Fuel wood Collection and Gender Time Poverty: Implications for Development Policy

Abstract

The term ‘gender time poverty’ became a buzz word in the development debate
after Ester Boserup’s publication ‘Women’s Role in Economic Development’. Since
then gender issues are seriously taken into account while formulating a
development policy. This study was conducted with the aim to assess the time
women spent on fuel wood collection in district Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
Pakistan. The total sample size for the study was 100 households which were
randomly selected from two villages namely Barkaley and Chail. Information from
respondents was collected by using semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive
statistics technique was used to analyze the field data. The findings suggest that
people in the area were mostly poor and relied on local forest for their domestic
energy consumption. Women spent an average six hours per day on fuel wood
collection from the nearby woods. Women were intended to spend the same time
in income generating activities such as home-based micro-enterprises, knitting and
weaving, and poultry farming, etc., if they were provided with any opportunity to
save this time. The study concludes that women time poverty is mainly a cause of
the excessive fuel wood demand of a household. It is recommended that people in
the area should be given access to cost-effective and environment-friendly fuels.
Thus the time saved will be used for productive venture which will empower
women economically, socially, and politically.