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MDG Topic >> Energy and Gender (MDG 3)
Worldwide, two
billion people rely on traditional fuels such as wood, dung, and
agricultural residue for cooking, agro-processing and heating. Women
are the primary users and providers of these energy sources in many
developing countries. Burdened by the demands for basic survival,
much of their day is spent on high energy activities; cooking, collecting
fuel, wood and water, as well as agricultural planting, harvesting,
grinding, and milling. This drudgery has dramatic impact on
women and their status in these communities. They are deprived
of time for education, for engaging in income-generating activities,
or caring for their health. Younger generations are not spared
this reality as girls are often kept from attending primary schools
in order to help their mothers meet family subsistence needs.
Access to more
efficient, cleaner, environmentally sustainable and reliable energy
services is mandatory and needs to be addressed as part of the energy
sector development plans in order to improve women’s status,
provide them with more opportunities for income-generating work,
and also improve their general health and living conditions as more
effective members of their communities.
Energy, therefore,
can be a key input and entry point toward achieving the third
Millennium Development Goal: promote gender equality and empower
women. A wealth of information describing the different
aspects and linkages between energy and women, supported with facts,
figures and case studies, can be found in the documents and resources
below. The publication Generating
opportunities: Case Studies on Energy and Women describes
eight cases where women’s access to energy services were improved. Also,
the successful and replicable experience of the Mali
Multifunctional Platform is documented in detail, and the
recently launched Gender
and Energy for sustainable Development: a Toolkit and Resource Guide provides
a guide on how to address gender in energy planning and development
programming.
Energy
and Gender (MDG 3) 
Please select one
of the following subjects to advance the page:
Lessons
Learned & Case Studies
Reducing
Rural Poverty through Increased Access to Energy Services:
A Review of the Multifunctional Platform Project in
Mali (2004) |
This
report reviews experiences of the multifunctional
platform project in Mali and documents how modern
energy services affect people’s lives in
terms of income, education, and rural women’s
status and health.
Also available In
French
|
Biogas
Technology in Agricultural Regions, Tanzania (2003) |
Summary of lessons learned from
a project in Tanzania. This project sought to address technical, financial and informational
barriers to the implementation of biogas technology in order to increase incomes,
improve home air quality, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
|
Solar
Energy for Drying Crops, Occupied Palestinian Territories (2003) |
Summary of lessons learned from
a project that started 17 small women's cooperatives that use solar dryers to prepare
fruits, herbs and other produce for sale in local markets.
|
Disseminating
Efficient Cook Stoves, Bhutan (2003) |
Summary of lessons learned from
a community project in Bhutan. This project installed cook stoves in 10 religious
institutions, reducing the use of firewood at these sites by 50%, and installing
individual stoves in 2000 households. The results were achieved by training local
women to construct, maintain and repair the stoves.
|
Fuel-Efficient
Smokeless Stoves, Pakistan (2003) |
Lessons learned from a project
in Pakistan that spread the use of smokeless stoves among women in order to reduce
their dependence upon fire-wood and improve health and general living conditions.
|
“Sol
de Vida:” Improving Women's Lives through Solar Cooking, Costa Rica (2003) |
This project not only promotes
the use of solar power for cooking, but also seeks to build women's capacity for
other development activities thorough the process of constructing and using solar
cookers.
|
Generating
Opportunities: Case Studies on Energy and Women (2001)
Authors: Salome Misana and Gail V. Karlsson |
A book
of eight case studies drawn from Africa and Asia on energy
and women. Considers critical aspects of policy and programme
design to improve women's access to modern energy services
in rural areas.
|
Mali
Multifunctional Platform Impact Study (2001)
Author: Moussa Diagana |
This study
explains how the multifunctional platform is used in the
rural communities in Mali and the impact it has on the women
who use its mechanical services. The platform has many direct
and indirect benefits on women’s education, income,
and health.
|
Energy
and Women: Generating Opportunities for Development (1999) |
Report
analyzing the particular energy and development situation
of women in Malawi to identify constrains and opportunities
in capacity building with woman, such as involving them in
energy systems and entrepreneurship.
|
& Policy
Papers
Mainstreaming
Gender in Energy Planning and Policies (2003)
Author: Soma Dutta |
Background
Paper for Expert Group Meeting. Explores the importance of
engendering energy policies, the constraints and means for
doing so.
|
How
is Gender Relevant to Sustainable Energy Policies? (2000)
Authors: G. Karlsson and Joy Clancy |
Factors
Promoting Greater Attention to Gender and Energy; Key Consideration
for Gender-Sensitive Energy Planning; Case studies: Gender
Impacts of Micro-Hydro Schemes; Why Women Adopt Solar Dryers;
Promoting Use of Biomass for Sustainable Development.
|
Energy
and Women: National Consultation for Swaziland (1999)
Author: Mduduzi M. Mathunjwa |
Report
focuses on the linkage between woman and energy as a means
to promote sustainable development. It outlines projects
in the energy sector that can be beneficial to women and
income generation.
|
@ Toolkits & Programming
@ Press
statements, articles, events
Joint
WHO/UNDP Statement on Indoor Air Pollution (2004) |
UNDP and
the WHO mark World Rural Women’s Day by drawing attention
to indoor air pollution. Caused by solid fuel use, it is
a major cause of death and disease in poor countries. Cleaner
energy alternatives can reduce the problem.
BBC Interview Link: http://www.undp.org:8080/ramgen/bbc.rm
|
Linking
Women and Energy at the Local Level to Global Goals and
Targets (2003)
Author: Ines Havet |
Article
in "Energy for Sustainable Development," Volume
VII No 3. Uses example of multifunctional energy platform
project in Mali to show how addressing gender and energy
issues can advance the millennium development goals.
|
Could
Just 10 Horsepower Be Enough to Free All the Women of Mali? (2002)
Author: Roger Thurow |
A Diesel Engine With Attachments is Driving Ambitions in Poor Villages – This
article was published in the Wall Street Journal and describes the positive impact
that access to modern energy services through the “multi-functional platform” can
have. The multi-functional platform was invented in the early 1990s by a Swiss development
worker in Mali who believed that easing the domestic load of African women would unleash
their entrepreneurial zeal. Rubber belts connect the motor to tools such as funnels
that channel grain and nuts into grinders, blenders that husk rice, pistons that pump
water, saws that cut wood and cables that recharge batteries. The machine, simple and
sturdy, was tailored for Africa and has had a positive impact on economic growth, education,
gender equality and women’s empowerment, and has noticeably improved the quality
of life.
|
 Links
ENERGIA – International
Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy
SIDA – Swedish
International Development Cooperation Agency
Mali Multifunctional
Platform Project
website
Mali Multifunctional
Platform Project
information
