Catalyzing Change: How Matu Masa Dubara Groups Advance Women’s Ritghts in Niger
Achieving sustainable, long-term social change is the holy grail of economic development programs. Interventions rooted in community participation, which prioritize collective action, individual skill-building, community resource development, confronting discriminatory practices, and establishing market connections for marginalized entrepreneurs, have consistently demonstrated their effectiveness in driving progress towards this objective. One key example is the creation of savings groups. Formalized savings groups began in Niger in the early 1990s and quickly took off around the world – community members, mostly rural, low-income women, coming together in groups of 10-25 to pool their savings, earn a bit of interest, and have access to capital they otherwise would not have. Over the past 30 years, self-help groups (SHGs) in India have significantly contributed to reducing early child marriages and improving girls' education. Village savings and loans (VSLAs) in Niger have played a similar pivotal role in improving access to healthcare and vaccines, while savings groups across sub- Saharan Africa have helped women increase their decision-making roles at home and in their communities.[1]
Althaë has partnered with CARE to understand what role savings groups in Niger played in creating change for women and girls over the past 30 years. We designed an innovative system-level evaluation looking specifically at four areas: maternal health, girls’ education, nutrition and early marriage. This study builds off of a similar study in Niger conducted a year prior, looking at women’s voice and leadership, women’s economic justice, men’s engagement, and climate justice.[2]
Using mixed methods, we were able to determine that women and girls are better off today than in 1991. Overall, members of the communities we polled (Maradi, Dosso, Tahoua and Zinder) recognize that women MMD members acquire more confidence to speak in public, and attribute this change to their economic activities. Indeed, many women have received business training among others from CARE and use their newly acquired skills to make changes on topics that matter to them and their family.
Here are a few key results
Maternal Health: women are using health centers Using “en masse” health centers for children’s vaccination, pre- and post- natal care; in many places, they have successfully lobbied local authorities to improve health care services by hiring midwives and improving equipment in the maternity wards (mattresses for instance). But not all change happens at a fast pace: between women members and non-members, the use of contraception is split. Women’s knowledge of the different forms of contraception is strong, but the decision to use it is not 100% theirs just yet.
Girls’ Education: girls and boys tend to start school at the same age (7 years old). Both are afforded the same opportunities to study, and mentalities are changing regarding girls’ education beyond primary school. but girls still suffer from being stigmatized. Many parents believe that girls are less dedicated to their studies than boys, or that they will become sexually active earlier if they go to school. However, girls who are educated are in high demand for marriage and respondents tend to believe that it would no longer be accepted not to send girls to school.
Nutrition: women and youth interviews understand the importance to provide nutritious food to pregnant and breastfeeding women, men do too, but in a smaller proportion. However, one of the key changes concerns women’s land ownership which is made possible by belonging to an MMD group and using their savings to buy land. Communities have noted that the land owned by women MMD members tend to be more fertile thanks to the training they have received to produce and use compost.
Early and Forced Marriage: Niger has the highest and most stubborn rate of early and forced marriage in the world with 77% of girls being married before their reach 18 years old. Reduction in child marriage is slow, despite strong understanding from the participants of the study of the consequence for girls. Indeed, respondents know that early marriage has consequence on the health (both physical and mental) of girls, and also on their economic prospects. The World Bank estimates that early marriage reduces a girl’s expected lifetime earnings by 9%.
But there is hope that women members of MMD groups, will continue advocating for themselves, their daughters, families and community. Today, in Niger, 14% of adult women belong to an MMD group. Some have gone on to be elected to parliament and taken on local responsibilities as mayors and vice-mayors. By all the measures from our study, women and girls are better off today than in 1991, demonstrating the transformational impact of women’s collectives on social norms, public service delivery and political representation.
[1] “SHGs as Agents of Change”, Institute for Financial Management and Research, 2009 and “GEWEP II: Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Programme II - Final Report”, CARE, 2020
[2] “Meta-Evaluation report on Social Norms, Performance and Prediction of MMD/VSLA Achievements in Niger”, CARE, 2022