Women, food security and nutrition in South Asia

Food production has increased across South Asia, both for local consumption and for export. However, many women and children face increasing levels of malnutrition and food insecurity. Empowering women is central to ensuring food and nutritional security in the region.

South Asia has significantly higher levels of grain production than sub-Saharan Africa but nutritional levels among women and children are much lower. Research from the World Institute for Development Economics Research in Finland shows that widespread gender inequalities cause food insecurity in South Asia not a lack of food.

Women play a key role in providing food for their families, but social and cultural inequalities mean that they have little influence over household decisions about food. For example, the migration of men from rural to urban areas means women are more involved in agricultural production, but they lack access to land, credit or technology due to inheritance rights that favour men.

Differences in income between men and women also reinforce food insecurity. Women generally have a lower social and household status than men. Women receive lower incomes yet spend a higher amount on household needs, including food; men spend a greater part of their larger incomes on personal goods.

There are examples of how women can successfully increase food security and nutrition, however. The research shows:

• Higher levels of maternal education and literacy both increase child nutrition.
• If women have access to a small amount of land, household food security increases greatly. For example, families with a home garden plot, where the woman controls the output of produce, consistently have higher levels of food security and child nutrition.
• Nutritional deprivation is higher amongst female children, due to gender bias. As a result, women fail to reach their full growth potential, develop anaemia and have higher risks during pregnancy.

Achieving gender equality is vital for breaking cycles of hunger and malnutrition. However, for a woman to feel empowered and push for social change, her perspective of herself and her abilities within the family must also change. The researcher suggests:

• Giving women more power in household decision-making is the most important issue in achieving food security and ending cycles of malnutrition.
• The low status of women must be challenged on household levels and within communities.
• Programmes should aim to increase levels of female literacy and education, which are directly linked to increased food and nutritional security.
• Policymakers should aim to ensure that male and female incomes are equal, as this directly increases women and children’s nutritional levels.
• Policies that enable women to own land and access credit and technology for agriculture will directly increase family food security.

Source(s):
'Women and Food Security in South Asia Current Issues and Emerging Concerns', United Nations University, UNU-Wider, World Institute for development Economics Research, Research Paper No. 2006/131 by Nira Ramachandran, 2006

Funded by: Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark; Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Finland; Royal ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway; Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency - SIDA; UK Department for International Development

id21 Research Highlight: 11 July 2007

Further Information:
Nira Ramachandran

Contact the contributor: nira_ramachandran@hotmail.com

UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research
Katajanokanlaituri 6 B
00160 Helsinki
Finland

UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research

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