Journal 36

Yesterday I mentioned the difficulties of women in the mountains and the negative effect that culture has on them. What I did not mention was a solution, if in fact there is one. But before I go into that, I want to talk a little bit more about women and the role that they play in society. I do this to give a better background for the ideas that I present. I will only give two of a very long list of facts relating to women in LDCs, I will start with the fact I found most interesting; only 1% of the global ownership of land is held by women. That means that almost every women business owner is devoting a portion of their growth to men. So regardless of their success as business owners, men are still getting a hefty profit. Fact number 2, most cultures still in a 3^rd world local have women who are responsible for the equipment used by the men throughout the day. For example, fishers in a community are usually men. They go out every day to fish with nets and the nets get tangled as they are thrown out repeatedly throughout the day. These nets, made by women in the first place, are then brought back for the local women and children to untangle and mend, so that they may be used again the next day. In this particular example, women are the main resource for sustainable living yet they do not receive extended educations and are subsequently forced to the menial manual labor the men would never do themselves.

So what can be done about this? The answer is not an easy one. Especially in small undeveloped communities that require the manual labor of women in the day to day activities just to survive. But something can be done. The introduction of new types of fishing (traps, cages, other types of nets, nets made of more industrialized materials which require less maintenance) can free up time for some of the younger generations and allow them the opportunity to attend higher levels of education; is just one example.

With the advent of modernization and sustainable development into mountainous regions, more and more will be required to manage the inequality women face. And with that same introduction more and more of a positive impact will be made.