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Land, Life and Women’s lack of Power - A field study based on two divorced women in Bwiam, Gambia.

Wickenberg, Filippa LU (2014) HEKX02 20141
Human Ecology
Abstract
This is a fieldwork following the daily life during two months of two divorced women in the village Bwiam, Gambia. It is a study focusing on females in a patriarchal society and how they are bound by the social structures to be married, often into polygamous households, how they farm the land by traditional methods, learnt over generations, to support their families and how they sell their produce at the market. This study looks especially upon what a woman can and cannot do in the village of Bwiam and how she is dependent on the land and what she can or cannot farm. On a larger perspective looks at gender division of labour and how the ownership of land and laws of inheritance and divorce in Gambia leaves women dependent upon men.

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This is a fieldwork following the daily life during two months of two divorced women in the village Bwiam, Gambia. It is a study focusing on females in a patriarchal society and how they are bound by the social structures to be married, often into polygamous households, how they farm the land by traditional methods, learnt over generations, to support their families and how they sell their produce at the market. This study looks especially upon what a woman can and cannot do in the village of Bwiam and how she is dependent on the land and what she can or cannot farm. On a larger perspective looks at gender division of labour and how the ownership of land and laws of inheritance and divorce in Gambia leaves women dependent upon men.

This study suggests that women in rural villages have the knowledge but lack the resources to do anything about the inequalities - they are aware of them and they do not like them but they are stuck due to social structures binding them. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Wickenberg, Filippa LU
supervisor
organization
course
HEKX02 20141
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
traditional societies, women and poverty, land access, traditional farming, rural household, female-headed household, farming division of labour, female farming, Gambia, Bwiam, polygamous marriages, customary land laws, human ecology
language
English
id
4443038
date added to LUP
2014-05-22 12:45:20
date last changed
2014-05-22 12:45:20
@misc{4443038,
  abstract     = {{This is a fieldwork following the daily life during two months of two divorced women in the village Bwiam, Gambia. It is a study focusing on females in a patriarchal society and how they are bound by the social structures to be married, often into polygamous households, how they farm the land by traditional methods, learnt over generations, to support their families and how they sell their produce at the market. This study looks especially upon what a woman can and cannot do in the village of Bwiam and how she is dependent on the land and what she can or cannot farm. On a larger perspective looks at gender division of labour and how the ownership of land and laws of inheritance and divorce in Gambia leaves women dependent upon men. 

This study suggests that women in rural villages have the knowledge but lack the resources to do anything about the inequalities - they are aware of them and they do not like them but they are stuck due to social structures binding them.}},
  author       = {{Wickenberg, Filippa}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Land, Life and Women’s lack of Power - A field study based on two divorced women in Bwiam, Gambia.}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}