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Improving the lives of women in the world's poorest countries has been the focus of development programmes for more than three decades, but now a new World Bank book asks: what about the men?
The theme of the book The Other Half of Gender initially seems politically incorrect and has already stirred wide debate, given that women traditionally have been victims of inequality and discrimination.
But the authors argue that resolving some of the most chronic social ills in the developing world requires helping men deal with problems unique to being men.
They note that male gender identity - or what it means to "be a man" - is linked to some of the world's most pressing problems such as war, the spread of HIV/Aids, urban crime and even terrorism.
"This is not to convert young men into victims or to downplay the many ways that women face serious and pervasive disadvantages in the current gender order," said Maria Correia, one of the editors.
"Rather, it is about understanding that men have gendered identities and pressures, and that these, in turn, are linked to some of the most problematic and intractable development issues of the day, such as HIV/Aids and armed conflict."
Correia says global efforts to balance power between men and women should be expanded to also confront the demands and pressures men face in different societies and cultures. The issue is not gender equality, but dealing with the pressures and needs of each gender, she says.
"It is not that men are faring worse because women have advanced," Correia says. "It is just that we haven't realised that men are gendered beings."
According to the book, many men who live in poor, economically marginalised areas or war-affected zones find it difficult, if not impossible, to fulfil their traditional masculine roles as household providers.
The problem is especially acute in rural or post-conflict regions of Africa, where widespread unemployment or underemployment leaves men without proper livelihoods or lacking in self-esteem. Such pressures can cause men to resort to violence and aggression against women and children, the authors note.
Correia says men's behaviour in most cases is determined by cultural patterns. In Africa, young men often are dependent on older, powerful chiefs or elders, who dictate when they can marry or have access to land and family wealth.
Such a dynamic can create trouble between generations, breaking down traditional societal structures and leading to alienation and conflict.
Steen Jorgensen, the World Bank director for social development, says understanding men's gender issues is necessary for development policies to benefit whole societies.
"At a minimum, you cannot deal with women's issues without understanding the gender roles of men," Jorgensen says. "At a maximum, you get much better development outcomes if you really understand people's identity."
Geeta Rao Gupta, president of the Washington-based International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW), applauds the authors for tackling the little-known issue of why men are expected to adhere to dominant forms of masculinity that can promote conflict and homophobia.
"We have learned in the field of gender and development is that if we want change to occur in gender roles, you have to work with both men and women," Rao Gupta says.
A burning question in the development community is how the relationship between men and women affects poverty levels, Rao Gupta says.
"Empowering women doesn't disempower men. Empowering women would require men to change their roles, so they don't have power over women but power to work with women and find common solutions," Rao Gupta says.
Elaine Zuckerman, who heads Washington-based Gender Action and is a former World Bank economist, says the issue of men's gender is timely and needs to be given more prominence.
But Zuckerman says the World Bank should do more to use its research to promote gender equality in its development programmes in poor countries.
- REUTERS
