Submitted by Milika Chande on Mon, 14/11/2016 - 20:57 Permalink
Active and effective participation of women and men in energy resilient systems ( especially sustainable alternative renewable sources) should be the call of the day. In rural areas as well as marginalized urban settlements, women bear the burden of searching for firewood and are unproductive, affecting their social-economic actives directly or indirectly in there environments.
However, this pivotal role has seldom been reflected in most institutional arrangements for the development and management of energy production and distribution services. I feel programs are required to improve of women’s participation by the following: (i) fair representation of women in donor funded programs( cook stoves, biogas, solar PV, etc) should be encouraged (ii) immediate alternative energy source programs should be based on what both men and women in communities on what they know, want, and are able to manage, maintain and pay for. (iii) raise awareness, train and empower women to actively participate at all levels in sustainable renewable energy programs, including decision making, planning, supervision and management.
Gender has to mainstreamed according to the energy policies in our various African countries responsible Ministries and Utilities, which requires equal male and female representation. For many electricity connection schemes there are more women entrepreneurs who are in need of this energy as production input and are taking care of families and children than men in the committees who often get the benefits due to corruption practices. Women should be elected as the chairpersons and nominated as treasurers to mention a few. However, it is also recognized that the power of the women on the committees varies very few women attend the meetings because they are uneducated and lack awareness and they do not see the value of attending the meetings if their voices will not be heard. Hence different strategies to get them on board should be enhanced, like giving them waivers and subsidize to meet the set objectives.
This statement indicating
Submitted by Milika Chande on Sun, 27/11/2016 - 20:58 Permalink
This statement indicating that studies confirm that failure to consider the different needs of women and men can limit the effectiveness of energy programmes and policies, as well as other development activities that involve energy use is so true.
Having an experience working in developmental projects in Zambia (energy +water), I learnt that it is very important to understand the unique needs and expectations from the receiving communities in order for a project to be a success. Sustainable utilization for the vulnerable societies means first of all capacity building (training) in understanding the O &M systems being implemented in off grid areas (Solar, wind, bio energy etc),transparent stakeholder communication channels( such as bottom-up approaches),resilient and efficient systems and affordable subsidized energy solutions. Both men and women in these societies can be identified, those with the zeal and entrepreneurial skills can be good targets to empower. For example in Zambia women are depending on small gardens to grow fruits and vegetables to sell as income sources to feed families and in areas with no flowing or seasonal rivers they face challenges in abstracting water from aquifers. But for social economic benefits these people can be empowered to expand their businesses by giving them incentives at purchasing efficient energy solutions like solar engineered pumps to increase their production. This can be a plus for the banks in assessment of other risk factors. In conclusion, I can mention that more also needs to be emphasized in our country policy frameworks, to be very clear in what is set for the receiving environments including the coordination.