase women s participation and benefits Rapid Care Assessment Tool followed the 4 steps below: 1. To understand the relationship of doing care work in the community 2. Identify average weekly hours spent on unpaid and paid work activities performed in the community 3. Find out the most problematic care work for community and for women 4. Identify the different types of support available in the community around care and identify options for reducing and/or redistributing care work In Bangladesh the RCAT was tested in a single day through 5 FGDs. RCTA was conducted at the Gazaria Union at Saghata sub district in Gaibandha. Most of the people of the village depend on agriculture and Chilli is the main cash crop for them. RCAT was conducted with separate women and men groups. 15 women, approximately the 10 number of men participated in the FGDs. FGDs were conducted by 2 facilitators, one from the Local NGO and one from Oxfam. Some preparation work was done the NGO before the day including visiting target community in advance; field facilitator ensured the participation in terms of number and type of people in order consistent participation. All men and women were sit together with 3 boys and girls since they also play a vital role in care work. The FGDs were started with the introduction of each other and objective of the FGDs. The participants were asked what they think when they hear the word care. All the

3 participants shared their thought each other that can help us to start our session. Most of them thought that care work is about a obligatory work so being a women it is only their work. Some of them shared that it has a financial value and to be a family member everybody should do this work. Understand care roles and relationship in household Legend Monthly Parents-in-law, Relatives and Villagers Weekly Daily Wife, Parents, Relatives or Neighbour and CBO Own and his Children Care Relationship of Men Relatives, Other Villagers and CBO Parents and Neighbour Husband, Parents-in-law and her Children Care Relationship of Women Fig: 1 Relationship of care work

4 The objective of the first FGD was to find out the relationship to whom they care for, who care for them and the frequency of the care activities. By the probing questions and explanation from the first step, exploring relationship of care in the community, we tried to understand who are the responsible to do care activities in the household and the community. In this FGD the participants were asked the relationship in the household and also the community to whom they are care for. This was allowed us to identify to what extent the family members care for the people of their family and also for the community. Women are playing main role in care activities in the family. Wives, mothers, sisters, daughter and other women family members taking care the men and the children in the family. As the women live in patriarchal family so they have to take care for their babies, husband, father-in- law and brother-in law also. The care activities performed by men only when women are ill, busy with agriculture like chilli production or not at home. At that time men can feeding the cows and goats, putting the cattle into shade from field, taking food by own, bringing water etc. Men do not do these work daily basis though women do every day. In community both men and women are more involve in care work. They are care for their neighbours and their relatives in weekly or monthly basis. Generally women stay at home and most of the care work done by them. Men help women in homestead gardening; drying chilli, jute, maize etc packaging and storing the marketable products in the household though home based processing works mostly done by women. Sometimes they help the women in doing plinth rising, repair their house and cattle or chicken shade. Someone help them to chop the faire wood. To categorise the women and men household roles and to find out frequency of the works at house hold and community level that was done by women and men second FGD was done. Unpaid work includes all non remunerated work activities which lack social recognition (Raina,). Unpaid work is non-market work and includes activities such as housework,care for children,the sick, and the elderly voluntary community work,work in political or community organizations; subsistence, agriculture, fuel and water collection etc. To make visible the total volume of work done by women and by men it was identified the share of care done respectively by both of the members of the family. As estimated, women s role in care is comparatively more than men s. Along with taking care of the family and doing daily house work they are mainly involved in some non-work and unpaid producing work for their own household consumptions. To categorise the house hold work individual was asked to list all the daily activities they are regularly engaged. The facilitator was reflected the person s daily work from waking up to going to bed. After giving explanation of simultaneous work the participants mentioned those clearly

5 17.00PM to 22.00PM 1.30 PM to PM 5.30AM to 13.30PM Table: 1 Daily Activity Performed By Women and Man Daily Activities of Women Time Main activities Simultaneous activities Wake up and mending bed Bathing Bathing the child Praying Putting the Cattles and chickens outside of the shade Feeding the cattle and chicken Cleaning the backyard Cleaning dishes Firewood collection Milking from cattle Collecting drinking water Preparing for breakfast Cooking breakfast Preparing the child to go school Serving the breakfast Feeding to children Homestead gardening Cleaning the Cattle shade Taking the cattle to the grazing land Collecting fodder for the cattle Taking bath Collecting water for bathing Washing cloths Serving food for all Caring for older cleaning dishes Attend in CBO activities Sewing cloths to help husband to shopping grocery Bringing the cattle form field and feeding Mending cloths Cleaning backyard Collecting firewood Collecting water Prepare for cooking lighting the house Taking the cattle and chicken into shade Cooking meal teaching the child serving the meal Care for older people Chatting with neighbour cleaning the bed close the door Go to bed

6 16.00 PM to PM 5.30 AM to 8.30 AM Daily Activities of man Time Main activities Simultaneous activities Awaken the children and wife Collect fodder for cattle Bathing Care for father and mother Praying Care for babies Putting out the cattle and chicken Milking the cattle Feeding the cattle and goat Taking own food 8.30AM Intercultural operation in the homestead to garden 16.00PM Bringing the cattle to the field Going to work like day labour, work at own field or doing business Taking bath Washing the Cattles Washing the cattle Teaching the children taking own meal Attend in CBO Going to market 21.00PM to 22.00PM Chatting with other Own cleaning Taking dinner Going to bed Average weekly hours spent on different categories of work by women and men After getting the detail list of activities, individual was asked to count up the hours in each of the stated categories of work. Then the group reached on an average time they spent on daily basis and weekly basis for both women and man. Table: 2 Average weekly hours on different categories of work Category Work to Produce Paid labour Unpaid Care work Women Activities Paid productive work for chilli cultivation period Sweeping the floor, Backyard and cattle shade Cleaning Dishes Weekly Hours 21 (Seasonal) Men activities Work in field, or as day labour, or as business Selling and buying something Paid work at chilli cultivation and harvesting season Weekly Hours 52.5 (it will be hrs at the season) Care for Children 7

7 Cleaning cloths Care for Children Care for Older people Collecting water Collecting firewood Serving the meal Preparation for Cooking Cooking Collecting water Collecting firewood Unpaid work for producing or for family Unpaid Community work Feeding cattle or chicken Sewing cloths Gardening Chilli processing (varied) 24.5 (in chilli harvesting period it will be hrs) Attend in CBO activities 2 Cattle management Gardening Attend different meeting in CBO Participate in different work of the community Non- work Taking bath Taking bath Taking meal Taking meal Praying Praying Total Weekly Hours The exercise reflects that women involve only 21 hours per week in paid work during the season of chilli production. Whereas men s involvement 52.5 hours (during chilli production hours) per week among the total 87.5 hrs/week. Generally women are doing household work average 14.5 hours every day but at the time of chilli production it goes up to hours per day. Women, in family, pass about 60% time (8.25 hours per day) in doing the unpaid care work where men spend only one hour by doing child caring and collecting drinking water and fire wood. Women also spend a significant hours by doing unpaid work for producing. Generally they give average 3.5 hours per day but at the time of chilli harvesting period it will take 28 to 30 hours per week

8 Fig:2 Petal Diagram of the women household work (Total hours 14.4 per day) Understand gender pattern in care work In the next FGD it was focused to explore the distribution of care roles at household level we tried to get the answer what care activities are performed by which categories of people in the community. After categorising the care activities in household level the participants were asked who does which work? The discussion was guided around the six social categories of people. Categories of work Women Men Girl Boy Meal preparation Cleaning cloths Cleaning house Feeding and caring children Feeding cattle or chicken Taking care of sick people Daily shopping Older women Older men The following table assess the frequency of care work performed by different categories of people. After getting the common household work form the participants it was asked to put the dot on the matrix according to the frequency of performing by the members of the

9 household. The participants put the 3 dots for daily perform, 2 dots for sometimes/once a week, 1 dot for rarely/ once a month. Women act as voluntary worker in the family HH is the platform of division of labor, and gender role is structured from this place. Here women have own realization that men is the main decision maker and always they support men to take decision rather thinking herself as a decision maker. The traditional mind set is that women should obey men in all respect at the community Table:3 Detail gender analysis of care activities Sl. No Activities Women Men Girl Boy Older women Older men 1 Sweeping the floor Cleaning the dishes Caring the children Collecting water Chopping the vegetable Cooking Serve the meal Cleaning the cattle shade Washing the cattle Putting the cattle in the 10 field Firewood collection Purchase daily goods Drying, storing, sorting the 13 dry chilli Teaching the children Sewing the cloths.... All women attended at the FGD do most of the jobs regularly. They are rarely purchase the goods for their family needs but in many cases men are main responsible for this task. Women, who are engage in paid work, have a bit access in market. They have no power in market to sale their product. Their burgling power is too low. So men are main responsible for doing the market related activities.

10 The last two FGD were conducted to find out the problematic work in the household & community level and identify different categories of services that support to care work The participants found out the problematic work which need more time and labour. Cooking food: Women are responsible for cooking food, crushing spices and rice husking. Chili processing: women are responsible for drying chili, dust cleaning, sorting storing packaging Cleaning house and washing clothes: women are responsible to clean the HH furniture and washing clothes. Collecting water: women are responsible to collect water from neighbor s house or pond or river. Shift HH material during river erosion and flood: Frequent river erosion is common phenomena Protect of HH assets: Women are always stay in house they protect HH assets from thief. The last FGD tried to found what options exist for reducing the care work or what are the opportunities are in the market. Different categories of service that support to care work were discussed in the group. Using of improved cooking system that will reduce the time for cooking. Women are facing problem in chili processing so if they can use the improved chili dryer, dust cleaner, and tarpaulin sheet that will reduce the time for chili drying and processing. Moreover, women can get time to invest them in paid work either man shares the taking care of children, older and prepare children for going to school and washing clothes. Public and Private sector can introduce improve cooking stove that can reduce the work burden in rural area.

11 Finally, making awareness of women and men on family planning that will reduce the time for carrying baby and taking care of more children, increasing women literacy