IMPACT OF EDUCATION ON RURAL WOMEN PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITES IN SHEIKAN LOCALLITY, NORTH KORDOFAN STATE, SUDAN

Abstract

This study is designed to assess the impact of education on women participation in farm, off-farm and social participation in Shiekan locality. The major education and development constraints facing women are to be revealed and suggestions for their removel are to be made in order to enhance women's contribution to development activities. This study is focused on assessment of the impact of level of education on development activities of four women groups, namely settled women, nomadic women, illiterate settled women, illiterate nomadic women, and the four groups form a joint sample representative of the entire women's body in Shiekan locality. A multi-stage stratified random sampling procedure was used to select 200 women for purposes of this study. The data were collected during the 2009/2010 agricultural season. Sites of the study include four administrative units in Shiekan locality, namely Abu Haraz, Kazgail, Khor Taggat and Um Ishera. The sampling frame was obtained from the 1996 records of CARE international Elobied office. A table of random numbers was employed in the selection of 200 respondents (the settled women, nomadic women, illiterate settled, and illiterate nomadic). Twenty percent of the villages were selected from each administrative unit in Shiekan Locality; a numbers of women were selected from each village according to the village's total number of households. Primary data were collected by use of direct interview involving the respondents in their fields or at home. Secondary data were collected from reference, internet, reports and other materials from private and official sources. The conceptual model of economic participation used in the study involved access variables (education, urban contact, social participation, access to extension services, farm size, and participation in income generating activities) as endogenous factors. Economic participation (total farm and off – farm income in Sudanese pounds) in the model is treated as the ultimate endogenous variable and used as a measure of women participation in economic development activities. The exogenous variables in the model include age, family size, family income, domestic labour, and family geographic mobility. Separate models were generated for settled women, nomadic women, illiterate settled women, illiterate nomadic women, and for the entire sample of women under study. Analytical techniques used in the study include descriptive statistics, t-test procedures, correlation, regression and path analysis. The analysis results for the entire sample of women under study indicate that the principal direct determinants of economic participation are farm size (total effect = 0.572), followed by urban contact (total effect = 0.109). Also the study shows that the principal indirect determinants of economic participation are family income (total effect = 0.065), family size (total effect = 0.016), and age (total effect = - 0.027). The results show the principal factors have direct and indirect effect of economic participation are family geographic mobility (total effect = 0.174) , and domestic labour(total effect = 0.106) . Social participation among this group of women was found to be a function of age (total effect = 0.163). Economic participation for settled women is affected strongly and directly by farm size (total effect = 0.637), followed by participation in income generating activities (total effect =0,193), domestic labour (total effect = 0.177), and urban contact (total effect = 0.139), and indirectly affected by education (total effect = 0.217), family income (total effect = 0.112), and age (total effect = - 0.145). Among settled women, analysis results revealed that none of the variables entered the equation for social participation. Participation in social organization is suggested to be affected by variables not included in the model. The results of analysis of causal effects on economic participation among nomadic women show that the principal direct determinants are farm size (total effect = 0.777), participation in participation in income generating activities (total effect = 0.489), and education (total effect = - 0.111). Also economic participation for nomadic women is indirectly effected by social participation (total effect = 0.104), family size (total effect=- 0.058) and age (total effect = - 0.057). Social participation among this group is affected by age (total effect = 0.242). The analysis results for the illiterate settled women indicate that the principal direct determinants of economic participation are participation in income generating activities (total effect = 0.482), and farm size (total effect = 0.376), and indirectly affected by family income (total effect = 0.155) and age (total effect = - 0.124). Among this group none of the variables entered the equation for social participation. Economic participation for illiterate nomadic women is affected strongly and directly by participation in income generating activities (total effect 0.886), and social participation (total effect = 0.181), and indirectly affected by farm size (total effect = 0.565), and age (total effect = - 0.267). The study results show that for social participation of this group none of the variables entered the equation. The study generated some recommendations that were made on the basis of the findings of the present study that suggest that development project for women in Shiekan locality as much as possible, should be integrated and offered in the form of package programmers involving education, extension services, health services, improvement of roads and transportation facilities, support cooperatives. Such integrated projects would help improve women situation in various ways through enhancing effective contribution to development activities.