Product Description

Transport policy makers and providers have paid almost no attention to gender equity, and gender researchers in development have seldom examined the crucial role of transport in women's lives. This text draws together local level research from 15 countries across Asia and Africa, to help understand how gender affects men and women's access to transport, and what steps can be taken at community, provider and policy levels to improve the situation. It describes the different forms of rural transport in diverse settings; the social roles transport plays; the uneven gender-influenced access to it; and the impacts which poverty, culture and gender-insensitive transport provision have on women's lives. The contributors, and those who discussed their findings in a series of workshops, make practical proposals for tackling "women's mobility poverty".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3185322 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
'A groundbreaking publication in many respects. This book explores in great detail issues relating to rural transport in Asia and Africa. But more importantly, it examines the gender dimensions in rural transport - highlighting the views, especially of women, that are often ignored and yet so important. The case study approach adopted by the researchers enables them to go deeper and reveal a range of issues that might not have been given attention to. An invaluable resource for those designing and implementing poverty alleviation programmes.' - Farai Samhungu, Regional Director, IPS Africa 'A timely and seminal work that comprehensively examines the complex relations between women, gender and transport. Its strength derives from the range and variety of case studies that demolish many of the stereotyped views of how women are affected by the transport sector. They illustrate clearly that mobility and access are key elements in determining women's ability to carry out their productive, as well as their reproductive, roles, and that their provision is far more complicated than is conventionally assumed.' - John Howe, author of Transport for the poor or poor transport? 'This is an important subject which to date has been largely ignored. Balancing the Load, therefore, is a very welcome contribution. It provides a comprehensive, detailed description, based on case studies, of the daily transport problems experienced by women around the world. Much of what it says may be obvious to gender experts -- but this is essential reading for transport planners and other development practitioners.' - Caroline Moser, Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute

About the Author
Priyanthi Fernando is the executive secretary of the International Forum for Rural Transport and Development. Gina Porter is a senior research fellow in anthropology at the University of Durham. She has worked extensively in Ghana and Nigeria. The contributors are researchers, consultants, practitioners and planners in transport development in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, India, Kenya, Nepa, Nigeria, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.