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Tomorrow is International Women’s Day. This year’s focus is on a gender-balanced world, celebrating women’s achievements and taking action against inequality. All have been brought into sharper relief by the #metoo movement, the social media campaign that’s seen millions of women come forward to talk about being victims of sexual harassment or assault.
The strength of the movement has been most marked in developed countries. In developing countries the campaign for women’s rights, and against pervasive inequalities, has taken on different forms. As Amanda Gouws explains, the fact that African women haven’t been prominent in the global movement shouldn’t obscure the fact that they’ve been engaged in powerful campaigns on the continent.
Taking note of where women stand when it comes to economic power has been the focus of a number of recently published articles. Laura Alfers Adequate explains why quality childcare is critical for women’s participation in the labour force while Agnes Andersson Djurfeldt writes that genuinely empowering women and girls in agriculture requires going beyond land redistribution. Women also need to be heard within households and communities.
Life is tough for the largely female workforce that help produce 100,000 tons of flowers exported by Kenya every year. Lara Bianchi says that concerted efforts are needed to help the women get a better deal. In Nigeria, education lies at the centre of empowering women entrepreneurs. Tolu Olarewaju explains why.
Another major area of debate has been around women’s rights. In South Africa, violence against women has reached endemic proportions. Amanda Gouws explains why the country urgently needs to take action. And, as Daniel Moshenberg writes, death has a gender bias in urban disasters like landfill collapses in Addis Ababa and Maputo where women are usually more likely to die.
In West Africa, as Wisdom Mensah sets out, slavery is still holding strong. Young girls are sent to live at religious shrines to make amends for wrongs committed by a family member. In Uganda, the rights of women are being championed in the face of a campaign to use women’s body’s to attract tourists. Brenda Boonabaana and Amos Ochieng explain why this is such an offensive idea.
Women’s access to proper healthcare remains a major area of concern. As Estelle Monique Sidze says, the consequences of women not being given access to save safe abortions in Kenya have dire consequences - for women and for the country. But, as Kathryn Dovel, Morna Cornell, Sara Yeatman and Stephanie Chamberlin explain, an over-emphasis on women’s health may put both women and men at a disadvantage.
The big question is: what steps should be taken to empower women? One answer is to increase the number of women teachers in schools. As Jieun Lee suggests, female teachers act as role models for young girls and can have an impact on their learning outcomes. Another example of women being empowered is explained by Maria Martin de Almagro who found that, despite deep sexism in the society, women in the Democratic Republic of Congo are innovative activists and powerful advocates of political change.
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