Steps

Following introductions, the facilitator lays out categories in idea cards on the ground and explains that they would like to know how aspects of life within the community have changed over the past 20 years:

Thematic Areas	Boys and Men		Girls and Women
	Before	Now	Before	Now

 

The facilitator then walks through key spheres of life to understand changes across gender, also probing into differences across religions, tribes or clans.

In Tanzania, the team identified the following themes and questions for the exercise, though these should be adapted to the study needs and context:

Education

• What are the changes over the past 20 years around education for boys and girls? Why?
  • Probe→ Primary? Secondary? Beyond Secondary? Why? (distance, safety, sanitation)
• And has completion changed?

Marriage and Divorce and Widowhood

• What are the changes in the last 20 years of marriage patterns and arrangements: (ages of boys and girls, brideprice, ceremonies)? How has it changed over time and why?
  • Probe→ What influences bride-price? And inheritance?
• Have the number of polygamous marriages marriages increasing or decreasing and why?
• Have is the average family size in this community? Has it been changing and why?
• What percentage of households live in joint or nuclear arrangements? How has this been changing?
• Have divorce been increasing or decreasing and why?
• Has co-habitation been increasing or decreasing and why?
• What have been the changes over time in the settlements in cases of divorce or abandonment (who involved, entitlements)? Why?
• What is the status of a divorced or abandoned woman? (support from family – nuclear and joint)?
• What is the status of a widowed woman? (support from family – nuclear and joint)?
• Is there any change in social entitlements to divorced, abandoned and widowed women? Is there state support?
• What have been the changes in women inheriting land within their own clan or from their husband? What do men inherit from women if she dies?
• Have there been any changes in inheritance patterns?

Land, Labor and Livelihoods

• Have there been any changes in land ownership by women?
• How have women’s involvement changed in accessing land in terms of borrowing, renting, sharecropping?
• What have been the changes in women’s and men’s contribution to off-farm livelihood activities?
• What have been the changes over the last 20 years in men and women selling agriculture labor? Non-agricultural labor?

Theft, Land-grabbing, Crime and violence

• In the last 20 years, what have been the changes in terms of theft and crime? (what kind of theft or crime)? Do these changes affect women and men differently? Why?
• Have there been changes over the past 20 years in violence in general? How do these changes affect women and men differently? Why?

Mobility

• What have been the changes in girls’ and women’s ability to move about freely to markets, to meet friends, to visit relatives, to the mills over the past 20 years? Why?

Family Planning and Access to Health Services

• What have been the changes over the last 20 years in access to health services and why?
• Is HIV/AIDs here? Since when has it been happening? Can you be tested here for HIV/AIDS?
• What have been the changes in access to family planning services for men and women and why?
• What have been the changes in the last 20 years in traditional healing practices? Why?