What Boosts Gender Equality in Developing Countries? 什么促進了發(fā)展中國家的性別平等？

博比·加里 袁峰

A basic requirement for gender parity1 anywhere is fair access to work and financial resources. In the Global South2， many women are addressing this need collectively; the creation of informal savings groups are giving women in some of the poorest places the power to plan their own future.無論何處，性別平等的基本要求都是享有公平的就業(yè)和利用經(jīng)濟來源的權(quán)利。在發(fā)展中國家，眾多婦女正在集體爭取落實這一要求;民間儲蓄小組的創(chuàng)辦，使一些最貧困地區(qū)的婦女能籌劃自己的未來。

By Bobbi Gary

On March 8， the world will celebrate International Women’s Day， an annual opportunity to recommit to gender equality. In the past two years， global movements like #MeToo3 and #TimesUp4 refocused attention on the discriminatory practices that women confront in their social and professional lives.

But while women in the developed world are waging big battles over gender bias， women and girls in developing countries remain focused on smaller victories. On this International Women’s Day， we must not forget that in the world’s poorest communities， poverty， hunger， domestic violence， and discrimination remain endemic5 obstacles to gender parity.

I have studied gender and development in the Global South for 15 years. My research， which has included thousands of interviews with women from India to Burkina Faso， has centered on one question： How can the international community improve the welfare of the world’s poorest women？ The answer， it turns out， is to help them do what they are already doing on their own.

One of the most effective ways to empower women anywhere， but especially in the developing world， is by promoting financial independence. In many areas， that means supporting “informal savings groups，” networks of like-minded women who pay dues6 to build a shared pool of resources. This money can then be drawn on to fund any number of items， such as small business expenses， school fees， or health-care costs.

Community-based savings groups—there are millions in Asia and Africa alone—are changing lives every day. I once met a woman in Burkina Faso whose son owes his life to the financial resources of a savings network. One evening， when the boy was violently ill with diarrhea7， his mother called a taxi to take him to the nearest clinic. But taxis， like ambulances， must be paid for in advance， and the woman had no money. Fortunately， a neighbor who belonged to a health savings group was able to contribute and pay the fare. That immediate access to cash very likely saved the boy’s life.

Most savings group loans are similarly small. In Benin， for example， the average loan size in one group is just $9. But， in a country where the average annual income is less than $800， small amounts can make a huge difference.

Unfortunately， many savings groups， as important as they are， do not scale; most operate in isolation8 from official services， which weakens their effectiveness. Women in poor communities must rely on one another， but they also need access to government and international agencies if they are ever to escape from hunger and poverty. That is why my organization， the Grameen Foundation， is using digital technology and mobile phones to connect savings groups with other service providers.

One of our largest projects is in Burkina Faso， a desperately poor country in West Africa where an estimated 55% of the population is food insecure for at least a portion of the year. Since 1993， we have worked with more than 73，000 women in nearly 3，300 savings groups， bringing services directly to the women who need them. Our average participant is 40 years old， illiterate， and earns just $7 a week selling crops like sesame and peanut. When we began the program， only about half of the women we worked with said they felt empowered in their homes; many feared their husbands.

Today， those sentiments are slowly changing. By serving as a bridge between informal savings groups and banks， health centers， schools， and agricultural extension services， we are helping women make better decisions about food use， nutritional practices， and spending. Our goal is to reduce poverty rates by strengthening asset-management skills， which would give women a greater voice in their communities. “Gender dialogue sessions” that we host are also strengthening family bonds.

During each of my field visits， I have been amazed at how these efforts are affecting women’s lives. On one recent trip， I met Rasmata， a young mother who told me that thanks to the safety net of her savings group， she was managing to support her family despite her husband’s emigration abroad， her father’s recent death， and a lingering9 drought. She was diversifying her income， managing her finances， and even adopting climate-smart farming techniques. The best part was that she described herself as a “hard-working， respectful， rigorous， and ambitious woman.”

Those are adjectives that women everywhere， regardless of their financial situation or education， deserve to ascribe10 to themselves. As the world celebrates the incredible progress that women have made on the long march to parity， I will be thinking about women like Rasmata， who have accomplished so much despite having so little.

3月8日將慶祝國際婦女節(jié)，借此一年一度的機會再倡性別平等。在過去兩年里，#MeToo和#TimesUp等全球性社會運動重新關(guān)注婦女在社會生活和職業(yè)生涯中遭遇的歧視行為。

但是，在發(fā)達國家的婦女大舉抗?fàn)幮詣e歧視之時，發(fā)展中國家的婦女和女孩卻仍一心巴望著小成小就。值此國際婦女節(jié)之際，我們絕不能忘記，在世界上最貧窮的社區(qū)，貧窮、饑餓、家庭暴力和歧視依然是實現(xiàn)兩性平等的普遍障礙。

15年來，我一直在研究發(fā)展中國家的性別與發(fā)展問題。我的研究包括對從印度到布基納法索的數(shù)千名婦女的訪談，圍繞著一個問題：國際社會如何才能改善世界上最貧困婦女的民生福祉？結(jié)果表明，答案就是在她們自力更生時助其一臂之力。

在任何地方，尤其是在發(fā)展中國家，增強婦女權(quán)能的最有效途徑之一就是促進經(jīng)濟獨立。在很多地區(qū)，這意味著支持“民間儲蓄小組”，即由志同道合的婦女組成的人脈網(wǎng)，其成員繳納會費，設(shè)立共享資金池。該資金嗣后可供提取，用于各項支出，如小額業(yè)務(wù)費用、學(xué)費、醫(yī)療費等。

社區(qū)性儲蓄小組僅在亞洲和非洲就數(shù)以百萬計，它們每天都在改變?nèi)藗兊纳?。我曾在布基納法索遇到一名女子，她兒子多虧儲蓄小組的資金才保住性命。一天晚上，她兒子突發(fā)劇烈腹瀉，她忙叫了輛出租車送他去最近的診所。出租車跟救護車一樣，車資必須預(yù)付，可她沒錢。幸虧有個鄰居是醫(yī)療儲蓄小組成員，能出錢代付車費。這一可即時取用現(xiàn)金的渠道很可能救了她兒子的命。

儲蓄小組貸款大多金額不大。例如，在貝寧，一個儲蓄小組的平均貸款額僅為9美元。但在一個年均收入不到800美元的國家，區(qū)區(qū)小錢也能發(fā)揮巨大作用。

遺憾的是，很多儲蓄小組雖然作用重大，但卻不成規(guī)模;大多數(shù)儲蓄小組都自行運作，與官方服務(wù)機構(gòu)脫節(jié)，這削弱了它們的效能。貧困社區(qū)的婦女必須相互依靠，但如要擺脫饑餓和貧窮，還需要獲得政府和國際機構(gòu)的幫助。因此，我所在的機構(gòu)格拉明基金會正利用數(shù)字技術(shù)和手機來聯(lián)通儲蓄小組與其他服務(wù)供應(yīng)方。

我們最大的項目之一位于布基納法索，這是西非的一個赤貧國，估計有55%的人口每年至少有一部分時間糧食無著。自1993年以來，我們與近3300個儲蓄小組的73000多名婦女合作，直接向有需求的婦女提供服務(wù)。參加我們項目的婦女平均年齡40歲，一般都不識字，每周平均只掙7美元，全靠出售芝麻、花生等農(nóng)作物。我們的項目剛開始時，參加項目的婦女中，僅有約一半的人說她們覺得自己在家里有自主權(quán);很多人都懼怕丈夫。

如今，她們的心態(tài)正在慢慢改變。通過在民間儲蓄小組與銀行、衛(wèi)生院所、學(xué)校和農(nóng)業(yè)推廣服務(wù)站之間牽線搭橋，我們襄助婦女們在膳食、營養(yǎng)搭配、花銷方面善加定奪。我們的目標是通過提升資產(chǎn)管理技能來降低貧困率，使婦女在社會上有更大發(fā)言權(quán)。我們主辦的“兩性對話會”也在增進家庭關(guān)系。

我每次實地查訪期間，都對這些舉措對婦女的人生影響之大深感驚訝。最近一次出行，我遇到拉斯馬塔，一個年輕母親。她告訴我，盡管丈夫移居國外，父親最近去世，又持續(xù)干旱，但多虧有她所屬的儲蓄小組這保障網(wǎng)，她得以養(yǎng)家糊口。她多方創(chuàng)收，自主理財，甚至采用氣候智能型農(nóng)業(yè)技術(shù)。最棒的是，她形容自己是個“勤勞進取、謙恭有禮、一絲不茍的女人”。

普天之下的婦女，無論家境貧富、學(xué)歷高低，都可以這樣形容自己。在舉世同慶婦女在走向兩性平等的長征中所取得的驚人進展之時，我會想到拉斯馬塔這樣的女子，她們幾乎一無所有，卻做成了很多事。? □

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎選手）