IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/masfgc/v29y2024i8d10.1007_s11027-024-10173-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Invigorating women’s empowerment in marine fishing to promote transformative cultures and narratives for sustainability in the blue economy: a scoping literature review from the Global South

Author

Listed:
  • Baker Matovu

    (Amrita School for Sustainable Futures)

  • Raimund Bleischwitz

    (Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT)/University of Bremen)

  • Meltem Alkoyak-Yildiz

    (School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality (CWEGE))

  • Sudha Arlikatti

    (Amrita School for Sustainable Futures)

Abstract

Marine fishing is a crucial component of the blue economy (BE), an avenue for sustainable livelihoods, and the socioeconomic development of economies, predominantly in the global south. However, marine fishing is increasingly dotted with (un)sustainability issues, including the exclusion of fisherwomen in fisheries value chains, and lucrative fisheries socioeconomic livelihoods opportunities, worsened by socio-cultural biases. This creates unsustainable futures and missed opportunities due to women’s disempowerment. Acknowledging literature gaps in documenting the potential of fisherwomen in marine fishing, we use a case study of Kerala state in India, to showcase emerging best-case women’s empowerment (WE) spaces to promote new cultures of sustainability. We demonstrate this using a scoping literature review of 60 articles on marine fishing in Kerala. Findings highlight the transformative potential of marine fishing to WE in the social, economic, political/institutional governance, and psychological domains. To our knowledge, this is one of the few in-depth review studies in India that succintly provides evidence that can change the traditional narrative (bias/stereotypes) on women’s exclusion in the fisheries sector. This paper demonstrates the possibilities for using marine fishing as a driver for WE in tropical coastal fishing communities. To facilitate the replicability of the transformative narratives and key lessons from Kerala highlighted in the study, we developed a novel pathway called, the “Transforming Cultures for Marine Fisherwomen Empowerment Pathway (TCMFEP) which has seven (7) key steps. Insights from Kerala and the TCMFEP reveal that, with the development of systematic, inclusive empowerment arenas, and robust policies/cultures, sustainability narratives in marine fishing are possible. These can unlock barriers to fisherwomen empowerment, especially in vulnerable tropical fishing countries. As there is increased realization of the co-benefits of tapping women into marine fishing livelihoods spaces and value chains, co-designing of best options for WE should be emphasized. This could further lead to comprehensive ocean sustainability narratives needed for just and sustainable future transitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Baker Matovu & Raimund Bleischwitz & Meltem Alkoyak-Yildiz & Sudha Arlikatti, 2024. "Invigorating women’s empowerment in marine fishing to promote transformative cultures and narratives for sustainability in the blue economy: a scoping literature review from the Global South," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 29(8), pages 1-45, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:masfgc:v:29:y:2024:i:8:d:10.1007_s11027-024-10173-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11027-024-10173-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11027-024-10173-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11027-024-10173-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Esther Duflo, 2012. "Women Empowerment and Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(4), pages 1051-1079, December.
    2. Sarah Harper & Marina Adshade & Vicky W Y Lam & Daniel Pauly & U Rashid Sumaila, 2020. "Valuing invisible catches: Estimating the global contribution by women to small-scale marine capture fisheries production," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(3), pages 1-16, March.
    3. Shona K. Paterson & Ilan Chabay, 2024. "Navigating the currents of coastal narratives in search of sustainable futures," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 29(5), pages 1-15, June.
    4. Winkelmann, Ricarda & Donges, Jonathan F. & Smith, E. Keith & Milkoreit, Manjana & Eder, Christina & Heitzig, Jobst & Katsanidou, Alexia & Wiedermann, Marc & Wunderling, Nico & Lenton, Timothy M., 2022. "Social tipping processes towards climate action: A conceptual framework," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    5. Rajasekaran, B. & Whiteford, Michael B., 1993. "Rice-crab production in South India : The role of indigenous knowledge in designing food security policies," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 237-247, June.
    6. Tietze, U., 1984. "Marine fisheries extension services : A training and visit system for southern Asia," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 330-336, October.
    7. Steven R. McGreevy & Christoph D. D. Rupprecht & Daniel Niles & Arnim Wiek & Michael Carolan & Giorgos Kallis & Kanang Kantamaturapoj & Astrid Mangnus & Petr Jehlička & Oliver Taherzadeh & Marlyne Sah, 2022. "Sustainable agrifood systems for a post-growth world," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 5(12), pages 1011-1017, December.
    8. Hamish van der Ven & Steven Bernstein & Matthew Hoffmann, 2017. "Valuing the Contributions of Nonstate and Subnational Actors to Climate Governance," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 17(1), pages 1-20, February.
    9. Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Quisumbing, Agnes & Doss, Cheryl & Theis, Sophie, 2019. "Women's land rights as a pathway to poverty reduction: Framework and review of available evidence," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 72-82.
    10. Chandra Sekhar Bahinipati & Vijay Kumar & P. K. Viswanathan, 2021. "An evidence-based systematic review on farmers’ adaptation strategies in India," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(2), pages 399-418, April.
    11. Raimund Bleischwitz, 2004. "Governance of sustainable development: co-evolution of corporate and political strategies," International Journal of Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 7(1), pages 27-43.
    12. J. Devika, 2017. "Surviving in Contemporary Kerala: Reflections from Recent Research in a Fisher Village," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 48(2), pages 364-386, March.
    13. Kent, George, 1987. "Fish and nutrition in India," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 161-175, May.
    14. Holly M. Hapke, 2001. "Petty Traders, Gender, and Development in a South Indian Fishery," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 77(3), pages 225-249, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Margaux Suteau, 2020. "Inheritance Rights and Women's Empowerment in the Labor and Marriage Markets," THEMA Working Papers 2020-17, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    2. Athanasios Lapatinas & Anastasia Litina & Skerdilajda Zanaj, 2024. "The relationship between knowledge accumulation and gender norms," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Saima Mujeed & Shuangyan Li & Musarrat Jabeen & Abdelmohsen A. Nassani & Sameh E. Askar & Khalid Zaman & Muhammad Moinuddin Qazi Abro & Sriyanto & Hanifah Jambari, 2021. "Technowomen: Women’s Autonomy and Its Impact on Environmental Quality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-22, February.
    4. S Anukriti & Catalina Herrera‐Almanza & Praveen K. Pathak & Mahesh Karra, 2020. "Curse of the Mummy‐ji: The Influence of Mothers‐in‐Law on Women in India†," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(5), pages 1328-1351, October.
    5. DeJaeghere, Joan & Pellowski Wiger, Nancy & Le, Hue & Luong, Phuong & Ngo, Nga Thi Hang & Vu, Thanh Thi & Lee, Jongwook, 2022. "Why do aspirations matter for empowerment?: Discrepancies between the A-WEAI domains and aspirations of ethnic minority women in Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    6. Sevias Guvuriro & Frederik Booysen, 2021. "Family‐type public goods and intra‐household decision‐making by co‐resident South African couples," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 1629-1647, August.
    7. Felix Meier Zu Selhausen & Jacob Weisdorf, 2016. "A colonial legacy of African gender inequality? Evidence from Christian Kampala, 1895–2011," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 69(1), pages 229-257, February.
    8. Tendai Zawaira & Matthew W. Clance & Carolyn Chisadza, 2020. "Social Institutions and Gender-Biased Outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 2020101, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    9. Alnaa, Samuel Erasmus & Matey, Juabin, 2023. "Women's Access to Post-Secondary Education and Structural Inequalities," MPRA Paper 118327, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 15 Jul 2023.
    10. Ashley Peiffer & Michael Harte, 2023. "Development from a distance: Exploring an international non‐profit's interactions with communities during the COVID‐19 pandemic," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(6), pages 979-994, August.
    11. Saskia Vossenberg, 2014. "Beyond the Critique: How Feminist Perspectives Can Feed Entrepreneurship Promotion in Developing Countries," Working Papers 2014/14, Maastricht School of Management.
    12. Simplice A. Asongu & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2023. "Female unemployment, mobile money innovations and doing business by females," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-26, December.
    13. Mavisakalyan, Astghik & Tarverdi, Yashar, 2019. "Gender and climate change: Do female parliamentarians make difference?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 151-164.
    14. Clare Shamier & Katharine McKinnon & Kerry Woodward, 2021. "Social Relations, Gender and Empowerment in Economic Development: Flores, Nusa Tenggara Timur," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 52(6), pages 1396-1417, November.
    15. Joo, Hailey Hayeon & Lee, Jungmin, 2018. "Encountering female politicians," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 88-122.
    16. Dickerson, Andy & McIntosh, Steven & Valente, Christine, 2015. "Do the maths: An analysis of the gender gap in mathematics in Africa," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 1-22.
    17. Sonia Bhalotra & Abhishek Chakravarty & Dilip Mookherjee & Francisco J. Pino, 2019. "Property Rights and Gender Bias: Evidence from Land Reform in West Bengal," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 205-237, April.
    18. Jacobus Hoop & Patrick Premand & Furio Rosati & Renos Vakis, 2018. "Women’s economic capacity and children’s human capital accumulation," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(2), pages 453-481, April.
    19. Shreya Biswas & Upasak Das & Prasenjit Sarkhel, 2024. "Duration of exposure to inheritance law in India: Examining the heterogeneous effects on empowerment," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 777-799, May.
    20. Ashish Kumar Sedai, Rabindra Nepal, and Tooraj Jamasb, 2022. "Electrification and Socio-Economic Empowerment of Women in India," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:masfgc:v:29:y:2024:i:8:d:10.1007_s11027-024-10173-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.