Coastal women in artisanal fishing

Abstract

Development programs, elaborated without careful consideration of social, economic, cultural and political aspects, tend to reduce the possibilities of success of the project in question, and/or reproduce the structural inequalities that were identified to be transformed. Generally, in projects of this type, women are marginalized from the development model.  This has been the case in the fisheries development efforts undertaken to date on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. The present study was conceived and carried out by CIDCA thanks to the initiative and financial support of the Norwegian Authority for International Development (NORAD) and as part of a concerted effort to avoid the problems mentioned above.  The purpose of the study is to analyze the role of gender difference and ideology in RAAS society in general, and in particular how both aspects relate to artisanal fishing in the region. The objective of this research is to provide basic analytical criteria for the elaboration of fishing development projects for the region, to avoid the reproduction of existing gender inequalities, and to promote the active participation of women in the development and equitable enjoyment of its benefits.