Rural development planning and the sexual division of labour: a case study of a Moslem Hausa village in Northern Nigeria
Longhurst, R.
Working Papers, World Employment Programme Research, International Labour Office (WEP/10/WP 10): 36
1980
Document Number: 378926
This paper examines the sexual division of labour with particular reference to the work of women in a Moslem village in Hausaland of Northern Nigeria. It is based on empirical data collected in 1975/76 and its subsequent analysis. It describes the different types, returns of, and access to, work. It speculates on the impact of rural modernization on women's work and discusses the implications for rural development policy. Section I is largely descriptive, discussing the main themes of the report, its analytical structure and some general comments about the problems in planning for the development of poor rural populations. There is a brief description of Hausaland in general and the case study location. The study methodology is also described. Section II elaborates on social structure in the village including the concepts of male occupational class and female seclusion. There is a discussion of the male-female access to resources such as land, labour, credit and education, and their institutions. The empirical material on the sexual division of labour is contained in section III. Various examples of women's occupational types are included. The conclusions of the study are presented in section IV. The relationship of the material to the analytical themes is discussed together with some implications for rural development policy. This report is essentially a presentation of empirical material although an analysis of male and female work roles has been attempted by using various categorizations.
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