Geography of Gender

Demography and Health Longevity Gap: gap between life expectancy India and Pakistan: women live longer Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan: men live longer (WHY?) Sub-Saharan Africa: women die younger due to AIDS Global Norm: women outlive men Europe:7 years, Russia: 12 South Am.:7 Sub-Saharan Africa: 2 East and Southeast Asia: 4 South Asia: 1

http://www. worldmapper. org/posters/worldmapper_map265_ver5 http://www.worldmapper.org/posters/worldmapper_map265_ver5.pdf Helpful statistics and graphics to use in your classroom

http://gapminder.org

Maternal Mortality: Who uses birth control? Maternal Mortality rate: poorer realms is 80 to 600 times greater, pregnant health risks, South Asia 650 per 100,000 maternal deaths, African women same European women: 3 per 100,000 Why? Inadequate medical services Excessive number of pregnancies Malnutrition 250,000 women die of illegal abortions in Africa WHO: World Health Organization says women suffer from anemia, can’t get 3 times iron during pregnancy… GEOPHAGY

Maternal mortality

Female Infanticide India: 133 single men per 100 women Prenatal Gender Detection: ultrasound and amniocentesis, July 1994, Federal Law prohibiting pre-natal tests solely to determine sex of the fetus..male relatives push -want family lineage preserved -Hindu society oldest son lights the funeral pyre of the father -tradition of dowry: families receive payments from the bride’s parents Black market emerged for prenatal testing Highest in rural, poor sectors Dowry Deaths: father doesn’t pay the bride price to son-in-law’s parents and they kill the bride. 1989: 2,436

China one child policy 10 million men remain single in 30s, no women -gender detection tests, then abortions -food deprivation -denial of medical care -abandonment and murder -sold for prostitution Strict policy in urban areas so infanticide highest there.. More relaxed in rural areas to help with agriculture

Female Genitalia Mutilation (FGM) 2 million girls under the age of 11 every year -infection -infertility -increased difficulties in childbirth Africa, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Central and South America Somalia: 70-90% subjected to FGM Ancient ritual designed to: -ensure the virginity and suitability of women for marriage -to control women’s attitude toward sex

Family Courts Act: for domestic disputes -old men judges believe in male dominated society -believe in Hindu belief in family and place abused women back into the home

Islamic Law -resurgence of fundamentalism -severe Sharia Laws -can’t go without veils or move without men Afghanistan under the Taliban: -no girls in schools -traditional clothing -no music, no celebrations -women stoned for adultery -women couldn’t hold jobs

Education and Opportunity 65-75% of Indian women are illiterate West Africa, women control the markets, rest of Africa, women do not go to school….FEES Girls work with mothers 12 hours a day -collecting firewood -collecting water -weeding fields (subsistence farming) WOMEN Produce 40% of the world’s food Women work 80% on plantations and farms in SubSaharan Africa and 50% in Asia

Work Maquiladoras: mostly women workers -more dependable than men -nimble fingers Most poor women in the world work in the “informal Market” or “informal sector” -making soap -cooking food -beer brewing -tailoring ©Valerie Morgan Mervine

Occupational Segregation Women Everywhere: Job Discrimination Occupational Segregation Wage Inequalities

Gender: Biology and Social Situation Migration: Forced migration, women suffer with struggle for survival in refugee camps Voluntary migration: men form social networks, dominate decisions Education and Economic Development Reduce inequalities between the sexes. Women in urban situations have made progress: higher wages, better jobs Exception: Saudi Arabia: oil-rich, high-income society… women were just recently allowed to drive

Development by gender: How is it measured? Gender-Related Development Index 2. Gender Empowerment Measure Who creates these indexes? UNHD

Gender-Related Development Index 4 factors similar to the HDI Economic: average income 2. Social Indicators: -literacy levels -education (school attendance) 3. Demographic: Life expectancy

Gender-Related Development Index (GDI)

Economic Indicator: Income

Gender-Related Development Index

-The rank of the Netherlands remained the same. (0) -The rank of Belgium is #7 but the HDI rank is #6. (-1) -The rank of Iceland is #6 but the HDI rank is #7. (1) -The rank of Japan is #12 but the HDI rank is 9. (-3) Why would a country drop in rank from the HDI?

Nepal: GDI 59.4 59.9 26.4 61.6 55 67 891 1,776 -4 What do can you tell about Women in Nepal? -Women and men have the same life expectancy. Why? -Only a small % of women can read compared to their enrollment in school. Why? -Women make less money than men. Why? -What does the last figure mean?

China: GDI What can you tell about the women in China? 94 73.2 68.8 86.5 95.1 64 69 3,571 5,435 5 What can you tell about the women in China? -Life expectancy is more consistent with the global trend -Almost equal numbers of each sex attend school, although low -Literacy rate is high but lower for females compared to males -Males have a higher income compared to women, consistent with the global pattern

Gender Empowerment Measure How is it measured? The GEM demonstrates the ability of women to participate and determine the power structure of a country 2 Economic indicators: -% of women in professional and technical jobs -income level 2 Political indicators: -% of women in admin or managerial jobs -% of women holding elected positions

GEM: Economic Indicators Female professional and technical workers Female to male income

Gender Empowerment Measure

Political Indicators Seats in Parliaments/National Legislatures Administrators and Managers

Nepal: GEM No data .50 1951 1951 1952A 14.8 6 5.9 Due to lack of data on the GEM, Data was found on the Political Participation Index

China: GEM 20.2 .66 1949 1954E 5.1 21 20.2 Data for China can be combined from the GEM and the Political Participation index to discuss the political power of women compared to men in China.

GDI and GEM of an MDC: Sweden 2 0.946 82.5 77.5 100 100 124 104 23,781 28,700 - 2 0.854 45.3 31 50 0.83 When comparing Nepal and China to Sweden, what differences can you detect?

What is the goal of providing a micro-loan? http://www.grameen-info.org/ Microcredit Micro-lending What is the goal of providing a micro-loan? SUSTAINABILITY!! Providing for the current situation and for future generations.

Grameen Bank: 16 Decisions

http://www.izzit.org/ To receive a free video called “Pennies a Day” about micro-lending

NGO: Non-Governmental Organization http://www.rawa.org/index.php http://www.hri.ca/

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/uganda601/

Frontline Videos about Women http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2005/07/introduction_to.html http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2006/12/pakistan_this_i.html

More Frontline Videos http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2007/06/nepal_a_girls_l.html http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/kyrgyzstan

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/flash_point/afghanistan/

Conclusions -Just like the HDI, the GDI and GEM divide countries into high, medium, and low areas of development. -Cultural norms can control the advancement or subjugation of women and their status in certain regions of the world. -Gender inequality in income, education, and political power is a global problem.

Sources Rubenstein, James M. (2008). An introduction to human geography The cultural landscape. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. de Blij, H.J., Murphy, ALexander B. & Fouberg, Erin H., Human geography, People, place, and culture. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. Jordan-Bychkov, Terry G. & Domosh, Mona, (2003). The human mosaic, A thematic introduction to cultural geography. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Company. Knox, Paul L. & Marston, Sallie A., (2007). Human geography, Places and regions in global context. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall Retrieved October 11, 2007, Web site: http://womenwarpeace.org/Portals/0/Documents/hdr04_gender_indicators.pdf Retrieved October 11, 2007, Web site: http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2003/indicator/indic_207_1_1.html Benewick, Robert, & Donald, Stephanie H. (2005). The State of China Atlas. Berkeley: University of California Press.