Good Practice: FAO Dimitra Clubs

The 2030 Agenda recognizes information and communication technologies (ICTs) as catalysts for accelerating human progress, equality and sustainable development. Worldwide, ICTs have spread rapidly, including in the developing world, where mobile phones’ penetration at the household level has surpassed access to electricity and improved sanitation (World Bank, 2016). 

Despite the fact that much progress has been made, huge challenges still remain, particularly for rural women. Although they are the backbone of rural economies and food security, rural women still lag behind men in terms of ownership and use of digital technologies. In sub-Saharan Africa, 64 percent of women do not own a mobile phone (GSMAa, 2015b). In the Niger, the gender gap in mobile ownership represents 45 percent (GSMA, 2015a). In the last four years, contrary to other regions in the world, the gender divide in Africa has widened (ITU, 2017).

Besides structural impediments that prevent both women and men in rural areas from reaping the benefits of using ICTs (costs, coverage and literacy), discrimination against women limits their access, use and ownership of digital technologies. Women have less access than men to productive resources, including land and inputs, training, extension and financial services, information, as well as access to basic needs such education and health. Women’s disadvantaged position is worsened by the fact that their voice is not heard and/or does not count in decision-making processes at different levels (households, organizations and communities). Being less informed about opportunities, they are less able to make informed choices and improve their livelihoods.

In this context, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been using the gender-transformative approach of the Dimitra Clubs to improve rural people’s livelihoods and accelerate progress towards the socio-economic empowerment of rural women. The Dimitra Clubs are informal groups of rural women, men and young people who discuss common challenges and take collective action to overcome them. The clubs are equipped with wind-up and solar-powered radios, often paired with mobile phones connected in a fleet. In this empowering process, community radio stations are used to relay information requested by the clubs, broadcast the debates on air and facilitate exchange, capitalization of good practices and networking. It should be emphasized that rural radio is still today the most used media tool in Africa (European Parliament, 2015), particularly in rural isolated areas and among rural women (FAO, 2011). Its complementarity with other ICTs is to be harnessed.

The Dimitra Clubs’ comparative advantage relies on the fact that the approach combines the use of ICTs with gender transformative and community-driven processes. In this dynamic, ICTs are not a development objective per se. They are enablers for women’s empowerment, social inclusion and improved dialogue in rural areas. By making use of ICTs in support of a transformative process led by rural communities, the Dimitra Clubs ensure inclusive participation and ownership of the actions undertaken.

The Dimitra Clubs have stimulated significant changes in gender roles and behaviors at individual, household and community levels. Rural women report that thanks to the clubs they now speak up in public and their voices are heard and considered in decision-making processes. Improved dialogue and social cohesion has gradually led to a reduction of gender-based violence. At household levels and thanks to improved relationships between spouses, domestic violence has notably decreased and men often undertake households chores previously assigned only to women. In the village of Gasseda, in the Niger, there is less tension among the villagers and the increasing number of girls going to school has led to a decline in early and forced marriages. The clubs have also been instrumental in breaking down food taboos that prevent women from taking in adequate food. Thanks to a series of awareness-raising activities conducted by the Dimitra Clubs, in the village of Yalosuna, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the women are now allowed to eat catfish and other previously forbidden foods, which adds a new and valuable source of protein to their diets.

As active members of the clubs, new leaders and entrepreneurs emerge in the communities. In Busunu (Ghana), one year after one club had been created, discussions around bread production resulted in the kick-off of a business activity led by the women of the club. “We now have our own money, and this has given us more power with our husbands and within our families! We have developed leadership skills!” said Saasi Fati, treasurer of the club. 

The dynamic nature of the approach has also brought positive changes for the youth, particularly for young girls. In the village of Falwel, in the Niger, the youth’s Dimitra Clubs have created a network of clubs through WhatsApp. They communicate to share the clubs’ achievements through photos, videos, texts and voice messages.

In line with the principle of ´leaving no one behind´ from Agenda 2030, these results and impact show how inclusive community-driven approaches that make use of ICTs can greatly contribute to gender equality and rural women’s empowerment.

Considerable efforts to unlock the full potential of ICTs for women are still needed. Particular attention should be paid in addressing the root causes that impede women’s full access to key social and economic opportunities, such as access to resources and services (mobile money accounts), as well as equal representation in decision-making bodies and greater decision-making power within households and communities. In parallel, decisive actions should be undertaken to introduce better up-do-date digital technologies (e.g. smart phones and tablets) and in establishing innovative partnerships with the private sector to improve connectivity and implement simple solutions for rural areas such as “white space” technology for rural Wi-Fi. 

KEY FACTS

Location: Sub-Saharan Africa (Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Mali, the Niger and Senegal)

Target group / primary beneficiaries: The primary beneficiaries are 60 000 members (two thirds are women) of 2 000 Dimitra Clubs that are active in rural areas in sub-Saharan Africa. It is estimated that 1.4 million rural people are positively impacted by the clubs.

Timeframe: The first Dimitra Clubs were created in 2007 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

Other stakeholders: The approach is implemented in collaboration with an array of partners (as the approach is context-specific there might be variations in relation to the role of each partner according to the situation):

• NGOs: national and local NGOs support the implementation process of the approach at community level. This work includes different activities such as sensitising communities on the importance of gender-responsive participatory communication approaches for rural development, and supporting the process of setting-up (capacity development), backstopping and monitoring the Dimitra Clubs as well as networking.
• Community radio stations: they enhance the clubs’ access to information and people’s opportunities to make their voices heard. It is a win-win partnership as the clubs allow the radios to be more effective in fulfilling their role as a form of community-based participatory media. 
• Producers’ organizations: partnerships between the Dimitra Clubs and rural producers’ organizations develops naturally, as many members of the Dimitra Clubs are also members of producers’ organizations. Through this collaboration, rural communities increase their access to productive resources, innovative agricultural practices and knowledge, and the producers’ organizations benefit from the dynamism of the clubs (participation, gender, governance and accountability). 
• Government: government institutions at different levels recognize the contribution of the approach in the fight against poverty and hunger and integrate it into their policies and programmes of rural development.
• International development organizations and agencies: FAO Dimitra works closely with other development organizations to integrate the approach into their programmes and country activities to maximize impact. 
• Research institutions: research institutions support efforts in evaluating and assessing the results and impact of the approach as well as in identifying lessons learned and capitalizing on good practices.

Major area of work: The major areas of work are gender, community mobilization, empowerment, access to information and ICTs. The approach leads to positive impact in other areas of work such as agricultural production, nutrition, food security, resilience, adaptation to climate change, social cohesion and community dynamism and governance.

2030 Agenda: The approach contributes directly to SDG1, SDG2 and SDG5 and indirectly to other SDGs (3, 6, 10, 13, 16 and 17).

Website and other resources: FAO Dimitra Website; Video series on the “Impact of FAO Dimitra Clubs”; Publication on Communicating Gender for Rural Development, Integrating gender in communication for development, FAO Dimitra 2011, (also available in French); Fact Sheet on “FAO Dimitra Clubs: A unique approach”, FAO Dimitra 2016 (also available in French); Dimitra Newsletter 29, October 2016 (also available in French).

Contacts: Christiane Monsieur, FAO Dimitra Coordinator 

REFERENCES

• European Parliament. 2015. ICTs in the developing world.
• FAO. 2011. Communicating Gender for Rural Development. 
• ITU. 2016. Facts & Figures 2016. 
• ITU. 2017. Facts & Figures 2017.
• FAO. 2015. The State of Food and Agriculture.
• GSMA. 2015a. The Mobile Economy – Sub-Saharan Africa 2015. 
• GSMA. 2015b. Connected Women. Bridging the gender gap: Mobile access and usage in low and middle-income countries. 
• World Bank. 2016. World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends.