Effects of Structural Adjustment Programs on Zambian Women - Essay Example

Unfathomable, unelected s like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank have came out with really extensive and unfavorable effects on the devastating majority of the population of the world. These effects tend to be more intensely felt by groups of people who are already facing material tyranny such as women, children, native people, ethnic Minorities and the poor, etc. It is not right to say that Women have sufficient on their plates with the crippling combination of poverty and scarcity in overdrawn developing countries, then it is worth looking at the activities of some organizations making things just so much worse for women of those in debt developing countries. With the name of Structural Adjustment Programs, The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) inflict limitations and restrictions on their loans to dept-ridden developing countries. These limitations include certain changes that the governments have to make in their policies, including the way in which they allot funding and assets. And these changes made due to these limitation some times cause adversely affects which disturbs many aspects of people's lives in these countries, and unreasonably affect women. The IMF calls such limitations or policies as "stabilization programs" and the World Bank gives names to these restrictions as "Structural Adjustment Programs" Structural Adjustment Programs that are the policy package of the IMF and World Bank which calls for reducing government expenses, privatization, and opening up countries to manipulative foreign investment, among other dealings which actually has intensified poverty around the world. In the two regions with the most structural adjustment experience, per capita income has vegetated as in Latin America or fallen as in Africa. Structural adjustment has also contributed to rising income and wealth inequality in the developing world. Since Zambia got on its structural adjustment program in 1991, much has been consummated. According to IMF amd world Bank, the developments which have made in Zambia are the following the decontrol of agricultural prices the liberalization of maize marketing substantial progress on a complete parasitical reform privatization program the decontrol of interest rates the elimination of exchange controls the floating of the kwacha the liberalization of the banking sector the removal of quantitative restrictions on imports and exports the reduction of the level and dispersion of customs tariffs It is a report given by World Bank in 1990 "In terms of policy initiatives, the market-based approach embodied in SAPs became pre-eminent in the 1980s. SAPs have become widespread throughout the developing world. By the end of 1989, they had been put into force in 28 Sub-Sahara African countries. In total, 55 borrowing countries had been involved (World Bank,1990). Up to the end of 1988, adjustment efforts have been concentrated in Latin America and especially, Africa, by governments that have, however, varied considerably in their commitment, willingness and ability to implement policy changes." There is another report which is quoted over here as it is:: "Elson, (1987) distinguished between women in different parts of the economy. While some women will gain in terms of employment and income from the end of certain subsidies and the development of the market; others will lose. The contraction of the state's role will also have a mixed effect on women. Certain actions of the state have perpetuated women's subordination while others have aided women. Gender issues have mostly been expressed in terms general to all developing countries. This global approach to gender issues is partly due to the universality of the way that economic upheaval and worsened poverty impinge on women multiple roles in delivering sustenance to their families. It is also partly because the evidence of the impact of the new policies on women tends to be anecdotal with continental cross-reference." Structural Adjustment Programs have increased the poverty round the world especially in Zambia due to some following conditions. Structural adjustment policies impose he policy to the government to privatize some government-owned enterprises.. Privatization is typically linked with pay cuts for employees in the privatized enterprises. Diminution in government spending frequently demotes the services offered to the poor; including health and education services on the contrary the IMF and World Bank now claim that they protect health and education spending in developing countries. Many IMF and World Bank loans can be considered as the obligation of "user fees" that is mean to say that charges for the use of government-offered services e.g schools, health clinics and clean drinking water. Under structural adjustment programs, countries assume a wide range of procedures to endorse exports at the expense of production for domestic needs. In the rural areas , the export course is often connected with the dislocation of poor people who grow food for their own utilization, because their land is taken over by large cultivated area growing crops for foreign markets to get high profits. Higher interest rates put forth effect on national economies, leading to higher rates of joblessness. Small businesses are often operated by women and they find it more difficult to obtain access to tolerable credit, and that is why they often are unable to resist. The removal of tax safety for industries in developing countries often guide to mass pay cuts. In Mozambique, the IMF and World Bank ordered the elimination of an export tariff on cashew nuts. The result is 10,000 adults, mostly women, lost their jobs in cashew nut-processing factories and are now unemployed. Most of the processing work transferred to India, where child laborers shell the nuts at home. There are the some graphic explanation which demonstrates the actual influence ofSAP's in Zambia which effects the lives of women and all the other people in Zambia; The procedure of structural adjustment programs which influences women in of different ways. 1) Income changes through Changes in wages and hierarchy of employment, prices and demand of products. 2) Inflation especially Changes in the prices of necessary purchases like food and other commodities. 3) Changes in the allocation of public payments as especially in regard to social or welfare policy, which includes services like education and health. 4) Changes in working conditions through changes in hours of work, amount of work, job security and benefits and these changes are applied to unpaid and paid workers as well. The vast majority of these changes affects people in a negative manner, and tends to most affect those who are already disadvantaged, like the unemployed, the poor, and women. There are different causes to have a look at the gender-differentiated influence of Structural Adjustment Programs. SAPs support the removal of food funding as a ways of plummeting public expenditure. This results rising food prices and cold wage levels, leads to reduce in real income levels. When women as households reduce food utilization because of rising prices and falling incomes then it proposes that the females in the family receive less food than the males. UNICEF proposes a study about extensive worsening in the nutrition of children and pregnant or lactating women in both urban and rural areas that are subject to IMF stabilization and World Bank SAPs. Mothers of these areas are unable to purchase enough of the adequate and sufficient type of food to feed the every member of family, and adult men are often given preference. As women are generally responsible to manage the house being a households, it is women who must plan for endurance strategies when incomes plummet and prices rise. These plans include discovering ways to make bigger their husband's income or earning an extra income themselves in order to meet the needs of their children. In such conditions, women need much time and energy to manage and maintain the home even more than the men's time and energy. All this additional work done by women, inside and outside of the home, increased the burden of honorary labor that they are already imposed to take responsibility for which are totally unpaid an unrewarded. In this way Structural Adjustment Programs are transferred to the unpaid economy. It has been recommended that the chances for women to earn their own income will lower because of their dependence on men, and reduce the level of domination they experience. While women carry the dual load of paid and unpaid labor they can never contend equally in the market, and are actually just compelled to bear a longer working day. One major feature of World Bank and IMF adjustment polices is to support the beginning of Free Trade Zones (FTZs) or Export Processing Zones (EPZs) into developing countries. These zones are fields where foreign companies mainly manufacturing companies arrange operations with almost little or no restrictions on the shifting of earnings out of the country. but they do offer jobs to local people with low or little incentives, with dreadful working atmosphere and little job security. Also, the procedure of operations is the importing the equipment, technology and skilled labor and exporting all profits and goods. Thus, there is almost no interaction between these factories and the local economy and little advantage for local people. Followers of Free Trade Zones (or Export Processing Zones) allege that they will enhance the opportunities of employment, increase foreign exchange wages and thus alleviate balance of payments discrepancy, transfer technology and advance skills and therefore can be considered as a vehicle to industrialization. FTZs add to a series of inducements maintained to encourage massive inoculation of foreign capital. These advantages include free from traditions and import responsibilities, less rental for factory buildings, government offered infrastructure and communication tools and financial support for energy, investments and credit. However, the main enticement is the provision of cheap work. One reason behind cheap labor is that companies are often excused from obeying with local minimum wage values. Job uncertainty is enhancing because of the temporary nature of the transnational corporations (TNCs) in these zones. They tend to transfer the operations from country to country for higher profits. Common illnesses are head and back aches, kidney problems and chronic fatigue. These problems are all keen by severe quotas, night shift and enforced overtime. The majority of employees in these factories are Women who are unable to contend equally with men in the labor market because of their responsibilities to unpaid labor inside the house and raising families and children as well as housekeeping and food preparation. That's why women are often compelled to accept these dreadful working conditions and low incomes. Women are demoted to the Low-paid, low-skill, cul-de-sac jobs, and are most vulnerable to substitution by cheaper labor in both industrialized and developing countries. Where as higher skilled and higher wages jobs overpoweringly go to men. The jobs for women in the formal sector are also being made more "supple", leading to a loss of job sanctuary, and edging benefits like sick leave and pay, pensions and maternity leave. So its cleared that women are much more affected by lessening of government cuts on social costs than men are and Structural adjustment programs and policies have far more reaching consequences on women than on men REFERENCES 1: Ramos, J. 1995. "Can Growth and Equity Go Hand in Hand" CEPAL 2: The Center for Reproductive Law and Policy. 2001. "Peru." In Women of the World. Laws and Policies Affecting Their Reproductive Lives Latin America And the Caribbean, Progress Report 2000. New York: The Center for Reproductive Law and Policy. 3: Webb Patrick and Katinka Weinberger. 2001. "Women Farmers: Enhancing Rights, Recognition and Productivity. "Development Economics and Policy. 4: Seguino, S. 2000. "The Effects of Structural Change and Economic Liberalization on Gender Wage Differentials in South Korea and Taiwan". Cambridge Journal of Economics. 5: Ozler, Sule 2000. "Export Orientation and Female Share of Empowerment 6: Kanji Nazneen and Sarah Salway. 2000. "Promoting Equality Between Women and Men". Social Development Department. SD Scope 7: www.google.com 8: www.yahoosearch.com Read More