When women in Rural Sindh are pregnant, they pray for a son. When a woman’s livestock is pregnant, they pray for a daughter. Women farmers in villages across Sindh are inadvertently aware that gender plays an integral role in socio-economic mobility when it comes to humans and livestock. Yet despite the role they play, their work often goes unacknowledged and unrewarded. According to the United Nations’s Food and Agricultural Organisation report, women play a bigger role than men in crop production, livestock and dairy. Meanwhile, they are also chiefly responsible for home-making and child-rearing.

More than 70 percent of rural women in Sindh are involved in livestock management on a regular basis along with their other daily routine tasks. 81 percent clean animal sheds, 70 percent water animals, 67 percent milk them, 77 percent process milk to extract oil, 82 percent keep poultry, 88 percent are responsible for the grazing of animals and 73 percent for feeding animals.

When 50 year old Jhanki said that she wishes her pregnant daughter-in-law, Meera, will have a son but her pregnant goat, Kajal, will have a daughter, she is thinking in economic terms.

The idea that a daughter is not an economic asset is only due to social stigma, however, since in reality she will indeed be a productive member of the family and society. In contrast, a female goat’s reproductive power is a surefire way to multiply assets.

Jhanki, a mother of 11, understands the livestock business well. A member of the Hindu caste, Abro in District Matiari, her family has kept animals for the last four generations. She strives to provide for them both by working with her landlords livestock, and by rearing her own.

She was able to buy her own goat through the European Union-funded SUCCESS programme that was initiated three years ago in rural Sindh. The comprehensive programme seeks to alleviate poverty by empowering women economically, as well as giving them more say in the home and community.

On intervention of this programme are especially geared towards economic empowerment are the Community Investment Funds (CIF).

Through the CIFs – revolving loans – SUCCESS aims to increase targeted household incomes by 30%.

The loans are supplemented by enhancing their financial, technical and management capacities.

Jhanki and Meera have both availed of a CIF loan, knowing that a female goat can give birth every six months. Only members of community organisations can raise, allocate and avail of this fund. Jhanki is an active community organisation member who confessed that being part of the programme has given her more than just a loan. Through this she has become more politically involved and has developed the confidence to deal with matters with the community landlord.

“Our landlord knows that our main source of income is their livestock and since we are a Hindu minority, we have few options and remain loyal.

We mostly have an amicable relationship, but we also fear them as my sons and husband have been jailed by the landlord too,” shared Jhanki.

She added that now that she feels more security and supports from the community organisation and the Community Investment Fund, she deals more directly with the landlord and is vocal about community issues.

Meera used her CIF loan to buy a fruit and vegetable cart with her husband.

As part of the programme, she is doing enterprise development and though her husband is directly overseeing the cart, she has developed some accountancy skills which she uses to help with the business.

The fruit stall brings in a daily profit of PKR 500 and has made Meera feel more ownership and given her more decision making power in the family.

“I feel that the SUCCESS programme and investment have really helped our household but I also fear for the future as I have many children already,” shared Meera. Meera, like her mother in law, is also hoping for a son because this means moving from underneath the thumb of the landlords more as she would like her children to do some other business instead of the family livestock business with the landlords.