West African Women's emergent organizational activities: Malien Sea Butter Cooperatives and its Contribution for Changing Women's status

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K02038
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Gender
• Research Institution: Kagawa University
• Principal Investigator: SONOBE YUKO 香川大学, 経済学部, 教授 (20452667)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: アフリカ / 女性 / ジェンダー / 協同組合 / 創発的活動 / シアバター

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Mali's one of main commodities, cotton, has marked a significant decline in its price since the 2000s. This leads to poverty spread in the rural area and the urbanization of population has been accelerated. These significant economic and social changes have motivated rural women to diversify their means of cash income to sustain households. Rural women are involved in many types of economic activities in which shea butter production have been historically women’s monopoly. Some producers commenced organizing into collective associations through which they jointly produce and expand the method of “ameliorated better.” This newly introduced method has contributed to obtain a better quality of the final product so that women’s income increased enough to compensate male husbands’ income decrease. We additionally located several cooperatives which had their member women elected as a representative in the village council to promote the status of women.

Free Research Field

社会学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日本ではフランス語圏アフリカについての研究そのものが少ない中で、とくに女性を対象とする調査研究は稀少であり、同時にマリそのものを扱う研究も非常に限られている。マリ社会においては、シアバター生産の協同化は、女性の地位向上につながる手段になっている。マリは2016年の人間開発指数は世界182カ国のうち175位に留まっている。グローバル経済により大きな打撃を受けた途上社会の女性の地位向上のために、女性みずからの協同活動がどのようなインパクトをもつのか、考察を加えることに本研究は寄与する。