WOMEN IN AFRICA
Apr 27th, 2007 by kendi
Educate a girl, you educate a nation, the role of women cannot be overlooked. The story has been the same since the beginning of time. Over the years; the role of women, especially the African woman is still undergoing a metamorphosis. This is why, a fundamental change must be brought about to enable for optimal contribution to national and global development. High lightning this important role of women to nation building should not be undermined, as the only recourse is to address the issue by drawing significant attention to it.
2005 marked the tenth year anniversary of the fourth world conference of women held in Beijing in 1995. It also marked the thirtieth anniversary of the first world conference on women held in Mexico in 1975. It is imperative to know that the first world conference established the importance of gender equality- development- peace, which is a guide today. Also in 1995 at the fourth world conference on women in Beijing, 189 countries unanimously adopted the Beijing declaration and platform for action which emphasized the integration of women as full and equal partners in decision making process.
This in effect ought to place women in a position of empowerment that will go a long way in establishing productive institutions.
Empowerment as the word entails involves women collectively and individually developing awareness of the existing structures affecting their lives.
Cultivating, this awareness can only be achieved through proper education resulting in self-confidence. And a self-confident woman is always able to hold ground for her family. Enabling her as a woman to break out of the numerous boundaries that restrict her. These walls or boundaries only create obstacles for rapid growth and development.
There is need to look back and see how far women have come, and if the necessary change has been made over the years.
Women who tend to overcome this stereotype are sometimes seen as wanting to wear the trousers at home, which is viewed as a disadvantage rather than a plus for the home and the society at large. Years back, the place of the woman in Africa was solely the home. Today it’s the exact antithesis. As a result many parents refused to send their female children to school. It was generally assumed that women would eventually marry and become the property of the men they married; they were therefore considered poor investment.
As such early marriage that is a form of abuse against the girl child is still practiced in very many parts of Africa. Not only are young girls married off at an early age but also often times trafficked into slavery. This economic exploitation of women hampers the development of a society.
Also, women and their children are sometimes put in precarious economic situations when their husbands die or they divorce because in most cases they have no claim to their husband’s properties, assets or entitlements. If women do not know their rights, they lose out on a vital role in accelerating their involvement in economic and national development.
Another, point of focus, is the high maternal mortality rate in developing countries; women in sub-Saharan Africa have a 1- in-15 chance of dying from pregnancy related causes. Every year, half a million women die from the preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth and another 18 million are left disabled or chronically ill. Because sexual and reproductive health still remains poor in developing countries. To erase this, there should be a priority in creating a proper obstetric care. Women in rural areas should be provided with Necessary drugs and equipments and taught safe and hygienic techniques related to childbearing.
A fundamental shift in policies will effectively carve a niche for the African woman. In addition, all available resources should be mobilized to ensure that programmes and policies are implemented. Implementation of these Mass literacy programmes at the grass root level, will consciously open the African woman to responsibilities and opportunities.
The focal point is actualising the various programmes and identifying the existing barriers to the participation of rural women to nation building.