Gender equality critical to development

Lazarus Sauti

Former United Nations’ Secretary General Kofi Annan once said, “Gender equality is critical to the development and peace of every nation.” He was 100 percent right.

This is so because gender equality is a basic human right that entails equal opportunities for men and women in all facets of life, be it political, social, economical and developmental.

It is a fundamental condition for the full enjoyment of human rights by women and men and is critical for the development of the African continent.

Sadly, incidents of gender based violence have been on the increase recently in countries within and across the African continent.

This evil has been so rampant and has since caused so much unrest in most if not all African societies.

To unravel this animal, gender-based violence is caused by unequal situations varying significantly by region, country, culture, society and community among other factors. In most instances, women and children are victims.

There are various conditions where women are disadvantaged. These diverse situations range from access to employment opportunities, education, political representation or any other key decision making positions.

In most African societies, the origins of discrimination can be traced to factors such as religious and cultural beliefs, traditions and political interests.

These cases mostly result in the unequal and biased treatment of women, thus creating exploited communities. Sadly, women’s classification according to their race, sexual orientation, disabilities and economic status triggers more and more unfair actions in societies.

To embrace gender equality, participation and decision-making roles of women are critical to sustainable development processes and governance at local, national and international levels, where they can be effective agents of change.

This means equal access to resources, identical access to education, training and capacity development hold the key to the empowerment and improved livelihoods of women and girls.

African governments have roles to play in ensuring gender mainstreaming. They should ensure that women and girls have equal opportunities to resources and equal opportunities in education and training, in particular in areas such as science and technology where they lag behind men and boys.

This would allow women to play a stronger role in research and development and to contribute immensely to the development of the African continent.

Furthermore, measures need to be taken to ensure that women participate fully in the discourse on economic development and social progress.

It is the mandate of African governments to speed up efforts to press forward gender equality. They should do this b accelerating efforts to advance equality and promote women’s advancement.

To achieve more, articulate gender issues and preach the gospel of gender equality, political leaders and stakeholders in the education and gender sectors should design teaching materials so as to eradicate all forms of gender discrimination.

Political leaders should also implement gender policies so as to address challenges posed on women and men. Since they are opinion leaders, political leaders should speak on support of gender equality to influence public opinion.

Leaders should institute laws that promote gender equality and at the same time mainstreaming gender issues in society and ensuring women’s rights.

Importantly, political and community leaders should identify gaps and renew commitments to action in gender-responsive sustainable development processes, institutional frameworks and finance mechanisms and to women’s participation in decision-making at all levels.

Koffi Annan also puts it right when he said: “Gender equality is more than a goal in itself.

It is a pre-condition for meeting the challenges of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.”

Therefore, the African continent should embrace gender equality to ensure that all strategies and programmes contribute to reducing gender gaps that impede development and progress.