Global/Regional
African Transformation: The Way Forward
 African Transformation is based on the highly successful “Arab Women Speak-Out” project (AWSO) that was designed by the Johns Hopkins University/Center for Communication Programs in collaboration with The Center of Arab Women for Training and Research to promote women’s empowerment in the Near East. (For more information, see Communication Impact.)
African Transformation (AT) is modeled on AWSO, but has been adapted to meet the needs and reality of the African context, most notable of which is the inclusion of men in the program’s design and implementation. Experience has shown that improving gender equity is not about women in isolation from men, but about the interdependence of men and women in a particular society and context. Both men and women must participate in the examination and reconstruction of gender norms as a way to achieve better health for all.
The Vision for African Transformation is a tolerant society in which men and women mutually respect each other, critically examine and change gender-based inequities, and participate in equitable decision-making and resource allocation.
The objectives for the program are that men and women who are exposed to the project will
- Agree that it is important to critically examine social norms that govern men’s & women’s roles, responsibilities, and expectations
- Recognize that some gender-related social norms are harmful
- Appreciate and equally value sex- and gender-based differences
- Equitably share decision-making and household resources
- Believe that they can make individual, familial, and/or community changes
- Take action to eliminate harmful social norms and/or to support positive social norms
The project has 2 main components to reach this vision. One is a series of profiles of men, women and couples who have overcome gender barriers to reach their goals and better their lives. These profiles are available on video and audio cassette and are also written up as case studies. The original profiles were filmed in Zambia, Uganda, and Tanzania.
The profiles are to be used with the second component, The Facilitators Guide, which leads women and men through a series of interactive and participatory exercises that enable them to examine gender constructs and social roles and how both impacts their lives. The profiles form the centerpiece of each session in the Guide and serve to ground the discussion in the reality of people’s lives. Topics covered in the original Guide are
- Introduction covering concepts of gender and equity
- Social Roles
- Tradition and Cultural Norms
- Women’s and Men’s Reproductive Health
- Sexually Transmitted Infections, HIV and AIDS
- Violence Between Partners
- Life Skills
- Working and Managing Resources Together
- Benefits of Networking
In addition, the Guide includes exercises for training Facilitators that leads them through a process of understanding their own assumptions about gender, and helps to strengthen their skills in doing participatory facilitative training, based on the program’s design.
 The project is based on two key theories of behavior. Very simply put, one theory (Empowerment Education) states that knowledge comes not from “experts” but instead from group discussions, and the knowledge that people already have from within. The other (Social Learning Theory) proposes that people learn new behaviors and identify their own strengths by seeing those capabilities modeled in others. Using the profiles together with the Guide will enable participants to both draw upon their own experiences and resources while learning from the stories of achievements of others.
African Transformation was designed through a participatory, collaborative process with men and women from over 9 different countries in Africa with backgrounds in gender, health, development, and communication. The project’s approach and the selection of the Guide’s topics were based on consensus from the group, as well as formative research that included literature reviews on the evolution of “gender and development” and “gender and men” in Africa, and first hand qualitative research with men in Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia about their perceptions of social roles, society’s expectations of women and men and areas they would be interested to see changing.
Project Components
The AT package includes
- The Facilitators Workshop Guide
- Video, Audio and Written Profiles
- Photos from the Video Profiles (to be used with the Audio Profiles or written profiles)
While the profiles were filmed in specific countries, the stories of these women and men, and the Guide itself were designed to be used throughout Africa, as they touch upon common themes and experiences that everyone can relate to in their daily lives. Given that women and men in Africa face similar gender-related challenges across many boarders, and that the project was developed with input from representatives from South, West and East Africa, it is envisioned that Africa Transformation will be implemented in many other countries. Already Zambia, Nigeria and Malawi have adapted AT (with minimal changes) and are implementing it in local communities. They have also developed three new modules on “Safe Motherhood”’ “Conflict Resolution” and “Cross Generational Sex” and filmed new profiles to accompany them. The AT package was designed to be flexible so it can be used in a variety of ways. The ideal is to implement the entire program including all of the modules and using all of the profiles. While each of the modules builds on the proceeding one, they were also designed to be used independently to meet the needs of organizations focusing on particular health areas. It is also hoped that countries will expand the Guide, adding profiles and modules most appropriate for their context and programs.
African Transformation was evaluated in Uganda using a post-test only control group design complemented by focus groups and in-depth interviews. Analysis assessed the extent to which AT participation was correlated with key intermediate and impact outcomes, including communication about topics covered in AT, efficacy to take action, changes in perceptions of gender norms, and actions taken.
Key Findings of the research include
- Participants expressed significantly higher levels of confidence in their ability to take action, particularly with respect to taking part in community activities to eliminate or reduce harmful traditional practices.
- Participants—male as well as female—expressed a significantly more equitable view of men’s and women’s roles than was true of non-participants.
- AT had a significant and positive effect on men’s perceptions of men who assumed non-traditional roles.
- More than half of the men came to recognize that women can play a greater role in decision-making in the home.
- Nearly half of male and female participants alike came to believe that women can do almost anything if they are taught to do so.
- Respondents reported many changes with respect to women’s abilities and came away with an enhanced appreciation of the benefits that accrue when men and women work together.
- Men and women alike reported that participation in the workshops changed their attitudes about men’s roles and appropriate behaviors. Nearly seven of ten male respondents reported that they had come to recognize the importance of shared decision making as well as joint action.
- Among participants, men reported that they intend to take an average of four and women a mean of three actions as a direct result of their participation in AT.
Reports
Materials
Back to Global/Regional
Note about materials: Some of the materials and resources listed on each page are available in their full form, others are represented by image or citation only. For more information and resources, go to www.jhuccp.org
|
