Fisheries Extension Education (2+1)

6.4.1 Introduction

The term gender describes the socially determined attributes of men and women including male and female roles. On the other hand, the word sex denotes physical and biological differences between males and females. Gender analysis helps us to understand the roles, responsibilities, opportunities, constraints, women’s access to research and extension system and gender issues.

Gender Analysis is a systematic effort to document and understand the roles of both men and women within a given social context. The major areas of gender analysis are

a) The activities and division of labour

b) The resources utilised by women and men to carry out their activities.

c) The benefit they derive from each activity.

d) The social, economic, environmental and institutional factors that constrain development.

Samanta (1994) reported that 44% of world food is produced by women. However, women continue to remain marginalized and unrecognized.

In India, the nature and extent of women’s participation in fishery varies across the states. Fish drying/ curing, marketing, hand braiding, net mending, retail marketing, processing, collection of - molluscan shells, sea weeds, shrimp seeds and fish seeds are the major areas of women involvement in India. In marine side, capture fisheries is considered as men’s domain. However, women and children are involved in artisanal fisheries like fishing in mangrove areas, backwaters, tidal creeks and in operating shore seines.

It has been estimated that atleast 50 million women in developing countries are employed in the fishing industry.

In China, rural labour force statistics for 1991 showed that women accounted for 26.3% of the rural labour force in fisheries. In Asia, women are active in both artisanal and commercial fisheries.

Engagement of women and their contribution are different for different levels of fisheries activities.

In Bangladesh, tribal women around Kapati reservoir were involved in fish harvesting, marketing, drying and post-harvest activities. Women use smaller equipment to fish. In some of the Southern Asian Countries, the participation of women in fishing is about 20-30%.

Most women involved in fishing lack access to institutional credit, decision making and opportunities to undergo training to improvise their skills.

When technology for women are conceptualized, they tend to focus on small–scale and primitive fisheries. Such simple technologies only result in marginal improvements in skills and in yields when compared to more advanced technologies. Such prejudices will limit the possibilities of women’s access to better technologies.