George Pius

01/April/2017
EG 3004

Written Task Part 1

Gender Demands for Energy Services

There are two primary objectives to the article by Tanja Winther. The first was to
demonstrate the influence of gender roles and power during the process of electrifying the Uroa
village. Winther indicates that the project did empower women but did not take a gender sensitive
approach. In this context, it meant that although women benefited from the project it was the needs
of men that got priority. Winther confirms this through a layout of the village that shows which
areas are electrified and which are not. Two key areas that are not electrified were the local mill and
kindergarten. Women did not usually hold positions where they could voice their opinions during a
time of making decisions. Consequently, two significant institutions were not electrified due to the
absence of women. A gender sensitive approach which considered how the policy would be affected
by gender roles and hierarchy would have been productive.

The second objective of the article was to demonstrate how gender affects how appliances
are used and the negotiating power each gender holds when it comes to making a purchase.
Winther compares the situations in Zanzibar with Sweden. With her case study of Zanzibar, most of
the electronic appliances are male appliances. This is mainly because men are paid more and can
afford electronic appliances. Even if a woman can afford an appliance with her wages, there are
other hindering factors. One such reason is the high rate of divorces. When a woman buys divorces
her husband, it is acceptable for her to take all her belongings back. However, the house is
considered as property of the man and so in turn so are important appliances within the house.
Therefore, in practice it is difficult for a woman to retrieve her belongings.

An interesting point that Winther discusses is how the use of certain appliances can change
gender roles and overall social decorum. For example, viewing time on the T.V helps break many
gender constructs and modernizes interactions (for example, the host woman sits with the man
instead of with the other women etc.). However, the situation reverts to its original state once
viewing is over.

Although some appliances fit into a defined gender realm, some dont. Winther presents the
example of how an electric stove is one such appliance in Zanzibar. It is considered an appliance in-
between because it affects the responsibilities of the man and woman. It affected men because
they preferred the savings and flavour of a wood stove while the women found the electric stove to
be much faster and more convenient for cooking. Hence this is where negotiation comes into play. In
Zanzibar men have more power in this aspect because they pay the electricity bills and must bear
the electricity costs. However, more recently Winther has found that in some cases women agree to
sharing the electricity bill as a compromise (this is known only within the household as it goes
against the gender role of the man having to provide for his family). Winther also compares the
negotiation process in Sweden. In this context, she explains how there are still gender specific
responsibilities within a household. Hence certain appliances fall under overlapping areas. The
example provided was a wood pellet stove. It is a heating appliance therefore it is usually the mans
responsibility; however, it influences the aesthetics of the house and so it is also the womans
responsibility. Winther explains how a compromise must be reached and what are the different
driving factors for men and women when making a decision.
 George Pius
01/April/2017
EG 3004
In my opinion, having a gender sensitive approach during the implementation of policies can
be very important, especially depending on the location of where the policy is to be implemented. It
can have adverse effects on the efficacy of the policy; the lack of electricity in the mill and
kindergarten in Uroa is proof of this.

Understanding Increased Energy Consumption and Failed Implementation of

Renewable Energy

When a new a technology is implemented; the socio-cultural context must be considered.

The main objective of the article by Anthony Mehlwana is to demonstrate the relation between the
use of paraffin and the socio-cultural aspects of life in South Africa. For example, Mehlwana explains
how in certain communities in South Africa, gas is believed to kill people in their sleep.
Disinformation such as this prevents the locals from replacing paraffin with a cleaner alternative like
gas; embedding paraffin deeper into everyday life. Furthermore, in most areas in South Africa,
paraffin encourages one to form more social relations within society. For example, if you were to run
out of paraffin or money to buy more, you would simply borrow from your neighbour. Mehlwana
presents a specific case which illustrates this. Lulama from Duncan village befriends her neighbours
when borrowing paraffin and soon start a business with her new friends. On the other hand,
electrification of rural areas would be extremely beneficial but make households more independent
and in turn reduce the number of social interactions. It is evident that new technologies cannot be
integrated seamlessly into society.

The article by Harold Wilhite explores this concept further. The first example he considers is
the integration of refrigerators into society in Kerala. From a logical point of view, one would expect
there to be a positive reaction and an increase in the number of refrigerators used after its
introduction. This was partly true. There was an increase in the number of refrigerators used over
the years but it was significantly less compared to the popularity of other technologies such as air
conditioning and vehicles. This was due to the one of the cultural aspects: Ayurvedic health
traditions encouraged eating only fresh food and that eating reheated food was unhealthy. Once
again it is evident how socio-cultural context dictates how successful the integration of a particular
technology is.

It is evident that the implementation of new technologies can easily increase energy
consumption. Considering the refrigerator example again, before it was integrated into the local
society, dark store rooms were used to store food. It can be expected that with the widespread use
of refrigerators there would be a marked increase in energy consumption. The same applies to
technologies such as motorized vehicles and air conditioning. As new technologies are introduced
and integrated into society, peoples consumption patterns change as well.

From the two articles, it can be concluded that socio-cultural context is a crucial factor when
implementing a new technology; so much so that it could prevent a technology from being used. For
example, both in Kerala and rural South Africa, it can be argued that beliefs of the local people still
hinder the implementation of new technology. However, this changes with younger generations
who adhere to different socio-cultural constructs.