Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Compiled by the Gender and Development Unit of the Human Sciences Research Council Published by HSRC Press Private Bag X9182, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa www.hsrcpress.ac.za First published 2006 ISBN 0-7969-2168-7 © 2006 Human Sciences Research Council Copyedited by Amanda Matthee Typeset by Laura Brecher Cover design by Jenny Young Print management by comPress Distributed in Africa by Blue Weaver Tel: +27 (0) 21 701 4477; Fax: +27 (0) 21 701 7302 www.oneworldbooks.com Distributed in Europe and the United Kingdom by Eurospan Distribution Services (EDS) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7240 0856; Fax: +44 (0) 20 7379 0609 www.eurospangroup.com/bookstore Distributed in North America by Independent Publishers Group (IPG) Call toll-free: (800) 888 4741; Fax: +1 (312) 337 5985 www.ipgbook.com Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za CONTENTS List of tables and figures v Acknowledgements vi Abbreviations and acronyms vii 1 Introduction 1 What do we know about gender and transport? 1 Gender differences in travel patterns 5 Time of travel 6 Gender and transport in rural areas 6 2 Methodology 7 Consultation phase 7 Site 7 Aims of the study 7 Data collection instruments 8 Questionnaires 8 Focus groups 8 Time-use diaries 8 Participants 10 Approach to recruitment of fieldworkers 11 Analysis 11 Questionnaires 11 Focus groups 11 Time-use diaries 12 3 Research findings 13 Findings from the questionnaire 13 Primary travel-related activities of women 13 Ownership and the gendered nature of access to means of transport 16 Public transport and women’s travel activities 18 Transport activities and girl children 20 Findings from the time-use diary 22 Context information 22 How women spent their time 23 Travel-related activities 27 Housework-related activities 28 Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za 4 Interventions 31 Socio-political interventions 31 Public-private partnerships to address violence and create jobs 31 Gender sensitivity training and general life skills education 32 Transport, policy and infrastructure interventions 32 Non-motorised transport interventions 32 Upgrading of footpaths, construction of low-level footbridges 33 Times of operation: buses and taxis 33 Income-generating activities 33 Women’s health, maternal mortality and transport 33 Gender, education and mobility 34 Policy versus commitment: skills and resources 35 Mainstreaming gender into rural transport strategies: implementation questions 35 A future research agenda 35 Concluding comments 36 References 37 Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Tables Table 2.1 Mode of data collection in time-use surveys 9 Table 3.1 Activities engaged in for payment in cash or kind 23 Table 3.2 Total and mean time spent on travel (in hours and minutes) 24 Table 3.3 Total and mean time spent on household work and activities 24 Figures Figure 2.1 Low income-generating activities of women for payment in cash or kind 11 Figure 3.1 Amount of time women spent travelling to collect firewood/animal dung and number of trips per day 14 Figure 3.2 Amount of time women spent travelling to collect water and number of trips per day 15 Figure 3.3 Use of means of transport by gender (percentages) 17 Figure 3.4 Percentage of girls and boys who collect firewood/animal dung and water, and work in the fields 20 Figure 3.5 Percentage of girls and boys aged 6–10 years and 11–17 years who would be encouraged to use bicycles 21 Figure 3.6 Proportion of the total time per week women in Flagstaff spent on activities (in hours and minutes) 25 Figure 3.7 Proportion of the total time per week women in Port St Johns spent on activities (in hours and minutes) 25 v ©HSRC 2006 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za The research team wishes to thank the following people and organisations for their support: • The South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL), in particular, the CEO, Mr Nazir Alli, without whose support the study would not have been conducted, and the Development Planner, Ms Elna Fourie, who went the extra mile for the study. • The Mayor, councillors and community members of the Qaukeni (Flagstaff) and Port St Johns Local Municipalities. • Nomthetho Zote, the Project Manager. • Gavin Jood, the Fieldwork Coordinator. • Professor Vasu Reddy, for editorial assistance. • All the women who participated in the study. vi ©HSRC 2006 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za CEO Chief Executive Officer DBSA Development Bank of South Africa GTTG Gender and Transport Thematic Group HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus HSRC Human Sciences Research Council IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development NDOT National Department of Transport SANRAL South African National Roads Agency Limited vii ©HSRC 2006 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za viii ©HSRC 2006 Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za CHAPTER 1 Introduction The study is a direct outcome of the South African National Roads Agency Limited’s continued commitment and efforts ‘towards making a positive impact; not only on the physical environment, but on the lives of the communities and individuals it touches in its day-to-day activities’ (SANRAL 2005: 3). SANRAL recognises that transport issues affect men and women differently and that women in rural areas carry (literally and figuratively) a heavier transport burden. They recognise that the Eastern Cape is one of the poorest provinces in the country, as well as one in which the least research has been done. A report on mass poverty leading to child deaths in the Qaukeni Municipality where part of the research was done states: ‘It is a forgotten part of South Africa […] Because of lack of roads there are villages that cannot be reached by 4X4s or mobile welfare and Home Affairs units, and it is these areas that starvation hits hardest’ (Sunday Times 22.09.2002). The authors of this research could not access any study relating to women and travel/ transport which has been conducted in the Eastern Cape. Before embarking on the study we had anecdotal evidence of the burden of transport on rural women in the Eastern Cape but the consequences of this were not documented. This publication is the result of a commissioned study conducted by The Gender and Development Unit of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) for the South African National Roads Agency Limited (hereafter SANRAL) to explore the gendered nature of women’s travel in rural Eastern Cape. The research was not viewed simply as an abstract process of knowledge-seeking but as a means through which to acquire an understanding of women’s travel experiences and needs in rural Eastern Cape, South Africa. The primary aims of the study were to: • Explore the gender-based dimensions of rural women’s travel activities, experiences and needs in order to provide policy and planning guidelines to government departments and other stakeholders who are involved in community poverty alleviation and development; • Address the impact of the gendered nature of transport and travelling on the social, economic and political roles of women in the area; • Assess the impact of roads on gendered multiple roles in this rural area. What do we know about gender and transport? In the past decade and a half a range of decision-makers and academics in both the developing and developed world have begun to recognise the differences in travel- and transport-related activities of men and women. There is an emerging body of literature which addresses the relationship between gender, development and transport (see e.g. Turner, 1998; Mahapa, 2003; Fernando & Porter, 2002). The World Bank and other developmental institutions are increasingly producing manuals and other material on gender and transport (Peters, 2002). The World Bank has also set up a Gender and Transport Thematic Group (GTTG). Yet, whilst more researchers and development professionals today attempt to understand gender differences in access and mobility than ever before, relatively few of the recent insights have found their way back into actual transport planning policy and interventions. In South Africa, although there is an 1 ©HSRC 2006 Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Women, Development and Transport in Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa awareness and a commitment by government to gender equity, until very recently few transport plans and projects have explicitly addressed the issue of gender. Bamberger and Lebo (1998: 1) note that ‘in fiscal 1997 just 4% of the World Bank transport projects included a gender component or gender actions – compared with 15% for water supply projects, 35% for agriculture, 44% for education and 67% for population, health and nutrition’. The Bank’s transport sector policy review (World Bank, 1996: 78) concluded that ‘to date, transport policies have been geared primarily to the needs of men’. Transport is a key factor for economic and social development in that the movement of goods and people over any distance by any possible means facilitates the use of facilities and services, thereby promoting trade and improving standards of living through access to health, education, social services, markets, etc. (Rama, 1999). The availability of transport and transport infrastructure has an impact on the wealth or poverty of a community and its people. Establishing and understanding gender differences in transport needs, access and planning is important, particularly in that men and women have different economic and socio-cultural roles and responsibilities, and consequently have different travel and transport needs (Bamberger, 2000). Grieco, Pickup and Whipp (1989) in a volume examining gender, transport and employment note that women’s employment, as opposed to men’s employment, is undertaken in the context of and in combination with a complex set of domestic and household responsibilities. Women are therefore more likely to make multipurpose journeys in scattered locations (Turner, Apt, Grieco & Kwakye, 1998) and these trips relate to employment, household/family and personal needs and demands. Women, in comparison to men, are most likely to spend considerably more time on travel and task- related activities and are likely to link (referred to as trip chaining) different tasks and trips (Sarmiento, 1996). Turner, Apt, Grieco and Kwakye (1998) suggest that transport planning focuses on the single-purpose and predominantly male journey to work, thereby not adequately capturing the travel needs and patterns of women in both urban and rural contexts. For example, women in comparison to men are more likely to utilise public transport systems (Grieco, Pickup & Whipp, 1989; Turner, Apt, Grieco & Kwakye, 1998), yet public transport systems or urban transport policies seldom cater to women with dependent children. Transport problems and how these are addressed can therefore place additional burdens on women and children. This absence of or lack of awareness of the gendered patterns of travel and of time and task use in planning and policy development can contribute towards reducing women’s economic and social productivity, their access to public services, and their political and community participation. Grieco, Pickup and Whipp (1989: 2–3) note the influences on women’s travel patterns, travel time and tasks undertaken, and summarise the key arguments: • Women’s role in travel is a cultural phenomenon, that is, women’s travel patterns and levels of mobility are rooted in the values and assumptions of ‘family’ and ‘community’. • Travel is a gendered activity, with men and women having different travel needs, demands and patterns. • Women have specific needs based on their own travel activities. • Owing to the strength of the prevailing stereotypes, which construct women’s coordinating behaviour as instinctual nurturing, positive creative management of tasks, travel and time by women can go unrecognised. 2 ©HSRC 2006 [...]... Clean and maintain dwelling and surroundings 8 8 19 h 20 h 2h 2h 10 min 57 min 24 min 37 min 0h36 0h39 Prepare food, cut, peel, clean, etc 7 9 19 h 37 h 2h 4h 15 min 43 min 45 min 11 min 0h41 1h03 Cook food, watch food 8 9 51 h 30 h 6h 45 min 36 min 28 min 3h 2 min 1h37 0h51 Make and tend to fire 24 6 Make drinks, tea, coffee ©HSRC 2006 PSJ Total time FS 6 8 19 h 23 h 1h 2h 15 min 48 min 43 min 59 min... activities (using averages) constitute 37 minutes cultivating crops, 20 minutes tending to animals, 10 minutes collecting firewood and dung, 45 minutes tending to the fire and 114 minutes (1 hour 45 minutes) preparing and cooking food Other household activities take an average of 211 minutes (3 hours 31 minutes), bringing the total to 437 minutes (7 hours 17 minutes) A total of 12 hours and 56 minutes are... transport needs of both rural and urban women Another point worth noting is that the publications which 3 ©HSRC 2006 Women, Development and Transport in Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa have emerged have not been authored by academics who have an academic history within gender studies Although gender studies has grown in recent years as an academic discipline in South Africa and although areas of interest... 13 0 55 min 23 min 25 ©HSRC 2006 Women, Development and Transport in Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa Figures 3.6 and 3.7 show the proportion of total time spent weekly on activities (in minutes) in Flagstaff and Port St Johns respectively This was calculated by coding the different activities included in Table 3.2 and Table 3.3 into five broader categories: • Primary production (cultivating crops,... of transport and travel on the social, health, economic and political status of women and girls in the area 7 ©HSRC 2006 Women, Development and Transport in Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa Data collection instruments Data was collected by means of 237 questionnaires, three focus groups and 17 time-use diaries (eight in Flagstaff and nine in Port St Johns) Additional information on participants and. .. minutes) of cultivating crops, 26 minutes of collecting firewood, soil or dung, 97 minutes (1 hour 37 minutes) of cooking, 26 minutes of making fire and 41 minutes of preparing food Other household activities add up to another 137 minutes (2 hours 17 minutes), bringing the total time to 422 minutes (7 hours 2 minutes) A total time of 11 hours and 28 minutes is spent travelling and performing unpaid work... social and spatial exclusion in rural transport (Mahapa, 2003) Our reading of the literature clearly indicates that gender has been more of an add-on factor and has not been mainstreamed in transport policy and planning in relation to rural South Africa Mahapa (2003: 33) comments: ‘The main theme emerging from the literature review is that gender issues are still peripheral in much of rural transport and. .. donkeys and horses, because riding horses, donkeys and bicycles will ‘incur the risk of young girls losing their virginity’ (Ouedraogo, cited in Fernando and Porter, 2002) Cultural and religious practices, including issues of caste, constrain women’s mobility and accessibility within and outside the household, thereby contributing to them being time poor, and isolated In South Africa, there are very few... destination (by main code), as recorded in the diaries 23 ©HSRC 2006 Women, Development and Transport in Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa Table 3.2 shows travel to destination and Table 3.3 shows duration or proportion of time in a comprehensive list of household activities The duration is expressed in terms of total time and mean time Table 3.2: Total and mean time spent on travel (in hours and minutes) Activity... educational facilities and employment, and participating in key decision-making forums Transport can improve the lives of women by reducing the amount of time they spend on household activities In rural areas, women are largely responsible for domestic activities Research findings in Africa (mainly from Sub-Saharan Africa) , clearly indicate that men and women’s transport- related tasks in rural areas are gendered . baking Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Women, Development and Transport in Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa Time-use diaries The data obtained. grown in recent years as an academic discipline in South Africa and although areas of interest include gender and health, gender and education, gender and