Women’s right and the right to food 2013, para. 27d

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Paragraph text: Women should be involved in the design and evaluation of public works programmes. This could ensure that the right balance is struck between the need for a gender-sensitive approach and the risk of reinforcement of gender stereotyping. It could also help determine the modes of payment, in particular whether payment should be in the form of food or cash. While cash payments leave the beneficiaries greater choice, it may also facilitate the appropriation by men of women's wages, especially if the payment is not deposited electronically into a bank account in the woman's name. Also, cash payment may not be the preferred solution if purchasing food is time-consuming or if markets are unreliable due, for instance, to the lack of stability of supply of certain staple foods or the high volatility of prices in the market. Indeed, women may express a preference for payment in the form of food rations or payment on a daily basis, rather than on a monthly basis, especially if their priority concern is the daily subsistence of their families. Such issues can only be addressed through effective participation of women in the shaping of programmes intended to benefit them. Participation is thus both an end in itself - a source of empowerment - and a means - as it can significantly increase the effectiveness of the programmes and their ability to make a difference to women.

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