Choose To Challenge

“No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens.”- Michelle Obama. International Women’s Day (IWD) 2021 has taken on a different dimension. The international community is currently locked in the struggle associated with the COVID-19 pandemic; as a result most of the attention is on this pandemic. As our communities and nations emerge from the ravaging effects of this pandemic, now is the time to end the exclusion and marginalization of women and girls. However, mere words only will not usher in a culture of gender equality and inclusion for women and girls across the globe. In order to achieve an inclusive society action at the community, national and international level is needed. There must be a conversation with our Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) and government using a bottom up approach to transact and enable real change. Unfortunately, in some societies, particularly Muslim countries women continue to be treated like second class citizens. Disturbingly, women in those societies must receive the approval of male guardianship before they can take any decision whether on travel, education or marriage. In many instances women continue to be paid less than men in the same job offerings; women are discriminated against in the work place. In some areas of work male employers shy away from employing females in child bearing years. This unwritten policy is an open secret and in most societies the legislative framework which is needed to protect women is not in place. One can argue that since women are generally underrepresented in representational politics it comes as no surprise why legislation required to protect women and children are few and far in between. Sadly, the issue of gender-based violence is oftentimes downplayed in societies steeped in patriarchy and male priviledge. According to the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, gender equality is a question of power; but equal power will not happen by itself in a male-dominated world. International Women’s Day is observed each year on March 8th, to celebrate women’s achievement and to raise awareness about women's equality. International Women’s Day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Yet again the world is called upon to come together to celebrate women's achievements and unite for women's equality. Why is unpaid work not considered as valuable in most societies? Women for centuries have worked in the domestic sphere without appreciation or remuneration yet they continue to shoulder this task. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) continues to do tremendous work in women’s right by advocating for income protecting. The UNDP argues that a meaningful monthly investment of 0.07 per cent of developing countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could help 613 million working-aged women living in poverty to absorb the shock of the pandemic. It would also contribute to the economic security and independence that is necessary for women to engage more deeply in the decisions that could change their future. Sustainable Development Goals The United Nations has given its commitment to tackle gender inequality and in so doing empower women and girls. As a result, the United Nations (UN) established the Sustainable Development Goals, goal #5, addresses gender equality. The UN report states the commitment to advancing gender equality has brought about improvements in some areas, but the promise of a world in which every woman and girl enjoy full gender equality and all legal, social and economic barriers to their empowerment remains unfulfilled. The current pandemic is also hitting women and girls hard. Globally, women make up three quarters of medical doctors and nursing personnel. Women already spend three times as many hours as men on unpaid work at home. The closure of school and day-care centers requires parents, women in particular, to care more for children and facilitate their learning at home. Reports from several countries suggest that domestic violence against women and children is also rising during the global lockdown. In 2019, one in five young women 20 to 24 years of age throughout the world was married in childhood, down from one in four in 2004 and with the highest figure in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than one in three young women. At least 200 million girls and women have been subjected to female genital mutilation, according to recent data from the 31 countries where the practice is concentrated. The harmful practice is becoming less common, but progress is not fast enough to meet the global target of its elimination by 2030. As at 1 January 2020, representation by women in single or lower houses of national parliament reached 24.9 per cent, up slightly from 22.3 per cent in 2015. Women have better access to decision-making positions at the local level, holding 36 per cent of elected seats in local deliberative bodies, based on data from 133 countries and areas. In 2019, 28 per cent of managerial positions in the world were occupied by women, a small increase from 25 per cent in 2000, while women represented 39 per cent of the world’s workers and half of the world’s working-age population. Based on data from 57 countries for the period 2007–2018, only 55 per cent of married or in-union women 15 to 49 years of age made their own decisions regarding sexual and reproductive health and rights, ranging from less than 40 per cent in Central and Western Africa to nearly 80 per cent in some countries in Europe, South-Eastern Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2019, in the 75 countries with data, on average, 73 per cent of the laws and regulations needed to guarantee full and equal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights were in place. The findings are particularly encouraging with regard to HIV: on average, countries achieved 87 per cent of enabling laws and regulations for HIV counselling and test services, 91 per cent for HIV treatment and care services and 96 per cent for HIV confidentiality. Empowering women with mobile telephones has been shown to accelerate social and economic development. However, in the 66 countries with data for the 2016–2018 period, the rate of mobile telephone ownership among men was on average 6.8 percentage points higher than the rate among women. The Way Forward In spite of the structural inequalities targeting women, women continue to spearhead various campaigns aimed at bringing about social change not only for the current generation of women but for generations to come. The International Women’s Day campaign theme for 2021 is #ChooseToChallenge. We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world. On this International Women’s Day the society must make the collective effort to interrogate and break down the deep-seated historic, cultural, and socio-economic barriers that prevent women from taking their seat at the decision-making table to ensure that resources are more equitably distributed. The narrative has been repeated time and time over and yet not much has been done. Now is the time for action. In the words of Kamala Harris, "There will be a resistance to your ambition, there will be people who say to you, 'you are out of your lane. They are burdened by only having the capacity to see what has always been instead of what can be. But don't you let that burden you." Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo #IWD ©