Abstract
This article explores intra-household gender relations and how they affect children's nutritional status, focusing on children below five years old and their families in two distinct rural societies in Tanzania. The ethnic groups are the Luguru in the Mvomero District and the Bena in the Njombe District. In both societies, milk-based interventions involving the introduction of dairy goats and cattle have been implemented. The underlying assumption guiding these interventions is that with increased milk production there would be increased milk consumption at the household level, leading to an improvement in children's health and nutritional status. Our study questions these assumptions. Methods used for data collection included semi-structured interviews, participant observation, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. In our analysis, recognising the multiple realities and diverse social practices of different actors has been central to understanding household responses to milk-based interventions and their effects. We find that women – as mothers – in both societies have the major responsibility to provide food for children. In both societies, social norms and household needs also oblige mothers to allocate part of their time to performing productive activities that generate income for their households. Despite their contribution to income generation, women's decision-making power regarding the spending of household income is limited. Men usually control the sale of marketable agricultural products, including the milk produced, and the income is used to cover the expenses for which men are responsible. As a result, neither the milk itself nor the incomes generated by the sale of milk are used in ways that significantly improve the nutritional status of under-fives in dairy-keeping households.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.