Rural Sociology and Psycology (1+0)

1.9.4.Scope for improving women role in fisheries

The role of women in fisheries is not given the due recognition as on date. The reasons are many but the major one is women are assigned with jobs that are domestic and auxiliary in nature. It is a misconception that women are fit only for these jobs and not to such jobs that involve greater degree of responsibility and risks. This myth can be shattered by empowering women. Some of the mean suggested for empowerment of women are givens below.

i) At present, women don’t have access to education, credit, technology and special skills. But, access to these critical areas is important for their empowerment.

ii) Entrepreneurship training should be provided to women in fisheries - related avocations like aquaculture, production of value added fishery products and production of fish by products. This will boost their confidence levels to become entrepreneurs and job creators rather than remaining as job seekers.

iii) Training on managerial and specialised skills like farm management, accounting and record keeping, breeding and nursery management, water quality analysis, quality assessment of raw materials for processing, quality control aspects of processed products, will also help to improving their role is fisheries.

iv) ICT and information management are other critical areas in fishery resource management. Provision of training to women in these fields will improve the capacity of women for taking up alternative livelihoods.

v) Creating ‘aquaculture estates for women’ with incentives will promote women participation and their role in aquaculture.

vi) Providing access to women to institutional credit with incentives like subsidies will motivate the women to avail institutional credit. This will transform women in fisheries from the level of low level employee to entrepreneurs.

vii) Engaging more women in extension services will encourage women to participate in extension programmes and derive the benefits.

viii) As resource management is one of the critical areas which affects women, avenues should be created for enough representation of women in such forums.

ix) Sophisticated and skill-oriented technologies in fisheries should be evolved for women to improve their participation in fisheries development.