Can Conditional Cash Transfers Be Gender-Transformative? An Assessment of the Flourishing Outcomes Among Women 'Beneficiaries' of Nigeria's Household Uplifting Programme (HUP)

Abstract

Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) are social assistance programs that are widely used to address the prevalence of poverty and vulnerability. By design, women play a central role in the implementation of these programs because women are selected as the primary recipients of the cash transfers, entrusted with managing the cash for their households in line with the programs' objectives, and expected to meet the conditions attached to the cash which are usually focused on development outcomes for children. While the development impacts of CCTs have been extensively evaluated, women’s needs and experiences with the programs beyond their role as mothers, have been sidelined. The growing body of knowledge on the gender dimension of CCTs has debated the ‘empowerment’ effect of the programs but the evidence is divided, and women’s perceptions of wellbeing resulting from CCTs require more careful investigation and documentation. This dissertation examines women’s perceptions - and perceived outcomes - of the Household Uplifting Program (HUP), Nigeria’s main CCT program. Using critical feminist theory and a feminist flourishing lens, this study assesses the gender transformative capacity of the program’s design and delivery, as well as its impact on the practical and strategic interests of women beneficiaries of the program. The dissertation employs key informant interviews, in-depth semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and document analysis to understand if and how the program tackles the various gender-specific vulnerabilities that women face. Nigerian women’s voices are prioritized in capturing the processes, complexities, achievements, and contradictions in the operationalization of this CCT program. The findings presented in this dissertation document the strengths and opportunities presented by CCTs as well as the limitations of these programs in relation to challenging gender inequality arising from the gender norms and stereotypes upon which the programs rely.