EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN IN AFRICA
Sunday the 8th of March marked the
international women’s day. This a day which is set aside each year to recognize
the contributions of women to the advancement of the world as well as tackling
challenges faced by women across the world. In this piece, I discuss how we can
empower women especially in Africa.
It is quite cliche when writing, commenting or
speaking on women empowerment to refer to the Beijing Declaration of 1995, yet
I believe it is the most conducive standpoint from which to assess the state of
the world’s women. Since that declaration, more attention has been focused on
women issues especially in Africa where traditionally, issues concerning women
are relegated to the background. There is a popular saying that “the way to a
man’s heart is through his belly”, an axiom that makes an allusion to the fact
that we all need food to survive. Women do not just feed us all practically at
home, but it is estimated that women provide 90% of our most survival
need-food. Therefore the advancement of Africa is intricately linked with women
and their potential. They are not just there to cook sumptuous meals for us or
to rock the babies to sleep; neither are they there to do household chores and
nod to every cough of their domineering husbands. In my opinion women are a
colossus of untapped opportunity.
It is conventional wisdom that governments will
always invest in areas that yield the greatest returns for the country as a
whole. The statistics are quite unequivocal in their illustration of the
importance of integrating the interest of women into our economic policies. Yet
the gap between men and women is not being bridged at the rate that was
envisioned by the Beijing declaration. Amongst other things, the declaration
bemoaned the untold hardships suffered by women. I do not believe that the
situation has changed significantly. Most women especially from less endowed
nations grow up with one hope in life; to get married to a responsible man who
will take good care of them. They have no dreams for personal advancement. This
is predictable because the majority of them are illiterate. Even though a lot
of public education has been carried out to bring the attention of parents to
the importance of educating their daughters, many parents are yet to accept it
as a normal thing.
It is reported that women in Africa own less than
1% of the total land mass. This is quite paradoxical because even though women
produce the bulk of our food, they have virtually no right to land in the
community. Beyond just being given equal land opportunities as men, women
should be supported with agricultural inputs and soft loans to expand their
farms
Another really important way of empowering women
is to remove the perennial impediments to their survival. In sub-Saharan
Africa, women unfortunately constitute 60% of people living with HIV/AIDS. The
disease is killing a lot of able-bodied women who could have contributed to the
human resource base of the country. Violence against women because of their
vulnerability has contributed a great deal to the increased incidence of HIV in
women. Unfortunately, when they are infected, there are no support systems and
sometimes even barriers exist for seeking information on HIV. It is very common
to see people stigmatizing women living with HIV as social misfits who are
being punished for their past lifestyle, yet men who in my opinion are
responsible for infecting many women do not take any blame. Tackling the HIV
scourge is a major way of empowering women because it ensures their survival
and also lessens the repercussions of the disease.
General programs will not solve the problems
facing the empowerment of women in Africa; they face peculiar challenges and
they need special attention. We all have to shun the inferior mentality towards
women and see them as equals capable of transforming the fortunes of Africa.
There is no need walking on a tiny rope across a valley when there is a
beautiful bridge to walk leisurely on. Investing in women is investing in
husbands, wives and children. Let us create the opportunities to bring women on
board the developmental agenda of Africa.
Wutor Mahama Baleng
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