| Abstract: | Despite the necessity of utilization untapped potential of men and women, failure to
address gender based differences bring about disparities in development in general
and in Agricultural extension in particular. Thus it requires gender empowerment in
multi dimension of the development activities. This study focused on impediments
and prospects of empowerment in the study area. A multi-stage sampling procedure
and systemic random methods were used to select three KAs and 90 sample
respondents. Interview schedules and focus group discussions were adopted for data
collection. Descriptive statistics was employed for data analysis. To assess whether
gender is mainstreamed in agricultural extension or not, any benefit, role and
responsibilities, involvement and any situation of women against men was compared
in two different ways. Men and women are compared on gender issues that are
related to households as a whole on the one hand and husbands and wives are
compared on gender issues that are concerned with relations between spouses.
Husbands and wives are compared on gender issues that consider both of them at
individual level. The study was focused on extent of social relation, freedom of
mobility, time availability, access and control over resource, decision making
authority, participation and intra violence that preclude empowerment. The study
reveals that there exists violence in both wives and husbands and was expressed
differently. However violence in husband was lower than in wives. Wives are
restricted in mobility mostly by their spouse. Wives have less control due to the fact
that their control over resources is mostly handled by husbands only or joint control.
Decision making power of wives is found to be less on most of productivity
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determinant issues. Husbands have more extension opportunities than wives.
Because wives have less extension contact; less training and got the least extension
services as compared to husbands. Therefore, in order to revive the integration of
agricultural policy it is recommended to use cells, women organizations and health
posts as a medium through which agricultural extension message is transmitted to
women at KA level. |
