Page 23 - Economic transformation

remarkable differences in terms of their likely education attainment levels, their personal

economic conditions and their views on the most important problems confronting the

country.

Furthermore, while women living in urban areas have a higher likelihood of

having some university education, their counterparts in rural areas are more likely to

have no formal education. Table 1 also shows that women living in rural areas are more

likely to find themselves in worse-off personal economic conditions than their urban

counterparts characterised by never having water and going several times without

cooking fuel, food, medical care and cash income. Their counterparts in urban areas on

the other hand are more likely to never go without medical care, water and food. At the

same time, urban female youth are more likely to not have cash income once or twice and

8
to not have cooking fuel “sometimes ”.
Additionally, the two groups (Rural women vs Urban women) also have differing

perceptions on what the most important problems they face . While female respondents
9
living in urban areas are more likely to consider, unemployment as the most important

problem facing the country; their counterparts in rural areas are more likely to perceive

water supply, famine and women’s rights as the most important problems.

Using the economic analysis at the beginning of the chapter, a focus on gender and

rural areas would serve to enhance productivity while contributing (depending on

output) to a taming of inflation and economic stability while expanding the government’s

tax base.

8 In contrast to always not having.
9 This is most likely due to their differing personal economic conditions.
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