Women’s Empowerment for Sustainability in Africa 1527507688, 9781527507685

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Women’s Empowerment for Sustainability in Africa

Women’s Empowerment for Sustainability in Africa Edited by

Robert Dibie

Women’s Empowerment for Sustainability in Africa Edited by Robert Dibie This book first published 2018 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2018 by Robert Dibie and contributors All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-5275-0768-8 ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-0768-5

This book is dedicated to my daughter Kome Ajiroghene Dibie, wife Dr. Josephine Okeowo Dibie and my late Mother Sarah Eloh Dibie

     

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures ............................................................................................. x List of Tables .............................................................................................. xi Preface....................................................................................................... xii Acknowledgements- .................................................................................. xiv About the Editor ....................................................................................... xvi List of Acronyms ..................................................................................... xviii Chapter One ................................................................................................. 1 Introduction: Overview of Women’s Issues in Africa Robert Dibie Chapter Two ............................................................................................. 48 Feminist Theories and Concepts Robert Dibie Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 81 Gender Equality and Sustainable Development in Burkina Faso Mariam Konaté and Fredah Mainah Chapter Four ............................................................................................ 102 Government, NGOs Performance and Women Empowerment in Nigeria Robert Dibie, Justina Sam-Okere, and Josephine Dibie Chapter Five ............................................................................................ 142 Women Empowerment and Development in Mali Federica De Sisto and Mariam Konaté Chapter Six .............................................................................................. 162 Women and Capacity Building in Zimbabwe Saliwe M, Kawewe, and Robert Dibie

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Table of Contents

Chapter Seven.......................................................................................... 199 Women’s Empowerment and Sustainable Development in Kenya Fredah Mainah, and Mariam Konaté, Chapter Eight ........................................................................................... 220 Women Empowerment in Rwanda Robert Dibie, and Maryam O. Quadri Chapter Nine............................................................................................ 248 Women and Capacity Building in Ghana Leonard Gadzekpo Chapter Ten ............................................................................................. 275 Socio-economic Empowerment of Women in Congo Josephine Dawuni Chapter Eleven ........................................................................................ 303 Women Empowerment and Development in South Sudan Desmond Brown and Robert Dibie Chapter Twelve ....................................................................................... 328 Women and Sustainable Development in Tanzania Ligaya Lindio McGovern and Robert Dibie Chapter Thirteen ...................................................................................... 351 Women Empowerment for Sustainability in South Africa Reuben Sebenzile, Masango and Lyn and Snodgrass Chapter Fourteen ..................................................................................... 375 Women Empowerment in Ethiopia Robert Dibie and Helen Tsegaye Chapter Fifteen ........................................................................................ 404 Analysis of Women Empowerment in Africa Robert Dibie and Josephine Dibie Chapter Sixteen ....................................................................................... 437 Women Empowerment and Sustainability Solutions Robert Dibie

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List of Contributors ................................................................................. 469 Index ........................................................................................................ 475

LIST OF FIGURES

1-1Dimension of Primary Group and Diversity .......................................... 9 1-2Secondary Dimension of Group Culture and Diversity ......................... 9 1-3Capacity Building Model ..................................................................... 10 2-1 Socio-economic Policies for Women Empowerment .......................... 34 4-1 Dimension of Factors that support and sustain a Pro-Diversity Culture ........................................................................ 55 4-2 Map of Nigeria ..................................................................................... 56 15-1 Reflection of Women and Men Capacity Building Impact ............. 223 15-2 Gender Literacy Gap in Some African Countries ........................... 228 15-3 Comparing Men and Women in Labor Force.................................. 229 15-4 Comparing Men and Women in Presidential Positions in Africa.... 229 16-1 Theory of Change for Gender Empowerment ................................. 242

LIST OF TABLES

1-1Hierarchy, Beliefs and Structure in Africa ............................................. 5 1-2Feminine and Masculine Stereotypes of Gender Characteristics ........... 5 4-1 Age Distribution of the Respondents ................................................... 58 4-2 Geopolitical Zones of the Respondents................................................ 58 4-3 Beneficiaries Rating of Types of NGOs that Best Meet their Needs ........................................................................................... 59 4-4 Group Affiliation of the Respondents .................................................. 59 4-5 Types of Benefits Derived From the Services of NGOs and Government ......................................................................................... 60 4-6 Correlation Analysis of the NGOs Services and Women Empowerment.................................................................. 61 4-7 Correlation Analysis of Women Empowerment Programs and Sustainable Development..................................................................... 62 4-8 Sample of Focus Group Questions and Responses Rate ...................... 65 4-9 Summary of Focus Group Respondents Statements ............................ 66 6-1 Zimbabwe’s GDI Compared to Selected African Countries ................ 86 7-1 Distribution of Employed Persons Aged 15-64 year Old by Industry and Gender ...................................................................... 106 8-1 Rwanda’s GDI Compared to Selected African Countries .................. 120 10-1 Gender Component of Job Quality Policy in Democratic Republic of Congo ............................................................................. 143 11-1 Barriers to Women’s Economic Activities in South Sudan............. 156 11-2 Existing Cottage and Small-Scale Industries in South Sudan ......... 158 11-3 Training Methodology for Women’s Skills in South Sudan ........... 159 11-4 Pre and Post Hospitality Skill levels ............................................... 160 14-1 Ethiopia’s Gender Inequality Index for 2013 Compared to Selected African Nations ............................................................... 191 14-2 Ethiopia’s Gender Index in Education, Life Expectancy and GNI ............................................................................................. 191 14-3 Selected Gender Indicators for Ethiopia- ........................................ 192 15-1 Gender Inequality Distribution by Employment and Education in Africa 2013 ............................................................ 227 15-2 Women in Political and Elected Positions in Africa 2012-2013 ..... 230 15-3 Number of Statements Made by Focus Group Respondents ........... 231 16-1 Policies for Women Empowerment in Africa ................................. 244

PREFACE

This book attempts to take the conceptualization of the relationship between gender policies, capacity-building and sustainable development in African countries to a new level. It provides a number of case studies of the relationships between gender and economic development around the African continent, highlighting different processes and practices. Thereby the authors seek to understand the impact of weak gender policies, and the ability to adequately develop female capacity building that could lead to wide-spread economic growth in Africa. Chapters take an open, explorative approach to the relationship between gender and sustainable development with the aid of case studies focusing on weak policies, culture and religion. Sub-Saharan Africa is struggling with severe and recurring economic, political and social crises, including discrimination and violence against women, food insecurity and civil war. These predicaments have galvanized most parts of the African continent into humanitarian disasters. Making such a statement is not indicative of a state of Afro-pessimism. This book deals with different aspects of gender discrimination and gender empowerment policies, as well as their impact on economic development and capacity-building in several African countries. The findings presented in this book will be very useful to policy makers, public administrators, public policy analysis, readers, researchers, graduate and undergraduate studies in gender studies, sociology, social work, nonprofit, history economic development and public policy disciplines. This book is about gender equality and women’s empowerment for sustainability in Africa. It argues that women empowerment should not be seem only as a human rights entitlement, but also as a pathway to achieving sustainable development goals in the African continent. With the wide variety of cases this book is able to provide conceptual insights to better understand how African countries have not been able to effectively integrate gender equality and women’s empowerment policies in order to stimulate poverty reduction, democratic governance, crisis prevention and recovery, and sustainable development. It reviews the extensive literature on capacity building strategies and gender policies, as well as examines the implication of sustainable development of countries in the African continent. This book uses primary and secondary data to

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present the argument that without the full input of women, sustainable development will not be achieved. It analyzes social institutions in Africa as mirrored by societal practices and legal norms, as well as instruments that produce inequalities between women and men in the continent. It also give specific attention to the roles of various actors directly and indirectly involved in gender policy making and implementation. The chapters present a wide range of new dimensions and variables that are not considered by other books on gender. Robert Dibie, Ph.D.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my appreciation to many individuals who directly or indirectly played a role in the development of this book. First, I wish to thank Victoria Carruthers and many people at Cambridge Scholars Publishing, who has strongly supported this project and provided exemplary leadership throughout the revision process. Collectively, they are an extraordinary team that demonstrated very high standards of excellence in their work. I am also grateful to Professor Ligaya McGovern, Dr. Mariam Konaté, and Professor Felix Edoho who took time to review early draft of my work and provided helpful suggestions for improving the book. Their comments undoubtedly made the book better. My heartfelt thanks to all the scholars that contributed chapters or co-authored chapter with me: Professor Sebenzile. Masango, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University South Africa; Dr. Josephine Dibie, Indiana University Kokomo; Dr. Mariam Konaté, Western Michigan University; Dr. Leonard Gadzekpo; Southern Illinois University Carbondale; Professor Lyn. Snodgrass Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University South Africa; Professor Ligaya McGovern, Indiana University Kokomo; Dr. Maryam Quadri, University of Lagos; Dr. Fredah Mainah, Western Michigan University; Dr. Federica De Sisto, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; Dr. Justina Sam Okere, Babcook University Nigeria; Professor Saliwe Kawewe, Southern Illinois University Carbondale; Dr. Josephine Dawuni Howard University; Dr. Desmond Brown University of Kentucky; and Dr. Helen Tsegaye University of South Africa Pretoria. I wish to thank my colleagues and graduate students at Indiana University Kokomo, Babcock University, Nigeria, The University of the West Indies and Central Michigan University for their continued encouragement and interest in women empowerment policies and sustainable development issues. A special acknowledgement goes to Professor Felix Edoho, Lincoln University Jefferson City, Professor Ligaya McGovern, Indiana University Kokomo and Professor Ayandiji Daneil Aina, Caleb University, Nigeria, for their exceptional support throughout this project. Their insights and contribution have added considerably to the quality of this book. I also want to acknowledge the gender studies scholars whose research and analysis provide the foundation of this book. Their

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continuing efforts make me optimistic about continued progress in the study and practice of equality among women and men. Each author is responsible for the contents of his/her contribution. As the editor, I have taken care not to distort the content or meaning of each contribution. I however regret any errors or mistakes herein, as they are unintended. The views expressed in this publication remain those of the contributors and they do not necessarily represent the viewpoint or endorsement of the editor. Finally, I am especially thankful for the efforts of my wife and best friend Dr. Josephine Dibie for her time, energy, commitment, and contribution to the quality and success of this book. Josephine and I have worked together in one capacity or another for twenty-two years, always around African gender issues and this volume represent the most recent culmination of that collaboration.

 

    

ABOUT THE EDITOR

Robert Dibie, Ph.D. is a Professor of Public Policy, Public Management and Environmental Studies at Indiana University Kokomo’s Department of Public Administration and Health Management. He has been dean and senior higher education administrator for many years. Previously, Professor Dibie served as the director of graduate programs in public administration at Western Kentucky University. He is a recipient of the prestigious Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship award. A prolific and insightful researcher and writer, Professor Dibie has published ten books and more than 120 peer-reviewed journal articles in the area of environmental policy, civil society, public management, sustainable development, public policy, NGOs, women empowerment and ethics. latest books includes: Business and Government Relations in Africa by Routledge Press; Comparative Perspectives on Environmental Policy and Issues by Routledge Press; Public Administration: Analysis, Theories and Application by Babcook University Press; Comparative Perspectives on Civil Society by Lexington Press; Public Management and Sustainable Development in Nigeria by Ashgate; Nongovernmental Organizations and Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa by Lexington Press, His recent research articles have appeared in the International Journal of Public Administration; Journal of African Policy Studies, Journal of Developing Societies, Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare; Journal of Social Justice, Journal of African and Asian Studies; Politics Administration and Change Journal, Journal of International Politics and Development, Journal of African Business and so on. He has presented more than 124 academic papers in national and international conferences, focusing on issues of sustainable development, public management, public policy, women empowerment, environmental policies, development administration, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). As a nationally recognized leader in higher education, Professor Dibie has presented many seminars, workshops and lectures in the areas of Higher Education Leadership, Public Policy, Environmental Policy, Gender Empowerment and Sustainable Development in a number of universities around the world. Professor Dibie has also developed continuing education materials and taught professional development courses (Executive Leadership, Program Evaluation, and Ethics) for various professional organizations, including Banks, City and County Governments, Nonprofit

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institutions, NGOs, and some National Governments’ Departments in the United States and abroad. He has also consulted for several NGOs and universities in the United States, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean Islands. Dibie is committed to the pursuit of knowledge, wisdom, discovery and creativity. He is a proven student-centered educator and has fostered personal and intellectual growth to prepare students for productive careers, meaningful lives and responsible citizenship in a global society. Professor Dibie has also supervised more than 60 doctoral and masters’ degree dissertation on Public Management, Public Policy, Environmental Policy, Nongovernmental Organizations, Economic Development Policy, Sustainable Development, Women Empowerment, Business Administration, Environmental Health and Safety, and Political Science.

     

LIST OF ACRONYMS

AA ADB ADF ADTA AGM AKST APEC AMPRONAC ANC AWU AQL BA BAU BBC BCI BMZ BSI CAP CASCR DAC CBP CIDA COSS DFID DMC DPO EC EOI FMC FORD GAD GAM GAP GBS

Absolute Advantage African Development Bank African Development Fund Advisory Technical Assistance Acquired Group Memberships Agricultural knowledge, science and technology Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation Association of Women Confronting the National Problem African National Congress Abeokuta Women’s Union Acceptable Quality Level Bureaucratic Authoritarian Business-as-usual British Broadcasting Corporation Better Cotton Initiative Federal Ministry for Economic Better Sugar Initiative Country Assistance Plan Country Assistance Strategy Completion Report Development Assistance Committee Country Briefing Paper Canadian International Development Agency Country Operational Strategy Study Department for International Development (UK) Developing member country Development Policy Operation European Community Export Orientated Industrialization Federation of Cuban Women Federation for the Restoration of Democracy Gender and Development Mutual Support Group Gender Action Plan General Budgetary Support

Women’s Empowerment for Sustainability in Africa

GE HIV/AIDS ICR ILO IOM KANU LDC LLDC LMWA MDG M&E NGO NIBR NAID OECD OESD OPEV OMA OMM OPEC PBL PRBS PREM PRS PRSP RBM RGC SDA SDC SEWA SDO SIDA SNM SOCD SOW SSWA

Gender Equality Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Implementation Completion Report International Labor Organization International Organization for Migration Kenyan African National Union Less Developed Countries Least Developed Countries Lagos Market Women’s Association Millennium Development Goals Monitoring and Evaluation Non-Governmental Organization Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research Norwegian Agency for International Cooperation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Office of Environment and Social Development Operations Evaluation Department Organization of Angolan Women Organization of Mozambican Women Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Policy-based Lending Poverty Reduction Budget Support Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network (World Bank) Poverty Reduction Strategy Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper Results-based Management Regional Gender Coordinator (World Bank) Social Development Advisor (DFID) Swiss Development Cooperation Self Employed Women’s Association Strategic Development Objective Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency National Secretariat for Women Social Development Division Subordination of Women Secretary of State for Women’s Affairs

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SWA SWAP UNDP UN ECOSOC UNHABITAT UNICEF USAID WFP WHO WID WIN WIZER WSDL

List of Acronyms

Sector-Wide Approach South West Africa People’s Organization United Nations Development Programme United Nations Economic and Social Council United Nations Human Settlements Program United Nations Children’s Fund United States Agency for International Development World Food Program World Health Organization Women in Development Women in Nigeria Women in Zambia for Equality and Representation Women Self Defense League

CHAPTER ONE OVERVIEW OF GENDER ISSUES IN AFRICA ROBERT DIBIE

Introduction Global changes have not affected all women in the same way. According to Kavane (2014) development has, in some cases, helped to widen the economic and social gap between women and men. At the same time, old values are often challenged by new ones and continue to influence relations between women and men (Falola & Amponsah 2012; Payne and Nassar 2006). A review of the history of developed and developing countries reveals that women were in many ways not treated equally to men. It was reported that women perform 66 per cent of the world’s work, and produce 50 per cent of the food, yet they earn only 10 per cent of the income and own one per cent of the property (OECD, 2010). In addition, women are not allowed to own property in some African countries. They also do not have a share in the property of their parents, nor do they have voting rights. Further, women do not have the freedom to choose their work or job, and so on (Bose and Kim 2009; McGovern & Wallimann, 2012; Sadiqi and Moha 2010; Ngunjiri 2011; Burn 2005). Some parts of the world tend to have come out of those dark days of oppression of women. However, there is a need for a strong movement to fight for the rights of women and to ensure that they get all the rights which men have, or in other words, a movement for the empowerment of women. Women’s rights on the African continent are important indicators to understanding global well-being. Although a major global women’s rights treaty was ratified by the majority of the countries in Africa, as well as across the world, a few decades ago, numerous gender issues continue to exist in all areas of African women’s lives. These issues range from inadequate female capacity building and empowerment to lack of access to cultural, political and economic leadership positions. The African continent cannot boast of more than a dozen success stories in

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empowering women (Dibie and Dibie, 2012). For example, women often work more than men, yet are paid less (UN Human Development Index, 2013). Gender discrimination affects girls and women throughout their lifetime; and they are often the ones who suffer the most poverty in subSaharan Africa (Falola & Amponsah 2012; Schirch, 2012; Muja 2007; Smee and Woodroffe 2013). Despite this predicament, several people outside the African continent often think that women’s rights are only an issue in some countries in sub-Saharan Africa where religion is law, such as where Sharia law is practiced (Falola & Amponsah 2012; Osirim et al. 2009; Adomako-Ampofo et al. 2009; Ako-Nai, 2013). As a result, the interaction of law with culture and religion is another key factor shaping women’s empowerment in the African continent. The United Nations Women Treaty (2013) report reveals that an increasing number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa are contemplating whether they should enact or effectively implement the treaty within their nation. Women’s empowerment and equality also furthers the cause of child survival and sustainable development for every person in society. As a result, the importance of women’s rights and gender equality should not be underestimated, as is currently the case in Africa. In Africa, women’s roles and relationships vary across time and societies, but throughout recorded history the female has commonly occupied subordinate status. At the same time also, in many African societies, ethnic groups have been stratified on the basis of gender, with men claiming more property, prestige, and power than their women counterparts (Green 1999; Sam- Okere, 2013). As a physical and biological trait, gender is like race: it is highly visible and can be a convenient and obvious way of judging and sorting people (Bose and Kim 2009; Kourany et al. 1999). It is common for African societies to separate adult work roles by gender, and to socialize boys and girls differently in preparation for their adult roles. In rural communities, for example, boys are trained to be hunters, builders and blacksmiths, while girls learn the skills necessary to successfully enhance the harvest of vegetables, fruit, and other foodstuffs. Girls are also taught how to take care of the home (Ako-Nia 2013; Dibie and Offiong 2009; Healry 1998). According to Falola & Amponsah (2012), Osirim et al. (2009), and Green (1999) the history of women in sub-Saharan Africa shows that agriculture, trading in the informal sector or microenterprise constitute the major areas of income earning for women in the continent. It could be argued that, despite the fact that women’s participation in the formal sector of African economics has generally increased during the past few decades, structural adjustment policies as part of globalization have galvanized

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multiple and harsh challenges for women’s economic and educational achievement (Osirin et al., 2009). The structural adjustment policies prescribed by the International Monetary Fund in the 1980s and 1990s caused formal sector jobs, especially in the civil service, to gradually disappear. Consequently, more women had no other choice but to turn to the informal sector to support their families and themselves (UN Human Development Report (2013). In addition, Darkwah (2009) and Sam-Okere (2013) contend that political and economic factors have created more crucial problems in the African economy. Countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, and Zimbabwe have all experienced the worst political crises on the continent (UN Human Development Report (2013). While economic, globalization, and political crises have created internal problems within the continent, these factors have also lead to increases in various forms of human trafficking and sex works, as well as brain drain (UN Human Development Report 2013). In a number of African countries there has been growth in women’s poverty due to displacement and refugee status. In the past few years, women in Sudan, South Sudan, Libya, the Horn of Africa, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Angola and Mozambique have been victims of violent struggle. Falola & Amponsah (2012) and Khakpoya (2006) pointed out that the male age-group is almost a universal social feature of traditional African societies. There are some societies, especially among the Tiriki ethnic group in Kenya and the Afikpo people of Nigeria, who currently practice this form of social organization (Sangree 1965; Ottenberg 1965). According to Khakpoya (2006) an age-group is a collection of males living in a village who are nearly of the same age, having been either born within a few years of each other or initiated into the same act during ceremonies. Ottenberg (1965) reported four age grades and their basic functions such as: (a) the young grade, composed of young men who enforced the social rules of society and acted like police; (b) the junior grade, which consisted of married men whose tasks were mostly administrative; (c) the middle grade, made up of yet older men who performed both legislative and adjudicative functions; and (d) the senior grade, consisting of very old men whose function was largely advisory (Khakpoya, 2006). The age-grade system is very important in helping readers to understand how men and boys are socialized into the African traditional system. In modern times, people in the rural areas and villages may talk about age-groups but this age-set no longer work together as they used to about six or more decades ago.

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Apart from teaching values and morality to all their male and female children, there comes a stage where work becomes gender-typed (Darkwah 2009; Osirim et al. 2009). Many African countries have a tradition whereby women are primarily responsible for domestic work. African tradition requires women to be moral guardians of their family. On the one hand, the women teach their daughters how to work on the farm and participate in doing all the home chores such as taking care of children, cooking, cleaning, and fetching firewood and water, while on the other, the men perform certain tasks such as weaving, hunting, working the land, building the home, carving wood objects, blacksmithing, weaving fishing nets, protecting the homestead, and making political decisions for their respective families and communities (Khakpoya, 2006). Men are also required to adjudicate conflicts in the community. Just as the girls learnt household chores from their mothers, the boys equally learnt hunting, house building, and tool-making from their fathers and older male relatives. The crucial role of parents and older members of the African community is to teach young boys and girls skills that are perceived as essential for their survival, as well as sustaining the community as a distinctive society or ethnic group. It is also very important to note that the role of men and women in Africa varies from one geographical region to another. For example, women in pastoral groups like the Fulani in West Africa, or Somali of East Africa, often take care of domestic animals, a role reserved only for men in other parts of Africa. Further, among the Maasai of East Africa, women build their huts and learn how to defend their homes when the men go on hunting expeditions (Khakpoya, 2006). Similarly, among the Hausa people in West Africa, men do most of the farming. Men are involved in clearing, burning, planting, and weeding. However, during the harvest season, the women help out (Khakpoya, 2006). The African family has always been, and is still is, an important socialization agent. At the same time, globalization and new forms of modernization are systematically eroding cultural boundaries and weakening the control of some men. However, the various governments in Africa, male leaders, and some women exercise in efforts to maintain the African traditional values. The United Nations Human Development report (2013) reveals that women have a longer life expectancy than men; more girls and women are in school in one third of the developing nations; and women make up more than 40 per cent of the global labor force. However, the same report also states that there has been limited progress towards gender equality, even in some of the most developed nations of the world (UNDP, 2014). Indeed, women make up two thirds of the 1.4 billion people who live in extreme

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poverty (on less than one U.S. dollar a day), and 60 per cent of the world’s 572 million working poor in the world. Smee and Woodroffe (2013) indicate that women in the 22 out of 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa for which data are available (see relevant data in Chapter Three) are more likely than men to live in poverty. One reason for the continued lower status and power of women, as well as the feminization of poverty in Africa, is their under-representation in politics (Falola & Amponsah 2012; Payne & Nassar 2006; Smee and Woodroffe 2013). In most African countries, existing governance indicators are neither gender-sensitive nor pro-poor (Corner 2009). They are based on data definition, collection and processing procedures that, with few exceptions, fail to take into account the potential impact on the differences in the situation and experiences of women and men (Dibie, 2014). The significance of these data in general, or of poor women and men in particular, is not adequately reflected in public policies intended to solve national problems. Most policies are based on data that are not disaggregated by sex to reveal gender differences, and not disaggregated by socio-economic status to identify the disadvantaged situation of the poor. In many cases, the construction of the indicators is based on experiences and situations not relevant to the majority of women or to the poor (Corner, 2009). Payne & Nassar (2006) contend that globalization has not affected all women in the same way. Development in the African continent has in some cases helped widen the economic and social gap among women, and between male and female. For example, in several African countries, urban and rural women do not necessarily encounter the same challenges or opportunities. In addition, each African country has its own traditions and policies relating to women. These differences sometimes make it difficult to generalize the conditions of women in the continent. This is one of the reasons why an entire chapter is devoted to women’s issues in specific countries in this book. According to estimates from United Nations Human Development Index reports (2012 and 2013), the living conditions of girls and women have dramatically changed for the better in the past twenty-five years. In many African countries, women continue to support their families through wage labor, preserving traditional knowledge, maintaining biodiversity, and ensuring household food security and nutrition. Despite these critical roles, women and young girls continue to suffer the effects of poor healthcare, education, and discriminatory policies (McGovern & Walliman 2009; Eisenstein 2009).

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The United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (2014) promises to enhance opportunities as well as advance the economic, legal, and political empowerment of women of the world. MDGs contain the most broadly supported, comprehensive and specific development goals the world has ever agreed upon. These eight time-bound goals provide concrete, numerical benchmarks for tackling extreme poverty in its many dimensions. They include goals and targets on gender inequality, income, poverty, hunger, maternal and child mortality, disease, inadequate shelter, environmental degradation and the Global Partnership for Development (UNDP, 2014). In this context, UNDP works to make real improvements in people’s lives, opening up their choices and opportunities. The UNDP report (2014) indicates that the United Nations will coordinate global and national efforts to integrate gender equality and women’s empowerment into poverty reduction, democratic governance, crisis prevention and recovery, and environment and sustainable development. Through the UNDP global network, the United Nations has been working to ensure that women have a real voice in all governance institutions, from the judiciary to the civil service, as well as in the private sector and civil society, so they can participate equally with men in public dialogue and decision making, and influence the decisions that will determine the future of their families and countries (UN Human Development Report, 2013). Thus, all governments in Africa must unite to tackle the greatest obstacles to women and sustainable development in the continent. The private sector, for example, now provides about half of the health care services in Africa and for roughly 80 per cent of families in South Asia (UN Human Development Report, 2013).

Gender Inequalities Gender equality refers to the goal of equal opportunities, resources and respect for men and women. It does not mean that men and women become the same, but their lives and work hold equal value all over the African continent. Gender equality will take shape in different ways according to local cultures and religions (Schirch, 2012). The economic and political environments in sub-Saharan Africa constantly affect the predicament that women face. In addition, gender inequality in formal education has a long history on the continent. This inequality could also be linked to the vestiges of colonialism that have persisted, as well as the patriarchy and contemporary economic issues (Ako-Nai 2013; Osirm et al. 2009; Dibie & Offiong 2009). Despite the

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patriarchal system, women have to constantly deal with increased violence in periods of political crisis and wars, such as those that occurred in Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Kenya. Although African women have constantly experienced violence and discrimination, it has been reported that women produce 50 per cent of agricultural output in Asia, and represent nearly 78 per cent of the agricultural labor force in parts of Africa (UN Human Development Report (2013). If women had the same access as men to agricultural resources, production would increase by 20–30 per cent, with the potential to reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12–17 per cent, according to research by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (2010). The impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are neither gender- nor age-neutral. Women and children are frequently among those most significantly affected by fluctuating commodity prices and natural disasters such as drought and famine (OECD, 2008). Education and the economic empowerment of women have a significant potential to reduce poverty. The benefits of education pass to the next generation—mothers who have had education are more than twice as likely to send their own children to school when compared to mothers with no education. The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (2010) study reveals that, on average, women reinvest up to 90 per cent of their incomes back into their own households, compared to 30–40 per cent by men. Currently, women’s unpaid labor is estimated to contribute up to 50 per cent of GDP in some countries. An important issue in development is the evenness of the spread of its impact. The widespread diversity in our society and economy contributes to the benefits of development reaching the privileged. The privileged include the more prosperous sections, some regions and men. Women in communities—urban, rural or tribal—across Africa benefit less from the fruits of development (Dibie and Offiong 2012; Schirch 2012). Since the United Nations declaration of the women’s decade in the 1970s, and especially in the 1990s when nongovernmental organizations began to proliferate in Africa, women and their issues have been at the center stage of national and international policy discussions (Ako-Nai, 2013). Most of the literature has painted a very bleak picture of the social, economic, political and cultural position and status of African and Asian women (McGovern and Walliman 2009; Dibie & Dibie, 2008). The literature often describes sub-Saharan African women as subjugated and subordinated to their menfolk (Ezeilo 2006; Kalu 1996; Pam Sha 2007; Scott 1995). Makinwa and An-Magritt (1995) stated that the majority of women in sub-Saharan Africa are in a subordinate position relative to that

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of men. They also argued that gender stratification generally results in gender inequality, inequality in prestige, inequality in decision-making power, and inequality in access to resources. More recently, Dibie and Dibie (2012) have reiterated the point that women in Africa and Asia are consciously, deliberately, and perpetually considered as subordinate to their male counterparts in many traditions and cultures. Some scholars have compared East and West Africa, and they found higher female agricultural contributions in East Africa and higher polygyny rates in West Africa, especially in the West African savannah, where they found especially high male agricultural contributions. Goody (1973) contends that the reasons behind polygyny are sexual and reproductive rather than economic and productive (1973:189), arguing that men marry polygynously to maximize their fertility and to obtain large households containing many young dependent males (White and Burton, 1988). It is important to note, however, that in the rural agricultural societies in Africa men tend to marry two or more wives so as to produce more children to help with the farm work and cultivation process. This finding contradicts the outcome of Goody (1973) and the White and Burton (1988) research conclusion about polygyny in West and East Africa. In addition, a 2012 study from the University of British Columbia in Canada shows that, in polygamist cultures in Africa, “the intra-sexual competition that occurs causes greater levels of crime, violence, and poverty and gender inequality than in societies that institutionalize and practice monogamous marriage” (Science Daily 2012, January 24).

Differences between Men and Women The question that the author would like to ask at this point is: What are the major differences between women and men? Understanding the differences between women and men is known as gender analysis. Gender analysis will give curious people the lens to better understand the roles women and men play in societies. There are basic differences in what societies expect of men and women. These differences constitute gender roles, and patterns of attitude and behavior that society expects of its members because of their being women or men (Kourney et al. 1999). In addition, both biological and sociological differences are important to the study of gender, particularly as it affects their role in society. What matters about the biological and social differences is that individuals, communities, businesses, religious and government structures often value men and masculinity more than women and femininity (Schirch, 2012). In most countries in Africa, the preferential treatment of men and maleness

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finds its expression in sexist behavior and the patriarchal system and structure of power (Sam-Okere 2013; Khopya 2006). The bone of contention is that the hierarchical social structure also ranks the value of different types of people as well as giving those at the top of the social ladder, especially men, a sense of superiority and cultural permission to meet their needs at the expense of others lower in the hierarchy (Schirch, 2012). Most of the cultures in the African continent grant men more permission to meet their needs at the expense of women. These same cultures also grant adults permission to meet their needs at the expense of children (Schirch 2012; Ako-Nai 2013). Table 1-1 shows the beliefs about natural order of relationship between men and women, and adult and children in many African cultures. Table 1-1: Hierarchical Beliefs and Structure in Africa Examples of Hierarchies in most African Societies and Cultures Men Over Women

Adult Over Children

Masculine Over Feminine traits

White People Over People of Color

Wealthy Over Poor

One Ethnic or Religious Identity Group over another

Source: Khakpoya, V. (2006). The African Experience. Upper Saddle River, N. J.: Prentice Hall; Source: Schirch, L. (2012) “Understanding Women as Victims and Peace-builder.” In Schnabel, A. and A. Tabyshalieva edited, Defying Victimhood: Women and Post-Conflict Peace-Building. New York: United Nations University Press.

In most African societies, men are thought to be competitive, independent, physically strong, aggressive and rational. While women are presumed to be cooperative, physically weak, passive, emotional, and nurturing, men are expected to be almost the opposite (Khakpoya 2006). The major feminine and masculine characteristics are distinct from male and female gender characteristics. According to Mogan and Walker (1983), men are traditionally expected to work out in the world, competing with other men to provide for their families. The man’s world outside the home was viewed as a harsh and heartless jungle in which men needed strength, aggression and ambition. Ransford and Miller (1983) contend that the woman’s world was the home, and her job was to comfort and care for husband and children, maintain harmony, and teach her children

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to conform to society’s norms. Men are expected to be sexually aggressive, and experienced women are also expected to be sexually passive and inexperienced. Men are supposed to be independent, fit to be leaders while women are believed to be dependent, and in need of male protection. Men are expected to be logical, rational and objective, while women should be inconsistent and intuitive. These are the traits that most Africans have long associated with each gender (Green 1999, Ako-Nai 2013). According to Sha (2007) and Ahikere (2003), these traditional traits of women and men in Africa represent both stereotypes about how men and women behave, and expectations about how they should behave. Research has shown that women are more likely to be passive, and men aggressive in a number of ways. In interaction between genders, the male is more likely to initiate interaction and the woman to respond. In addition, women are more people oriented, and more likely to help other citizens in their community. They are also more likely to be virtuous, to maintain and to conform to customs (Davis, 1990). It was also very interesting to note that some research found women to be more concerned about their physical appearance than men (Akintunde 2001; Joubert 1989; Osirim et al. 2009). Table 1-2 show the traditional feminine and masculine stereotypes of gender roles in many African countries. Table 1-2: Feminine and Masculine Stereotypes of Gender Characteristics Feminine Stereotypes

Masculine Stereotypes

Cooperative

Aggressive

Child Raiser

Competitive

Compassionate

Express Power through Violence

Dependent

Family Provider

Express Power through Relationship

Independent

Emotional

Income Earners

Irrational

Leader

Overview of Gender Issues in Africa

Weak

Steady

Submissive

Strong

Concerned with their physical appearance

Rational

11

Source: Schirch, L. (2012) “Understanding Women as victims and Peace-builder.” In Schnabel, A. and A. Tabyshalieva edited, Defying Victimhood: Women and Post-Conflict Peace-Building. New York: United Nations University Press.

Contrary to the traditional stereotypes discussed above, Schirch (2012) contends that gender roles are dynamic. This implies that gender roles are constantly changing, and produced, reinforced and reinvented in every culture. According to Darkwah (2009), the history of colonialism and postindependence Africa reveals that gender roles shift along with social upheaval. The structural adjustment programs prescribed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in the 1980s and 1990s, and adopted by many African countries, led to an increase in school fees, and when coupled with African patriarchy, many young women were removed from schools. Most women whose husbands lost their jobs became breadwinners in their homes. There are other significant concerns around sexual exploitation, especially the trafficking of women and child prostitution, which have been related to poverty and the way globalization makes human beings easy goods for transportation and trade (McGovern & Walliman 2009; Ampofo, 2002). The need to care for dependents, and the failure of many African governments to address women’s struggles for survival, has therefore galvanized their role in the political economy. It is interesting to observe that while grouping or stereotyping women and men into different gender role categories is still widely appealing all over the African continent, there is a gender spectrum. In addition, everyone in every culture and religion performs both feminine and masculine roles at various points in their lives. As a result, the traditional stereotypes do not hold in all situations in modern Africa. For example, in some regions of Africa, matrilineal culture also gives women both reproductive and productive responsibilities. Further, the Ashanti (Akan) women, along with the Queen Mothers were powerful in pre-colonial Ghana (Dibie & Atibil, 2012). The British colonial administration in Ghana almost destroyed this culture as a result of their imposition of British values. Nigerian political development in the pre-colonial era cannot be correctly written or understood without mention of the effective leadership of women like Queen Amina of Zaria,

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who was renowned for her series of conquests and political domination of parts of the old northern states. Queen Idia of the Benin Kingdom also provided an effective military bastion for her son, Oba Esigie of Benin (Mba, 1982). Apart from these royal names, there are other African women whose names cannot be divorced from those who have contributed to the socio-economic transformation of the African continent. In this regard, mention can be made of women political activists such as Fumilayo Ramsome-Kuti, and Madam Tinubu, who flourished in commercial ventures in Lagos, Nigeria.

Empowerment Empowerment is the process of encouraging people to gain the skills and knowledge that will allow them to overcome obstacles in life or work environment, and ultimately help them develop within themselves or in the society (Rowlands 1996; Argawal 2010; Stewart 1994). Empowerment also includes encouraging, and developing the skills for self-sufficiency, with a focus on eliminating the future need for charity or welfare in the individuals or the group. Nelson and Quick (2013) contend that empowerment serves to unleash employees’ creativity and productivity. It requires eliminating traditional hierarchical notions of power. As a matter of fact, cultures that emphasize empowerment and quality are preferred by employees (Oxaal, 1997). In addition, governments and organizations that value empowerment and continuous improvement have a culture that promotes high product and service quality. The main premise of the concept of women’s empowerment is an understanding of power itself (Radovic-Markovic et al. 2012; Oxaal, 1997). According to the United Nations (2009), women’s empowerment does not imply women taking over control previously held by men, but rather the need to transform the nature of power relations. From the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) (1998), prospective power may be understood as “power within”, or self-confidence, “power with”, or the capacity to organize with others towards a common purpose, and the “power to” effect change and take decisions, rather than “power over” others (Wieringa 1994; Makinwa, and An-Magritt 1995). Some scholars pointed out that empowerment could also be described as being about the ability to make choices, but it must also involve being able to shape what choices are on offer (Johnson 1992; Potterfield, 1999; Sha 2007; Nussbaum et al. 1995). It is very important to note that what is seen as empowering in one context may not be in another.

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According to Nelson and Quick (2013), empowerment is essentially a bottom-up process rather than something that can be formulated as a topdown strategy. In respect to this interpretation of empowerment, development agencies cannot claim to “empower women,” nor can empowerment be defined in terms of specific activities or end results (Wieringa 1994; Argawal 2010; Dibie & Dibie 2012). This is because it involves a process whereby women, individually and collectively, freely analyze, develop and voice their needs and interests, without their being pre-defined, or imposed from above. As a result, planners working towards an empowerment approach must develop ways of enabling women themselves to critically assess their own situation and shape a transformation in society (Argawal, 2010; Cotula, 2007; Johnson 1992). The bone of contention, however, is that the women’s empowerment movement should be galvanized by women in Africa themselves, who should serve as active agents of change in transforming gender relations in their respective countries. Women should be able to mobilize themselves to compel the African Union, as well as their respective countries, to take appropriate action and enforce equal rights policies to effectively address discrimination against women and girls. This process can be difficult to start and to implement effectively. Economic empowerment is also the empowering of previously disadvantaged sections of the population, for example, in many previously colonized African countries (Argawal, 2010). In addition, empowerment encompasses the process of enabling individuals or groups to fully access personal or collective power, authority and influence, and to employ that strength when engaging with other people, institutions or society. Empowerment thus encourages people to gain the skills and knowledge that will allow them to overcome obstacles in life or work environment and ultimately, help them develop within themselves or in the society (Potterfield, 1999). Empowerment also involves increasing the educational, economic, social, political, gender, or spiritual strength of an individual, group or society. In some societies or nations, those who had previously suffered from discrimination based on disability, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or economic status could be empowered to attain equal status, just like others that have been enjoying freedom (Blanchard et al. 1996). Empowerment is often associated with feminism, and those who have been subjected to authoritative regimes such as colonialism, military and bureaucratic authoritarian regimes (Sha, 2007). Democratic constitutions and equal opportunity laws which actively oppose such discrimination of individual, citizens or groups allow increased empowerment of formally marginalized

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people to occur (Payne and Nasser, 2006). It is also very important to note that in some countries in Africa and other parts of the world, groups are marginalized by society at large, but governments are often unwilling to do anything about it: in some cases, governments are enthusiastic participants. Equal opportunity laws which actively oppose the exclusion of selected groups and the ostracizing of individuals and groups as undesirables often allow increased empowerment to take place. In most African countries, women and other ostracized groups who lack self-sufficiency become, at a minimum, dependent on charity, or welfare programs established by NGOs. Whenever these discriminatory practices have occurred for a long time, such individuals or groups often lose their self-confidence because they cannot be fully self-supporting. The opportunities denied them also deprive them of the pride of accomplishment, which others who have those opportunities can develop for themselves. This in turn can lead to psychological, social, and even mental health problems (United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, 2010). Empowerment is the process of obtaining basic opportunities for marginalized people, either directly by those people, or through the help of those who are not victims and who share their own access to these opportunities. According to Nussbaum et al. (1995), to empower a woman or girl may sound as though we are dismissing or ignoring men or boys, but the truth is that both genders desperately need to be equally empowered in some countries in Africa. Empowerment occurs through creating more access for women, just like their male counterparts, improvement of conditions, standards, events, and a global perspective of life. According to Radovic-Markovic et al. (2012) and Dibie & Dibie (2012), if women were empowered to do more and be more, the possibility for economic growth becomes apparent all over the African continent. Empowering women in African countries is essential to reduce poverty since women represent most of the continent’s poor population (United Nations 2009; Dibie & Dibie 2012; Makinwa and An-Magritt 1995). Eliminating a significant part of a nation’s work force on the sole basis of gender can therefore have detrimental effects on the economy of that nation (UNICEF, 2007). In addition, female participation in counsels, groups, and businesses is seen to increase efficiency (Argawal, 2010). In addition, legal empowerment occurs when poor or discriminated people use the law, legal systems and justice mechanisms to improve or transform their social, political or economic situations (Cotula, 2007). Legal empowerment approaches are interested in understanding how they can use the law to advance interests and priorities of the discriminated

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individuals or groups in a society or nation (Stein, 2009). In most countries, legal empowerment includes utilizing innovative approaches like legal literacy and awareness training, broadcasting legal information, conducting participatory legal discourse. It is also used in supporting local resource users in negotiating with other agencies and stakeholders and in developing strategies combining the use of legal processes with advocacy along with media engagement, and socio-legal mobilization (Cotula, 2007; Stein 2009). Further, employment empowerment refers to the process of training employees to ensure that they have trust in what empowerment will bring to a company. According to Stewart (1994), in order to guarantee a successful work environment, managers need to exercise the right kind of authority. Employment empowerment is thus simply the effective use of a manager’s authority, and subsequently, it is a productive way to maximize all-around work efficiency. An integral part of empowerment and improvement involves the manager trusting his or her employees. Whenever an organization or government focuses on instilling a culture of trust, employees feel accountable for performance, and sales performance, as well as customer service performance (Nelson and Quick, 2013). A study conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2008) reveals that empowered women can have a positive monetary impact upon a situation. A United Nations (2009) study also reports that companies with more women on the board of directors had significantly higher financial returns, including 53 per cent higher returns on equity, 24 per cent higher returns on sales and 67 per cent higher returns on invested capital (United Nations, 2009). This study also shows the impact women can have on the overall economic benefits of a company. If effectively implemented in the African continent, the inclusion of women in the formal workforce can increase the economic output of a nation (Dibie and Dibie 2012; Makinwa and An-Magritt 1995). Therefore, women can also help governments and businesses to grow, and economies to prosper if they are able to use the right knowledge and skills in their employment. The United Nations (2014) thus stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on five priority areas: (1) increasing women’s leadership and participation; (2) ending violence against women; (3) engaging women in all aspects of peace and security processes; (4) enhancing women’s economic empowerment; and (5) making gender equality central to national development, planning and budgeting. Economic empowerment thus increases women’s access to economic resources and opportunities including financial services, jobs, skills development, property and other productive assets and market information.

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Diversity The population of the world is diverse. As a result, human beings could be said to be diverse in a variety of ways: gender, ethnicity, race, language, culture, socio-economic, class, age, sexual orientation, religion, disability and more. Each of these groups must be fully appreciated and accounted for in Africa in order to understand the complexity of human behavior there (Diller 2015; Bell 2012). Consequently, diversity refers to characteristics of individuals who shape their identities and their experiences in a society or workplace (Smith, 2006). It encompasses all forms of differences among individuals, including culture, ability, personality, age, religion, sexual orientation, and social status. Human beings are diverse in many ways. Within the workforce, people differ in their gender, race, ethnicity, religion, age, and ability. People also differ in their socio-economic status, sexual preference, expectations and values, lifestyle, class, work style, and function or position within an organization (Lussier, 2009). Knowledge and appreciation of diversity requires everyone to deal with people in an ethical manner. According to Lussier (2009), there is sometimes a shortage of skilled workers, so to exclude a qualified person because of his or her differences is counterproductive to both public and private organizational success (Bell 2012; James and Woolen 2006). With this argument in mind, it should be clear that increasing diversity in the workforce is one of the most challenging human resources and organizational issues of our time (Clair et al. 2005). Many scholars have argued that each characteristic of diversity has been a source of discrimination or marginalization or bias in Africa, and although all share certain commonalities such as the internal psychology of oppression, each has its own dynamics and characteristics (Kourany et al. 1999; Bose and Kim 2009; Eisentein 2009; Greenberg 2013). In addition, while national culture has impacts upon human beings at a micro level, another strong cultural influence on individual behavior is group culture, which may consist of a number of primary factors such as gender, ethnicity, age and other secondary factors such as income, education, and membership in various groups. The major gender problem in Africa is that very few women head public, NGOs, or business organizations, and few are members of the boards of companies, despite many years of ineffective diversity policies and outstanding education training as well as a call for the inclusion of the female population in organizations and political positions (Nahavandi 2012; McCool 2008).

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Figures 1-1 and 1-2 show the primary and secondary dimensions of diversity. On the one hand, it should be noted that the primary dimensions of diversity are the visible and stable aspects of a person, whereas on the other, factors that are considered secondary are more dynamic. Women are not well represented in all domestic management positions in all African countries. However, they hold 2.4 per cent of top management positions in both the public and private sectors (OCED, 2010). Further, women are also more likely than men to be sexually harassed at work in almost all African countries. Sexual harassment is an unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature (Bahl, 2006). As a result of the fact that the world’s economy is now global in nature, highly parochial and ethnocentric views no longer have a place in contemporary organizations. One of the goals of this text is to encourage African countries to join this human and global trend to diversity. Gender diversity thus increases the awareness and understanding of the wide range of gender variations in women, girls, adolescents, and adults by providing family support, building communities, increasing societal awareness, and improving the well-being of people of all gender identities and expressions. Valuing diversity in a country or organization is a good thing, and an important issue. Figure 1-1: Dimension of Primary Groups and Diversity

Sexual Orientation

Gender

Age

Person

Race

Religion

Ethnicity

Disability

Culture

Source: Dibie, R. and Dibie, J. (2014) The Dichotomy of Capacity Building and Unemployment in Ethiopia. Africa’s Public Service Delivery and Performance Review, Vol. 2 (3), pp. 25-76.

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Figure 1-2: Secondary Dimension of Group Culture and Diversity

Marital Status Type of Diversity Policy Education

Lifestyle Socioeconomic Background

Other Group Membership

Person

Occupation Personality

Income Social Status

Language Stereotype or prejudice

Source: Dibie, R. and Dibie, J. (2014) The Dichotomy of Capacity Building and Unemployment in Ethiopia. Africa’s Public Service Delivery and Performance Review, Vol. 2 (3), pp. 25-76.

Capacity Building The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2009) defines capacity building as a long-term continual process of development that involves all stakeholders, including ministries, local authorities, NGOs, professionals, community members, academics and more. Capacity building uses a country’s human, scientific, technological, organizational, institutional, and resource capabilities (UNDP, 2009). The goal of capacity building is to tackle problems that are related to policy and methods of development, while considering the potential, limits and needs of the people of the country concerned (Gwin, 2014). The UNDP outlines that capacity building takes place on an individual level, an institutional level and the societal level (United Nations, 2006). From another perspective, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, 992) defines capacity building as encompassing a country’s human, scientific, technological, organizational, institutional and resource capabilities. According to Gwin (2014) a fundamental goal of capacity building is to enhance the ability to evaluate and address the crucial questions relating to policy choices and modes of implementation among development options, based on an understanding of environment potentials and limits of needs perceived by the people of the country concerned (UNCED, 1992).

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According to Gwin (2014), capacity building is the process by which organizations, societies and individuals develop abilities to perform functions, solve problems, and set and achieve goals promised on ownership, choice, and self-esteem. Capacity building is the sustainable creation of solutions and stabilization of capacity in order to reduce poverty, enhance self-reliance, and improve peoples’ lives (UNDP, 2009). These definitions suggest that capacity building should be treated as a goal in its own right, not merely as a means of achieving other development. Further, the definitions pointed out that support for capacity building needs to address three very important dimensions of public sector capacity: (1) Human capacity—individuals with skills to analyze development needs, design and implement strategies, policies, and programs, and deliver services and monitor results; (2) Organizational capacity—groups of individual bound by a common purpose, with clear objectives and the internal structures, processes, systems, staffing, and other resources to achieve them; and (3) Institutional capacity—the formal rules of the game and informal norms such as collecting taxes, reporting on the use of public funds and regulating private business (Gwin 2014; UNDP 2009). It also calls for transparency and accountability in all aspects of government functions and the activities of public officials. According to UNDP (2009) the capacity development process consists of five steps that are embedded in a policy advisory analysis and programming process. Figure 1.3 shows the capacity building model.

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Figure 1.3 The Capacity Building Model.

Step 1 Engage Stakeholder on Capacity Development

Step 5 Evaluate Capacity Development

Final Goal Integration of Equality in the Capacity of Genders

Step 4 Implement a Capacity Development Response

Step 2 Assess Capacity Assets and Needs

Step 3 Formulate a Capacity Development Response

Source: Designed by author APPROACH

Another essential mechanism for capacity building is partnership development. Partnerships give a local NGO access to: knowledge and skills; innovative and proven methodologies; networking and funding opportunities; replicable models for addressing community needs and managing resources. Partnership also provides options for organizational management and governance; and strategies for advocacy, government relations and public outreach. Community capacity-building (CCB), also referred to as capacity, is a conceptual approach to development that focuses on understanding the obstacles that inhibit people, governments, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations from realizing their development goals, while enhancing the abilities that will allow them to achieve measurable and sustainable results (United Nations, 2006). According to Linnell (2003), capacity building in the community is much more than training,

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and it includes the following: human resource development, and the process of equipping individuals with the understanding, skills and access to information, knowledge and training that enable them to perform effectively (Smillie, 2001). In addition, for individuals and in-country NGOs, capacity building may relate to leadership development, advocacy skills, training/speaking abilities, technical skills, organizing skills, and other areas of personal and professional development. One of the most difficult problems with building capacity at a local level is the lack of higher education in developing countries (Linell, 2003; Gwin 2014). Another type of capacity building is the organizational form that is focused on developing capacity within organizations like NGOs. It refers to the process of enhancing an organization’s abilities to perform specific activities. An organizational capacity building approach is used by NGOs to develop internally so they can better fulfill their defined mission (Eade, 2005). Kaplan (2000) contends that NGO capacity building is a way to strengthen an organization so that it can perform the specific mission it has set out to accomplish and thus survive as an organization. It is an ongoing process that incites organizations to continually reflect on their work, organization, leadership, and ensure that they are fulfilling the mission and goals they originally set out to do (Kaplan, 2000). In order to avoid authoritarianism in developing nations, a focus has been placed on developing the abilities and skills of national and local governments so that power can be diffused across a state (Boex and Yilmaz, 2010). Capacity building in governments often involves providing the tools to help them best fulfill their responsibilities. These include building up a government’s ability to budget, collect revenue, create and implement laws, promote civic engagement (Chabbott,1999), be transparent, accountable, and fight corruption (Boex & Yilmaz, 2010). Female empowerment capacity-building projects are required all over the African continent in order to implement and nurture female community skills to effectively run development projects. Such empowerment projects focus on creating opportunities for income generation, achieving access to quality education, and improving health and well-being. Appropriate female empowerment policies should be enacted in order to equitably empower women and men, and girls and boys to build a sustainable life for themselves and future generations. Based on these assertions, one would expect that governments, NGOs and other organizations in the private and informal sectors would seek to provide more capacity-building training and skills in order to foster the development of female leaders. If more capable women in leadership positions are a crucial solution to the

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flaws of sustainable development in many African countries, why are women not encouraged as men are to take on leadership roles?

Sustainable Development The word sustainable is adopted from the basic term to sustain or maintain over a long period of time. In this book, the word sustainable refers to the ability of human beings to maintain their natural ecosystem while improving human social and economic welfare over a long period of time (Dibie 2014; Wheeler 2004). Taylor (2012) observed that sustainable development is currently a “catchword”, and as such is often misused. Because there is no universally accepted definition of the concept, I will adopt my own. In the broadest sense, sustainability means indefinite survival of the human species across all the regions of the world (SmithSebasto 2012; Kendall 2012). The meaning of sustainable development covers virtually all women, girls, men and boys (human beings), from childhood to adulthood. The major goal of sustainable development is to achieve a reasonable and equitably distributed economic well-being that can be perpetuated continually for many human generations (Dye 2013). It also means that human beings should have quality lives beyond mere biological survival. In the broadest sense, sustainability includes all components of the biosphere, even those with no apparent benefit to humanity (Brown et. al, 1987). Sustainable development is defined as a pattern of social and structured economic transformations or modernization that optimizes the economic and societal benefit available in the present, without jeopardizing the likely potential for similar benefits in the future (Rosenbaum 2014; Kraft and Furlong 2015; Harper 2008). The United Nations promoted the idea of sustainable development for some years until the concept was eventually acknowledged at the 1972 Stockholm Convention. The World Commission on Environment and Development report (1982), which was published in 1987, reinvigorated the term sustainability. The Prime Minister of Norway at that time, Gro Harlem Brundtland, chaired the group which was put together by the General Assembly of the United Nations (Taylor, 2012). The Brundtland Commission famously defined sustainable development as: Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Our Common Future, World Commission 1987, 43).

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This Brundtland Commission definition contains two key concepts: (1) “the concept of ’needs’, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which alleviating poverty should be given; and (2) the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs” (World Commission, 1987). The 1992 Rio Summit Declaration sought to reflect on the efficient and sustainable use of factors of production in the formation of commodity prices, including the reflection of environmental, social and resources costs. The post-Rio deliberations at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development did not make any significant progress. However, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UNCTAD declared in 1997 that they worked together to provide an integration of trade and environmental issues. The most important promoter of these issues is the institution of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was superseded by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The key entity under the WTO is the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE), which was constituted in 1995. Stephen Wheeler (2004) contends that a number of other specific themes could be derived from the term sustainability. These specific themes include: 1. Maintenance and improvement of systems—Sustainability implies that the overall level of diversity and overall productivity of components and relations in systems are maintained or enhanced (Kraft and Furlong, 2015); 2. Not making things worse—Sustainability is the ability of a system to sustain the livelihood of women and men (the people) who depend on the system for an indefinite period (William Rees, 1988); 3. Maintaining natural capital—Sustainability requires a least a constant stock of natural capital, construed as a set of all environmental assets (Cassil, 2012); 4. Grab-bag approach—Sustainable development seeks to respond to the following five requirements: (i) provision of social selfdetermination and cultural diversity; (ii) integration of conservation and development; (iii) maintenance of ecological integrity; (iv) satisfaction of the basic needs of women and men; (v) achievement of equity and social justice (World Development Report, 2003); and

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5. Carrying capacity of ecosystems—Sustainable development means improving the equity of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystem (World Development Report, 2003). The above five definitions of sustainability show that environmentalists must work closely with economists because their problems and solutions are interrelated. A strong collaboration between government, NGOs and the private sector could help to promote and achieve a healthy environment in the future. Some scholars contend that the perceived dichotomy between humans and nature is the root of all human environmental problems (Withgott and Brennan 2009; Dye 2013; Harper 2008). However, environmental protection need not lead to economic stagnation. Instead it is likely to enhance economic opportunities. Environmental protection, on the contrary, may increase a nation’s attractiveness by drawing more immigrants or residents. If a nation embarks on environmental protection, such a policy may increase property values and tax revenues that help fund social services. Some of the universally recognized positive and negative factors affecting sustainable development are: health and environment, economic development, equity, environment protection, sustainable livelihoods, population control and education, climate change, high pollution levels, deforestation, and depletion of natural resources (Taylor 2012; Smith-Sebasto 2012). Sustainability is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for sustainable development (Kraft and Furlong, 2015). Sustainable development warrants a delicate balance of policies and programs that are aimed at social development. These public policies should also ensure equal treatment and opportunities for women and men. All the programs may ensure the resistance of the ecosystem to remain a fundamental requirement. One of the greatest flaws in the Brundtland Report (1987) is its failure to address the urgent need for a huge increase in funding universal family planning and birth control as well as the removal of any incentives rewarding population growth (Cassil, 2012). The report, however, advocated more equality, education, and opportunities for women. The report also contributed significantly to the long-term awareness and the implications of birth control. Dibie (2014) pointed out that achieving sustainability requires addressing agriculture, justice and equity, wood, products, water supplies, biodiversity, climate change, manufacturing and industry, fisheries and forestry. Sustainability transcends and supersedes environmentalism. Sustainability involves a transformation from a wasteful, consumptive behavior to a more pragmatic

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modest life style. Sustainability is based on what can be referred to as the triple bottom line: People, Planet, and prosperity for all. Sustainable development must include human values, democratic institutions, economic growth with social justice, and uninterrupted processes of institutions, nature conservancy, and modest consumption habits. In addition, it must include reformed international financial and development institutions for unforced effectiveness, an enhanced role for people’s institutions, environmental literacy and respect for all forms of life. “Sustainable development” fails to make clear that a vital variable in the development equation is population growth. Projected population growth may exacerbate regional disparity, fuel resentment, and possibly give rise to more (Cassil, 2012). This is the problem that has contributed to population limits, which has led most social scientists to dismiss the term sustainable development as a contradictory term. According to Withgott and Brennan (2009), sustainable solutions to environmental problems are numerous. The challenges that most countries face lie in the effort for people to think outside the box and being shrewd and dogged enough to overcome political or economic obstacles that they confront in the implementation process. Some of the major strategies that nations all over the world may adopt are: (1) Ensuring equality of women and men, and guarantee women control over their own reproductive decisions (SmithSabesto, 2012); (2) Capacity building and equal opportunity for women, men, girls and boys; (3) Reducing unnecessary consumption; (4) Refining their ideas about economic growth and quality of life; (5) Limiting population growth; (6) Encouraging green technologies; and (7) Promoting research and education. The availability of resources and their distribution makes a difference to the sustainability of the environment (Taylor 2012). Poverty and gender issues therefore become important in developing and developed countries. These are the main criteria along with some other socio-cultural ones that influence the distribution of resources. According to Steel et al. (2003), planning for sustainable development, while directly addressing environmental challenges has to alleviate socio-economic and gender differential issues. In addition, it is important to note that there are various obstacles to the process of development; the importance of planning is, therefore, crucial. There are a number of issues and factors that have to be kept in mind while planning the development process and employing inadequate measures. This chapter discusses some of the important factors with respect to sustainable development. It is important to note, however, that not all these social and environmental factors are consistent with sustained

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growth in an interdependent world over the long-term. Given the social and environment processes caused by past development strategies, the goal of raising human well-being worldwide must be pursued through a development process that “does better” in eliminating poverty. It is also very important to integrate social and environmental concerns in the pursuit of the goal of sustained improvements in human well-being. According to Zachary Smith (2004), development does not imply growth that tends to continue indefinitely in unchecked capitalism. As a result of this fact, sustainable development requires economic improvements and efficiencies guided by democracy, where constant growth only occurs in human and environmental health education and welfare. It is very important to note that, without practicing sustainable development, humanity may face a deteriorating environment that could escalate to ecological disaster. Promoting the empowerment of women and sustainability in the African continent will require a major transformation of constitutions and equal-opportunity laws, as well as paying attention to appropriate capacity-building skills, environmental planning, transportation, land use, housing, energy use, economic development, and social justice (Dibie and Dibie 2008; Green 1999; Bose and Kim 2009; Ako-Nai 2013; Kalu, 1996). There is the crucial need to empower women to have equal access to economic, social, governance, leadership, and political positions, just like their male counterparts. In addition, existing environmental and social conditions in Africa require a reordering of priorities and more innovative solutions. Government policy must play a role in these processes (Dibie, 2014). Promoting sustainable growth, equal participation of women and men, green jobs, and deeper levels of international cooperation are important ways to transition to a truly sustainable green economy. While this book concentrates on the different barriers and limitations that women face in Africa, it will also strive to recognize and articulate their crucial role in the sustainable development process in the continent. In striving to achieve sustainable development in most African countries, the empowerment approach should focus on mobilizing the selfhelp efforts of women to gain access to economic, social and political positions like their male counterparts, rather than providing them with social welfare (United Nations, 2009; Makinwa, and An-Magritt 1995; Thomas and Velthouse, 1990). Economic empowerment is also the empowering of previously disadvantaged sections of the population, for example, in many previously colonized African countries (Ciulla 2004; Nussbaum, 1995).

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Environmental Sustainability and Gender Equality Women have a very important role to play in environmental management and sustainable economic strategies. In many developed and developing countries, men and women have different roles and responsibilities within the social structure and fabric of society. The impact of economic adjustment manifests differently between men and women (Dibie & Dibie, 2008). This can be seen in the way men and women respond to economic incentives and shifts in economic policy. For example, in many African countries a woman’s access to land is restricted because of prevailing exclusionary land tenure policies (Ako Nai 2013; Sam Okere 2012; Dibie & Dibie 2008; World Bank 2001). Further, access to agricultural land is gained through marriage and forfeited through divorce proceedings. Cultural and traditional practices in some countries also dictate that women cannot inherit assets from their deceased husband, including agricultural land for production and growing of food to feed their families (World Bank, 2001; Ako Nai 2013). Economic structural adjustment should therefore recognize the social costs and impacts associated with economic adjustment within the context of women’s empowerment (Taylor, 2010). According to Ako-Nai (2013), structural adjustment programs or policies in developing countries are intended to improve the allocation and effective use of resources, as well as improve the trade regime or environment, including the implementation of incentive schemes. The socio-cultural stings of women and their consequent orientation and contribution towards development are made problematic by the policy environment created as a result of the social role differentiation between men and women. The crucial role of women in sustainable development all over the world was reiterated in the World Bank report on Agenda 21 (2002, 116). In the past few years, the emphasis has been on more gender mainstreaming, that is, incorporating women’s concerns as an integral part of participation in the planning, implementation and monitoring of all development and environmental management programs. Sam Okere (2012) contends that by developing specific targets, the role of women is seen against the gender imbalances that prevail in many developing countries, and is incorporated into a network of objectives to ensure sustainable development. Studies conducted by the World Bank (2001) suggest that where the influence of women in public life is greater, the incidence of corruption is lower. Although more extensive research is needed in this regard, a comparison among countries with the same human development,

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economic development, and engendered rights confirms that the inclusion of women results in improved governance and the application of the rule of law (World Bank, 2001). Ako-Nai (2013) contends that the contribution of women to the informal economic-sector activity is not recognized by male-dominated governments in Africa. Some scholars indicate that about 60 per cent of the informal economy is made up of women, and that they provide approximately 70 per cent of total agricultural labor in most African countries (Bose and Kim 2009; Ako-Nai 2013; Kavane 2014).

Organization of the Book Within this book, I have included all the important and traditional topics found in women’s empowerment and gender studies courses. I have also added many current examples of the women empowerment debacles and sustainability issues in Africa. Each chapter includes unique materials that support economic and political discrimination as well as domestic abuse against women. These current debacles would prepare students and practitioners to work effectively in empowering women in the sustainable development process of each African country. Chapter One provides an overview of the current issues of gender inequalities in Africa. It discusses how various African governments have been very slow in integrating women into their development processes. It argues that African countries would overcome poverty and increase development if women were made part of the market wage economy. It stresses that the integration of women into development may be viewed as a condescending notion to Africans. This is because it refers to women as untapped resources in the continent. African governments must distance themselves from the women integration concept because the idea tends not to recognize the current and actual production contribution of women. Consequently, the integration perspective further assumes that African women could improve their capacity-building endeavors mainly through education and employment within the capitalist economies. The chapter provides evidence that women in Africa tend to be improving despite the unfavorable, inequitable conditions of the political, economic and inappropriate gender empowerment policies. It also provides evidence of discriminatory policies and negative impacts on women, and people’s lifestyles and behavior towards the sustainable development process in Africa. Chapter Two examines several feminist theories and concepts, and their appropriate application to the cultural, religious, political, social and economic situations in Africa. It integrates modernization theory,

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ecological feminist theory, Social Justice theory, Marxist feminism theory, liberal feminist theory, cultural feminist theory, radical feminist theory, postmodern theory, deontological theory and public trust theory. The chapter argues that these theories are not only about what happens to the female population in any given nation in Africa, but also simply highlight the meaning of the experiences that women have had in their lives. It also stresses that women’s economic and social empowerment is not only about political rights, but must also involve equal access to land and inheritance rights, property rights, the social protection of women and girls, employment opportunities, eradication of poverty among women, and women’s access to credit and micro-financial rights. Further, women’s capacity-building and socio-economic rights must also involve girls’ completion of quality post-primary education, increasing the literacy rate of adult women, increasing women’s influence in governance structures and political decision-making, and eliminating cultural and religious barriers as well as discriminatory practices and attitudes. The theories also urge citizens of the world to abolish racism, ethnocentrism, imperialism, and exploitation that prevent women from equitably contributing to the sustainable development process of their home country and the world. The chapter explores these theories, and then builds a gender block model of equity and development and investigates the pressures for diversity and differences with those of integration and community. It argues that what the African woman needs is a home in which her room’s walls are thick enough to permit a conversation, a community of friends in virtue, and partners in action. It is only in such a social justice environment that women can equitably contribute to the sustainable development process in Africa. The chapter concludes with a discussion of sustainable transformation instruments that African governments, businesses and NGOs could adopt to actively pursue positive and equitable links between women, men, environmental and economic performance. Thus, government, the private sector and NGOs should collaborate to establish a mechanism for a better and efficient approach to providing capacity building for women and girls. Chapter Three examines the various frameworks that have been used to address gender and development issues in Burkina Faso. It highlights the complexities that surround promoting the dynamics of gender equality in the social and economic spheres in the country. The chapter argues that women represent vast additional resources for the economy of Burkina Faso, and that by effectively empowering them, more will enter the labor market, and the economy will respond favorably. Other justifications for empowering women include the expected benefits for labor force

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participation, health, and children’s education. But the simple direct impacts on the economy support renewed and expanded efforts to provide quality education for girls. One reason for the continued lower status and power of women, as well as the feminization of poverty in Burkina Faso and globally, is their under-representation in politics. The purpose of this chapter is threefold. First, it discusses the historical evolution of the status of women in the process of development in Burkina Faso by examining some of the barriers to women’s participation in formal politics. Second, it explores the different ways in which women have used their political power and representation in order to advocate for equal rights. And third, it examines the initiatives that the government of Burkina Faso is making towards women’s empowerment in all spheres in the sustainable development processes in the country. The concluding section provides some recommendations that could enhance women’s future political rights, as well as fostering their equal participation in the political process and sustainable development of Burkina Faso. The goal of Chapter Four is to investigate the performance of NGOs and the federal government of Nigeria in the empowerment of women there. It examines the following research questions: Is there a positive relationship between government policies and its inability to prevent or stop domestic abuse crimes, sexual harassment, and male hostile domination? And are NGOs’ women empowerment and women liberation programs more effective than those of the government’s? To address these questions, the study uses data on NGOs that provides major capacitybuilding projects (e.g. women’s education, legal rights and entrepreneurship projects) and government programs for combating discrimination against women in the six geo-political zones in Nigeria. Interviews, questionnaires and focus-group research methods were also used to evaluate the performance of the government of Nigeria and NGOs with respect to the empowerment of women in the country. On the one hand, results point towards a negative relationship between government and women’s empowerment policies. On the other hand, results show a positive correlation between NGOs and women’s empowerment in Nigeria. Further cultural, religious, social and economic factors, as well as the lack of effective implementation of gender policies, continue to militate against the integration of women in the country. The results of this study have implications for NGO management in the context of women’s project management and governments’ political willingness to collaborate with NGOs in addressing women’s empowerment and capacity-building issues in Nigeria.

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Chapter Five investigates the varieties of discrimination that women in Mali experience in their daily lives. It argues that despite the political conflict in the country, women NGOs have been very active in putting pressure on the Mali government to enact positive gender policies. Several United Nations Human Development Reports (HDR) make a direct correlation between the notion of national development and the fairness and inclusiveness of the different social groups that make up a country’s population. Indeed, the concept of “social inclusion” has become a very intricate part of the concept of development in general. According to the European Union’s Inclusion Agenda of 2007, social inclusion is defined as “a process which ensures that those at risk of property and social exclusion gain the opportunities and resources necessary to participate fully in economic, social, and cultural life and to enjoy a standard of living and well-being that is considered normal in the society in which they live.” The persisting political, economic and social marginalization of the ethnic minority of the Kel Tamasheq in Northern Mali has been the major source of political unrest in the country over the past fifty years. Altogether, there have been four significant rebellions led by the Kel Tamasheq in protest against their marginalization by the Malian government. While international attention is all focused on the bigger picture of restoring political stability in the region, little has so far been done (including in terms of academic production) to assess the impact of the situation on the most vulnerable categories of people, namely ethnic minorities, women and children. This research project will try to fill this vacuum with regard to one of these vulnerable groups. It intends to shed light on the current situation of Kel Tamasheq women during these violent times in Mali. It will first focus on the emotional, economic and physical impact of their marginalization exacerbated by the political unrest. Then, it will discuss the role that the Kel Tamasheq women play in the peace-building process in Mali, as well as the different policies that the government is using to ensure the inclusion of women in the socio-economic and political reunification of the country. Finally, recommendations will be made on possible ways in which Kel Tamasheq women could become active participants at the negotiating table on matters related to their own empowerment, the empowerment of their people, and the transformation of the conflict into a just and lasting peace and a sustainable development for Mali. Chapter Six examines women’s empowerment issues and the physical integrity of female citizens in Zimbabwe. It utilizes a feminist structural approach in demonstrating how family abuse impairs the social, economic and political status of women and children in Zimbabwe, and a

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constructivist perspective for empowering women who chose to stay with perpetrators of family abuse. It presents an argument that violence against women, particularly domestic abuse, is very common and occurs across the nation. In about two-thirds of cases, the perpetrators are the woman’s husband, partner or ex-husband, and half the cases involve both physical and sexual violence. In addition, there are several qualified Zimbabwe women who are ready to move up the ranks of the nation’s public and private institutions but they are placed at a disadvantage based not on their abilities or actions, but on other non-job-related factors. The common theme in these situations is the presence of invisible barriers that discriminate against women based on their group membership and stereotype, and that prevent them from achieving their full potential. This chapter therefore presents a comprehensive and integrative feminist approach in empowering and safeguarding the needs and rights of victims of family abuse. It suggests that empowerment that is neither ideological nor prescriptive, but is, rather, practical, descriptive and inclusive in dealing with survivors of family violence and helping them reach a higher level of self-determination and mastery of their environment is what Zimbabwe needs in the twenty-first century. Chapter Seven examines the process and government policies that started the implementation of actions towards empowering women in Kenya. It explores the current status of Kenyan women, and analyzes their historical contributions to the political, economic and social development of the country. The chapter presents an argument that despite a myriad of challenges, the slow pace of rising to the top, and the low compositional diversity in most organizational leadership, women are becoming increasingly visible in top positions in the country. In addition, it points out that a good knowledge of gender issues would enhance and promote mutual understanding, respect and appreciation between women and men, as well as fostering cooperation and sustainable development. The chapter also analyzes the efforts that the Kenyan national government is making to empower women and include them as equal and active agents of sustainable development. It explores initiatives made by gender advocates with regard to women’s inclusion as active and equal participants in solving community problems such as inequalities and injustices based on gender, class, religion, ethnicity, sexuality and age. In order to improve the performance of human development in Kenya, the chapter recommends sustainable human development policies and programs. Kenya, like other African countries, needs to enthrone gender democracy and a more equitable and enhanced human civilization that guarantees greater social justice, peace, stability and progress in the continent.

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Chapter Eight examines the role of women in governance, and social and economic sectors in Rwanda after the genocide of 1994. It explores how the interface between the influence of culture and socio-legal institutions contributes to inequality and discrimination against women. The chapter argues that a social system fosters certain kinds of behavior on the part of its members regardless of their personal qualities or gender. As a result, gender inequality manifests itself in the family, labor market, political structure, and in cultural ideological production sectors in Rwanda. In the post-genocide era, the Rwandan government has encouraged the enhancement of civil, political, and social rights of its citizens. The chapter investigates the nature of engagement and solidarity to promote women’s human rights across the country. It also explores the widely spread stereotypical image of women as docile and subordinate in some communities. The majority of the nation’s women are widows and poor because they are the heads of their households, and depend on subsistence agriculture. Others are young girls whose families were either killed or have fled the country. The chapter stresses the importance of recognizing how values, norms, and social institutions may foster inequality, reinforce power differentials between genders and perpetuate violence against women. Despite these gender problems, 56 per cent of members of parliament in Rwanda are women. Rwanda has the highest number of female MPs among the 55 countries in Africa. The concluding section provides some policy recommendations on how to further promote women’s human rights and gender equality. Chapter Nine investigates the dynamics of women and capacity building in Ghana. It argues that Ghana must equitably empower women and men to manage its public institutions, private organizations and civil society to extract indispensable elements that foster and sustain growth. Given that the majority of the population in Ghana is made up of women and girls, their involvement at official levels offers the ultimate injection of self-sustaining manpower and limitless potential. But for such a reality to be manifested, capacity building among Ghanaian women has to be augmented. Women’s involvement in all aspects of national life has been significant, and a key to more development, even though it is mostly in the informal sectors. Women’s organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and governmental policies and implementation are discussed within the larger context of capacity building for sustainable development to occur and bear fruits for good of the populace. The chapter recommends capacity building in women’s education, economic empowerment, and political, social and cultural involvement. Equal gender representation at all levels is the key to Ghana’s capacity building. Gender-related public policies could

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enhance the nation’s ability to deliver unhindered and continuous national development and growth. Six decades after attaining political independence in 1957, economic development trends point to potential and robust growth if all talents and skills in Ghana, especially human resources, are equitably harnessed. The purpose of Chapter Ten is to investigate the socio-economic empowerment of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It argues that the contributions of women to the socio-economic development of their communities are paramount to achieving sustainable development in developing economies. While the criminal code of the country prohibits various types of violence against women, domestic violence is rarely reported, but believed to be widespread. This chapter analyzes the significant increase in the number of cases of domestic violence recorded in the past few years. In analyzing this phenomenon, the goal of this chapter is to examine the linkage between discrimination against women and the socio-economic empowerment of women, as well as the development of their communities. Women currently account for 60 per cent of the agricultural workforce, but own only 25 per cent of agricultural land. They also face some discrimination in their attempts to gain financial independence. The chapter explores the role of national and international efforts to address and criminalize violence against women. While this discriminatory assertion is true, the empirical record shows that women continue to be marginalized within the multiple intersections of economic disempowerment, social relegation and cultural abuse. Some policy recommendations are provided in the concluding sections to address the trends and impacts of discrimination against women in the country. Chapter Eleven examines women’s empowerment with respect to skills-development training programs in South Sudan. It explores how women are allowed to engage in the attainment of basic hospitality skills in programs that were designed and facilitated with the cooperation of a multinational donor and its partners. It also analyzes how the objective of promoting entrepreneurship among women in post-war South Sudan has been achieved thus far. A brief review of women’s empowerment and the entrepreneurship development literature from an international donor perspective were conducted along with a discussion of the entrepreneurship program as a targeted approach for empowering and sustaining women’s economic situation in South Sudan. Emphasis is placed on women’s empowerment and Small Scale Enterprises (SSE) entrepreneurs, and the current involvement of multinational assistance agencies to regenerate women’s active participation in securing hospitality skills training in a poor country after decades of devastation and civil

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political conflict. Some policy recommendations are provided in the concluding section on how the new government of South Sudan could rejuvenate women’s active role in the development of all spheres of the country’s social-economic transformation. Chapter Twelve examines the empowerment of women in the sustainable development process in Tanzania. It argues that empowerment is both a process and an outcome of inclusive development and equal gender participation. Since the independence of Tanzania, cultural, political, economic, and colonial factors have affected women’s roles in the political, social, and economic spheres. Over the years, in an attempt to solve the problem, the government of Tanzania and civil society made efforts to enact policies to give women equal rights in the country. However, the male-dominated civil service and political system have failed to effectively implement those policies. Consequently, women are still struggling to seek a space and voice in the development process. Further, cultural and religious practices put barriers to women’s genuine empowerment or capacity building. The chapter will recommend some policy changes that can facilitate structural transformation to hasten or facilitate women’s empowerment. Chapter Thirteen explores the socio-political, legal and judicial challenges in women’s empowerment in South Africa since 1994. It further argues that the advancement of women’s rights will not be sustainable if extensive discrimination in the various forms of endemic violence in South African society is not addressed. During twenty years of democracy, the South African constitution has provided the vehicle for the progressive empowerment of women with various legislative and judicial interventions protecting sexual and reproductive rights, including the rights to health, equality and non-discrimination, the support of women’s lobby groups and gender mainstreaming In addition, the Commission on Gender Equality was set up by the South African government under the constitution to advance gender equality and make recommendations on any legislation affecting the status of women. The parliament quota system has been effective in ensuring that women are present in representative numbers in government, and many see the prominent role women play in South African politics as indicative of progress in women’s rights. Despite the political, legal and judicial structures in place to support women’s empowerment, the gains made in South Africa are overshadowed by the endemic gender-based and structural violence against women and children. Research reveals that South Africa (for a country not at war) has the highest rates of violence against women in the world and includes inter alia domestic violence, assault, rape, other forms of sexual assault and

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feticide. In addition, the problem of maternal health is shocking, with 1,426 recorded maternal deaths in 2012 linked to late, or lack of access to, antenatal care. The chapter will provide some recommendations on policies that the government of South Africa could adopt to resolve the problems associated with domestic violence and maternal deaths. Chapter Fourteen investigates how women and girls in Ethiopia have been discriminated and underestimated over the years due to cultural, religious and political practice in the country. It argues that majority of Ethiopian women, especially those in the rural areas, live in a state of poverty and dependence, and rarely benefit directly from empowerment policy initiatives implemented by the government. Ethiopia remains one of Africa’s most tradition-bound societies. Women in Ethiopia constantly suffer from violence and culturally-based abuses, including wife-beating and spousal rape. Despite the opportunity to seek legal redress, an estimated 88 per cent of rural women and 69 per cent of urban women believe a husband has the right to beat his wife. Evidence also suggests that there has been no cause for concern regarding missing women in Ethiopia. The research conducted for this chapter identifies two main factors that work against women’s legal rights in the country: legal rights to control land, and lack of ownership of oxen for women in rural areas. Women in the country also have limited access to bank loans. This chapter explores why women’s empowerment has become a hot issue in Ethiopia. It suggests that empowerment could be a new solution to the ancient problems of treating women as second-class citizens in the country. Treating men and women as equals, as well as protecting the rights of women and their daughters, will be critical for the nation to achieve sustainable development. Appropriate women’s empowerment policies will also help to control the population growth since it could enhance their ability to be more focused on professional jobs other than household activities. In addition, women’s empowerment could be a solution for economic sustainability if women in Ethiopia are equitably included in the economic, political, social and technological transformation process in the country. The chapter provides some policy recommendations that the government of Ethiopia may adopt in order to better utilize the talents of the women and girls for a sustainable future. Chapter Fifteen investigates the role of African nations in empowering women in the sustainable development process. It explores the varieties of discriminatory practices that women face in African countries. It uses data derived from primary and secondary sources to analyze religious, social and economic factors that militate against the integration of women into senior leadership positions in the public and private sectors. Such social and

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economic factors include not only political rights, but also equal access to land and inheritance rights, property rights, social protection of women and girls, employment opportunities, eradication of poverty among women, and women’s access to credit and micro-financial rights. In addition, women’s capacity-building and socio-economic rights must also involve girls’ completion of quality post-primary education, increasing the literacy rate of adult women, increasing women’s influence in governance structure and political decision-making, and eliminating cultural and religious barriers as well as ending discriminatory practices and attitudes. The respondents in this chapter were randomly selected from 12 countries in the African continent. It argues that if women are underrepresented in the sustainable developing process because of open or indirect mechanisms of exclusion and discrimination, then educating women and girls is not enough. Equality of women, girls, men and boys will only take place if public and private institutions are galvanized by constitutional equal human rights, and gender-equality policies change simultaneously. The chapter stresses that the public and private sectors, and NGOs, in African countries need to introduce mandatory diversity management programs as a policy at the national and regional government levels in order to engage women in the process of seeking sustainable development. The chapter suggests that gender equality is central to sustainable development. It concludes by recommending some policies that could effectively reduce marginalization of women in African countries as well as stimulate and integrate talented women in the social, economic, leadership, and sustainable development processes. The goal of Chapter Sixteen is to bring a deeper understanding and insight to the role African governments and private sectors are playing in the empowerment of women in their sustainable development process and the promotion of diversity. It also explores the types of discriminations that women face in African countries. It argues that if women are underrepresented in African countries because of open or indirect mechanisms of exclusion and discrimination, then educating women and girls is not enough to achieve sustainable development. The chapter uses primary and secondary data to analyze what governments and the private sector in African are currently doing to empower women, and foster diversity and equality among men and women as well as galvanize the attainment of capacity building and sustainable development. The research consisted of the administration of two thousand questionnaires, and the interviewing of 400 respondents and eight focus group meetings. Respondents were randomly selected from 12 countries in the African continent. One of the striking findings of the chapter is that in several African countries, more women seem

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to have gained access to higher professional positions in the private than in the public sectors. About 15 per cent of such women have also moved from middle management to executive positions. The results of this chapter have some implications for diversity management in the context of women’s empowerment policies and the political willingness to enhance women’s capacity building and empowerment. The chapter provides some gender equality policy recommendations that could effectively reduce the marginalization of women in African countries as well as stimulate and integrate women’s interest in the social, economic, leadership and sustainable development processes. The integration of talented women’s interests in the social, economic, leadership, and political development of Africa is key to economic growth. Thus, the interface between equality and women’s empowerment all over the African continent is essential for the attainment of sustainable development. Chapter Seventeen is the conclusion. It provides a discussion of the nature and challenges of women’s empowerment and sustainability solutions. It argues that just as environmental issues are becoming a dominant political force in nations all over the world, women’s empowerment in Africa should be equally regarded as a major problem. In the African countries covered in this book, women’s discrimination issues have manifested into major policy dilemmas. The chapter also presents an argument that governments all over the African continent are still politically, religiously and socio-culturally unwilling to resolve many of the short- and long-term discrimination problems that they face. This is why constitutional and institutional reform and new leadership methods are critical to successfully achieving sustainable development in several African countries in the near future. The chapter examines obstacles and leadership challenges that countries in Africa could face as they create new approaches to equal opportunities for women and men, as well as efficiently managing public resources. Promoting sustainability at local and national levels will require paying attention to many factors such as economic development, transportation, social justice, women’s empowerment, environmental planning, and housing. It concludes by describing sustainable development as equitable women and men engaging in capacity building that is ecologically sustainable. The chapter suggests that through appropriate planning, African governments can achieve both increased women’s participation in the development process and general capacity building for all citizens to participate in the restoration of the economy. Additional recommendations are provided with respect to facilitating broader participation and solidarity in the definition of the standards reflecting women’s empowerment all over the African continent.

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Conclusion This chapter has examined the nature of discrimination that women face in several African countries. It has also discussed the current women’s issues in Africa and the definition of terms such as women’s empowerment, capacity building, diversity, sustainable development, environmental sustainability and differences between women and men. It presents an argument that economic empowerment in Africa is the capacity of men and women to participate in contributing to, and benefiting from, sustainable development processes in ways that recognize the value of their contribution, respect their dignity, and make it possible for them to negotiate a fair distribution of the benefits of growth in their respective country (Falola & Amponsah 2012; Eyben et al. 2008; OECD 2010). Public policies that focus on raising public awareness of women’s rights and the benefits of women’s participation in environmental issues and sustainable development are long overdue in a number of African countries. Macro policies should not only contribute towards women’s access to land, but also create an environment conducive to awarenesscreation through the implementation of gender-awareness projects, with specific reference to the role of women in agriculture, and the preservation of the ecosystem and other environmental issues. It is therefore essential that, apart from national policy and initiatives, institutional mechanisms are instituted for the advancement of women, and institutional development funds be made available specifically earmarked for women’s capacity building in environmental health and sustainable development. Public policies should therefore be enacted to ensure systematic access to basic technologies and resources to assist women in fulfilling their economic roles effectively. This will in turn markedly affect macroeconomic supply, response policies and performance. The World Bank (2001) report indicated that putting additional income in the hands of women results in a larger positive impact in intergenerational sustainability. Unfortunately, in many countries, intergenerational inequality in household structures prevents this. Public policy that encourages investing in female education not only yields the highest social return, but also affects the economic sector through its positive impact on agriculture, industry and infrastructure (Wright and Boorse 2014; Sam Okere 2012; Ako-Nai 2013). Nature, and managed ecosystems, are both being pressed to provide increasing goods and services without consideration of the limits of the ecosystem to continue to produce. Human beings may have reached the limit in the use of some resources and most of the time. The ways we use the other resources, including

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women’s capabilities, are currently unsustainable in the African continent (Dibie, 2014). It is therefore very important to argue that the economic empowerment of women is a prerequisite for sustainable development, poverty alleviation, economic growth and the achievement of all the pragmatic goals a nation could dream of.

References Ahikire, J. (2003). “Gender Equity and Local Democracy in Contemporary Uganda: Addressing the Challenge of Women’s Political Effectiveness in Local Government.” In A. M. Goetz and S. Hassim edited, No Shortage to Power. London: Zed Press. Akintunde, D. O. (ed.) (2001). African Culture and the Quest for Women’s Rights. Ibadan, Nigeria: Institute of Women in Religion and Culture. Ampofo, A. A., J. Beoku-Betts, W. N. Nambi and M. J. Osirim. (2009). “Women and Gender Studies in English Speaking Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review of Research in the Social Sciences.” In C. Bose and M. Kim edited, Global Gender Research. New York: Routledge Press. Ampofo, A. A. (2000). “Does Women’s Education Matter? A Case Study of Reproductive Decisions-making from Urban Ghana.” Ghana Studies, 5, pp. 123–157. Argawal, uijh Bina. 2010. Gender and Green Governance: The Political Economy of Women’s Presence Within and Beyond Community Forestry. New York: Oxford University Press. Bahl, J. E. (2006). “Zero Tolerance.” Entrepreneur. (October), p. 120. Bell, M. (2012). Diversity in Organizations. Mason, OH: South-Western Press. Blanchard, K. H., Carlos, J. P., and Alan Randolph (1996). Empowerment Takes More than a Minute. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Press. Boex, Jamie; Yilmaz Serdar (December 2010). “An Analytical Framework for Assessing Decentralized Local Governance and the Local Public Sector.” Urban Institute Center on International Development and Governance. Bose, C. and Kim, M. (2009). Global Gender Research. New York: Routledge Press Brough, Potter (2004). Systemic Capacity Building: A Hierarchy of Needs. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 336–345. Brown, B. J., M. E. Hanson, D. M. Liverman, R. W. Meredith Jr. (1987). “Global Sustainability: Towards Definition,” Environmental Management, vol. 11 (6), 87.

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Linell, D. (2003). Evaluation of Capacity Building: Lessons from the field. Washington, D.C.: Alliance for Nonprofit management. Lussier, R. (2009). Management Fundamentals. Mason, OH: SouthWestern Press. Makinwa, P. and An-Magritt J. (eds). (1995). “Introduction.” Women’s Position and Demographic Change in Sub-Saharan Africa. Liège, Belgium International Union for the Scientific Study of Population. pp. 1–14. McCool, J. D. (2008). “Diversity Pledges Ring Hollow.” Business Week (February, 5). http://www.business-week.com/managing/content/ feb2008/ca2008025080192.htm. Accessed January 6, 2015. McGovern, L. and Wallimann, I. (2012). Globalization and Third World Women. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. Moja, T. (2007). “Politics of Exclusion in Higher Education: The Inadequacy of Gender Issues in the Globalization debates.” In N. A. Lumunba (ed.) Women and Higher Education in Africa: Conceptualizing Gender-based Human Capabilities and Upgrading Human Rights to Knowledge. Abidjan: CEPARRED. Mondoh, O., H. Mujidi, and J. Mujidi (2006). “The Education of Girls in Kenya: Looking Back and Still Looking Forward.” Darker, Senegal: CODERIA Bulletin 1 and 2. Monogamy Reduces Major Social Problems of Polygamist Cultures. Science Daily. Published: 24 January 2012. Nahavandi, A. (2012). The Art and Science of Leadership. Boston, MA: Prentice Hall. Nelson, D. and J. C. Quick. (2013). Organizational Behavior: Science, the Real World and You. Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning. Nussbaum, M. C. (1995). “Introduction,” in Martha C. Nussbaum and Jonathan Glover, eds., Women, Culture, and Development: A Study of Human Capabilities, pp. 1–15. Oxford: Clarendon Press Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED) (2010). Accelerating Progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through Pro-poor Growth: Messages from the DAC Network on Poverty Reduction. Paris: OECD. Okojie, C. E. E. (1995). “The Relationship between Women’s Status, Proximate Determinants and Fertility in Nigeria.” In Makinwa, K. and J. An-Magritt, edited. Women’s Position and Demographic Change in Sub-Saharan Africa. Liège, Belgium: International Union for the Scientific Study of Population.

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Smith, L. E. P. (2006). “Social yet Creative: The Role of Social Relationship in Facilitating Individual Creativity.” Academy of Management, vol. 49, no. 1. Pp.85–101. Steel, Brent, Richard Clinton and Nicholas Lovrich Jr. (2003). Environmental Politics and Policy: A Comparative Approach. New York: McGraw Hill. Stein, A. I. (2009). “Women Lawyers Blog for Workplace Equality: Blogging as a Feminist Legal Method.” Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, 20 (2), 357–408. Stewart, A. M. (1994) Empowering People (Institute of Management). Pitman. London: Financial Times Management, vol. 5, pp. 1–3. Smith-Sebasto, N. (2012). Sustainability. New York: McGraw Hill. Swann, W. B., J. T. Polzer, D. C. Seyle, and S. J. Ko. (2004). “Finding Value in Diversity: Verification of Personal and Social Self-Values in Diverse Groups.” Academy of Management Review, vol. 29 (1), pp. 9– 27. Tamale, S. and J. Oloka-Onyango (2000). “Bitches at the Academy: Gender and Academic Freedom in Africa.” In E. Sall (ed.) Women in Academia: Gender and Academic Freedom in Africa. Darkar, Senegal: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa. Taylor, R. (2012). (Eds.) Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Sustainability. New York: McGraw Hill, 421–437. Teferra, Damtew (October 2010). “Nurturing Local Capacity Builders.” Capacity.org. Thomas, K. W. and Velthouse, B. A. (1990). “Cognitive Elements of Empowerment: An ‘Interpretive’ Model of Intrinsic Task Motivation.” Academy of Management Review, vol. 15 (4), 666–681. Tucker Charles (2011). “Cabbage and Kings: Bridging the Gap for More Effective Capacity Building.” https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/files/1196tucker33upajintll13292011pdf. Accessed January 7, 2015. Ubels, J. Acquaye-Baddoo, Naa-Aku, Fowler, Alan (2010). Capacity Development in Practice. Capacity. pp. chapter 18. United Nations (2014). “Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.” New York: UN Women Publication www.UNwomen.org. Accessed April 12, 2015. United Nations Human Development Index Reports. (2013 & 2014), “Gender Empowerment Indicators.” New York: United Nations Press. United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. (2010). Combating Poverty and Inequality: Structural Change, Social Policy

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CHAPTER TWO FEMINISM THEORIES AND CONCEPTS ROBERT DIBIE

Introduction Over the past two decades the issues of climate change, global poverty, economic inequality and water shortage have also highlighted the significance of gender in sustainable development. During this same period the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) has campaigned vigorously to combat the intergovernmental blindness to gender implications of environmental policy and equity issues (Ferrell et al. 2015). The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (2011) anticipated that the legal status of women would be improved by 2015, and that the respective governments in Africa would confer more political rights upon women. The current practice in Africa entails that women who want public policy to lead to greater equality between women and men have to depend on the good graces of men to bring about such changes (Conway et al. 2005). To conceive of a just society is to conceive of two key principles, namely need and equality (Dibie, 2008; Enahoro and Ehi-Ebewele, 2007). The needs question borders on basic human rights, social justice and the alleviation of poverty (UNDP, 2006; UN, 1977). The principles of equality demand that women and men (people) must be treated as equals in a political community in their position as citizens, and that they must have equal political, legal and social rights. The equality principle is mostly entrenched in constitutional provisions, and it is very important if the minority question is to be effectively addressed in development and resource allocation (Ebeku 2003; Miller, 1999: 250). Sustainable development is thus more than the passage from poor to rich, from a traditional rural economy to a sophisticated urban one. Development includes distributional issues and carries with it not only the idea of economic betterment but also of greater human dignity, security, justice,

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and equity between women and men. This chapter provides an overview of an ethical as well a philosophical framework that works both for and against justice for gender issues, as well as the control of ethical decisions that need to be made. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set out global benchmarks on gender equality, poverty eradication and environmental sustainability, although African nations have so far neglected to seriously address the linkages between these very important equality variables. It is, however, very important to acknowledge that women’s economic empowerment is a prerequisite for sustainable development, social justice, economic growth, capacity building, and the achievement of all the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. This chapter examines several feminist theories, concepts and their appropriate application to the cultural, religious, political, social and economic situations in Africa. It integrates modernization theory, ecological feminist theory, Social Justice Theory, Marxist feminism theory, liberal feminist theory, cultural feminist theory, radical feminist theory, postmodern theory, deontological theory and public trust theory. The chapter argues that these theories are not only about what happens to the female population in any given nation in Africa, but also highlight the meaning of the experiences that women have had in their lives. It also stresses that women’s economic and social empowerment is not only about political rights, but must also involve equal access to land and inheritance rights, property rights, the social protection of women and girls, employment opportunity, eradication of poverty among women, and women’s access to credit and micro-financial rights. Further, women’s capacity-building and socio-economic rights must also involve girls’ completion of quality post-primary education, increasing the literacy rate of adult women, increasing women’s influence in governance structure and political decision-making, and eliminating cultural and religious barriers as well as discriminatory practices and attitudes. The theories also urge citizens of the world to abolish racism, ethnocentrism, imperialism, and exploitation that prevent women from equitably contributing to the sustainable development process of their home country and the world. The chapter explores these theories and then builds a gender block model of equity and development and investigates the pressures for diversity and differences with those of integration and community. It argues that what the African woman needs is a home in which her room’s walls are thick enough to permit a conversation, a community of friends in virtue and partners in action. It is only in such a social justice environment that women can equitably contribute to the sustainable development process in Africa. The chapter concludes with a discussion of sustainable

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transformation instruments that African governments, businesses and NGOs could adopt to actively pursue positive and equitable links between women and men, and environmental and economic performance. Thus, government, the private sector and NGOs should collaborate to establish a mechanism for a better and efficient approach to providing capacity building for women and girls.

Social Justice Theory The traditional picture of the political landscape views philosophical principles as falling somewhere on a single line, stretching from left to right. According to this traditional picture, people on the left believe in equality, and hence endorse some form of socialism, while those on the right believe in freedom, and hence endorse some form of free-market capitalism. In the middle are the liberals who believe in a wishy-washy mixture of equality and freedom, and hence endorse some form of welfare-state capitalism. John Rawls’s (1971) social justice theory stipulates that every person in a society should be assured of the protection of equal access to liberties, rights, and opportunities, as well as taking care of the least advantaged members of society. The social justice theory states that society as a whole is the most important thing, and that anything that is done to harm women and men in it should be avoided, especially to the poor and socially-needy people. Social justice theory is very important as it can develop and maintain long-standing social change. Everyone is treated as equal, so this theory can therefore bring about a lot of equality and other positive changes for women and men alike. However, certain men in African countries do not like this theory because they feel that women and men should not be treated equally in any respect. Such men often argue that it is up to women to make a difference (Dibie and Dibie, 2012). The theory provides a framework that explains the significance, in a society that consists of free and equal persons, of political and personal liberties, of equal opportunity, and cooperative arrangements that benefit the rich and the less advantaged members of a society (Ferrell et al. 2015). According to Rawls (1971), social justice is concerned with promoting a just society by challenging injustice and valuing diversity. Social justice can be claimed to exist when all people in a society or country share a common humanity and therefore have a right to equitable treatment, support for their human rights, and a fair allocation of community resources. Hosmer (2006) and Ferrel et al. (2015) contend that in a country where social justice prevails, citizens (women and men) are not discriminated against, nor are their welfare and well-being constrained or

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prejudiced on the basis of gender, sexuality, religion, political affiliations, age, race, belief, disability, location, social class, socioeconomic circumstances, or other characteristic of background or group membership. The philosophy of John Rawls draws on the work of John Lock’s (1660 & 1689) social contract, the categorical imperative of Immanuel Kant (1797 & 1799) and the utilitarian theories of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. Rawls’s (2001) theory of justice postulates that each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. Social justice, according to this theory, involves promoting a just society by challenging injustice and valuing diversity (Sen 1997 & 2009). It exists when “all people enjoy common liberty and prosperity and therefore have a right to equitable treatment, justice, happiness and a fair allocation of common good” (Rawls, 2001). For this reason, justice denies that the loss of freedom for some is made right by a greater good shared by others. In his theory of justice as fairness Rawls also envisions a society of free citizens holding equal basic rights cooperating within an egalitarian economic system. The social justice theory also presents an argument that citizens of a country or society must work together to ensure equal opportunities for all its members regardless of class status. It is very important to note that social justice encompasses the ideas that a society must guarantee freedom of speech, fairness before the law and freedom of assembly. It must also guarantee equal access to education and employment, as well as unemployment and health insurance to those in need. A key position of Rawls’s theory is that the least-advantaged people should get the most help so they have a chance to succeed (Moellendorf 2002; Nussbaum 2000). The theory can be considered pluralistic or circumstantial because different parts of his conception of social justice are more or less relevant depending on the circumstances (Nickel 2000; Nozick, 1974). According to Dibie (2014), the issue of equal participation of women and men is essential to the planning process and sustainable development. However, in many African countries, participatory processes including those that profess to deliver women-empowered beneficiaries fail specifically in this regard (Francis 2002). According to Oakley et al. (1991) and Theron (2008), two types of women’s empowerment occur. On the one hand, women’s empowerment occurs through the development of skills and abilities that can enable them to manage and better negotiate with the development delivery system of the country. On the other hand, though, women’s empowerment is a process that can equip them to decide on, and take action in terms of, the sustainable development process (Dibie, 2014). Therefore, in analyzing women’s empowerment and the fact

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that they are powerless in the male-dominated societies in Africa, there is a possibility of ending at the paradox of power. This is because the expectation of powerless women is determined both by circumstances and by the imposed expectations of powerful men. As a result, any changes that may occur will be affected by a change in the attitude of powerless women and the transformation in the behavior of men towards their female neighbors in society. Social justice must be African nations’ first priority because it is the basis for all legal policies that follow. By treating women and men as equally deserving, this inevitably leads to a liberal democracy, regulated free markets, a protective sustainable development and a welfare state. Gender equality and participatory development that lead to sustainable development entail local choice because women and men are the local experts of their meaning-giving social context. To honor the priorities of the local women and men who are beneficiaries, women in particular as part of the local experts should have access to decentralized institutions that will accommodate their priorities. The ambivalent and powerfully charged opposition of feminized tradition with masculinized public life constitutes significant modernity principles that inform a seemingly disparate body of literature about development, modernity, dependency and women’s role in sustainable development. According to Vasquez (1996) and Mingst (2004), theories are not static: they can sometimes lead scholars in the wrong direction of a debate. What is clear, however, is that human culture and ideologies are diverse and issues must not be looked at from a narrow Western viewpoint only. Further, most feminist theories are formulated by men for women and some, like Marxism, were not expected or drawn for women’s struggles or oppression. Having made this argument, it will be fair to point out that there are still positive and negative aspects of African culture that international instruments and actions could employ to bring about change in the way women are treated in the continent. The theories discussed earlier emphasize fairness and equity in gender policy decisions. Deontology, for example, refers to moral philosophies that focus on the rights of individuals including women and the intentions associated with a particular behavior rather than its consequences (Ferrell et al. 2015). It is interesting to note that equitable relationships between men and women may also enhance empowerment. Fundamental to deontological theory is the idea that equal respect and opportunities must be given to women and men in the sustainable development and capacity building processes in Nigeria. The authors contend that it is the inherent right of women to behave in particular ways. In addition, the determination of the rightness

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of such behavior should be determined by the ethical values of a given society or country.

Modernization Theory and Gender Modernization theory postulates that traditional societies will develop as they adopt more modern practices. The theory argues that societies develop in fairly predictable stages though which they become increasingly complex. The major element of modernization theory is the change from an agricultural society to an industrial one. Whenever this transformation has occurred, many other changes swept through various parts of the social and economic life of the country involved. According to Ingelhart (1997) and Msmark (2008) modernization theory is the process of transforming from a traditional or underdeveloped society to a modern Western one. Thus, for modernization to occur, technological evolution of agriculture, emergence of entrepreneurs, expansion of foreign trade and accumulation of capital and money that can be used or loaned to exploit natural resources and manufacture of consumer goods must be available (Apter 1965; Bernstein 1971). As a result, one can argue that modernization is the economic growth within societies. Giddens (1991) contends that modernization theories explain the changing ways of communication and media use in traditional and (post)modern societies. Modernization theory posits that there are steps to success for every country. Development depends primarily on the importation of technology as well as a number of other political and social changes believed to come about as a result. In addition, for modernization to occur, these technological, economic, social and industrial factors must be accomplished by psychological and sociological changes. Inkeles (1983) discovered four social factors to be the strongest stimulant to modernization: urbanism, education, poverty alleviation, and mass communication. For example, modernization involves increased levels of schooling and the development of mass media, both of which foster democratic political institutions. Transportation and communication become increasingly sophisticated and accessible, populations become more urban and mobile, and the extended family declines in importance as a result (Schiller, 1976). Organizations become bureaucratic as the division of labor grows more complex and religion declines in public influence. Lastly, cash-driven markets take over as the primary mechanism through which goods and services are exchanged. The ideas of French sociologist Emile Durkheim (1965) provided a strong foundation for the development of modernization

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theory. In addition to social structure and the evolution of societies, Durkheim developed the concept of functionalism, which stresses the interdependence of the institutions of a society and their interaction in maintaining cultural and social unity (Durkheim, 1965). He suggested that in a capitalist society, with a complex division of labor, economic regulation would be needed to maintain order. Durkheim stressed that the major transition from a primitive social order to a more advanced industrial society could otherwise bring crisis and disorder. In addition, Durkheim (1965) developed the idea of social evolution, which indicates how societies and cultures develop over time—much like a living organism—essentially saying that social evolution is like biological evolution with reference to the development of its components. Like organisms, societies progress through several stages generally starting at a simplistic level and then developing at a more complex level. Societies adapt to surrounding environments—but also interact with other societies, which further contributes to progress and development. He compared the development of society with that of the evolution of an organism. As the organism evolves, the more complex it becomes. Likewise, when a society develops, the complexity increases (Durkheim, 1965). The theory of modernization normally consists of three parts: (1) identification of types of societies, and an explanation of how those designated as modernized or relatively modernized differ from others; (2) specification of how societies become modernized, comparing factors that are more or less conducive to transformation; and (3) generalizations about how the parts of a modernized society fit together, involving comparisons of stages of modernization and types of modernized societies with clarity about prospects for further modernization (Black 1966; Ingelhart 1997). Modernization theorists often saw traditions as obstacles to economic growth (Dean, 1973). It is interesting to note that while modernization might deliver violent, radical change for traditional societies, it has fostered industrial development in most Western countries (Bernstein, 1971). Proponents of modernization theory claim that modern states are wealthier, and more powerful, and that their citizens are freer to enjoy a higher standard of living. Modernization theory emerged in the 1950s as an explanation of how the industrial societies of North America and Western Europe developed. The theory also presents an argument that modernization is necessary or preferable because it enhances developments, such as new data technology and the need to update traditional methods. This perception of modernization may insinuate that these developments might control the limits of human interaction, and not the reverse. It also implies that it is

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purely up to human beings to control the speed and severity of modernization (Leroy & Tatenhove 2000). Supposedly, instead of being dominated by tradition, societies undergoing the process of modernization typically arrive at governance dictated by abstract principles. Traditional religious beliefs and cultural traits usually become less important as modernization takes hold (Chengdan, 2009). Critics insist that traditional societies were often destroyed without ever gaining promised advantages if, among other things, the economic gap between advanced societies and such societies actually increased. The net effect of modernization for some societies was therefore the replacement of traditional poverty by a more modern form of misery, especially exploitation, degradation of the African environment, trade imbalance and corruption (Chilcote & Johnson 1983; Assaby-Mensah 2014; Onibode 1989). Others point to improvements in living standards, physical infrastructure, education and economic opportunity to refute such criticisms. The modernization of China through urbanization, industrialization, and economic policy has benefited the country economically as it rises as a world power in the twenty-first century. However, China is now experiencing the problems associated the other modern countries and capitalism. These problems include the growing disparity between rich and poor, urban vs. rural life, and migration, and ecological issues (Rowntree, 2008). In addition, modernization through development has led to problems in countries such as Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, and Gabon by bringing in private, foreign-owned oil companies that have been exploiting the natural resource wealth of African countries (Offiong & Dibie 2012). Because the oil companies are generally owned by a different nation, the profits are mostly being exported from Nigeria, with only one fifteenth of the wealth produced in the region returning to it. Chevron and Shell, the major oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, have helped the country develop and industrialize on a small scale, but they have primarily challenged the sovereignty and autonomy of government and people (Edoho 2013; Rogowski, 2010 Onibode 1989; Leroy & Tatenhove 2000). Another barrier to industrialization or modernization of African countries is neocolonialism. This means the economic dominance by the Western industrialized countries that once held African countries as colonies. Many of these African countries are still finding it difficult to break out of the pattern of a colonial economy, in which the colony exports raw materials and import manufactured goods. Dibie (2014) contends that African countries under this arrangement continue to sell

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their raw materials cheaply and pay high prices for the manufactured goods they import from Western industrial countries or their formal colonial masters. These kinds of neocolonial practices thus make it impossible for African countries to earn enough to build up their respective countries. A lot of scholars view modernization as a sort of Westernization where Western institutions such as national parks and industries are brought into existing cultures where their use does not make as much sense (Nyango’oro 1989; Onibode 1989). Along with modernization comes a loss of culture and society, and the individual is strengthened. African people were forced to change their habits due to modernization and the creation of individual countries caused by colonialism. Nationalization, as a tool of modernization, was imparted to Africa by colonialists who wanted to Westernize and modernize tribal Africa. The creation of individual countries made life for the tribal people more difficult because they were forced out of their nomadic lifestyle into a settlement based around a newly founded national park that practically destroyed their livelihood by restricting their hunting grounds to specific non-park areas. The creation of national parks has increased cultivation, which can be seen as good development because people no longer depend solely on livestock. This creation of a new sort of livelihood has mixed improvements, because the tribal setting is not removed, but put into a single place (Turbull, 1972). Most Africans perceive modernization based on the Western model as a betrayal of their own culture, values and ways of life. As a result, a new form of colonialism by the Western industrial countries of the African people continues to prevail (Nyango’oro 1989; Ako-Nai 2013; Edoho 2013; Sam-Okere 2013). The modernization theory has been negatively reviewed because it conflated modernization with Westernization. It postulates that transformation or the modernization of a society required the destruction of the indigenous culture and its replacement by a more Westernized one. By one definition, modern simply refers to the present, and any society still in existence is therefore modern (Chilcore & Johnson, 1983). Some Western scholars typically view only Western society as being truly modern, arguing that others are primitive or unevolved by comparison. This view sees un-modernized societies as inferior even if they have the same standard of living as Western societies (Ekbladh 2004; Ako-Nai 2013; Edoho 2013; Sam-Okere 2013). The premises of the modernization theory have also been accused of being Eurocentric as modernization began in Europe with the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution and the Revolutions of 1848 (Macionis

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953), and has long been regarded as reaching its most advanced stage in Europe. Thus, an under-theorized tradition and presentation is a static and residual concept (Ekbladh 2004; Randall & Theobald 1985: 35). Anthropologists typically take their criticism one step further and say that this view is ethnocentric, not being specific to Europe, but Western culture in general (Scott 1995; Inkles & Smith et al. 1983). Rostow (1971) discussed the concept of modernization with his five stages of growth. According to him, this five-step model outlines the stages through which each country passes through to be developed. 1. Traditional society—A conservative society distinguished by basic professions like agriculture. It will lack the knowledge about technology as the changes are seen pessimistically; 2. Pre-conditions for take-off—As the needs increase within society, the production increases and so does manufacturing; 3. Take-off—In this stage of development industrialization happens at a fast pace: the perspective of people changes due to the establishment of scientific technologies; 4. Drive to maturity—This stage takes place over a long period of time during which the standard of living of the people increases with the use of technologies and other innovations; and 5. Age of mass consumption—In this final stage of development, the people will enjoy all the conveniences technology has to offer, and urban culture replaces the traditional culture completely making it a developed country. Rostow’s approach is purely anti-communist and based on the capitalist developed nations. It was one of the most influential models in modernization in the nineteenth century. Through this model a larger perspective towards the situations of the underdeveloped and developing countries can be scrutinized (Rostow, 1971). This approach outlines that modernization is about exchanging older agricultural practices for something newer. Most economies in Africa invest in agriculture manufacturing and tourism. As a result, it is not easy to classify economies into neat categories as suggested by Rostow. One of the most intriguing premises of the modernity theory is that it enhanced Western industrialized countries’ power to prescribe the route that Africa’s development must follow. For instance, the failed Eurocentric International Monetary Funds’ (IMF’s) structural adjustment programs in the 1980s were imposed by Western industrialized countries with total disregard for the social, cultural, political, and traditional values of the recipient African countries

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(Onibode 1989; Matunhu 2011). The failure of the theory to put into consideration the cultural, economic and social values of the African people demonstrates the hidden agenda of the Western industrialized countries advocating the theory.

Gender Power, Development and Modernity The literature of gender equality in the Western industrialized countries constantly reminds Africa’s women that there is no certainty they will not mimic the social history of eighteenth and nineteenth-century Western nations. In addition, the literature on women’s role in economic and political development, and the impact of development policies on women, illuminate both the process of modernization and the nature of malefemale relations (Jaquette 1982; Ako-Nai 2013; Timmons & Hite 2000). Asiedu (2009) contends that in the agriculture division, the introduction of computerization and of new technologies in general has displaced small producers and interrupted traditional systems of production between the roles of the two genders in a small family. Further, women in the rural areas of most African countries have experienced difficulty in acquiring access to credit, improved technology and increased services. Scott (1995) argues that these improved technological programs have not taken into account women’s specific needs and multiple-role responsibilities. Further, if African countries ever industrialize they will also modernize in the same ways Western nations did. No doubt African countries and their women face many barriers to industrialization, and there are significant differences between their situation and plight in the twenty-first century and the world that Western societies modernized from (Onibode, 1989). The convergence theory by Zbigniew Brzezinski (cited in Meyer 1970) assumes that modernization will break down the cultural barriers between the Third World, including between African countries and the West, but this is not necessarily correct. African men and women have not completely adopted Western industrialized countries’ ways of living and values (Urdang 1983; Ong 1986; Dibie & Atibil 2012). From a comparative perspective, Harrison and Moore are correct: African women have systematically experienced conflict and misunderstanding between cultures as a result resisted the adoption of some foreign values that do not complement what is acceptable in African societies. It is therefore very important to note that there are differences among women worldwide, and these differences make it imperative that the universal premise of the modernization theory proposed by Western industrialized countries should be further analyzed.

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Despite the modernization theory assumptions, the socialization process in Africa is still mainly in patriarchal and matriarchal environments where polygamy is still practiced in a number of countries. In addition, Ako-Nai (2013) contends that women in Western industrialized countries tend to have distinct experiences from women in Africa and other parts of the world. She further argues that women in the same environment are not necessarily subjected to the same form of liberation or oppression, just as Muslim women’s experiences are different from those of their Christian counterparts. According to Kourany et al. (1999), the socialization process of girls and boys helps define their future role in any society. As a result, girls tend to have lower aspirations and expectations for themselves than boys. Gender socialization, despite the premises of the modernization theory could be debilitating and destructive when culture and religion dictates its imposition on African children (Jaquette, 1982). Further, in several African countries, children are born into societies that largely prefer boys over girls, unfortunately. All things being equal, modernization theory also prescribed that African women should adopt the development footsteps of European and American women. While modernity could raise the living standards of African poor women, policies geared towards the dissemination of knowledge and information about efficient techniques of production are unavailable in some countries on the continent. The modernization theory tends to assume that one size fits all, and does not take into consideration values of participants as directors of development. Put another way, the theory assumes that one day in the future African women will become like white women in Western industrialized countries. Modernity and colonialism also promoted many instances of uneven negative impact, exacerbated gender, racial, and ethnocentrism as well as class inequalities between Europeans exploring the African continent and women’s role in the continent before and after independence. Thereafter, African women experienced more adverse treatment than white women who were the spouses of the white colonial administrators. McGovern and Wallimann (2009) contend that the modernization perspective and the Western liberal feminist perspective also advocated the integration of African women into economic development through institutional reforms, education, technology and income-generating activities. However, the modernization theory did not question the nature of capitalist development into which African women were to be integrated, in other words, the technocratic top-down premises of the modernization perspective. Evidence from Africa shows that the modernization era has been deeply patriarchal, protective of Western capitalist values, loving, and

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nurturing of a few African elites, as well as being authoritarian and oppressive. According to Asiedu (2009), information communication technologies have offered new opportunities all over Africa for women to be employed in innovative and non-traditional sectors such as e-commerce and Internet services. Despite these positive accolades of information communication technologies (ICT), there is no mention of how employment in the ICT industry has exploited and rendered women in some cases as a source of cheap labor. Consequently, modernity perspectives have turned African women into consumers of the product of multinational corporations, low-wage workers or providers of cheap services, such as domestic work (McGovern and Wallimann 2009). McGovern and Wallimann (2009) also argued that African women, whose nations had been a colony, embody in their experience of exploitation and oppression the gendered nature of the colonial project that was an instrument in the expansion of global capitalism. According to Green (1999) and Matunhu (2011), modernization has opened up economic opportunities in some areas in Africa. However, it has also led to a decline in traditional sources of income for many women, especially those engaged in the production of handmade and homemade items. This aftermath has resulted in women’s lowest level of productivity. In addition, in many African countries, women are not able to own land or have access to loans. Their husbands and male-dominated governments have taken their land rights away under the cover of modernity. The situation in Kenya in East Africa is further evidence of how modernization has not resonated well. According to Brownhill and Turner (2009), the World Bank and IMF advisers helped President Kibaki in 2007 to write another constitution, known as the Wako Draft. This watered down the transformational aspects of the 2004 Wanjiku constitution as well as removing clauses protecting women’s rights to inherit land, and erased the clauses which provided for the devolution of power. Further, women in Kenya working in the textile industry retaliated and rioted against sexual exploitation in the industry owned by foreign investors. Kenyan women’s capacity to confront their exploiters was enhanced by land occupations which opened alternatives to waged work (Brownhill and Turner 2009). It is not a new responsibility for women in Africa to continue to be defined in terms of procreation, childbearing and house-economy function. However, modernity has also made women in Africa the new targets of government policies and the recipients of greater bureaucratic discipline and control (Scott 1995; Sam-Okere 2013). As a result, women must participate in the modernity project through revolutionary public activity.

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Leadership in both breaking the backbone of the economy of affection and cutting the bonds that have allowed it to dangerously infiltrate the respective African governments is presented as an important task for African leaders (Hyden, 1986). In the spirit of shared governance, African leaders must look out for what is best for women and men in their respective countries. The achievement of modernity in Africa is a feat of historical proportions because it signifies a successful struggle over insinuating and threatening tradition (Scott, 1995). It will thus be appropriate at this point to argue that modernity requires heroic action on the part of women and men operating equitably to resolve past gender and economic, social and political problems.

Ecofeminism Theory The Ecological feminism theory stipulates that women and the environment should be treated similarly. According to Epstein (1993), women and the environment have been oppressed and are in need of liberation. Ecofeminism theory presents an argument that the patriarchal male-dominated structure of society, which traditionally grants more power and prestige to men than women, is the cause of both social and environmental problems. The theory postulates that a male tendency to try to dominate and conquer what men hate, fear, or do not understand has historically been exercised against both women and the natural environment (Withgott and Brennan, 2009). The ecofeminism theory proposes that women can free themselves and nature at the same time by promoting equity in economic markets (Clifford and Edward, 2012). It is interesting to note that male power is identified as centered on the economic domination of women and nature. Although the theory emphasized the domination of men over women and the natural environment, it also argued that since men and women are tied together, they must both be activists for the liberation of the environment (Dibie, 2014). Social ecology and ecological feminism tend to look to society to find the underlying causes of the environmental crisis. According to Bookchin (1990), the root of our ecological crisis lies in certain social factors. Specifically, social ecology and ecofeminism theories suggest that the domination and degradation of that natural environment arise from social patterns of domination. Autocratic leadership systems are also associated with leaders that control the government and the social life of citizens. On the one hand, social ecologists linked environmental destruction to what they see as general and widespread forms of domination and hierarchy.

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They tend to include such social practices as economic status, and social class structures, sexism, racism, private ownership and capitalism. According to Bookchin (1982), these factors tend to establish a social hierarchy in which some human beings exercise power and domination over others. On the other hand, ecological feminism tends to identify the oppression of women as a comprehensive method of social domination. Ecological feminists also identified a close relationship between the oppression of women and of the environment (Des Jardins, 1997). As a result of this belief they contend that the goals of the feminist movement closely parallel those of the ecological movement. Both the social ecologist and ecological feminism approaches postulate that a failure to see the connection between women’s and nature’s oppression will result in the continued exploitation of both women and non-human nature in the development of policy, theory, and practices that are grossly inadequate from a feminist perspective.

Womanism Theory Womanism theory is a social theory deeply rooted in the racial and gender oppression of black women. Womanism theory essentially advocates freedom and independence for the women who need to work in association with men to contribute their quota to the stability of human society (Walker, 2003). According to Phillip (2006), womanism is a social change perspective based upon the everyday problems and experiences of black women and other women of color, but more broadly seeks methods to eradicate inequalities not just for black women, but for all people. The theory seeks to acknowledge and praise the sexual power of black women while recognizing a history of sexual violence. A womanist is a woman who loves women and appreciates women’s culture and power as something that is incorporated into the world as a whole (Maparyan, 2012). The theory addresses the racist and classist aspects of white feminism and actively opposes separatist ideologies. It includes the word “man,” recognizing that black men are an integral part of black women’s lives as their children, lovers, and family members (Walker 2012; Phillip 2006). It accounts for the ways in which black women support and empower black men, and serves as a tool for understanding the black woman’s relationship to men as different from the white woman’s (Inglehart and Welzel, 2005). Like men, women therefore need to be empowered in order to find meaning and fulfillment in life (Green 1999; Okpeh & Angya 2007; Sha 2007). The womanism social theory is unique

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because it does not necessarily imply any political position or value system other than the honoring of black women’s strength and experiences. It also recognizes that women are survivors in a world that is oppressive on multiple platforms; it seeks to celebrate the ways in which women negotiate these oppressions in their individual lives (Dibie, 2014).

Radical Feminism Theory Radical feminism theory focuses on the premise that patriarchy is a system of power that organizes society into complex relationships based on the assertion of male supremacy (Willis, 1984). Radical feminists assert that their society is a patriarchy in which the class of men are the oppressors of the class of women (Echols 1989; Willis, 1984). Radical feminists seek to abolish patriarchy. They contend that, due to patriarchy, women have come to be viewed as the “other” to the male norm, and as such have been systematically oppressed and marginalized. They also believe that the way to deal with patriarchy and oppression of all kinds is to address the underlying causes of these problems through revolution (Echols 1989). The feminist theory asserts that men as a class benefit from the oppression of women (Willis, 1984). Radical feminists also believe that men use social systems and other methods of control to keep non-dominant men and all women suppressed (Echols, 1989). According to Dibie & Dibie (2012), oppression is based on, but is not limited to, social class, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical ability and perceived attractiveness. Thus radical feminists advocate that society as a whole should be restructured in such a way that it will be possible for men and women to have equal opportunities. They advocate a resistance of violence against women in any form at all (Hudson-Weems, 1997; Inglehart and Welzel 2002). Radical feminists tend to take an extreme position in their call for institutional and structural transformation. This puts them in an antagonistic position to men (Fallon, 2003). Their contention, however, is that the “transformation should help to galvanize the consciousness of women’s importance in any society” (Dibie and Offiong, 2009). The expected result could be the reconstruction of the relationship between men and women in a more egalitarian and flexible way. Radical feminists also believe that eliminating patriarchy, and other systems which perpetuate the domination of one group over another, will liberate everyone from an unjust society.

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Liberal Feminism Theory Liberal feminism theory argues that society holds the false belief that women are, by nature, less intellectually and physically capable than men. Thus, men tend to discriminate against women in the academy, the forum, and the marketplace (Tong 1989). Liberal feminists believe that “female subordination is rooted in a set of customary and legal constraint that blocks women’s entrance to and success in the so-called public world.” Proponents of the feminist ideology work hard to emphasize the equality of men and women through political and legal reform (Hooks, 1984). Liberal feminism further contends that men and women are first and foremost human beings because they both have the capacity for reasoning (Dibie and Offiong, 2009). Women should therefore be given the same access as men; that is, there is the need for a “level playing field” for both men and women, where they can compete based on merit and ability and not on gender. Liberal feminists hinge their argument on the fact that it is the democratic institutions of the state that will place women in the right pedestal of participation in society. This is because a “country whose democratic traditions are strong could empower their women” (Inglehart and Welzel, 2005). At the top of the agenda of liberal feminism is “equality of opportunities for women” (Green, 1999).

Public Trust Theory The public trust theory plays a critically important role in protecting the vitality of public space, which is core to human development. According to Porumbescu and Park (2014), citizens’ trust in their government can be seen as an empowering force that enables government to operate more efficiently and effectively. When trust in government is high, citizens comply and follow the direction that their government has set them upon. As a result, this trust in government’s ability to act is an important role in democratic systems because it can be seen as enhancing governments’ ability to function well (Keele 2007; Kim 2005). The public trust theory argues that in all democratic countries, the public places its trust in its officials to respect the wishes of the citizens, who are men and women. This means that all elected government officials and institutions, including public administrators, ministries and agencies, are ultimately accountable to the public. In the women’s empowerment débâcle, the public trust doctrine postulates that the government should protect women’s right in African countries. The government is trusted to maintain the equal rights of both men and women. According to Lewis

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(2006), the public interest of women requires government officials do two things. First, they must seriously consider the complexities of women’s rights and interests, not only among themselves but also in dialogue with a variety of stakeholders. Second, elected government officials and public administrators must consider not only democracy and mutuality, but also sustainability and women’s well-being. From this perspective, the theory is a solid legal mandate for protecting public space and promoting public freedom. Moreover, the expansive use of the public trust doctrine has reshaped the doctrine as a constitutional principle that undergirds the protection of citizens’ fundamental rights over public space (Dibie 2014; Sun 2011). Serving women’s public interest is conceptualized more fruitfully as a process of liberalization of their rights as equal members of society (McGovern & Wallimann 2012; Roumberoutsos, 2010). This means that government officials are trusted to be committed to equally protecting both women and men in the country. Men should therefore not be given more rights and privileges than women under any circumstance (Waylen 1996; Conway et al. 2005). It is the role of the government to respect the public trust (Hill and Lynn, 2009). Assessing trust in government by women in Africa permits the author to gain insight into how women are treated or protected by gender laws in the continent. Based on this knowledge, women are able to make decisions about whether to trust government or not as a result of their personal experiences. The knowledge from which African women could trust results from those informal experiences they had from encounters with governments institutions. Their encounter with the police or justice system plays a very important role in the process of creating social trust. The idea of trusting government therefore depends on whether government institutions have helped them to effectively address their pressing needs. The complications of the public trust theory are nowhere more evident than in the implementation of equal opportunities in all aspects of life for women and men in many African countries (Dibie and Atibil, 2012). The inability of government to fulfill the public trust with respect to women’s affairs has galvanized NGOs to intervene in the promotion of women’s empowerment. This initiative could further enhance women’s contribution to sustainable development in the African continent.

Marxist Feminism Theory Marxist feminism theory investigates and explains the ways in which women are oppressed through systems of capitalism and private property. According to the theory, women’s liberation can only be achieved through

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a radical restructuring of the current capitalist economy in which much of women’s labor is uncompensated (Ferguson & Hennessy 2010). The theory sees the imbalance in the relationship between men and women from an economic perspective. It contends “that women’s inequality is rooted in class oppression under capitalism” (Vogel, (2013). Marxist feminists unequivocally condemn what they call the economic dependence of women, which they argue has tied women to the apron strings of men (Vogel, 2013). Marxist feminists therefore advocate that the activities of women either in the public service or domestic domains should be rated and remunerated and that women should be empowered economically (Green 1999). Although myths do not have any specific or logical worth or value, over time, they have been employed to rationalize the denigration of women on the African continent. Since society is dynamic, Marxist theory advocates a “reconstructing of society” by reconstructing gender myths. It is by so doing that the much talked about women’s empowerment and stable society for the realization of humanity’s potentials (including women) can be achieved (Bose and Kim 2009; Kolawole, 1988). The reason for adopting these theories is because the underlying point is that without men and women, human society would be incomplete. Women should not therefore be seen as appendages to men; rather, they should be seen as the complementary ultimate factor in societal equilibrium (Okpeh & Angya 2007; Sha 2007). Women, like men, need to be empowered in order to find meaning and fulfillment in life. This will eventually pay back to society by way of sustainable development and the well-being of both men and women to work as equal partners (Dibie and Dibie 2012). There are many theories that have been propounded by scholars in different spheres of academic works that can be applied when studying issues concerning women’s empowerment. The theories which this researcher considers for application to this work, however, are womanist theory, also called womanism, and public trust theory. The limitation of Western theories in Africa previously discussed is that they did not bring into consideration the fact that different cultures differ in their perception of human rights. The omission is obvious when discussing women’s issues from a myopic point of view. According to Dibie and Atibil (2012), and Mahmond (2004), the difference in culture and perception brings up the question of whether the same theory could apply to societies with different cultures and religions. On one hand, in some Western industrialized countries, for example, Islam encourages the submission of women to men. In Arab countries, on the other hand, such submission is perceived as men protecting their wives. The present clashes

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in civilization and unending acts of terror attest to this view. Further, in Africa, the nature of religion observed still determines the marriage system, and polygamy is still widely practiced. Islam accepts polygamy and traditional religion also upholds it. In addition, it will be interesting to note that some Christian sects in Africa still practice and accept polygamy (Ako-Nai, 2013). In some regions of Africa matrilineal culture also gives women both reproductive and productive responsibilities. For example, the Ashanti (Akan) women, along with the Queen mothers, were very powerful in Ghana (Dibie and Atibil, 2012) before the British colonized it. The colonial administration in Ghana almost destroyed the culture as a result of their imposition of British values. Figure 2.1 shows some of the policy instruments that better enhance the socio-economic status of women in Africa derived from the theories and concepts discussed in this chapter. Figure 2.1 also shows that women’s economic and social empowerment is not only about political rights, it also involves equal access to land and inheritance rights, property rights, the social protection of women and girls, employment opportunities, the eradication of poverty among women, women’s access to credit and micro-financial rights. In addition, women’s capacity-building and socio-economic rights must also involve girls’ completion of quality post-primary education, increasing the literacy rate of adult women, increasing women’s influence in governance structure and political decision-making, and eliminating cultural and religious barriers as well as discriminatory practices and attitudes.

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Figure 2-1 Socio-economic Policies for Women Empowerment

*Increasing women’s influence in governance structure and political decision-making *Poverty Eradication *Access to Credit and Micro-finance rights

*Improving Literacy rate of adult women *Girls completion of quality post-primary education

Property and Inheritance rights Economic and Social Empowerment of women

*Social Protection of women and girls * Train men and boys about appropriate gender attitude

Eliminating Cultural and religious barriers and discriminatory practices and attitude Equal Employment Opportunities for women and men

Integrating gender specific perspective at the design stage of policy and programs Source: Dibie, R. And Sam-Okere, J. (2015). Government and NGOs Performance with Respect to Women Empowerment in Nigeria. African’s Public Service Delivery & Performance Review, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 92–136.

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Getting a handle on the real factors undermining African women’s social and economic empowerment is important because the effectiveness of policies and programs to promote women’s empowerment depends on an accurate identification of the problem. Women on the African continent continue to be underrepresented in almost every sphere of the economic and social arena, although they are making progress in some countries. Future women’s empowerment policies will also depend on effective implementation. In addition, substantial and rapid gender policy change would be expected only if there were major changes in the composition of the number of women in the policy decision-making process.

Conclusion This chapter has examined several gender-related theories. It argues that modernization or development theory presents the idea that by introducing modern methods in technology, agricultural production for trade, and industrialization dependent on a mobile labor force, the underdeveloped countries will experience a strengthening in their economies. In addition, gender equality, women’s empowerment, full enjoyment of human rights, and the eradication of poverty to allow economic and social development in African could enhance economic growth and sustainable development. Despite these arguments, many African women are still treated as secondclass citizens, and they are exploited every day by discretionary policies that not effectively implemented. Each gender theory discussed has a distinct view of the causes, consequences, and significance of women’s inferior status during modernization and each proposes different strategies of change. The clarification of theoretical differences suggests new opportunities for productive research with implications for public policy relations (Jaquette 1982; OCED 2011). Major equitable access to food resources, applied technologies, appropriate government policies and modernized economic systems are the ultimate solutions to stop the currently 925 million hungry individuals (including men and women in Africa) from increasing, and convert those current statistics around the world to the possibility of a hunger-free world in the long term (Dibie & Dibie 2015; Scott 1995). Governments in the African continent need to stop compromising their comparative advantageous position in order to avoid the exploitation games of the Western industrialized countries. The question of a successful justice theory has never been answered by political philosophers. The trend of modern-day philosophical theorists has always been taking different extreme “left and right” positions. But if the

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disagreement between these values of contemporary political theory is really foundational, how can they be integrated into a single theory? This chapter advanced an abstract and more fundamental ideal of equality in political theory, namely, the ideal of treating women and men (people) as equals. Egalitarian theories require that the government treat its citizens with equal consideration. Thus, each citizen is entitled to equal concern and respect. Also, the basic notion of equality and fairness is found in Nozick’s libertarianism as well as in utilitarianism theories. While leftists believe that equality of income or wealth is a precondition for treating people as equals, those on the right believe that equal rights over one’s labor and property are a precondition for treating people as equal (Edoho 2013; Conway et al. 2010). In my opinion, the idea of an egalitarian plateau for political argument is potentially better able to accommodate both the diversity and unity of contemporary political philosophy. With rapid economic development and the advent of the women’s movement, the changing status of women received much attention around the world. The role of women will begin to change from the submissive, dependent and childbearing traditional woman to the modern woman demanding equal rights, sovereignty, and independence, assuming equally heavy career responsibilities if their rights are constitutionally protected and gender empowerment policies are effectively enforced all over the African continent.

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CHAPTER THREE GENDER EQUALITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN BURKINA FASO MARIAM KONATEŀAND FREDAH MAINAH

Introduction Burkina Faso is a former French colony and a landlocked country in the heart of West Africa. The 2014 United Nations Development Program report ranks Burkina Faso as 181 out of the 187 countries on the low human development index (p.2). The same report ranks the country 131 out of 149 countries on the low Gender Inequality Index as a result of inequalities related to reproductive health, empowerment and economic activity, which results in a 35 per cent loss in human development due to this inequality (p.4). Burkina Faso has a population of seventeen million people, 77 per cent of whom live in rural areas, while 63.8 per cent live on less than $1.25 per day. Women make up 51.7 per cent of the population and assume 60 per cent of the agricultural production. Although women’s important role in food production and their numeric representation seem to make them important players in the struggle for a sustainable development in Burkina Faso, they still remain the majority of the population living in abject poverty and suffer from multiple forms of injustice deeply rooted in patriarchal thinking, and which is evident in their social, economic and political status and conditions (p.6). This chapter examines the various frameworks that have been used to address gender and development issues in Burkina Faso. It highlights the complexities that surround promoting the dynamics of gender equality in the social and economic spheres in the country. The chapter argues that women represent vast additional resources for the economy of Burkina Faso, and if they are effectively empowered, more will enter the labor market, and the economy will show favorable results. Other justifications for empowering women include the expected benefits for labor force participation, health, and children’s education. But the simple direct

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impact on the economy supports renewed and expanded efforts to provide quality education to girls. One reason that explains the continued lower status and power of women, as well as the feminization of poverty in Burkina Faso and globally, is their underrepresentation in politics. The purpose of this chapter is threefold. First, it discusses the historical evolution of the status of women in the process of development in Burkina Faso by examining some of the barriers to women’s participation in formal politics. Second, it explores the different ways in which women have used their political power and representation in order to advocate for equal rights. Third, it examines the initiatives that the government of Burkina Faso is making towards women’s empowerment in all spheres in the sustainable development processes in the country. The concluding section provides some recommendations that could enhance women’s future political rights as well as foster their equal participation in the political process and sustainable development of Burkina Faso.

Women and Structural Systems Framework According to estimates from World Development reports in 2012 and 2013, the living conditions of girls and women worldwide have dramatically changed for the better in the past twenty-five years. Women have a longer life expectancy than men; more girls and women are in school in one-third of the developing nations; and women make up more than 40 per cent of the global labor force. However, the same reports also state that in those same areas, there has been limited progress towards gender equality, even in some of the most developed nations of the world. Indeed, women make up two-thirds of the 1.4 billion people who live in extreme poverty (on less than one U.S. dollar a day) and 60 per cent of the world’s 572 million working poor in the world (Lee & Shaw, 2011). Smee and Woodroffe (2013) indicate that women in the 22 out of 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa for which data is available are more likely than men to live in poverty. Globally, gender-based discriminations are caused by structural systems which perpetuate gender inequalities by denying girls and women the opportunities to reach their full human potential and to fully participate in the social, economic and political decision making of their countries. A global research on the theme of inequality conducted by UN Women and UNICEF in 2012 and 2013 “revealed that gender-based inequality remains one of the most pervasive forms of inequalities found in all societies, and affecting a larger proportion of the world’s population than any other form of inequality” (p.11). Indeed, a substantial body of feminist research

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reveals that gender equality and women’s empowerment can have powerful and positive effects on achieving sustainable development, good governance that is inclusive of all members of the society, as well as peace and stability (p.11). As noted above, the concept of gender equality constitutes a crucial piece in the process of achieving sustainable development. Statistics from the 2012 World Development report show that women make up 40 per cent of the global workforce, 43 per cent of the global agricultural labor force, and more than 50 per cent of the world’s university students. Economists argue that gender equality matters for development because “closing gender gaps in access to economic opportunities, earnings, and productivity will [not only] enhance productivity, [but] will also improve other development outcomes” (p.22). Indeed, closing the gender gaps would empower women and create more equitable institutions that would allow women to fully participate in the social, economic and political development process of their countries. Yet gender disparities are still present worldwide, even in the most developed nations. Although data point to an overall increase in the number of women entering the global workforce as indicated above, women still experience gender pay-inequalities as well as other discriminatory treatment on the job. Globally, “women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours, produce half of the world’s food, [yet, women] earn only 10 per cent of the world’s income and own less than one per cent of the world’s property” (Lee and Shaw, 2011, p.1–2), thus making up 70 per cent of the world’s population that lives in extreme poverty. Because of the fact that, globally, women are not valued in most societies, the work that they do tends to also be undervalued and not counted. These statistics are extremely alarming because the 1995 Beijing conference “identified economic disparities between men and women as one of the 12 critical areas of concern requiring action by member states, the international community and civil society” (UNWomen, 2000, p.1). To that effect, promoting women’s economic empowerment will require governments to enact policies that will encourage women to have access to resources and opportunities that will allow them to create and own their own businesses and to own property, according to the 2014 UN report on the status of women (p.7).

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Historical Evolution of the Status of Women in Burkina Faso At the Social Level Current development measures indicate that there is a correlation between social institutions and development outcomes. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 2010 report, “High discrimination in social institutions appears to drive low outcomes in key development areas like women’s education and employment, thus limiting a country’s overall growth” (p.13). Therefore, “promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, together with the creation of stable and sustainable development, is critical to achieving fairer and more coherent societies” (p.6). Although the role of women and girls as key agents in achieving the Millennium Developments goals is undeniable, many challenges still remain. Gender is a socially constructed concept that refers to a set of taught and learned attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, and expectations about gender appropriate roles for men and women. These gender roles in most cultures and societies globally translate into gender inequalities, whereby boys and men have more rights, resources, access, and power than young girls and women. Social and cultural perceptions about gender norms usually become translated into discriminatory social, economic and political practices that keep women in a subordinate and inferior status in society. In many developing countries, gender equality has been hampered by the absence of a comprehensive approach to gender equality. Social norms and practices such as violence against women remain major barriers to combating gender inequalities worldwide (Burn, 2011). Just as in any other country, women in Burkina Faso experience multiple forms of gender discrimination. Social gender roles cast men as breadwinners and women as caregivers and caretakers. These social gender role arrangements put many constraints on women and limit their abilities to achieve their full potential in society. For example, the tremendous amount of time women spend on unpaid domestic work and care labor negatively impacts their productivity and, as such, women’s considerable workloads constitute a major barrier to their participation in the labor force. Domestic violence, illiteracy, and women’s low representation in politics constitute some of the main impediments to the realization of women’s rights.

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Violence against Women According to Kabeer (2014), violence against women can negatively affect development efforts because “it infringes women’s fundamental human rights to bodily integrity and freedom from fear, jeopardizes their basic human capabilities, and, as a result, undermines their ability to participate as full citizens in the economic, political and social life of their community. These costs do not fall on women alone, but also on their children and families, and beyond to the wider society because they constitute a major barrier to achieving the goal of equitable and sustainable human development” (p.1). According to Duncan (2011), gendered violence is pervasive globally and affects women at all levels, notwithstanding their cultural context, race, ethnicity, religion, and socioeconomic status, and yet “is the least prosecuted human rights violation worldwide” (p.349). The normalization and pervasiveness of violence against women has not only become a global health issue, but also an issue of the violation of women’s human rights that threatens economic, political, and social development of entire societies. The U.N. Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women adopted in 1993 defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private” (Article 1). Statistics on violence against women point to physical violence inflicted by an intimate partner as the most common form of violence experienced by women globally. In 2013, 35 per cent of intimate partner physical violence was perpetrated on women (UNWomen, 2013, p.2). Despite the fact that violence against women is the leading cause of death and disability for girls and women 15–44, it is often accepted as normal or not harmful, and some people even think that women deserve it. Acts of violence against women often result in a wide range of physical, psychological and social effects. The cost of violence against women is extremely high. Duncan (2011) further asserts that violence places women at higher risk of poor physical and reproductive health outcomes. Moreover, women victims of violence exhibit poorer mental health and social functioning. In addition, their physical, emotional and psychological pain and suffering can lead to loss of employment and productivity (p. 351–352). Intimate partner abuse and other forms of abuse targeted at girls and women based on cultural beliefs are commonplace in Burkina Faso. Violence is normalized and happens in both private and public spaces with

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impunity. In 1996, Burkina Faso was the first country in West Africa to pass laws that criminalized female genital cutting. Since then, anyone caught performing this act could be given a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and fined up to US$1,500. In order to circumvent the law and avoid being caught, many women practitioners of female genital cutting turned to younger and younger girls. According to government statistics, the percentage of girls younger than five years old who suffered female genital cutting increased from 20 per cent in 1998 to 31 per cent in 2003 (IRIN, January 2009). In addition, in 2005 the country also criminalized the intentional spread of HIV/AIDS as well as human trafficking. Some specific examples of prevalent forms of violence against women in Burkina Faso are domestic violence, sexual abuse, sexual harassment in the streets and in the work place, sexual abuse, rape and female genital cutting. A study conducted in 1992 by the Association of the Bureau of Intervention SOS Women revealed that 99 per cent of women in Burkina Faso have experienced some form of gender-based violence against them. Many women who have experienced domestic violence suffer in silence and do not talk about it because violence happens in the private sphere and in the hands of domestic partners. These women frequently feel a sense of shame, dishonor, powerlessness, and helplessness because of the existence of social stigmas that they have to live with. Moreover, many of these women have difficulty leaving their abusive situations because most of the time they are financially dependent on their abusers. Therefore, they cannot financially take care of themselves or their children on their own. Indeed, the burden of unpaid work and the dependence of the majority of women in Burkina Faso on men for their livelihoods means that women are often disproportionally more vulnerable to poverty and violence. Furthermore, women who have experienced domestic violence fear rejection by their families and communities, and even the risk of further violence or death if they were to speak up, since violence against women is so normalized in Burkinabe society. Remarkable progress has been observed in the area of female genital cutting, as the criminalization of this practice seems to have greatly contributed its decrease in, which has dropped from 70 per cent in the 1990s to 40 per cent in 2010, according to the 2010 report of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. Nevertheless, these numbers should not lead us to lose track of the fact that as an enduring cultural practice female genital cutting is still practiced in rural areas, as many perpetrators have gone underground to avoid punishment. It is to remedy that reality that the Ministries of Social Work and National Solidarity, of

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Promotion of Women, and Human Rights have set up national legislative policies and mechanisms designed to protect, advice, and refer women who have suffered acts of domestic violence. Such policies include the National Policy on Women’s Empowerment, the National Policy on Human Rights Promotion, the National Health Policy, the Plan for Basic Education, and the National Gender Policy (Kaboré, ep. Zaré et al. p.40– 41). In addition, the government has engaged in the production and widespread distribution of theatre forums and awareness campaigns in order to sensitize the population, especially men, about the negative effects of domestic violence on women. These measures nonetheless remain insufficient and inadequate as the government has yet to pass specific legislation protecting women who experience abuse. As a result, women who experience domestic violence in the private as well the public spheres have no legal recourse whatsoever to protect them and bring the perpetrators to justice (Kaboré ep. Zaré et al., p.45). Moreover, Western-funded development programs have failed to solve gender inequalities in many African countries, including Burkina Faso, because they have operated on the patriarchal assumption that giving financial aid to men to start up their businesses will eventually trickle down to their women and children, since men are supposed to be the breadwinners. Burn (2011) underscores the failure of traditional development programs when she states, “until the late 1970s, development efforts targeted at women viewed women primarily as mothers by focusing on mother-child health programs, feeding schemes, family planning, food aid. These programs do not do much to create independence and selfreliance among women, but they are politically safe in that they do not challenge women’s traditional roles” (p.129).

Low Levels of Education and Literacy In Burkina Faso, gender inequalities are most evident in rural areas where women lack access to the most basic needs. The literacy rate for children up to 14 (46.2 per cent of the population) is 40 per cent, and that of 15 and older is less than 30 per cent, according to the UNDP 2013 report. Women have an illiteracy rate of 71 per cent, with 21 per cent having an elementary level education, and 9 per cent having secondary level. Factors that explain women’s low literacy rates include poverty, forced marriages, unwanted pregnancies, the burden of domestic work, and negative perceptions related to women’s status, place and role in society. The lack of education and job opportunities negatively affect women’s ability to obtain land and credit in their own name. This is due in part to

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deep-seated gender disparities and inequalities resulting from patriarchal social norms that relegate women to an inferior and subordinated status, high illiteracy rates, and a pervasive lack of awareness about their rights and opportunities. The high rate of illiteracy and the lack of employment opportunities in rural areas cause many women to leave for urban areas where they increase the number of jobless.

At the Political Arena: Women’s Underrepresentation in Politics “Equality for women is progress for all”, was the theme of the 2014 International Women Day. This theme underscores the fact that the issue of gender equality and women’s rights is considered as an essential driving force on the global development agenda. Also implied in this theme is the idea that in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of gender equality and women’s empowerment, we have to involve women as central players in the social, economic and political futures of our societies. Indeed, several development indicators point to the reality that, generally speaking, countries and communities thrive when women are given economic opportunities and are allowed political participation. According to the 2014 UN International Women’s Day Report, women’s participation at all levels is critical for achieving the Millennium Development Goals and shaping the post-2015 development agenda. In addition to the fulfillment of human rights, their participation in decisionmaking enables women to influence public policies and spending priorities towards ensuring adequate provision of services, guaranteeing their sexual and reproductive rights, and ensuring gender-responsive management of resources. Women’s organizations play an important role in advancing gender equality and women’s rights and holding decision-makers to account. The involvement of men and boys is critical for the promotion of gender equality (p.16). Generally speaking, conventional indicators of development draw a direct correlation between gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment and the attainment of sustainable development. Gender equality as one of the significant Millennium Development Goals (Goal 3), indicates the fact that the persistence of gender-based inequalities such as unpaid labor and care work, violence against women and girls, access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, the gender wage gap and women’s exclusion from all levels of decision-making constitute a great barrier to gender parity. It therefore equally constitutes an impediment to achieving true and sustainable global development.

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According to the UN International Women’s Day Report (2014), “globally, women continue to be underrepresented in decision-making. As of October 2013, women represented 21.8 per cent of parliamentarians in single or lower houses and 19.4 per cent of Senate or upper houses, up from 12 per cent and 10.1 per cent in January 1997, respectively. Gender gaps also persist in areas of decision-making not monitored by the Millennium Development Goals. As at January 2012, only 17 per cent of government ministers were women and only 8 women served as Head of State; 13 served as Head of Government as at June 2013” (p.7). In Burkina Faso, only one woman was elected to parliament in 1977; 4 in 1992, which represents only 3.7 per cent of women in parliament; 10 in 1997 or 9 per cent of women represented in parliament; and 11 women in 2002, or 9.9 per cent of women were elected in parliament. Between 1969 and 2000, the number of women who were nominated to ministerial positions in Burkina Faso reached 10 per cent. During those years, the majority of women were usually nominated to positions that represented an extension of their traditional gender roles. Women held ministerial positions in the areas of family, social affairs, women’s affairs and education, although a few women have held key strategic positions in the government, in the areas of Minister of Justice, Finance, Budget and Public Affairs. Women have also been nominated as heads of several provinces in Burkina Faso (Tiendrébéogo-Kaboret, p.40–41). A 2014 UNDP Report indicates a 15.7 per cent female representation in parliament in 2013 in Burkina Faso. The constitutional legislation of the country upholds the principle of equality between men and women and guarantees human rights. Discrimination is legally prohibited and, although all forms of gender discrimination are prohibited by law, poverty and social exclusion are prevalent because traditional norms impose a specific burden on women. Gender discrimination is particularly evident in social institutions related to civil liberties and ownership rights. Despite all the government’s efforts, women still have a limited representation in areas of decision making. Statistics from a June 2006 UNICEF report rated Burkina Faso as one of the countries in the world where women possess the least decision-making ability about matters related to themselves. Indeed, 74.9 per cent of Burkinabe women reported that their husbands made the decisions regarding their health; 55.9 per cent declared that their male partners made the decisions about household daily expenses; and 61.5 per cent stated that their male partners or husbands made the decisions about whether or not they should visit their family members or friends (p.17). Entrenched patriarchal belief systems, a strong attachment to traditional practices that do not favor women, the limitation of women

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to the private sphere, the definition of politics solely as a male domain, high illiteracy rates, and the lack of mentoring and financial support for women politicians all function to subordinate women to their male counterparts by perpetuating their treatment as property and constitute some of the reasons that explain women’s underrepresentation in politics. Indeed, many women would rather vote for a male candidate for office than a woman because they believe that women do not make good leaders.

Government Initiatives to Empower Women in Burkina Faso The Impact of the 1983 Revolution The relative absence of women in the political landscape of Burkina Faso prior to the 1983 revolution was mainly due to the prevalence of traditional patriarchal gender roles which not only viewed women as unsuited to leadership positions, but also portrayed women politicians as “bad wives” and thus limited women’s roles to the private sphere. The negative cultural perceptions of political women negatively impacted women’s participation in politics. The conditions of women in Burkina Faso have significantly improved following the revolutionary takeover of the country by Thomas Sankara in 1983. The revolution was instrumental in women’s consciousness-building about their political rights. The democratization efforts undertaken by the revolutionary government focused on improving the status of women and promoting gender equality. The new government made it a priority to hear the perspectives of women whose voices had been ignored, marginalized, and silenced. By so doing, the 1983 revolutionary government saw the need to understand the complexity of the life experiences of women in order to develop effective strategies needed for social and structural changes that take into account the humanity, contributions, and empowerment of women. For example, in 1984, Thomas Sankara, the then president of Burkina Faso, declared March 8, International Woman’s Day, a national holiday in Burkina Faso. On that day, he asked all married men to not only go grocery shopping instead of their wives, but also asked them to cook on that commemorative women’s day so that they could experience firsthand the burdens that women have to deal with daily. Central to President Sankara’s idea of asking men (including himself) to do the shopping themselves is to make them realize that the daily shopping budget that they customarily give to their wives is not nearly enough to cover the household daily grocery expenses, especially if you factor in inflation. He wanted men to

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understand and be sensitive to the issues of women by walking a day in their shoes, and listening to their wives’ complaints and demands to increase the daily allowance for grocery shopping. President Sankara really wanted men to help their wives around the house and assume some of the domestic chores. In a country where social norms relegate all matters related to household chores exclusively to women, President Sankara’s ideas were indeed revolutionary (Bangré, 2005). The commitment to gender equality and advancing women’s rights worldwide is enshrined in a number of international agreements such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the Fourth World Conference on Women 1995, Beijing, the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to name but a few. Central to that commitment is that the world’s nations—the members of the United Nations—have made it an article of faith that achieving gender equality, women’s human rights and women’s empowerment must remain a global priority that is seen as every individual’s responsibility, every society’s goal and every government’s policy focus and action (UN General Assembly, 2012). The emphasis on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Millennium Development Goals is highlighted in the outcome document of the 2012 United Nations’ Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20): We recognize that gender equality and women’s empowerment important for sustainable development and our common future. reaffirm our commitments to ensure women’s equal rights, access opportunities for participation and leadership in the economy, society political decision making. (Paragraph 31)

are We and and

At the Economic Level Development in the colonial context as well as the post-independence era was understood in purely patriarchal terms, as women were reduced to their traditional gender roles of homemakers and caregivers. Development efforts thus focused more on perpetuating the gender divisions in society, instead of questioning them. As a result, the majority of women in Burkina Faso remain poor, have low levels of formal education, with an illiteracy rate of 85 per cent, only 34 per cent of women have access to education (Tiendrébeogo-Kaboret, p. 42), and they lack skills and access to resources that would allow them to get a job.

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Following the failure of traditional development programs to improve the status of women by including them on the agenda of economic development, in 1978 Burkina Faso nominated its first female minister, Mrs. Traoré Fatima, as Minister of Social Affairs. In the same year, another woman, Mrs. Nignan Rose Marie, was elected to the National Assembly. In addition, in his 1980 Presidential Address, President Saye Zerbo made the promotion of women one of his top priorities. Inspired by the “Gender and Development” approach, the government of Burkina Faso wanted to empower women to be active agents and participants in the economic, social, and political development of the country. It was clear, though, that in order to achieve true development for women, it was necessary to challenge the gender power-relations between men and women. In the case of Burkina Faso, achieving substantive equality for women and girls will require changing many traditional practices which impose a specific burden on women. Acts of domestic and spousal abuse are widespread and customarily accepted. However, it was really following the 1983 Revolution in Burkina Faso that the concept of gender equality and empowering women became a crucial element in the process of building a just and equitable society. Women in politics, and members of women’s associations, such as AFJ/BF (the Association des Femmes Juristes du Burkina Faso), an organization of women lawyers which advocates for women’s rights and advises the government on policies that favor women’s interests in the country are still not effective in persuading the government of the nation to enact appropriate gender equality policies. Further, the Association Koom pour l’Auto Promotion des Femmes du Burkina Faso (FEM/B.F.), which is a civil society organization in the country, is also active in advocating an end to the glass ceiling for women. These nongovernmental organizations also provide financial support to economically underprivileged women who have been at the forefront of the struggle against all forms of genderbased discrimination and violence against women. This increased interest and involvement encouraged more women to become active participants in the political process by creating or joining women’s associations and using their voices to shape the political vision of the country in a way that is favorable to women. Several international conferences and forums on women (Rio, 1992; Dakar, 1994; Beijing, 1995; New York, 2000) have inspired women in Burkina Faso to form successful women’s organizations and associations in order to bring to people’s attention the precarious conditions of women in their society and lobby the government to put on its agenda the issue of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

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At the Political Level Feminist scholars agree that in order for women politicians to make an impact in the political arena, at least 30 per cent of representatives elected to Congress or Parliament must be female. Introducing electoral reforms could increase the number of women representatives to that critical political mass (Burn 2011, p.212). In order to achieve critical mass, Burn suggests either setting aside a number of seats, or requiring a given percentage of candidates for congress and parliament to be women (p.216). In the specific context of Burkina Faso, in order to increase women’s participation in decision making, the government reformed its national law in 1992 and then again in 1998 to specifically prohibit hiring discrimination based on gender in the public sector. In order to increase women’s representation in politics, the government of Burkina Faso passed the 1991 Referendum to the Constitution which for the first time proclaimed the constitutional equality between men and women and prohibited all forms of discrimination. Article 12 of this referendum specifically states that everyone has the right to participate in the social and political affairs of the country, and has the right to elect and be elected to political office (p.9). Moreover, following the recommendations of the 1995 Beijing Conference, the government of Burkina Faso created a national committee devoted to women and then, in 1997, created the Ministry of the Promotion of the Woman in order to take care of all matters related to the empowerment of women. This agency was charged with making sure that all governmental and nongovernmental projects, programs and agencies adopt a gender perspective in their activities. It also had the mission of sensitizing and training women in order to integrate them in the process of development in an effort to improve their lives. Another goal of this agency was to allow women access to political power and also to develop resources that will allow them to provide for themselves and their families. The government worked to politically mobilize women and to assist them in their struggles for equality. It also promised to open up to women jobs and careers that were previously reserved for men only. As a result, women from all economic strata were mobilized through the creation of local women’s grassroots organizations. Overall, the government of Burkina Faso has made considerable efforts to improve the conditions of women in the areas of access to education and the improvement of economic and political rights. The government also recognized that one of the major obstacles to the improvement of women’s status was violence against women, which still remains a major issue in Burkina Faso, despite decades of efforts made by the government,

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women’s organizations, and non-governmental organizations who work for gender equality.

Women and Political Empowerment in Burkina Faso Women’s activism blossomed in the aftermath of the 1983 revolution, which raised their political and feminist consciousness. Traditionally, patriarchal family structures have prevented women from becoming socially, financially and politically independent in Burkina Faso because cultural traditions and societal practices have allowed discrimination against women to persist. The new revolutionary government stood for progress and development and criticized old traditional norms and customs that oppressed women and treated them as second-class citizens. Such a rhetoric provided women in Burkina Faso with an official platform for their activism. Women formed associations that made it their mission to change traditional views on the role of women in society and in the workplace. Women’s organizations such as the Coalition Burkinabé pour les Droits de la Femme (CBDF), a Human Rights coalition, the Association pour la Défense et la Promotion des Droits des Personnes Handicapées (ADEPROH), the Association des Professionnelles Africaines de la Communication (APAC), an association of African Communications Professionals, the Groupe de Travail pour la Promotion de la Femme en Politique (GTFEP) which is an organization for the Promotion of Women in Politics, to name just a few. Moreover, women’s associations have succeeded in mobilizing women across socioeconomic classes, raising their political consciousness in order to end gender inequalities. They have challenged gender inequality, calling attention to sexism and other social norms that stand in the way of gender equality and women’s empowerment and devised a range of responses against their perceived gender roles in society. Moreover, women politicians were instrumental in shaping the gender narrative in Burkina Faso. They worked in collaboration with several women’s organizations that have taken action to prevent acts of violence against women and to also provide resources to women who have suffered from domestic violence. Their different educational campaigns have centered on sensitizing people in rural areas where formal education and awareness about violence against women is low. Their goal is to teach them that this goes beyond the immediate and visible impact of violence against women, because domestic violence negatively impacts women’s ability to fully participate in the development of their country. They have

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used the media, radio, TV and different public venues and forums to educate men and women about the negative effects of domestic violence and how to prevent and fight against it. They have also focused their efforts on the improvement of women’s positions in society at the grassroots level.

Recommendations Undertaking a successful action to end violence against women will require focusing on changing perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors which condone violence against women and perpetuate gender inequality from one generation to the next. The 2013 UN Women report on violence against women suggests that the best population target in the prevention and fight against violence against women is young people between 5–25 (p.2). To that effect, the government and the Ministry of Education should develop curricula that teach young children in primary and high schools about non-gender biased practices, attitudes and behaviors. Moreover, the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action on women and poverty suggests that anti-poverty programs alone cannot eradicate poverty and recommends that governments require civil society’s full participation, and also implement changes in economic structures that ensure that all women have equal access to resources, opportunities and public services (Beijing Platform for Action, 1995). Burkina Faso has adhered, to and ratified, several international agreements favorable to protecting women’s human rights. However, despite the fact that the country has made noticeable efforts to empower women politically by introducing proportional representation systems aimed at increasing the percentage of women in political representation, political parties still put women at the bottom of their list of candidates, thus considerably reducing their chances of being elected. In 2003, the government amended its 2000 strategic plan to fight against poverty and added gender as a major focus. However, women’s specific concerns and needs tend not to be taken into account in the areas of local and regional budgets as a result of their underrepresentation in decision making at the level of city councils. Several gaps and weaknesses still exist in terms of enforcing existing legislation and including in national laws clear language pertaining to the implementation of provisions of the international agreements. In that sense, adopting and enforcing laws that criminalize gender-based customary practices that are oppressive and harmful to women and that constitute a violation to their human rights would help in the struggle

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against all forms of gender-based violence against women, because “Burkina law does not specifically deal with domestic violence, and this does not enable to properly provide a specific legal protection for women assaulted in their homes” (Kaboré ep. Zaré et al., p.45). Despite the fact that the 1991 Constitution secures women’s rights as human rights, and protects women from bodily harm, 33.5 per cent of women in Burkina Faso stated that they have suffered intimate partner violence (Kaboré ep. Zaré et al., p.15). The main impediment to the struggle against violence done to women is the absence of a law that specifically addresses it. In principle, the law in Burkina Faso has not discriminated against women as regards accessing the legal process since the adoption of the 1991 Constitution, which states that all Burkinabe people are born free and equal. Women’s civil liberties are supposedly guaranteed by law. Yet men have a much greater say when it comes to decision-making in the family unit and in the public sphere than women do. Education thus becomes a key element in improving women’s active participation in the decisionmaking process in the private sphere as well as in society. “It provides thus additional arguments for the continuity of actions in favor of girl’s education at higher levels of schooling in addition to the primary level. The development of national policies and programs aiming to substantially increase women’s status in Burkina Faso should foster positive sociocultural attitudes toward gender” (Pambé et al., p.1155). Gender equality is very important to development because the freedom to be able to live one’s life as one sees it fit is a basic human right. Providing freedom and equality for men and women is central to the concept of development. Reducing gender-based barriers against women can definitely improve women’s access to economic opportunities, thus increasing productivity towards a sustainable development.

Conclusion The year 2015 has been designated by the U.N. as “the Year of Women.” It also marks the twentieth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing+20). Although progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment has been slow in Burkina Faso, achieving gender equality, as well as putting women’s economic contribution and full participation at the center of the development process, has been the result of a joint effort between women-led associations and organization and the government’s willingness to pass legislation that guarantees women’s civil liberties, protects their physical integrity, and recognizes women as crucial agents in development. Women

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politicians in Burkina Faso have used their positions to help draft several pieces of legislation aimed at ending all forms of discrimination against women. Their efforts have led to the adoption by the National Assembly in May 19, 2005 of two gender-related acts that would cement women’s human rights in Burkina Faso. The impact of advocacy for women’s rights has had profound positive effects on the socio-economic and political status of women in Burkina Faso. In 2009, 14 out of 111 parliamentarians were women. Implementing laws, policies and programs that protect women against bodily harm, and that empower them to be full and active participants in their communities has been to some degree one of the success stories of women’s political empowerment in Burkina Faso. However, despite all the measures undertaken by the government in Burkina Faso to integrate gender perspectives into economic sustainability efforts, the application of those policies is not well monitored, and the governmental agencies that ought to implement them sometimes lack access to the resources necessary to ensure their effective application. It is very difficult for women in Burkina Faso to achieve financial independence, for several reasons. Women are still the victims of human rights violations, as violence against women and female genital cutting have reached alarming proportions in some regions in the country. Women are also underrepresented in key political and economic positions. Although the 1990 land reform theoretically granted both men and women equal access to land and property, in practice, women have limited access to land, bank loans and other forms of property and capital, as well as to social services such as sexual and reproductive rights and services. Since men have a greater share of property ownership, they are better able to provide collateral in order to qualify for higher loan amounts, while women’s access to credit is restricted to women’s micro-credit only. In order for Burkina Faso to effectively implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the government must not only integrate the provisions and recommendations of the convention in all aspects of its national legislation, but also monitor their effective implementation.

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http://www.idea.int/publications/wip/upload/chapter_02aCS_Burkina.faso.pdf. Accessed November 5, 2015. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2014). Development Report. Retrieved from Human Development Report UNDP: http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/violence-against-women-and-girlschallenge-sustainable-human-development. Accessed November 5, 2015. —. (2014). Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience Explanatory Note on the 2014 Human Development Report Composite Indices Burkina Faso. HDI values and rank changes in the 2014 Human Development Report. Retrieved from Human Development Report, UNDP: http://hdr.undp.org/sites/all/themes/hdr_theme/country-notes/BFA.pdf. U.N. International Women’s Day Report. (2014). Retrieved from UN Women: http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/internationalwomens-day. Accessed November 13, 2015. U.N. (2014). Commission on the Status of Women: Challenges and Achievements in the Implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for Women and Girls. Retrieved from UN Women: http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/csw. Accessed November 15, 2015. United Nations Department of Public Information. (2000). Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-first Century. Retrieved from UN Women Watch: http://www.un.org/ womenwatch/ daw/followup/session/presskit/gasp.htm. Accessed November 11, 2015. United Nations. (1995). Fourth World Conference on Women Beijing: Action for Equality, Development and Peace. Retrieved from UN Women Watch http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/poverty.htm United Nations General Assembly. (1993). Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women. Retrieved from UN Documents: http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/48/a48r104.htm. Accessed November 11, 2015. U.N. Women (2013). Imperatives and Key Components in the Context of the Post-2015 Development Framework and Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved from UN Women: http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections /News/Stories/post-2015-case-for-standalone-gender-goal%20pdf.pdf/. Accessed November 12, 2015.

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U.N. Women (2013). A Transformative Stand-alone Goal on Achieving Gender Equality, Women’s Rights and Women’s Empowerment. Retrieved from UN Women: http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/ headquarters/attachments/sections/library/ publications/2013/10/unwomen_post2015_positionpaper_english_final _web%20pdf.pdf. Accessed November 5, 2015. U.N. Women in Brief. (2013). Ending Violence against Women and Girls. Retrieved from UN Women: http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/ headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2013/12/un%20 women%20evaw-thembrief_us-web-rev9%20pdf.ashx. Accessed November 5, 2015 U.N. Women. (2000). Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women: Women and the Economic Diagnosis. Retrieved from UN Women Watch: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/Beijing/platform/economy.htm. Accessed November 5, 2015. World Development Report. (2012). Gender and Development. Washington, D.C: The World Bank. Retrieved from WDR: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWDR2012/Resources/77781051299699968583/7786210-1315936222006/chapter-7.pdf. Accessed November 15, 2015 Women’s Organizations. Burkina Faso. (No author). (2004). Retrieved from Global List of Women’s Organisations: http://www.distel.ca/womlist/countries/burkinafaso.html. Accessed November 25, 2015.

CHAPTER FOUR GOVERNMENT, NGOS, PERFORMANCE AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT IN NIGERIA ROBERT DIBIE, JUSTINA SAM-OKERE AND JOSEPHINE DIBIE

Introduction Nigeria is a country in West Africa. The nation is divided into six geopolitical zones. The United Nations (2012) estimates the population of Nigeria to be 154,729,000, distributed as 51.7 per cent rural and 48.3 per cent urban, and with a population density of 167.5 people per square kilometer. The World Bank (2011) report estimated the current population of Nigeria to be about 162.5 million. The only breakdown available was by gender: men 71,709,859, women 68,293,086, while the rest are children. The nation’s legal system is made of up of English Common Law, customary law, Islamic (Sharia) law and statutory law. Customary law is prevalent in the southern part while Islamic law is widely made recourse to in many of the states in the Northern part. In spite of several years of interaction between the major religious groups in Nigeria, religion is still a major factor in the policy and politics of the state. Unfortunately for women in the country, the major religions in Nigeria still preach male superiority and domination (Ako-Nai, 2013). This has been the state of women’s affairs since colonization. The management of diversity is another important sustainable development challenge today in Nigeria. Although diversity refers to differences among people, in Nigeria the definition is very narrow (Dibie & Sam-Okere, 2015). Unfortunately, senior leaders have not properly defined the role managers ought to play in diversity management in both the public and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) sectors; rather they have been constantly influenced by cultural and religious beliefs. As a result of poor leadership in the promotion of diversity management in

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Nigeria, diversity initiatives are shallow and ineffective (Lussier and Achua 2016). Further, while diversity could be reflected along various dimensions, most managers in the public sector and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Nigeria tend to focus on ethnicity, gender, age, religion, culture, and physical abilities. Dibie and Offiong (2009) contend that the average age of workers in Nigeria is gradually decreasing. This is because the federal and state governments in Nigeria are now retiring people earlier, based on the public policy of 30 years’ service or 60 years of age, whichever comes first. While McDonald’s and Apple in the United States have continued to hire hundreds of elderly employees in recent years, the situation in Nigeria has been different. In most cases, workers as young as 55 years old are forced to retire from teaching and other professions. Nigeria’s administrators refuse to understand that by hiring retirees, their organization may get the expertise of skilled workers, and the individuals could also get extra income and opportunity to continue to use their skills. According to Moorhead and Griffin (2014) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report in (2010), retiring workers at the age of 55 or younger is not a better way of addressing the high unemployment rate in Nigeria. The practice of targeting women between 50 and 60 is also not an appropriate way to address the issue of sustainable development and high unemployment of university graduates (Nahavandi 2012; Ako-Nai, 2013). According to Conway et al. (2010) and Green (1999), the history of women in sub-Saharan Africa shows that agriculture, trading in the informal sector or microenterprise constitute the major areas of income earning for women. It could be argued that despite the fact that women’s participation in the formal sector of African economics has generally increased during the past three decades, structural adjustment policies as part of globalization has galvanized multiple and harsh challenges for women’s economic and educational achievement (Conway et al. 2010). The structural adjustment policies prescribed by the International Monetary Fund in the 1980s and 1990s caused formal sector jobs, especially in the civil service, to gradually disappear. Consequently, more women had no other choice but to turn to the informal sector to support both their family and themselves (UN Human Development Report 2013). Unfortunately, social and economic inequalities in Nigeria have been unable to satisfy two conditions. First, women are not equitably attached to senior government and private business offices and positions. Further, senior government and private business positions are not accessible to women, who are the least advantaged members of the macro-environment.

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In addition, Schrich (2012) and Sam-Okere (2013) contend that political and economic factors have created more critical problems in the African economy. Countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, and Zimbabwe have all experienced the worst political crises in the continent (UN Human Development Report 2013). While economic, globalization, and political crises have created internal problems within the continent, these factors have also led to increases in various forms of human trafficking and sex working, as well as a brain drain (UN Human Development Report 2013). In several African countries there has been a growth in women’s poverty due to displacement and refugee status. In the past few years, women in Sudan, South Sudan, Libya, the Horn of Africa, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Angola and Mozambique have been victims of violent struggle. The plight of women in Nigeria is becoming systematically more deplorable. Those who are expected to promote women’s empowerment in the country still treat females as second-class human beings. On October 13, 2016, the President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari, while standing next to a woman head of state, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, stated that “I do not know what party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen, and my living room as well as the other room” (BBC, 2016). This was President Buhari’s response to his wife’s insinuations that her husband’s government had been hijacked by a few people, who were behind presidential appointments. Mrs. Buhari, who is a businesswoman in Nigeria, contends that President Buhari (her husband) does not know 45 out of 50 of the people he appointed, and she does not know them either, despite been married to the president for 27 years (BBC, 2016). The question therefore is: who will promote women’s empowerment in Nigeria? The environment of a society or a nation is a key element in analyzing macro-environmental relationships. Further, the pursuit of happiness by women and girls has been hampered by prejudices and customs that conflict with the Nigerian federal government’s commitment to human dignity, freedom, liberty, and democracy (Dibie and Atibil, 2012). For instance, women’s freedom of movement is restricted in that they need their husband’s permission to travel. In addition, Islamic women in purdah cannot leave their homes without permission from their husbands and must be accompanied by a man at all times when in public (Adeleke 2004; AkoNai 2013). In Muslim communities, purdah also restricts a woman’s freedom to dress the way she wishes. Sharia law requires women to be veiled in public whether they like or not. Throughout this chapter,

Government, NGOs, Performance and Women’s Empowerment in Nigeria 105

evidence of the turbulent environment in Nigeria, especially regarding diversity, will become apparent, and it will also become easier to appreciate the challenges managers face as they strive to develop effective and diverse management policies while interfacing with the nation’s society. While diversity, as used in this chapter, refers to the inclusion of all groups at all levels of government and NGOs in Nigeria, the right of women to develop their capacities has not been fully protected in Nigeria. Cultural, religious, social, economic, political and even colonial legacies constitute factors that play dominant roles in shaping the participation of women in every aspect of human endeavor in Nigerian society (Usua & Osuagwu 2010; Dibie and Sam-Okere 2015). As a result, there is a rigid division between male and female roles, with the males being encouraged to participate in the more aggressive, competitive and independent ventures. The overall effect is that the men in Nigeria are properly positioned to gain maximum benefit from social opportunities, government facilities, and infrastructures (Adeleke, 2004). In addition, although several NGOs have been networking internally and internationally to ensure women’s emancipation and empowerment in various sectors in Nigeria, the nation’s socialization process is still strongly based on patriarchal and matriarchal values that tend to promote polygamy. Islam is a major religion in Nigeria and it supports a man having more than one wife. Just like their Muslim counterparts, a very few Christian sects also marry two wives or have one wife and having children from another woman outside the marriage (Ako-Nai, 2013). The goal of this chapter is to investigate diversity management and gender policies in the public sector and NGOs of Nigeria. It explores the following research questions: what is the nature of diversity management practice in government and NGOs sectors in Nigeria? What forms of diversity management concepts are practiced by NGOs and governments in Nigeria? Are managers in governments and NGOs in Nigeria becoming aware of the importance of diversity management? To address these questions, the study uses primary data on NGOs that provide major capacity-building projects (i.e. women’s education, legal rights and entrepreneurship projects) and government programs for combating discrimination against women in the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. Interviews, questionnaires and focus-group research methods were also used to evaluate the performance of the government of Nigeria and NGOs with respect to the empowerment of women in the country. On the one hand, results point toward a negative relationship between government and women’s empowerment policies. On the other hand, results show a

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positive correlation between NGOs and women’s empowerment in Nigeria. Further cultural, religious, social and economic factors, as well as the lack of effective implementation of gender policies, continue to militate against the integration of women in the country. Our research included a survey of 2,250 women that have either previously worked in, or are currently employed in, government or NGO institutions. One striking finding is that NGOs are practicing diversity management more than government agencies in Nigeria in the Northwest, Northeast and Northcentral political zones. While about 21 per cent of women and other minority groups have moved from middle management to senior management in NGOs, only 15 people of the same group have excelled in public institutions. The results of this study have implications for diversity management in the context of women’s project management and governments’ political willingness to collaborate with NGOs in addressing women’s empowerment and appropriate capacity-building issues in Nigeria.

Diversity and Social Justice Framework The literature on diversity management identifies three challenges that managers must overcome to remain competitive. The paramount challenges are: (1) encouraging positive ethics, character, and personal integrity; (2) leading a diverse workforce; and (3) globalizing the organization’s operation to compete in the global village (Lussier & Achua 2016; Nelson & Quick 2013; Moorhead & Griffin 2014). The population of Nigeria is diverse. The nation has approximately 170 million people (United Nations 2012). With such a large population, the citizens of the nation could be said to be diverse in a variety of ways: gender, ethnicity, race, language, culture, socioeconomic class, age, sexual orientation, religion, disability, and more. Each of these groups must be fully appreciated and accounted for in the country in order to understand the complexity of diversity and human behavior in Nigeria (Diller 2015; Bell 2012). Consequently, diversity refers to the characteristics of individuals that shape their identities and experiences in a society or workplace (Smith, 2006). It encompasses all forms of differences among individuals, including culture, ability, personality, age, religion, sexual orientation, and social status. Several scholars have defined nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as non-profit, voluntary citizens groups that are organized on a local, national or international level (Dibie 2009; Allard & Martinez 2008; Doh & Teegen, 2003; Salamon 1987). Nongovernmental organizations may be

Government, NGOs, Performance and Women’s Empowerment in Nigeria 107

of three types: (1) hybrid NGOs, which perform both advocacy and operational functions (Doh and Teegen, 2003); (2) advocacy NGOs—this type tends to promote before governments, or in the international sphere the interests of groups who do not have either a voice or access to do so themselves; and (3) operational NGOs. This type of NGO provides goods and services to needy clients. According to Dibie (2008) and Allard & Martinez (2008), NGOs tend to be organized around specific issues. Some of their most visible and most successful work has been in the areas of social services, health, human rights, and environmental protection. In addition, in their areas of concern they can serve as early-warning mechanisms or monitors of official agreements (Allard and Martinez 2008). NGOs have operated in areas such as social services for decades, often in collaboration with governments or private partners. Nigeria has various types of NGOs, however most of the NGOs in the country are not as developed and organized as you might find in the United States or Western Europe (Dibie, 2008). Within the workforce of the public sector and NGOs in Nigeria, people differ in their gender, race, ethnicity, religion, age, and ability. Employees also differ in their socioeconomic status, sexual preference, expectations and values, lifestyle, class, work style, and function or position within an organization (Lussier, 2009). Knowledge and appreciation of diversity requires everyone to deal with workers in an ethical manner. According to Lussier (2009), there is sometimes a shortage of skilled workers, so to exclude a qualified person because of his or her differences in some way is counterproductive to both public and private organizations’ success (Bell 2012; James and Woolen 2006). With this argument in mind, it should be clear that increasing diversity in the workforce is one of the most challenging human resources and organizational issues of our time (Cassil, 2012). Many scholars have argued that each characteristic of diversity has been a source of discrimination or marginalization or bias on the African continent, and although all share certain commonalities such as the internal psychology of oppression, each has its own dynamics and characteristics (Carroll & Buchholtz 2015; Kourany et al. 1999; Bose and Kim 2009; Eisentein 2009; Greenberg 2013). In addition, while national culture impacts on human beings at a micro level, another strong cultural influence on individual behavior is group culture, which may consist of a number of primary factors such as gender, ethnicity, age and other secondary factors such as income, education, and membership in various groups. The major gender problem in Nigeria is that very few women head public, NGO, or business organizations, and few are members of company

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boards of directors, despite many years of diversity policies that are not effectively implemented and outstanding education training as well as the call for inclusion of women in organizations and political positions (Nahavandi 2012; McCool 2008). According to Carroll & Buchholtz (2015), societies as macroenvironments are typically pluralistic. They contend that nations’ dynamics should involve diffusion of power among many groups and organizations. A pluralistic society is thus one in which there is wide decentralization and diversity of power concentration. This means power should be dispersed among many groups and people, including men, women, and elderly people of either gender, religions, those of different sexual orientation, businesses, governments, labor, NGOs or civil society groups. Power is not in the hands of any single group (Moorhead & Griffin, 2014). Whenever power is not decentralized, or there is a narrow decentralization and concentration of power, the issues of social justice and unjust society arise. The concept of the macro-environment evokes different images or ways of thinking about the business relationship and society on the one hand, and decentralization and diversity on the other, while social justice theory is concerned about promoting a just society by confronting injustice and fostering ethical values and diversity. Figure 4-1 shows a framework of decentralization and diversity in a macro-environment. Figure 4-1: Dimension of Factors that Support and Sustain a Pro-Diversity Culture

Remote Obstacle Introducing Diversity as a Criteria for Measuring Success

Heightened Awareness

Diversity Management

Top Management support and commitment

Training and Education

Organizational Policies and Practice

Source: Dibie, R. and Dibie, J. (2014). “The Dichotomy of Capacity Building and Unemployment in Ethiopia.” Africa’s Public Service Delivery and Performance Review, vol. 2 (3), pp. 25–76.

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Social justice can be said to exist when all the people in a society or country share a common humanity, and therefore have a right to equitable treatment, support for their human rights, and a fair allocation of community resources (Rawls, 1971). Hosmer (2006) contends that in a country where social justice prevails, citizens (women and men) are not discriminated against, nor are their welfare and well-being constrained or prejudiced against on the basis of gender, sexuality, religion, political affiliations, age, race, belief, disability, location, social class, socioeconomic circumstances, or other characteristics of background or group membership (Ferrell et al. 2015). Figure 4-1 shows that organizations with a pro-diversity culture make every effort to remove diversity blockers or obstacles (Gibert & Mancevich. 2000). Further, diversity blockers are an organization’s policies and practices that result in unintended consequences such as stereotypes and prejudices, ethnocentric beliefs, the glass-ceiling effect, and ultimately, an unfriendly work environment (Lussier & Achua, 2016). Gender roles are often defined differently in various cultures, and sexual harassment is a frequent ethical problem for organizations in Nigeria. As a result, the public demand for ethical behavior in the public and private sectors, and the meaning of the government and corporate codes of ethics can no longer be taken for granted. The solution lies in the integration of ethical reasoning in the workplace in order to maximize gender pluralism in the country. The various public and private sectors in Nigeria will have to challenge their managers to bring together employees of different backgrounds into their work teams. According to Griffin and Moorhead (2014), maximizing gender pluralism in any organization requires going beyond the surface to deep-level diversity. Like men, women therefore need to be empowered to find meaning and fulfillment in life. This will eventually pay back to society by way of total development and well-being of everyone in the macro-environment. The reason for adopting this theory is because of its underlying point that without both genders, human society is incomplete. Therefore, women should not be seen as appendages to men; rather, they should be seen as the complementary ultimate factor in societal equilibrium (Dibie & Sam Okere 2015; Okpeh & Angya 2007; Sha 2007). It is also very important to note that the different levels of society are often interconnected one way or another. As a result, women who are empowered at one level are most likely to positively affect females at another level of society. This collective action and sense of belonging that women share at all levels could eventually pay back to society by way of sustainable development

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and capacityy-building of both men an nd women in the public an nd private sectors and nnongovernmeental organizattions. Gender ddiversity in Nigeria N could therefore increease the awareeness and understandinng of the widde range of gender variattions in wom men, girls, adolescents,, and adultts by prov viding familyy support, building communities, increasing societal awareness and impproving well--being for people of aall gender ideentities and expressions. e V Valuing diverrsity in a country’s puublic and priivate sectors, and NGOs or other civiil society organizationns is a good thhing and an im mportant issue..

Method dology This study uses both quualitative and d quantitativee research meethods to examine thee role of goverrnment and NG GOs in the em mpowerment of o women in Nigeria. The qualitativve aspect deaals with intervviews and foccus group discussions while the quantitative aspect dealls with the use of questionnairre. The depenndent variablee is NGOs w women’s empo owerment programs, w while the inddependent vaariable is thee benefits deerived by women in thhe six geo-political zones in n Nigeria. Figure 4-2: M Map of Nigeria

Source: Federral Governmentt of Nigeria (20 016). Map of Niigeria. http://www.nigerianmuse.coom/

Government, NGOs, Performance and Women’s Empowerment in Nigeria 111

Figure 4-2 shows the map of Nigeria and the six geopolitical zones. The research was conducted in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, namely, North-East, North-West, North-Central, South-East, South-West and South-South. The major cities in the six geo-political zones include: Lagos in the South-West, Aba in the South-East, Port Harcourt in the South-South, Kano in the North-West, Jos in the North-East, and Abuja in the North-Central. A focus-group meeting was held in each of the six geo-political zones. Each focus group on women’s empowerment issues consisted of twenty participants drawn from several religious and church groups as well as government agencies personnel, and community members in Nigeria. The study used a community-engaged participatory-action approach involving a Technical Church Board (TCB) and Women Christian Organization Board (WCOB). Discussions covered five questions developed by the Technical Church Board and validated by the Women Christian Advisory Board. The TCB were also responsible for recruitment and facilitating the focus group meetings. The WCOB consisted of representations from female church committee members, including women who have benefited from the services provided by the NGOs, female ministers, unmarried ladies who have been sexually harassed, female nurses, female police officers, elected female local government officials, female doctors, female lawyers, and female traders. The Technical Board consisted of pastors, evangelists, female counselors in the NGOs directors and senior staff. In the Abuja focus-group session, senior staff of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs were also invited to participate in the focus-group discussion. The central research questions were: (1) What is the nature of diversity management in government and NGOs in Nigeria? (2) What forms of diversity are practiced by NGOs and governments in Nigeria? (3) Are managers in governments and NGOs in Nigeria becoming aware of the importance of diversity? (4) Are there appropriate gender equality policies in the country, and if so, are these policies effectively implemented or enforced? Selection of participants was based on six important criteria: (1) the link to an NGO or church or government; (2) current and previous employee of government or NGOs; (3) a member of an NGO or the Ministry of Women Affairs that offer services in the promotion of equity for women and the enhancement of women contribution to sustainable development; (4) the benefits of the empowerment programs offered by NGOs; (5) Officials of Ministry of Women Affairs and senior staff of several government agencies; and (6) Member of law enforcement agencies and female lawyers.

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The population of the study is made up of two categories. The first is the 153 NGOs that are registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission and also listed in a national directory published by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development as well as the Directory of OVC and CSOs in Nigeria. The second and last category consists of the 67,547 women who have benefited from the empowerment programs of these NGOs as contained in their 2010 Annual Report. From the second population category the sample size of 2,750 women beneficiaries of the services of these NGOs was selected using the snowball sampling technique for the administration of the questionnaire (2,250), interview (300), and focus-group discussion (20 people from each of the six geopolitical zones surveyed) (120). The focus group participants were chosen using a modified snowball sampling methodology which was supported by the NGOs Advisory Board (NAB). The NGOs Advisory Board was selected using a snowball sampling method. Focus-group participants were then recruited by NAB members who invited additional participants during their church meetings, community events, via telephone calls, and house-to-house visits. The data for this study were also derived from both primary and secondary sources. An extensive literature review and search for existing data and records about the empowerment of women’s issues was conducted. International nongovernmental organizations reports and output of several human right activities were consulted. Some secondary data were also generated from books, journal, research already conducted, and documents from associations of women from state agencies such as the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Federal Ministry of Statistics and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs. Some content analysis of the economic impact of discrimination of women was also conducted. Primary data were collected through the use of survey questionnaire, interviews and focus group discussions. The primary data collection was through surveys, administered in the six geo-political zones previously discussed in this chapter. 2,250 copies of the questionnaire were administered in all the six geo-political zones. The respondents returned 1,528 completed questionnaires. This represents a 68 per cent response rate. Specific information on the impact of NGOs and government roles in the empowerment of women was obtained from the completed questionnaires. The result of the study was organized into the analysis matrix in order to summarize and develop typologies and descriptive statistics that link the findings to the research goals. The researcher also operationalized each of the impacts of women’s empowerment in Nigeria. The findings described the various roles played by NGOs in the empowerment of women in

Government, NGOs, Performance and Women’s Empowerment in Nigeria 113

Nigeria. This chapter used a statistical package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to measure and determine causality and linkages between discrimination against women and their empowerment programs. Other measures of correlation relationship include the ranked correlations coefficient, cross tabulation and percentages. For the purpose of this study, the researcher made use of percentages and correlation analysis.

Data Analysis and Discussion The first objective of the paper is to determine the nature of diversity management in government and NGOs in Nigeria. It will argue that when government and NGOs have a reputation for valuing diversity, they tend to attract the best candidates among women, and other culturally diverse groups. Of the 1,528 respondents, 2.3 per cent (35) are leaders who represented their organizations while 97.3 per cent (1,493) are the beneficiaries of the services of NGOs spread across the country. The two samples were reached through the NGOs identified and other members using the snowball sampling technique. Table 4-1 shows the age distribution of the respondents. The table indicates that for beneficiaries, 3.5 per cent (52) are 60 years or over, 21.5 per cent (320) are between 59–50, 37.2 per cent (555) are between 49–40, 24.7 per cent (369) are between 39–30, while 13.2 per cent (29) are 29 or under. The table also indicates the age bracket of the leaders of the NGOs and government agencies that responded to the questionnaire thus: 10 per cent (3) are 60 years or above, 30 per cent (11) are between 59–50, 26 per cent (9) are between 49–40, 22 per cent (8) are between 39–30, while 12 per cent (4) are 29 years or under. Table 4-1: Age Distribution of the Respondents Beneficiaries Age Bracket

Frequency

Leaders of FBNGOs Per cent

Frequency

Per cent

60 and above

52

3.5

3

10

59–50 years

320

21.5

11

30

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49–40 years

555

37.2

9

26

39–30 years

369

24.7

8

22

29 or under

197

13.2

4

12

1493

100.0

35

100.0

Total

Source: Survey and focus group, 2013–2014

Table 4-1 reveals the distribution of the respondents according to their geo-political zones. Beneficiaries are in the following order: 7.5 per cent (113) are from the North-East; 7.9 per cent (118) are from the North-West; 21.4 per cent (320) are from the North-Central; 19.9 per cent (298) are from the South-East, 21.6 per cent (323) are from the South-West while 21.5 per cent (321) are from the South-South. Table 4-1 above shows how the 1,493 beneficiaries rated the types of NGO that best meet their needs. As shown in the table, 10.9 per cent (163) of the respondents indicated NGOs with no religious affiliation, 55.5 per cent (829) indicated those with church affiliation, 14.5 per cent (216) indicated those with international or foreign affiliation, 14.1 per cent (211) indicated those with inter-religious affiliation while 5.0 per cent indicated those with no international affiliation. Table 4-2: Geopolitical Zones of the Respondents Beneficiaries

Leaders

Zones Frequency

Per cent

Frequency

Per cent

North-East

113

7.5

3

8.6

North-West

118

7.9

3

8.6

North-Central

320

21.4

7

20

South-East

298

19.9

7

20

South-West

323

21.6

8

22.8

Government, NGOs, Performance and Women’s Empowerment in Nigeria 115

South-South Total

321

21.5

7

20

1493

100.0

35

100

Source: Survey and focus group, 2013–2014

Table 4-2 shows the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Furthermore, table 4-3 shows beneficiaries’ rating of the types of NGO that best meet their needs. Table 4.4 shows that 11.1 per cent (165) of the respondents are farmers, 22.3 per cent (333) are traders, 32.4 per cent (484) are professional women including teachers and government administrative staff; 31.2 per cent (466) are church members, while 3.0 per cent (45) do not belong to any religious group. The second objective is to examine the type of empowerment programs that government and NGOs have put in place for the benefit of Nigerian women. Table 4-5 below shows the type of services that the NGOs render to women. The table shows that 71.4 per cent (25) of the respondents are engaged in mainly women’s empowerment services, 17.1 per cent (6) of the respondents are engaged in mainly advocacy services, while 11.4 per cent (4) of the respondents are engaged in mainly government policy related services. Table 4-3: Beneficiaries’ Rating of Types of NGO that Best Meet Their Needs Rating of NGOs

Frequency

Per cent

Nongovernmental organization (NGO) with no religious affiliation

163

10.9

Nongovernmental organization affiliated with church

829

55.5

Nongovernmental organization with international or foreign affiliation

216

14.5

Nongovernmental organization with interreligious affiliation

211

14.1

74

5.0

Nongovernmental organization with no international affiliation

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Total

1493

100.0

Source: Survey and focus group, 2013–2014

Table 4-4: Group Affiliations of the Respondents Group

Frequency

Per cent

Farmer

165

11.1

Trader

333

22.3

Professional woman including teacher/Administrative staff and so on

484

32.4

Church member

466

31.2

45

3.0

1493

100

Non-religious group member Total Source: Survey and focus group, 2013–2014

In rating the type of benefits which the beneficiaries derive from the empowerment programs of government and NGOs, Table 4-5 shows that 19.6 per cent (293) indicated training on family health and care, 24.3 per cent (307) indicated training in home management, 12.5 per cent (187) indicated training in political awareness, 20.6 per cent (436) indicated training in entrepreneurship, 19.4 per cent (290) indicated training in women’s human rights while 3.6 (53 per cent) indicated training on peace building.

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Table 4-5: Type of Benefit Derived from the Services of NGOs and Government Types of Benefits

Frequency

Per cent

Training in family health and care

293

Training in Home Management

363

24.3

Training in Political awareness

187

12.5

Training in Entrepreneurship

307

20.6

Training in Women’s Human Rights

290

19.4

53

3.6

1493

100.0

Training in Peace Building Total

19.6

Source: Survey and focus group, 2013–2014

Secondary Research Outcome The data in Tables 4-3 up to 4-5 were generated from secondary sources such as books, journals, research already conducted, and documents from the Federal Ministry of Statistics, and the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs. The authors used the empowerment services provided by the NGOs in Table 4-5 to test the following hypothesis. Hypothesis 1: There is a positive relationship between the services of NGOs and the empowerment of Nigerian women. Secondary data reveals that approximately 67,547 women have benefited from NGOs’ women empowerment programs. The average number of Christian women that have been empowered by faith-based NGOs ranges from 862 to 1,317. There were fewer than ten government-sponsored women’s empowerment programs in the North-Central geo-political zone. Thus, the finding in this geo-political zone is that NGOs are doing more to empower women than the federal and state governments do. The findings also indicate that government policy on equality does not have the same impact on women as it does on men. Women often participated in NGO empowerment programs and social gatherings than in politics. As a matter

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of fact, women participated in political activities in different ways when compared to men. Addressing these differences has an important implication for the study of gender equality in Nigeria. An average of 540 women tend to have benefited from the various empowerment programs organized by NGOs in the southern geo-political zones. In more Islamic geo-political zones, NGOs tend to be the major vehicle for the zones to galvanize women’s participation to gain social and religious representation. While women in the geo-political zone tend to participate in greater numbers in NGO empowerment programs, their average percentage rate ranges from 37 to 59. Generally, women in the northern geo-political zones participated more in Islamic NGOs than Christian women’s organizations. Women in the northern geo-political zones are largely excluded from key areas such as economic policy and political affairs. Many women are constrained by their roles in the private sphere which prevent them from participating in NGO empowerment programs. Lack of participation tends to prevent them from gaining the experience deemed necessary for a career in politics and business. However, our research shows that this affects middle- and upper-class women to a lesser extent because they can utilize the labor of female servants to free them from domestic representations.

Primary Research Outcome—Questionnaire Findings so far based on the secondary data show that whatever activities NGOs were involved in, they affect the lives of women even if they are not specifically dedicated to women’s empowerment. Many of their programs are in poverty alleviation, economic development, education, human rights, environmental protection, and the provision of healthcare, including tackling HIV/AIDS. All of these benefit the whole society, including women. A large number of NGOs focus on issues that are pertinent to women’s advancement. In the light of the above, this segment of the work will discuss the primary data the researcher collected for this work through the use of questionnaires, interviews and focus-group discussion beginning with the questionnaire. A total of 1,528 women responded to the questionnaire, of which 35 are women leaders while 1,493 are women who benefited from the services of the NGOs. These data formed the basis for addressing the research questions and the hypotheses formulated for the study. Significant findings in respect of research question one are in the areas of the length of time the NGOs have been in existence, the social

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background of the women who have benefited from the services of NGOs, as well as the age bracket of these women. This first research question states thus: What are the demographic characteristics of the NGOs offering empowerment programs to Nigerian women and the women recipients? On how long the NGOs offering empowerment services to women in Nigeria have been in existence, the findings in this research indicate that the highest number (92.1 per cent) have not been in existence for more than 30 years, which means that NGOs as a factor for sustainable development in Nigeria are a relatively new phenomenon. Interestingly, even the age bracket of the beneficiaries falls mainly between 30 and 50. A possible explanation for this could be that at the time these NGOs were being put in place, the current beneficiaries were also being born and both the service organs and the recipients are of the same generation. Related to this is the age bracket of even the leaders of these NGOs, who are also are between 30 to 50. This makes up 78 per cent of the total age bracket of the women leaders that responded to the questionnaire. One might have expected that these leaders would be of advanced age, but the reverse is the case. The researchers therefore conclude that NGOs, a fairly new phenomenon in Nigeria, are empowering young Nigerian women through their leadership in establishing more effective capacity-building programs than the government of the country. These findings have great implications as the women beneficiaries can more easily identify with the leadership of NGOs than those of the government. Furthermore, these leaders and beneficiaries are within the most vibrant and productive age bracket of the nation’s population (Federal Ministry of Justice, 2008). Research question two therefore asks: What types of empowerment programs have the NGOs and government put in place for the benefit of Nigerian women? In Nigeria, a top-down transfer of women’s empowerment has not occurred through vision, mission, policy and principles, like conditionality, or blueprints that have proved successful for women in Europe and North America. Discrimination against women has been one of the major social and welfare problems in Nigeria (Bolaji, 2006). Women in Nigeria have not been able to inherit land or earn properties through their personality, position or power. NGOs, however, projected that women will achieve this in the near future through appropriate public policy by government, financial status, social and political position and rank, and through affiliation with civil-society group movements. It is with this understanding that the discussion on the type of empowerment programs NGOs put in place for the benefit of Nigerian women is being presented here. The types of services that NGOs provided include: (1)

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women’s human rights; (2) economic empowerment; (3) political participation; (4) health and reproductive rights; (5) HIV/AIDS prevention and testing; (6) peace building; and (6) capacity building. This was substantiated by using the correlation analysis to determine the extent of the relationship between the two variables—services of NGOs and empowerment thus from the respondents’ views as indicated in the questionnaire: Table 4-6: Correlation Analysis of the NGOs Services and Women’s Empowerment Variables

Correlation(r)

Services of FBNGOs

Mean

St.d

4.3756

1.2436

0.621 Women Empowerment

1.3756

N

1493

P

Remark

0.002

Significant

0.4873

Table 4-6 shows a strong positive relationship between the services of the NGOs and women’s empowerment. This was tested using correlation analysis, thus: 0.621 at p< 0.05 with a mean value of 4.3756 and a standard deviation of 0.4873 for the first variable while the second variable has mean value of 1.3756 and standard deviation of 0.4873. Therefore, H1 which states that there is a positive relationship between NGOs programs/services and women’s empowerment in Nigeria is accepted. This agrees with the secondary data analysis which indicated that more of the services of NGOs are impacting on Nigerian women than those of the government. Research question three is asks: To what extent are the services of NGOs positively impacting Nigerian women? NGOs in Nigeria from the research indicated that the types of services they offer women are mostly on women’s empowerment. This accounts for 71 per cent of their programs. These services range from entrepreneurial training to training on women’s human rights (awareness of their right to control their earnings, encouragement to work outside the home after years of abuse from spouses; enlightenment on filing suit to secure custody of children from courts). Previous tables give more details on these services. The ratings of the benefit and support received by beneficiaries of the services

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of NGOs are 87 per cent and 79 per cent respectively. To further buttress this fact, the correlation table below is tested. Table 4-7 Correlation Analysis of Women’s Empowerment Programs and Sustainable Development Variables Women Empowerment Sustainable development N

Correlation(r)

Mean

St.d

1.37565

0.48738

2.37565

0.52932

P

Remark

0.032

Significant

0.451

1493

Table 4-7 shows a positive relationship between women’s empowerment and sustainable development in Nigeria. This was also tested using correlation analysis: 0.451 at p< 0.051th mean value of 1.37565 and standard deviation of 0.48738 for the first variable, while the second variable has a mean value of 2.37565 and standard deviation of 0.52932. From this result H1, which states that there is a positive relationship between good empowerment programs and women’s contribution to the sustainable development of Nigeria, is calculated thus: accepted. Administering the questionnaire on the social impact of NGOs has enabled the author to conduct a systematic comparison of how the empowerment of women has contributed positively to sustainable development processes in Nigeria, and service provisions in lieu of NGOs and government. Had it not been for the women empowerment programs of NGOs and government in Nigeria, women would have been left in the cold. Hence Amali (2000) and Batliwala & Deepa (2007) confirm this very important role of these groups as being able to “identify the felt needs of communities” (Amali, 2000). The government is not keeping to its submissions on Millennium Development Goals three and five on empowering women for sustainable development, which to a large extent is the cause of Nigeria’s slowness in achieving sustainable development. The nation’s population is approximately 48 per cent women, yet the government is not concerned about the welfare of its female citizens. These research findings show that women in Nigeria are still not in the mainstream in political, economic or even religious and traditional spheres of society.

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Research question 4 states: What factors could inhibit the success of empowerment programmers offered by NGOs to Nigerian women? The research findings show that NGOs’ funds came from fees from women’s activities, fundraising, and donations from their churches. Table 4-7 reveals that 65.1 per cent of the funds NGOs use come from these sources. Other sources of funding for NGOs come from grants and philanthropy donations from foreign countries. On the other hand, government funds were derived from taxes, oil revenue, sales of gas, petroleum revenue, joint ventures, excise duties, profit from public corporation, and investment of public funds, rent, and other indirect taxes. This implies that Faith-based Nongovernmental organizations (FBNGOs) are autonomous and self-reliant and do not look to the government to sponsor their programs. This also means that they encounter little or no direct interference in their programs from government and political parties in the country. Further, it allows them to maintain their focus as they run their programs towards achieving their mission and vision of women’s empowerment. The NGOs in Nigeria are also facing a major problem as the research discovered that the governments—local, state and federal—do not render any significant support to them. Engagement with the state governments has, however, brought complex and contradictory outcomes, often not the ones intended. The nature of the relationship between the women’s movement and the local, state and federal governments is another key area for investigation in Nigeria. This collaboration will enable a better understanding of the strategies which can be employed to enter the partnership and opportunities which exist in different political formations. A possible reason for this could be that since NGOs are affiliated with different churches their source of funding is different as well as their service delivery programs to women. Another challenge the NGOs in Nigeria encounter is in the area of collaboration. Most of the NGOs do not collaborate with others in order to achieve their goal of empowering women in Nigeria. Instead of collaboration, they engage themselves rather in competition which is not helping them complement one another’s efforts towards sustainable development (Batliwala & Deepa, 2007). In addition, NGOs in the country could collaborate in many ways to help women contribute to the national productivity output. Their collaboration could develop new approaches to old problems, recommit to quality, demonstrate a concern for equal rights and method, improve use of time to reduce the cost of what is done, and contribute to the pleasantness of the environment (Chandaria 2006; OECD 2010). Women’s public productivity improvement requires an infusion of

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professionalism in public management. The public interest is intimately related to administrative decisions that will give women direction and meaning in all they do. This intended collaboration could involve the moral duty and obligation on the part of the public and private sectors’ administrators to contribute to a variety of sustainable development issues in Nigeria. On the side of the beneficiaries the challenge they find very common to them is that NGOs lack funds to run their programs. This corroborates the view of NGOs on the need for support from the government and as well as the fact that they are not encouraged to maximize their full potential in pursuing their goal of empowering women in Nigeria. Whatever level of help they are rendering today could be improved if the funds to run their programs are made available by both the federal and state governments of Nigeria.

Primary Research Outcome—Interviews A total of three hundred women were interviewed. Specific information on the impact of NGOs’ role in the empowerment of women was obtained from the interview. Further information on the contribution of women to the sustainable development process was also collected. The following hypotheses were tested: Hypothesis 3: There is a positive relationship between the education of women and girls and the breaking of the glass ceiling to enable women to succeed in their professional and economic activities. Hypothesis 7: There is a positive relationship between married and single women bearing children, and employment outside the home. The interview revealed that cultural change and political socialization have been closely related in Nigeria in the past four decades. It also revealed that agents of socialization such as family, schools, workplace, church, NGOs, government, peer groups, and media have played major roles in the empowerment of women and their social transformation. The tremendous cultural changes that have occurred in Nigeria in the past three decades have helped to shape all of these agents and have also affected women’s economic and professional transformation. Women’s professional transformation has also contributed to the sustainable development process in Nigeria positively.

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More than 60 per cent of the women interviewed indicated that they were employed full-time, year-round. Eighty-three per cent of respondents indicated that employment outside the home is now the norm for them. Some of the interviewees made statements such as, “I am very anxious for my baby to grow so I can look for a job.” Although educated women (72 per cent) are more likely than uneducated women (49 per cent) to work outside the home, even women with lower than a master’s degree are now more likely (50 per cent) to be employed than not. Eighty-seven per cent of the women interviewed hold university degrees and work outside their homes. Sixty-five per cent of the respondents that are married indicated that they had jobs outside their home. During the interview, some of the women said, “Although I am married, my work continues, marriage does not stop work.” Over 62 per cent of the respondents that are married with children under the age of six had employment outside their homes. Another 71 per cent of respondents who are single women with children under the age of six were also employed outside the home. These groups of women almost unanimously agreed that their ignorance of their right in the past made them suffer discrimination as single mothers, but now they are bold enough to say, “I am not ashamed to carry my child to a daycare center while I go to work.” It is interesting to note that only 30 per cent of the respondents tend to define themselves in terms of traditional roles. Furthermore, only 3 per cent of women and men who continue to hold traditional views regarding women and politics are less likely to vote. This group of respondents is also less likely to be active in political campaigns and organizations concerned with sustainable development and national economic challenges. These categories of people feel strongly that they do not matter in the decision-making of the nation: even their votes, to them, are not necessary: they believe that “no woman can become the leader of Nigeria.” Some respondents who believe that only men should role Nigeria made the following statement: “Where are the Nigerian men?” “Why should women play an active role in politics? Their role should be to take of their children and husbands?” In addition, some of the respondents indicated that “they do not believe in the women’s empowerment initiative.” According to this group, “let married women continue to take care of their children and cook good food for their husbands.” Thus, only 3 per cent of the respondents are likely to be politically active. On the other hand, about 46 per cent of the respondents indicated that women should be given more power to participate in the modernization and socio-economic development of Nigeria. They also believe that human rights are women’s rights. This is because women are

Government, NGOs, Performance and Women’s Empowerment in Nigeria 125

mothers, daughters, aunties and children. Without women, there will be no procreation in the country or world. The main finding of the interview is that gender-consciousness focuses on the recognition that one’s relationship to the political world is shaped in important ways by the physical fact that their sex will not lead all women to adopt the same political and economic positions. However, it is necessary if women, who were once denied the opportunity of economic and political participation because of their gender, are to understand that being female has political significance, and to act accordingly. What is clear is that women’s economic and political participation increases as women’s consciousness of themselves as a group increases (Fallon, 2003). NGOs and the governments of Nigeria have all contributed to the efforts to help women develop gender consciousness. However, NGOs seem to be doing more in some geo-political zones than the government. One limitation, however, is that NGOs do not have the power to enact gender public policies in the country, hence they have been trying to influence the policy-making process. The interviews conducted confirmed the three hypotheses, that: (1) there is a relationship between good empowerment programs and women’s contribution to the sustainable development of Nigeria; (2) there is a relationship between the education of women and girls and the breaking of the glass ceiling to enable women to succeed in their professional and economic activities; and (3) there is no relationship between married and single women bearing children and employment outside the home. A striking finding of our survey is that in the South-West, South-South and South-East, where diversity is a somewhat higher priority, executives also report a higher share of women in their senior ranks. In government and private companies where gender diversity is a top-three agenda item, for example, 87 per cent of respondents report that more than 15 per cent of their senior administrators were women; only 64 per cent of those whose ministry or private companies rate diversity as a top-ten item, and 55 per cent of all respondents say the same. There is also some geographical variability: respondents in federal ministries or agencies in North-Central geo-political zones indicated that gender diversity is a topten agenda item for their organizations (35 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively) as opposed to those in North-West and North-East geopolitical zones. There is an indication in Nigeria that support for gender consciousness will increase among women as more of them experience the impact of changes in the traditional roles of wife and mother. As women continue to share experiences at home, school, and work, these psychological bonds

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may contribute to the development of gender consciousness. The interview data supported hypotheses 3, 4 and 7: There is a positive relationship between the education of women and girls and the breaking of the glass ceiling to enable women to succeed in their professional and economic activities. Further, the interview data shows that there is a positive relationship between married and single women bearing children, and having professional jobs. More than 60 per cent of the respondents who are married and have children work outside their homes.

Primary Research Outcome – Focus Group Discussion One other source of primary data collection was the use of focus groups. A focus-group meeting was held in each of the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. Each focus group on women’s empowerment issues consisted of 20 participants drawn from several religious and church groups as well as government agencies’ personnel, and community members in Nigeria. The study used a community-engaged participatory-action approach involving a Technical Church Board (TCB) and Women Christian Organization Board (WCOB). Discussions covered five questions developed by the Technical Church Board and validated by the Women Christian Advisory Board. The focus group discussion tested the following three hypotheses: Hypothesis 4: There is a positive relationship between culture and religion and domestic abuse of women in Nigeria. Hypothesis 5: There is a positive relationship between government policies, its inability to enforce diversity management, domestic abuse crime, sexual harassment, and male hostile domination of women. Hypothesis 6: There is a positive relationship between women’s domestic responsibilities with regards to home and children and their ability to act as autonomous beings in the work place. Tables 4-8 and 4-9 below present the number of statements made by focus-group participants for each focus group question. It also presents the data analysis grid including the question, the domain of the question, the theme, the sub theme, original statements and potential research implications of participants’ responses. Overall, 120 participants attended the focus-group meeting (male=30 per cent and female=70 per cent) aged twenty years and above. In all, 3,720 statements were collected and

Government, NGOs, Performance and Women’s Empowerment in Nigeria 127

transcribed. These statements were divided into the question numbers that were asked. In addition, the technology divide between these low-income women and fairly educated women represents a continuous source of disparity in gender consciousness in Nigeria. Findings of lack of knowledge of various types of domestic abuse and the impacts on women, as well as inappropriate policies to address the nature of the crime against women are consistent with other findings in the literature (Adeleke 2004; Ezeilo 2006; Dibie & Offiong 2009; Conway, et al. 2005). Other domestic abuse studies have found low levels of knowledge and preventive activity for this inhuman treatment of women (Odumosu et al. 2009; Ojobo 2008; Kalu 1996; Dibie & Dibie 2012). The focus group discussion reveals that due to lack of the enforcement of diversity management policies, domestic violence and abuse can happen to anyone, regardless of size, gender, or strength, yet the problem is often overlooked, excused, or denied. This is especially true when the abuse is psychological, rather than physical. Emotional abuse is often minimized, yet it can leave deep and lasting scars. The respondents indicated that noticing and acknowledging the warning signs and symptoms of domestic violence and abuse is the first step to ending it. No one should live in fear of the person they love. If you recognize yourself or someone you know exhibiting warning signs and descriptions of abuse, don’t hesitate to reach out. Table 4-8: Sample Focus Group Questions and Response Rate No

Questions

Affected Statement

Not Affected Statement

Neutral

Total

1.

What do we know about domestic abuse?

a

Physical abuse

76

40

4

120

b

Physical violence

81

32

7

120

c

Sexual abuse or harassment

101

12

7

120

95

18

7

120

d

Dominance

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No

e

Questions

How do we prevent it? Enact Policy to Prosecute offenders

Affected Statement

Not Affected Statement

Neutral

Total

Yes 113

No 6

1

120 600

2

What do we know about economic abuse?

a.

Prevent woman from working outside the home

20

100

0

120

b.

Control a wife’s or girlfriend’s finances

37

81

2

120

c.

Withholding money

19

100

1

120

d.

Making wife account for money spent

23

97

0

120

e.

Withholding basic necessities food, clothes

43

86

1

120

f.

How can we prevent these economic abuses? Enact Policy to Prosecute offenders

Yes 117

No 2

1

120

720 3

What do we know about emotional abuse?

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No

Questions

Affected Statement

Not Affected Statement

Neutral

Total

a

Naming calling

84

32

4

120

b

Blaming

83

32

2

120

c

Shaming

101

19

0

120

d

Yelling

101

17

2

120

e

Isolation

37

83

0

120

f

Intimidation

90

30

0

120

g

Controlling

81

30

9

120

h

What can we do about emotional abuse? Enact Policy to Prosecute offenders

Yes 98

No 21

1

120

960

4

What do we know about religious and cultural discrimination?

a.

Forcing women to cover their faces

28

91

1

120

b.

Forcing women and girls to be circumcised

27

91

2

120

c.

Forcing girls to get married at early age

77

37

6

120

d.

Not educating girls or women

26

92

2

120

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No

Questions

e.

What can be done about these discriminations? Enact Policy to Prosecute offenders

Affected Statement

Not Affected Statement

Neutral

Total

Yes 118

No 2

0

120

600

5

What policies are needed to prevent these forms of abuses and discriminations?

a.

Gender Issues to be addressed

All 120

None 0

0

120

b.

How to establish and effectively implement the appropriate policies — Demand accountability and transparency from elected political leaders

Yes 118

No 2

0

120

c.

Who should implement the policies? Government and NGOs

Govt. 80

NGOs 50

0

120

d.

What role(s) should the government play?

Major 90

NGOs 30

0

120

e.

What role(s) should the private sectors play?

Less 15

NGOs & Govt. 105

0

120

f.

How should

Pragmatic

Democratic

1

120

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No

Questions

government ensure laws? Pragmatic or democratic process

g

Do you have confidence in government to effectively enact and implement gender policies in the country

Affected Statement

Not Affected Statement

94

25

Yes 55

No 64

Neutral

Total

1

120

840 Total Statements

3,720

Source: Focus group 2013–2014

Table 4-9: Summary of Focus Group Respondents’ Statements North-Central Number of Statements 400 North-East Number of Statements 430 North-West Number of Statements 650 South-South Number of Statements 800 South-West Number of Statements 660 South-East Number of Statements 780 Total statements during the focus group discussion 3,720 The following section provides a detailed discussion of the 3,720 statements made during the focus group discussions. The discussion findings show the gaps in knowledge about gender consciousness and discrimination against women in Nigeria. The grid of statements and their relevant themes are presented in the Tables 4-8 and 4-9. This study finding is consistent with those of Ghana (Dibie and Atibil, 2012). However, the study has some refreshing revelations related to diversity management, domestic abuse, sexual harassment, and lack of appropriate gender policies in Nigeria. The study provides a clear profile of the positive relationship between culture and religion and domestic abuse of women in Nigeria. It also reveals the positive relationship between government policies and its inability to enforce diversity

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management, domestic abuse crime, sexual harassment, and male hostile domination. A revelation which merits separate mention is the religious and cultural competency of the focus group questions. The fact that the Community Advisory Board had to reframe the focus group questions in a number of instances shows a deficit in the ability of experts to speak at a level that is comfortable to these low-income women. Respondents also acknowledge that domestic abuse, or spousal abuse, occurs when one person is in an intimate relationship or marriage tries to dominate and control the other person. Domestic abuse that includes physical violence is called domestic violence. Domestic violence and abuse are used for one purpose and one purpose only: to gain and maintain total control over a woman, in most cases, but in some few cases men are dominated by their wives. An abuser doesn’t “play fair.” Abusers use fear, guilt, shame, and intimidation to wear you down and keep you under his or her thumb. Your abuser may also threaten you, hurt you, or hurt those around you. The participant in the focus group discussion indicated that domestic abuse often escalates from threats and verbal abuse to violence. And while physical injury may be the most obvious danger, the emotional and psychological consequences of domestic abuse are also severe. Emotionally abusive relationships can destroy a woman’s self-worth, lead to anxiety and depression, and make her feel helpless and alone. No one should have to endure this kind of pain—and the first step to breaking free is recognizing that a woman’s situation is abusive. Once a woman acknowledges the reality of the abusive situation, then she can plan to get the help she needs. A counselor and member of staff in one of the NGOs indicated that there are many signs of an abusive relationship. The most telling is a woman’s fear of her partner. If a wife feels like she has to walk on eggshells around her partner—constantly watching what she says and does in order to avoid a blow-up—the chances are her relationship is unhealthy and abusive. Other signs that a woman may be in an abusive relationship include a partner who belittles her or tries to control her, and feelings of self-loathing, helplessness, and desperation. The focus group discussion ended by suggesting that if anyone suspects that someone they know is being abused, they should speak up. If they hesitate—stating that it’s none of their business, they might be wrong, or the person might not want to talk about it—keep in mind that expressing your concern will let the person know that you care and may even save a life. The focus group discussion data support hypotheses 5 and 6. The data shows that there is a positive relationship between culture and religion and

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domestic abuse of women in Nigeria. In addition, the focus group data shows a positive relationship between government policies and its inability to enforce domestic abuse crime, sexual harassment, and male hostile domination against women.

Policy Recommendations Regardless of the moral, legal, or practical imperative of diversity in Nigeria, it must also have a workforce link to the bottom line. This is because many studies have examined the positive relationship between workforce diversity and organizational performance (Lussier & Achua 2016; Griffin & Moorhead 2014; Nelson & Quick 2013). Organizations that embrace diversity are able to recruit from a large pool, train and retain superior performance, as well as maximize the benefits of a diverse workforce. In the case of Nigeria, although more women are being employed in the agricultural and retail sectors in Nigeria, economic and cultural changes in the country are making it easier for women to become entrepreneurs. More women than before are leaving the home in increasing numbers to work in various sectors of the country. However, occupational segregation by gender, a situation in which men get higherpaying jobs than women, continues to reinforce gender stereotypes in Nigeria. Given the complexity of what needs to be done to empower women in Nigeria, the public sector (governments), the private nonprofit sector (NGOs and civil society) and the private for-profit sector (businesses and corporations) have to engage one another in a productive dialogue in that effort (Dibie & Dibie 2012). Each sector ought to bring to the table what they are best at—their comparative advantage. This is important because many NGOs have been led by the neo-liberal policies of their Western donors to think that Nigeria, because of its inadequacies, is irrelevant to the development process. In reality, Nigeria has a vital role in development; sustainable development will not be possible or effective without women’s active involvement. This section suggests ways in which the three sectors can do their part in a coordinated manner to better the lives of women in Nigeria. The federal and state governments should clearly define their concept of development in consultation with civil society, relevant NGOs and the private for-profit sectors. Nigeria’s Vision 2020 development plans should reflect a definition of development that assigns a central place to gender equality in all spheres of life, public and private, given the acknowledgment that sustainable development is dependent on harnessing the skills and energy of all citizens, including both men and women.

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There is the need for the enactment of NGO legislation in Nigeria that outlines the relationship between the state and the nonprofit sector to create a framework for collaboration. Some states in Nigeria have also been trying to enact such legislation for many years, but have met with resistance from the NGOs, which suspect state emasculation of civil society activities. The states, for their part, cite the need for weeding out fake NGOs, coordinating the activities of genuine NGOs and aligning them with the state’s development plans. NGOs have to accept the fact that despite the neoliberal rhetoric of rolling back the state, state governments still have a responsibility for coordinating all activities within their borders, including private sector activities and ensuring the provision of public goods and services. The federal and state governments of Nigeria must commit to making gender equality and women’s empowerment a priority, beyond the creation of women’s ministries and nominal gender-mainstreaming. The federal and state governments have a duty to provide the needed infrastructure and create incentives for the private nonprofit sector to deliver programs that enhance women’s lives in the following major areas: (1) education; (2) economic participation; (3) environmental conservation; (4) health; (5) political participation; and (6) social and cultural change. The study recommends that women’s empowerment could be achieved through social and economic intervention. This intervention involves improved competence, self-reliance and self-esteem. If women could successfully achieve competence, self-reliance and self-esteem they would be in a better position to attain improved mental health as well as improved physical health. In addition, the politics of disengagement could help women to manipulate the formal or alternative sources of power to achieve equal rights as their male counterparts in the country. From a purely humanistic perspective, there is an ethical and moral imperative to pursue a policy of inclusion rather than exclusion in Nigeria. Adopting such policies is a matter of fairness, and an inclusionary diversity policy signals an organization’s commitment to uphold the dignity of every person regardless of their circumstance. Education also reduces the desire for more children and checks population growth. Meanwhile, research shows that tertiary education, not elementary education, is what provides the greatest benefit to women (Smee & Woodroffe, 2013). With the huge gaps between men and women in the area of educational attainment in Nigeria, especially at the secondary and tertiary levels, the government needs to not just step up programs to increase girls’ enrollment in elementary schools, but also their retention in school to ensure that the majority of them attain at least

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secondary education. NGOs should focus on education (adult literacy, children’s, and especially women’s, education) could be encouraged through enhanced tax deductions and tax credits for donations made to these NGOs. The federal and state governments ought to look into encouraging corporate social responsibility. Private companies operating in Nigeria should be given special incentives to contribute towards the education of girls and women in public as well as private schools. It very important to note that simply responding to public policy mandates does not automatically result in meaningful, substantive changes in behavior and attitudes (Lussier & Achua, 2016). It is therefore essential that diversity initiatives in Nigeria must have top management support and commitment in the public and private sectors and NGOs in order for the concept to have broad participation through empowerment and constant positive reinforcement.

Conclusion This chapter has examined the dynamics of diversity management in NGOs and the government of Nigeria. It argues that diversity can take different forms including differences in race, ethnic identity, age gender, education, religion, socioeconomic level, and sexual orientation (Lussier & Achua 2016; Yukl, 2013). However, when governments and NGOs have a reputation for valuing diversity, they tend to attract the best candidates among women, and other culturally diverse candidates. Diversity of employees is increasing more and more in the Nigerian workforce, and managers are becoming more aware of opportunities to create a diverse workforce. A more diverse workforce will increase the amount of available talent for filling important jobs (Dibie, 2014). Embracing diversity provides an organization with broader and deeper base of creative problem-solvers and decision-makers. At the same time, organizations that foster diversity and make every employee feel valued for their contribution can increase the job satisfaction of diverse groups (Corroll & Buchholtz 2015; Lussier & Achua 2016). The ways the Nigerian government and NGOs currently use women’s resources, including their capabilities, are unsustainable and do not portray a better understanding of the principles of diversity management in the country (Dibie, 2014). Diversity management requires that equal respect and opportunities be given to women, men, ethnic minorities, and people of different ages, religions, socio-economic levels, and disabled persons in the sustainable development and capacity-building processes in Nigeria. One striking

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finding is that NGOs are practicing diversity management more than government agencies in in the North-West, North-East and North-Central geo-political zones. There are more women executives in NGOs than in government in the specified zones. While about 21 per cent of women and other minority groups have moved from middle management to senior management in NGOs, only 15 persons of the same group have excelled in public institutions. The results of this study have implications for diversity management in the context of women project management and governments in Nigeria. It encourages the government of Nigeria to collaborate with NGOs in addressing women’s empowerment and appropriate capacity-building issues in the country. In addition, economic development in Nigeria requires increasing educational opportunities and accomplishment of women in the country. Such policies could provide greater utility, self-confidence and greater sense of empowerment, declining fertility rates and other forces of modernization that could contribute to the growth of the number of women in the workforce. Efforts by the government of Nigeria to provide more access to financial support for women could promote economic development. NGOs seem to be doing more for the empowerment of women in Nigeria than the government. The study finding shows that most NGOs are unaccountable to the government or other institutions in Nigeria. It is also difficult to assess their real impact since many NGOs do not properly evaluate their outcomes. In Nigeria, the fact that NGOs insist on their autonomy from government creates problems with national macro-economic development planning and coordination. This is because governments do not coordinate the activities of NGOs the way it ought to, which has resulted in uneven programs and services among the various states in the country as well as the overlap of services among NGOs. There is reason to be cautious about what NGOs have accomplished in the empowerment of women in Nigeria and their future role in this endeavor. It is therefore very important to observe that good intentions should not be equated with outcomes. Indeed, some critics in Nigeria believe that NGOs have become avenues for enterprising individuals and some government officials to take advantage of funding from abroad for their personal use, rather than the common good (Dibie and Atibil, 2012). As one scholar put it, “the fact that the institutions [of state] are not able to make NGOs accountable is itself problematic” (Bolaji 2006; OECD 2010; Smee & Woodroffe 2013). To achieve full diversity, Nigerian organizations’ leaders must be challenged to institute policies that provide women and other minorities with equal opportunities to move up the

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corporate and government departments or ministries to top leadership positions.

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http://www.nigerianmuse.com/ 20100527092749zg /sections/picturesmaps-cartoons/maps-of-various-states-and-their-local-governments-innigeria/. Accessed November 28, 2016. Federal Ministry of Justice (2008). Nigeria’s 3rd Periodic Country Report: 2005–2008 on the Implementation of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights in Nigeria. Abuja: Federal Ministry of Justice. Ferrell, O., Fraedrich J., and Ferrell, L. (2015). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. Mason, OH: South-Western Press. Gibert, J. A. and M. Mancevich. (2000). “Valuing Diversity: A Tale of Two Organizations.” Academy of Management Executive, 14 (1): 93– 105. Green, D. (1999). Gender Violence in Africa. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Greenberg, J. (2013). Managing Behavior in Organizations. Boston, MA: Pearson Books. James, E. H. and L. P. Woolen. (2006). “Diversity Crisis: How Firms Manage Discrimination Lawsuits.” Academy of Management Journal, vol. 49, no. 6, pp. 1103–1118. Kalu, A. (1996). “Women and the Social Construction of Gender in African Development.”Africa Today. 43 (3): 269–288. Scientific Study of Population, pp. 73–97 Kourany J. A., J. P. Sterba and R. Tong (1999). Feminist Philosophies. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Lussier, R. (2009). Management Fundamentals. Mason, OH: SouthWestern Press. Lussier, R. and C. Achua. (2016). Leadership: Theory, Application and Skill Development. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. McCool, J. D. (2008). “Diversity Pledges Ring Hollow.” Business Week, (February 5). http://www.business-week.com/managing/content/ feb2008/ca2008025080192.htm. Accessed January 6, 2015. Moorhead G. & R. Griffin. (2014). Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organization. 9th Edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Nahavandi, A. (2012). The Art and Science of Leadership. Six6th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Nelson, D. & J. C. Quick. (2013). Organizational Behavior: Science, the Real World and You. 8th Edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Odumosu O. et al. (2009). “Mapping the Activities of Faith-based Organizations in Development in Nigeria.” Birmingham: Religions and Development Working Paper 38.

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Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report in (2010). Nigeria, in Atlas of Gender and Development. Hhtp://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264077478-124-en. Accessed November 7, 2014. Ojobo, J. (2008) “Education: A Catalyst for Empowerment in Nigeria,” Ethiopian Journal of Education and Science, vol. 4, no. 1. Okpe O. and Angya, C. (2007). “Women and Faith-Based Organizations in Nigeria.” Benue State University Center for Gender Studies, Monograph Series, no. 1–37. Rawls, J. (1971). A Theory of Justice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Salamon, L. 1987. “Of Market Failure, Voluntary Failure, and Third-Party Government: Toward a Theory of Government-Nonprofit Relations in the Modern Welfare State.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 16:29–49. Sam-Okere, J. (2013). “Faith-based Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Women Empowerment in Nigeria.” Journal of International Politics and Development, vol. 11, no. 1 and 2, pp. 73– 106. Schirch, L. (2012) “Understanding Women as victims and Peace-builder.” In Schnabel, A. and A. Tabyshalieva edited, Defying Victimhood: Women and Post-Conflict Peace-Building. New York: United Nations University Press. Scott C. (2009). Gender, Faith-based, and Development in West Africa. London: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Sha, P. D. (2007) Globalization and Challenges of Organizing among Women in the Informal Sector in Nigeria. Benue State University Center for Gender Studies, Monograph Series no. 2, pp. 2–27. Smee, S. & Woodroffe, J. (2013). Achieving Gender Equality Through a Post-2015 Framework. Institute of Development Studies Policy Brief Issue 43 (August), pp. 1–2. Smith, L. E. P. (2006). “Social Yet Creative: The Role of Social Relationship in Facilitating Individual Creativity.” Academy of Management, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 85–101. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. (1999), cited in Dibie, R. (2014). Public Administration: Theory, Analysis, and Application. Ilishan-Remo, Nigeria: Babcock University Press. United Nations Human Development Index Reports. (2012). “Gender Empowerment Indicators.” New York: United Nations Press. —. (2013). “Gender Empowerment Indicators.” New York: United Nations Press.

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Usua A. and Osuagwu E. (2010). “Women and Politics in MaleDominated Sphere: Getting the Wolves and the Sheep to lie together through Media Advocacy,” in G. Okon and A. Udoudo (eds.), Political Communication and Nigerian Democracy: A Book of Reading. Port Harcourt: Amethyst and Colleagues Publishers, pp. 123–132. Yulk, G. (2013). Leadership in Organizations. 9th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

CHAPTER FIVE WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN MALI FEDERICKA DE SISTO AND MARIAM KONATEŀ

Introduction The Republic of Mali is a francophone country in West Africa. The area that is now called the Republic of Mali was once part of the three-great pre-colonial Sudanic empires, namely Ghana, Mali and Songhai. It has a boundary with Algeria towards the north, to the south is Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea, and to the east are Burkina Faso and Niger. Mali is bounded to the west by the Republic of Mauritania. The country used to be a French colony until it gained its independence in 1960. After several years of military regimes and coups, the nation now has a constitutional democracy which was adopted in its constitution of 1992. Mali’s Constitution was later amended in 1999 to accommodate a robust democratic system of government (United Nations, 2014). The nation’s capital city is Bamako. According to the United Nations Human Development Report (2016) the population of Mali is approximately 17.6 million and its Gross Domestic capita was US$13.1 billion in 2015. The northern part of Mali reaches deep into the middle of the Sahara Desert, however most of the population of the country settled around the Niger River valley (Clark et al. 2015). The majority of its population engages in farming and trading of agricultural crops. The country is the eighth-largest country in Africa. The population of the country is 48.72 per cent male and 51.28 per cent female (United Nations, 2014). It is rich in natural resources such as gold, and it is the third largest producer of gold and salt in Africa. In a few decades the country has experienced conflict, primarily in the northern part of the country. Fighting among various Tuareg ethnic group rebels, as well as aggression by Islamist militant groups, continues to hamper economic development in some parts of the country.

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Several United Nations’ Human Development Reports (United Nations Development Program, 2014, 2014a, 2013) make a direct correlation between the notion of national development and the fairness and inclusiveness of the different social groups that make up a country’s population. Indeed, the concept of “social inclusion” has become a very intricate part of the concept of development in general. The European Union’s Inclusion Agenda (2004) defined social inclusion as a process which ensures that those at risk of property and social exclusion gain the opportunities and resources necessary to participate fully in economic, social, and cultural life and to enjoy a standard of living and well-being that is considered normal in the society in which they live (Council of the European Union, 2004, 8). The persisting political, economic and social marginalization of the ethnic minority of the Kel Tamasheq in Northern Mali has been the major source of political unrest in the country over the past fifty years. Altogether, there have been four significant rebellions led by the Kel Tamasheq in protest against their marginalization by the Malian government. While international attention is all focused on the bigger picture of restoration of political stability in the region, little has so far been done (including in terms of academic production), to assess the impact of the situation on the most vulnerable categories of people, namely ethnic minorities, women and children. This chapter will try to fill the vacuum with regard to one of these vulnerable groups. After a short review of the relevant literature on the topic of women, exclusion and empowerment, and a brief insight on the situation in Northern Mali, it will try to shed light on the living conditions of Kel Tamasheq women during these violent times in Mali. It will focus on the emotional, economic and physical impact of their marginalization exacerbated by the political unrest. Then, the role that the Kel Tamasheq women play in the peace-building process in Mali will be discussed, as well as the different policies that the government is taking to insure the inclusion of women in the socio-economic and political reunification of the country. Finally, recommendations will be made on possible ways in which Kel Tamasheq women could become active participants at the negotiating table on matters related to their own empowerment, the empowerment of their people, and the transformation of the conflict into a just and lasting peace and a sustainable development for Mali.

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Definition of Terms Gender equality and women’s empowerment are included as one of the eight Millennium Development Goals that all 191 United Nations Member States were committed to trying to achieve by the end of 2015. Too often, indeed, women’s access to resources is hampered by constitutional and customary law that is biased against women. Even in the presence of formal laws to favor gender equality, women often face discrimination in their daily lives. Lack of access to education and resources are some of the structural inequities that limit women’s ability to engage effectively with formal and informal institutions that implement justice effectively. Gender relations are also crucial in all peace-building efforts: reaching a long-lasting peace requires exploring and tackling gender relations, gender roles and expectations. A sustainable peace can only be reached with the elimination of structural discrimination, the presence of social justice through equal opportunity, a fair distribution of power and resources, equal protection and impartial enforcement of law (Jeong, 2005; Galtung, 1996). Before looking at the issue of gender dynamics in the specific case study of the Kel Tamasheq society within the Malian State, it is important to assess what is meant by the use of three terms which are inherently linked with the achievement of gender equality: oppression, empowerment and social exclusion. Oppression, empowerment and exclusion: In the Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire (1974) defines oppression as the expression of unequal power relations embedded in society. For Freire, socially embedded norms operate at a deeply psychological level to reinforce power relations (Hughes, Wheeler and Eyben, 2005). Starting from this definition, Freire’s approach initiated a whole analysis of the ways to address oppression, known as “empowerment.” Empowerment consists of three levels: Individual empowerment: It corresponds to the process of “conscientisation”, through which the oppressed realize that their relative lack of access to resources arises from discriminatory practices (Longwe, 2002). In other words, individual empowerment means to break from the sense of inferiority, acknowledge one’s own strengths, intelligence, skills and knowledge (Rowlands, 1997); Collective empowerment: It relates to the affiliation of a person in a group, and more specifically refers to how people relate to each other, organize themselves, develop strengths to deal with oppression and

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challenge the existing structures upon which discrimination is based (Checkoway, 1995; Freire, 1974); Community change: Empowerment is the process through which discriminated people acquire increased “consciousness” of their own situation, gain access to knowledge and skills, and become able to change their situation towards sustainable solutions (Borren, 2003). Empowerment, then, means a change in relationships between oppressed and dominant groups. This notion of empowerment also means challenging the structures which maintain the status quo and perpetuate social exclusion (Pigg, 2002). Social exclusion: focuses on the mechanisms which maintain the structures of power (Bastin, 2005). According to Kabeer (2000), inequality can take different forms depending on cultural and economic factors. She explains that cultural injustice, in particular, is primarily associated with despised identities. While discriminated groups are often among the poorest communities, economic injustice cannot be considered as the root cause of their social exclusion (Kabeer, 2000). Cultural issues need to be tackled for change to take place. There are three main factors contributing to social exclusion: Social closure: Kabeer (2000, p. 92) describes it as the process through which “social collectivities seek to maximize rewards by restricting access to resources and opportunities to a limited circle of eligible.” She explains that social closure is a relatively deliberate strategy, which is based on social attributes such as race, language or religion. In other words, social closure corresponds to what Galtung (1990 and 1969) defines as structural violence: the violence based on the systematic ways in which social structure and institutions harm people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs; Institutional bias: It corresponds to the socially embedded and internalized norms that define what is, and is not, acceptable and “normal.” According to Kabeer (2000, p. 91), “institutionalised bias corresponds to a predominant set of values, beliefs, rituals and institutional procedures that operates systematically and consistently to the benefit of certain persons and groups at the expense of others”; Unruly practices: It refers to the core of unofficial norms that shape the social world and determine people’s ability to access what they are officially entitled to (Kabeer, 2000). In other words, it corresponds to the gap between the stated rules and their actual implementation in practice. The understanding of these concepts needs to be tied to a particular context. A gender analysis of peace-building in Northern Mali involves a historical understanding of facts and events which have influenced that

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particular context, as well as a description of how gender roles and dynamics work in that specific setting. It also implies an assessment of how these roles and dynamics impact a society’s inclination towards violent conflict, the degree to which gender roles and dynamics might be molded themselves by violent conflict, and the opportunities they present for transformative possibilities.

The Tuareg of Northern Africa The name “Tuareg” or “Berber” is the name that the first European explorers like Leo Africanus gave to the indigenous inhabitants of North Africa who have lived there for thousands of years, and spiritually consider the Sahara as their mother. Culturally, the indigo-blue veiled Tuareg are seen as outlaws, and called by different names such as “Blue People”, chevaliers du désert (knights of the desert) or hommes de nulle part (men from nowhere). The Tuareg are Muslims, but maintain some peculiarities such as the traditional requirement that only men wear veils (Jalali, 2013). The etymology of the term “Tuareg” is uncertain. According to one interpretation, the word derives from “Targa” which means “drainage channel” in Tamazight, the language spoken by the Tuareg. A different definition relates the word to the Arabic word “Atwareq” which means “one who is well experienced in routes.” Based on a third explanation, the word comes from the Tuareg leader Tariq Ag Ziyad who conquered Spain in 711 A.D. According to Susan Rasmussen (1996), the Tuareg people refer to themselves as either “Kel Amajagh,” “Kel Tamasheq” (people of the Tamasheq language), “Kel Amahagh” or “Amazigh.” The spelling variants resemble the variety of Tamasheq dialects, but they all reflect the same linguistic roots meaning “the free people.” The Kel Tamasheq language is written in “Tifinagh”, and in line with the way they define themselves, in this chapter the term Kel Tamasheq will be used to refer to the group. Modern day Libya is said to be the original home of the Kel Tamasheq people, because in 7500 BC, the famous Greek philosopher Herodotus (Book IV, 183) wrote about people who lived nomadic lives in Fizzan (the southern part of Libya), just like the Kel Tamasheq group from Libya. The Kel Tamasheq today form one-and-a-half million people scattered over two million square kilometers between Algeria, Libya, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, with the largest populations living in Mali and Niger (MaliAct.net, 2013, 1). The desert interior has been home to them for thousands of years. Migration—continuous, unobstructed movement, for

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trade and agricultural reasons—has always been a crucial means of subsistence, and a key component of their culture. During and after French colonization, though, limited freedom of movement contributed to heavy economic difficulties and deep-seated rivalries which are some of the causes behind their rebellions.

History of the Conflict in Northern Mali For much of the pre-colonial period, the Kel Tamasheq managed trade routes and provided services to trade caravans moving freely through the Sahel. The French colonization of North and West Africa in the late 1800s changed the geographical setting of that portion of the continent: the colonizers imposed their own administrations and artificial colonial borders, disrupting the long-established lifestyle of the group and restricting their access to desert routes (Jalali, 2013). The Kel Tamasheq were thus unable to cross the Sahel as freely as they were used to, and were divided and isolated from each other. They split up among several nations, with Mali and Niger hosting the largest number. Later on, the establishment of post-colonial states worsened the living conditions of the Kel Tamasheq by continuing to deprive them of access to land, and thus to power, and threatening their physical existence as well as their culture which has been based on constant migration. Soil degradation and overuse of the limited land available to them, in addition to severe droughts which cyclically afflict the Sahara, are all factors contributing to fueling conflicts within the group, between it and other ethnic groups, and between the group and the government (Hershkowitz, 2005). When Mali gained independence from France in the 1960s, the North, mostly inhabited by the Kel Tamasheq, rebelled and asked for independence on the basis that it had been economically neglected and left out from any development programs undertaken by the central government of Bamako (ibid.). Poverty is rampant in the northern regions, along with a host of socio-economic problems accentuated by the geographic marginalization that the Kel Tamasheq people have been experiencing for decades (Lecoq and Lecoq, 2010). Moreover, a series of droughts that happened between 1969 and 1973, 1981 and 1984, completely depleted the most valuable resources which constitute the livelihood of the Kel Tamasheq people, namely water and grazing pasture (ibid.). Thousands of camels, cattle, sheep, and goats died, forcing the Kel Tamasheq to flee their homelands. A long-standing grievance against the Malian government has been that it has always squandered international resources designed to relieve

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the populace, especially following the droughts. The Kel Tamasheq have pointed out that the northern regions of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu have not been included in economic development plans and have been neglected, unlike other similar regions in the south. In addition, they have also complained about the inability of the Malian central government to govern the north. They demand an increase of the economic infrastructures, an end to the military occupation of their region and local representation in the administration of their region (Branson and Wilkinson, 2013). This poor governance of the North of Mali has created what Branson and Wilkinson (2013, 89) call a “security vacuum” which ultimately paved the way to the fourth big rebellion in 2012, after the first in the 1960s, a second in 1990, and a third in 2006. In the months that followed Libyan president Gaddafi’s toppling and eventual death in October 2011, several hundred Kel Tamasheq who served in the Libyan army fled back to Mali. The chaos that followed Gaddafi’s death led to the looting and smuggling of arms that fueled the 2012 rebellion in northern Mali. In the country, under-development, poverty, deprivation, exclusion, inequality, and uneven power distribution underline the life experiences of the Kel Tamasheq. Their exclusion is threefold: socio-cultural, economic and political. In addition, there is a very pervasive lack of opportunities. Their experience of deprivations and frustrations make them not only voiceless victims of ethnic discrimination, but also susceptible to armed conflicts and rebellions. Indeed, the Kel Tamasheq experience a disconnect between education, employment and political opportunities, and attribute their lack of social and economic empowerment to the fact that they are left with no opportunities at all to participate in society or have their needs and aspirations considered. Moreover, they are also discriminated on the basis of ethnic belonging. This discrimination stems from the fact that they are viewed as Arabs or Libyans, rather than Malians. There is also a prevalent resentment in Mali over the Kel Tamasheq’s historical enslavement of darker-skinned Malians whom they call “Bella” or “Eklan” (IRIN, 2008). Throughout the different crises over the past five decades, economic and development programs have had a very limited impact on improving the conditions of the Kel Tamasheq. Moreover tourism, which had been a major fuel of the economy in the north, is now nonexistent as a result of the instability in the region.

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The Impact of Conflict on Kel Tamasheq Women in Northern Mali The rebellion in northern Mali is one of a number of factors (others include drought and the impact of labor migration) which have had considerable impact on communities in the area. In the economic sphere, many communities found themselves impoverished after losing their livelihoods, assets and resources (land, animals, equipment, etc.), although some people managed to learn and practice new activities. The conflict has also impacted upon people’s ways of life and systems of production, with the result that some communities have changed to different means of livelihood. Conflict has affected the quality of relationships between sedentary communities and nomadic groups, resulting in massive population displacement and flows of refugees to neighboring countries (IOM, 2013). These displacements have also led to family breakdown, changing or disappearing sites, and changes in community structures (e.g. settlement of nomads on sites growing into villages). Women are among the most affected by the political instability. According to the 2014 United Nations Development Program Report on Women in Conflict Prevention, Peace-building and Recovery: Women and girls are uniquely and disproportionately affected by armed conflict and disaster. In post conflict and disaster settings, they often suffer from lack of security and are excluded from decision-making and participation in economic, social, and political spheres. National laws and judicial systems also remain discriminatory against them (p.1).

According to Barnett (2010, p. 126), “the gendered division of labour in most countries also makes women the first to suffer from the direct and indirect depredations wrought by violent conflict.” Women usually carry the socio-economic burden of the crisis, despite the fact that they are usually excluded from the political decision-making process. In Northern Mali, because Kel Tamasheq women face a high percentage of victimization and displacement, they are forced to flee their homes and communities, and their lives and means of subsistence become more and more vulnerable to different forms of gender-based violence such as rape, trafficking, and sexual slavery. According to a 2014 article in Amina magazine, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has documented 2,785 cases of sexual violence against Kel Tamasheq women since the beginning of the armed conflict in Northern Mali in April 2012 (p. 40). However, according to Eduardo Cue, the UNHCR spokesperson from Mali cited in the same article, the real numbers are much higher. Some

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women have been forced into concubinage, others to forced marriages with the so-called rebels of the National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad. Others have been forced into sex trafficking, and young girls have been raped in the presence of their fathers, and women in the presence of their husbands, as a way of demonstrating power and victory over them, and also as a way of terrorizing the populace. This type of psychological warfare has become sadly common in armed conflicts. According to a 2008 interview about the War in Congo given to CBS news by Anneka Van Woudenberg (CBS, 2008, 390), a researcher at Human Rights Watch, rape has become the norm during armed conflicts, because it is “a way to ensure that communities accept the power and authority of [a] particular armed group. This is about showing terror.” Usually, women who are civilians during wartime are a target for violence, making up the majority of victims and displaced people. According to Hawkesworth (2011, 555), “80 per cent of the refugees displaced by war are women. They also experience increasing levels of domestic and sexual violence in war time.” War becomes a time where men take advantage of a situation to use fear and resources as a way to control. Many Kel Tamasheq young girls and women have reported being forced into marriages with men 20 to 30 years their senior, and being physically abused by them whenever they refused to have sexual intercourse (Amina, 2014). As a result of the cultural stigma attached to rape in Mali, victims are reluctant to come forward or to even press charges. Social workers have had to pay several visits to victims before they can convince them to come forward. Despite the high number of documented cases of rape against Kel Tamasheq women, to date, only one case of sexual aggression related to the armed conflict in the north of Mali has been filed with the judicial courts in Bamako, according to the public prosecutor of Bamako, Daniel Tessogue (Amina, 2014, 40). The war has destroyed Kel Tamasheq women, families and entire communities. Traumatized and displaced, with no education or specific skills to survive on, the Kel Tamasheq women most of the time, resort to begging or seasonal work in the informal economy (production of clay bricks, arts and craft for sale). In urban areas of Mali to where they have fled, they constitute the lowest and most marginalized category, and are subject to inequality, exclusion and violation of their basic human rights. On the other hand, since armed conflicts affect men and women differently, women are better placed than anyone else to know what their specific needs are, and also what the appropriate responses to those needs should be. Therefore, enhancing the political, social, and economic

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empowerment of women is critical not only in creating an environment of recovery, but also in rebuilding war-torn communities.

Role of Kel Tamasheq Women in Governmental and Civil Society Peacebuilding Initiatives According to a 2014 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 2015, 1), women’s associations in Mali have important roles and responsibilities in their communities, including ensuring “the security of people and property; providing social care for vulnerable members of the community; carrying out justice and conflict-resolution tasks; and fostering relationships within and between communities. Therefore, [they] have a key role to play in the process of peace-building.” In that spirit, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reports that on September 16–18, 2014, women’s organizations and traditional leaders in Mali organized a forum to “discuss how they could potentially contribute to the consolidation of peace and development in Mali” (Ibid. p.1). The participants and organizers of the forum included the Mali Civil Society and Peace-building Project’s branch of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in partnership with its local organization in Mali, the National Coalition of Civil Society for Peace and the Fight Against the Proliferation of Light Weapons (the Coalition Nationale de la Société Civile pour la Paix et la Lutte contre la Prolifération des Armes Légères, Conascipal). The purpose of this forum was threefold: First, it was designed to allow participants to discuss the statutory and nonstatutory functions of traditional authorities, and the constraints they face in carrying out their duties; and to exchange views on traditional mechanisms for conflict prevention and non-violent resolution of conflicts. Second, the forum was held in order to discuss the opportunities for women to contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflicts and peacebuilding; and to initiate a process of reflection on the capacities of traditional authorities and women’s organizations to contribute to conflict prevention and conflict resolution, peace-building and socio-economic development. Third, the forum gave participants an opportunity to reflect on the role of religious leaders in peace-building and the resolution of conflicts (ibid. 2).

In Mali, Kel Tamasheq and other women have formed civil society organizations (CSOs) at the grassroots and local community levels in order

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to actively participate in the peace-building process. These civil society organizations comprise both men and women who are dedicated to building a sustainable economic, social, and human development in Mali. In order to establish a genuine and sustainable peace and security, the civil society organizations not only share knowledge regarding the root causes of the conflict in Mali, but also implement strategies aimed at bringing peace and reconciliation among the different communities and groups. Kel Tamasheq women bring to the table their understanding and firsthand knowledge of the conflict dynamics, not only as the inhabitants of the north, but also the victims of conflict. The central government of Mali recognizes the reality that women should be seen as part and parcel of the solution to issues relating to peace reconciliation and social cohesion. Adding women’s voices to the discussion about peace-building will ensure that women’s issues are placed on the agenda. Therefore, enhancing the political, social, and economic empowerment of women is critical not only in creating an environment of recovery, but also in rebuilding war-torn communities. The theme of International Women’s Day 2014 was “Equality for women is progress for all,” which is significant because it draws a strong correlation between gender equality and the attainment of economic and social development, making gender equality, and most importantly the role of women’s participation, a crucial component of global development efforts. The government of Mali recognizes that women play a crucial role as stakeholders in post-conflict reconstruction, peace-building, and the rebuilding of peaceful communities. Following this understanding, in February 2014, the government of Mali, under the leadership of the Ministry for the Promotion of the Woman and the Child, organized a series of workshops and panel discussions (Peace Talks) to follow up on the recommendations of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); the Beijing Platform for Action; as well as the Principles and Provisions Recommendations related to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security. The theme of the peace talks was “Strategies of Socio-economic Reinsertion of Women and Children affected by armed conflicts in the North” (our translation). One of its goals was to put the issue of the impact of war on women and children as well as taking into account their specific needs at the center of any strategy, program and practice related to reconciliation and peace-building efforts in Mali. The workshops engaged women in a discussion of the status of women affected by the conflict, identifying the needs and challenges they face, and how to implement programs to help them. The panel discussions also

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helped participants exchange their experiences. The participants adopted several resolutions aimed at empowering women politically and economically, and also at including them in decision-making power structures. This will ensure the full involvement of women in not only the resolution of current conflicts, but also the prevention of future ones. Some of the governmental initiatives taken to aid women in the warafflicted north of Mali as a result of the above-mentioned workshop include the re-establishment of peace and security in previously occupied areas; the normalization of economic and governmental activities; the creation of a Commission of Dialogue and Reconciliation; the creation of the Ministry of Reconciliation and Development of the Northern Regions; and the organization of presidential and legislative elections in 2014. The 2014 elections allowed for decentralization of government, and were more inclusive, making it possible for more representatives from the north to run for election. They also allowed for the election of the first Kel Tamasheq woman in Parliament, Mrs. Aisha Belco. In addition, the government organized different forums and town-hall meetings, which all testify to the political willingness of the political authorities of the central government in Bamako to promote a sustainable peace and development. Moreover, the government has partnered with national women’s organizations, as well as international women’s organizations such as UN Women and the United Nations Population Fund, to build shelters for women in the northern cities of Gao, Timbuctu, and Kidal. Some Kel Tamasheq women have also received credit to start their own businesses. These peace talks led the Ministry of Reconciliation and Development of the Northern Regions to pinpoint three major challenges to the politics of national reconciliation and institutional and political stability in Mali: 1. The need for a politics of dialogue for national reconciliation in order to bring back the trust that the Kel Tamasheq have lost in the Malian government, and create the material, economic, and psychological conditions necessary for the return of refugees and displaced Tamasheq people; 2. The strengthening of the decentralization process which aims at including the Kel Tamasheq people in the running of local governments and decision making and an equitable distribution of resources and opportunities; 3. The launching of an accelerated development plan for the Northern regions which will promote an all-inclusive economic development agenda for the Northern regions that will put resources in the hands

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of the Kel Tamasheq and empower them to become active participants in the development process. On March 5, 2014, the government of Mali announced the creation of a Dialogue and Reconciliation Commission, according to a March 21, 2014, press release from Panapress (Panapress, 2014). The role of this commission, according to Cheick Oumar Diarra, the Malian minister of National Reconciliation and Development of northern regions, is “not about reviving old wounds, but it’s about examining and analyzing the serious causes of the different armed conflicts experienced in the Mali in a bid to avoid the mistakes of the past and facilitate reconciliation” (ibid.). Effectively dealing with the legacies, and making sure reparation is done to victims of armed conflicts, and that war crimes are punished, helps the peace-building process because it gives the affected parties a sense of security and value for their human rights. Engaging people in order to prevent future acts of violence against women is also very important in this process. Moreover, under the guidance of the Ministry of Reconciliation and Development of the Northern Regions, Kel Tamasheq women created several women’s organizations that provide them with safe places to discuss and actively engage and utilize regional, national and international resources to promote and protect their rights. These organizations have given Kel Tamasheq women the opportunity to become active participants in the peace-building effort of their country. As such, they have gained a much-deserved place on the table where peace and reconciliation are negotiated. The participation of Kel Tamasheq women in those important talks signals their refusal to remain on the margin of peace negotiations that directly impact upon them. It equally sends the message that they are no longer willing to be relegated to the status of passive and helpless victims of war who need to be helped and saved, but that they should be counted as dynamic, active and strategically able agents whose contributions are imperative for the process of national reconciliation and the establishment of a sustainable peace in Mali.

Recommendations Dealing with the crises in Mali requires a peace-building process able to address a broad range of themes and to involve a variety of actors. Peace processes, though, are usually managed by men. Peace negotiators, peacekeepers, peace-builders, and politicians are, in most cases, male. This shows that despite the fact that women play an important role in peace-

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building and in all aspects of a society life, this role goes often unrecognized. However, no lasting and sustainable peace could be reached in the absence of inclusion and protection of women, and empowerment of women in decision making. Stemming from this understanding is the widely accepted approach of including women in the decision-making process and empowering them as primary actors in all aspects of peacebuilding and development. The initiatives led by women’s organizations and the central government of Mali seem to be a promising hope leading to a new genderbased peace-building approach. The need to establish a dialogue for reconciliation, and to create the political, psychological, social, and economic conditions for it is a key step to take in the direction of transforming polarized relations from mutually excluding to peaceful and inclusive ones. The strengthening of the decentralization process for the northern regions, and the fostering of economic development, are equally important actions in the attempt to move from war to peace and allow Kel Tamasheq men and women to own their future and be the protagonists of their empowerment. Likewise, building upon the capacities of women organizations will ensure support to gender-based interventions which are crucial to a holistic, conflict-transformation approach, and to the initiation of a peace process in deeply divided communities. Because positive peace is not only absence of violence, but has to do with the creation of conditions for lasting, just, supportive and collaborative relationships, it is important to acknowledge that systematic and endangered forms of violence against Kel Tamasheq women stems from disregard and deep-rooted discrimination against them in society. Galtung (1990) argues that the achievement of peace in a society is a more complex process than the mere absence of direct violence (negative peace). The concept of peace involves the elimination of the root causes of war, violence, and injustice, the preservation and defense of human rights, the elimination of structural discrimination, the development of more just and equitable systems, the encouragement and appreciation of diversity through community dialogue and cultural exchange, and the conscious effort to build a society which reflects these commitments (Galtung 1990 and 1969). Efforts to achieve the positive peace to which Galtung refers require the elimination of the different forms of violence from society (Galtung, 1996 and 1990). While attempts to stop events that kill or harm members of society is certainly a key issue which is being tackled by national and international actors, breaking down the structures of exploitation, marginalization and fragmentation of people and groups is

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equally important, although so far little has been done in this regard. Overall, efforts to end direct use of force would be useless if the belief/value system that vindicates the direct and structural violence is not challenged. For this reason, any intervention aimed at ensuring the active participation of women in peace initiatives should not only tackle the elimination of physical forms of gender violence but also their structural and cultural dimensions. These last two forms of violence have not yet been addressed by any of the interventions carried so far out in Mali. It is therefore fundamental to strengthen coalitions of women in civil organizations, encouraging them to act united, to identify and speak out against gender stereotypes, and support each other on issues related to peace and security. This will allow women to be able to participate more effectively in formal and informal peace dialogues and peace-building initiatives, policy analysis and advocacy, and increase their access to basic skills and knowledge in their communities. As True (2013) pointed out, mainstreaming gender equality and women’s empowerment requires the adoption of a holistic approach able to tackle political, social and economic dimensions of the institutional and structural barriers to equality. Poverty, gender imbalance and lack of access to education and economic means are a major limit to the long-term recovery of societies. In acting concretely to put an end to violence and promote peace, governance must be based on the concepts of gender equality and social justice, and accountability systems should be put in place to ensure the presence of women in governance structures. Needs assessment on women’s situation in these violent times is also key, as well as the protection of their socio-economic rights and economic empowerment. In this regard, the international community, along with national and regional actors, should assist with local capacity building to sensitize on gender issues and guarantee that both men and women continue to be put in a condition to participate proactively to the wellbeing of their communities. It is therefore important to build upon the strength and grasp that local civil society institutions have on local actors. In fact, grassroots women’s organizations, more than international and other national governmental actors, can challenge gender stereotypes and build a movement able to play a proactive role in conflict transformation and peace-building.

Conclusion This chapter has examined the types of discrimination that women in Mali experience in their daily lives. It argues that despite the political conflict in

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the country, women NGOs have been very active in putting pressure on the government of Mali to enact effective and positive gender policies. Several United Nations’ Human Development Reports (HDR) make a direct correlation between the notion of national development and the fairness and inclusiveness of the different social groups that make up a country’s population. According to the findings of a project conducted in 2014 by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (2014, p.1), an independent resource on global security: The lack of peace and security in Mali is a major obstacle to economic, social and human development, and any development cooperation strategy for Mali must take into account the interconnections between peace, security and development. A genuine and sustainable peace requires the involvement of local populations and, by extension, the full participation of civil society.

In order to achieve a sustainable peace in Mali, the cultural, political, and historical interests, as well as divisions and competition between all key players in northern Mali, must be taken into account. Establishing peace, stability, security and development will also require the full participatory involvement and contribution of local men and women. Central to the concept of peace-building is, according to the UNDP, improving justice and security for women. This process includes making sure that perpetrators of gender-based sexual and physical violence against women are brought to justice. It also involves creating or reinforcing laws that protect women’s human rights, as well as a judicial system and process that guarantees security and safety for all. Moreover, the Malian regime should put in place both local and regional programs and policies that will adequately address the grievances of the Kel Tamasheq people. This will require more inclusive and decentralized economic and political efforts geared towards a sustainable development of northern Mali. To achieve this goal, it is crucial for local and international actors to support and strengthen civil society organizations. Indeed, Mali has a very vibrant civil society that, especially in the north, has played a primary role in promoting dialogue between the Kel Tamasheq and the Malian government, in fostering intra- and inter-community dialogue and mobilizing constituencies for peace. No constructive and inclusive intra-group and inter-group relations and governance systems based on democratic principles can be built without the active involvement of all sectors of society, especially and importantly women. It is thus essential to give space to women’s organizations to denounce overt and covert forms of

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gender violence, amplify their voices, and increase their impact on decision-making at different levels.

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CHAPTER SIX WOMEN AND CAPACITY-BUILDING IN ZIMBABWE SALIWE KAWEWE AND ROBERT DIBIE

Introduction Zimbabwe is a country in south-central Africa. It is bordered by Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the north, Mozambique to the east, and South Africa to the south. Zimbabwe gained its independence on April 17, 1980. President Robert Mugabe became the first president of the country in a landslide multiracial election in 1980, and has continued in power since then. In Zimbabwe, women comprise slightly over half of the population, and constitute considerably more than half the poor in the country (Chronic Poverty Research Centre 2011; Marunda 2014). Women in Zimbabwe play strategic roles in both the supply and demand sides of poverty eradication strategies, and their contribution to household income is critical to the welfare of poor families (CEDAW, 2012). The economic situation and development in the country does not favor women because girls and their mothers find it particularly difficult to make ends meet as they have to deal with marginalization and stereotypes that expect them to find a husband to look after them and be satisfied (CEDAW 2010; Thabethe 2009). The right to life is a natural right for all citizens of Zimbabwe, as provided in Section 48 (1) by the 2013 Constitution of the Country (Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013). Unfortunately, that is not always easy, because the provisions of the constitution are not effectively implemented to grant women their legitimate rights in the country. According to the United States Department of State (2013) report, onethird of Zimbabwean girls are not attending primary school due to poverty, abuse or cultural practices. In addition, 67 per cent of girls in the country do not have secondary school level education. Further, many girls drop out of school at an early age. In addition, some 30 per cent of Zimbabwean girls get into early marriages (CEDAW, 2010). It has also been reported

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that early marriages often fail and leave young girls as single mothers. Other young women leave abusive unions or are divorced (Kawewe, 2000b; 2001; Marunda 2014; Muwanigwa 2013). The current economic and social circumstances in Zimbabwe have drastically prevented most women in the country from being autonomous and independent self-sufficient citizens who can provide for themselves and their families, especially if they fail to get married or to do so (Murunda, 2014). The Zimbabwe Constitution provides for equal access to socioeconomic rights by men and women. However, currently the Zimbabwe indicators for this equality are far from being in conformity with the provisions mandated in the constitution (World Bank 2013; Chronic Poverty Research Centre 2011). Women in Zimbabwe produce 80 per cent of the country’s food, and yet they own only 18 per cent of the land (Kawewe, 2000b; 2001; UNDP, 2014). Further, the real income for women in the country is three times less than that of men, and women have a higher structural unemployment rate of 70 per cent compared to men who are at 56 per cent (UNDP, 2014). The Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey 2010–2011 estimates that 68 per cent of female-headed households live under the total consumption poverty line. Women therefore still have limited access to the means of production and economic opportunities, in contrast to the 2013 constitutional promise (Demographic Health Survey, 2012). This drastic economic situation, including chronic unemployment, has driven many women in Zimbabwe to engage in commercial sex work (Kawewe, 1998; UNDP, 2014). It can therefore be argued that the current government of Zimbabwe has been ineffective regarding gender-sensitivity—as a matter of fact, it does not show that gender-sensitive governance is paramount. Women and children, particularly girls, in Zimbabwe, are subjected to various forms of violence; physical violence, economic violence, rape, sexual harassment, harmful cultural and religious practices, particularly in their homes. It is important for women and girls to feel safe and protected when in private and public relationships (Kawewe, 2000b; 2001; UNDP, 2014). In addition, the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe notes with alarm the increase in cases of gender-based violence (GBV) around the country. While 35 per cent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and sexual intimate partner or non-partner violence, 68 per cent of women in Zimbabwe have experienced some form of GBV in their lifetime according to the Violence against Women Baseline study 2013. The study also reveals that 46 per cent of men admitted that they had perpetrated some violence in the course of their lives (WCoZ, 2014). Further, the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (2010–11) estimates that 43

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per cent of Zimbabwean women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence; 27 per cent have experienced sexual violence, 90 per cent of which was committed by a current or former husband, partner, or boyfriend (Demographic Health Survey, 2012). The nation has a problem, because it is unable to stop and prevent the battering of its women. Furthermore, the courts have not been able to effectively perform their duty or obligation to send a clear message to the perpetrators as spelled out in the nation’s laws and mandates of the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe. The frequent police harassment and intimidation of female advocates and media serves as a reminder of the challenges to practicing freedom of expression and assembly in Zimbabwe, a nation that calls itself democratic (Muwanigwa, 2013). According to Marunda (2014) and the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, only 37 per cent of women who experienced physical or sexual violence sought assistance (CEDAW, 2012). Evidence collected by the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe shows that this low level of action by women who experience violence is reflective of their fear as well as values and societal structures, including families, that are often unsupportive to these women. Such an environment therefore tends to hinder abused women (WCoZ, 2014). In many cases, women make a rational decision to stay in an abusive situation in order to either protect their own life or that of their children. Many of these perpetrators will kill their wives for leaving the husband (Kawewe, 2000b). As a result of these traditional values in the country, women living in violently abusive relationships resign themselves to their situation or are ashamed to seek help, and at times are killed in silence (Kawewe, 2000b; Amnesty International, 2013). This chapter examines women’s empowerment issues and the physical integrity of female citizens in Zimbabwe. It utilizes a feminist structural approach in demonstrating how family abuse impairs the social, economic and political status of women and children in Zimbabwe. In addition, it uses a constructivist perspective to explain why some women choose to stay with perpetrators of family abuse. It presents an argument that violence against women, particularly domestic abuse, is very common and occurs across Zimbabwe (Kawewe, 2001). In about two-thirds of cases, the perpetrators are the woman’s husband, partner or ex-husband, and half the cases involve both physical and sexual violence. In addition, there are several qualified Zimbabwe women who are ready to move up the ranks of the nation’s public and private institutions, but they are placed at a disadvantage based not on their abilities or actions, but on other non jobrelated factors. The common theme in these situations in the country is the

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presence of invisible barriers that discriminate against women based on their group membership and stereotyping that prevents them from achieving their full potential. This chapter, therefore, presents a comprehensive and integrative feminist approach in empowering and safeguarding the needs and rights of victims of family abuse. It suggests that empowerment that is neither ideological nor prescriptive, but one that is practical, descriptive and inclusive in dealing with survivors of family violence and helping them reach a higher level of self-determination and mastery of their environment is what Zimbabwe needs in the twenty-first century.

Cultural Disempowerment of Women In almost every country in Africa, the process of inclusiveness and redefining or transforming knowledge on women’s livelihoods and experiences has been accompanied by engaged and persistent efforts (Bose & Kim, 2009). Further, the plight of women and children’s endangerment can be found in the intricate interaction of forces that are rooted in patriarchal values as well as cultural traditions that favor men (Green, 1999; Osorio & Temba). In addition, the historical exclusions, biases, patriarchal power structure, and androcentric perspectives of the past continue to influence the realities, conditions, and different forms of oppression that shape women’s lives and perpetuate their subordination all across the African continent (Dibie & Dibie 2012; Bose & Kim 2009). According to Hartmann (2009), the material base of patriarchy does not rest solely on women engaging in childbirth and the rearing of children in the family. The patriarchy base is also to enhance all the social structures that enable men to control women’s labor. As a result, patriarchal norms have historically and globally been interpreted as representative of societal value as in the lacking of a clear distinction between two equally important issues regarding women’s and children’s rights as human rights in the literature in sub-Saharan Africa (Osorio & Temba 2009; Akosua 2007; Ahikire 2003; Moja 2007). Worldwide persistence of violence to resolve conflict in the family and society is a mirror of remnants of uncivilized standards, and is indicative of the primitive level of development in the human relations arena in developing and developed societies in contrast with the global advancement in technological development (Mohan, 1997; Kawewe, 1998). Family abuse or domestic violence exists in all societies and all socioeconomic strata (Gelles, 1979; Kawewe, 1998; 2000b; 2001; Amnesty International 2013). This abuse, mostly manifested in the form of

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violence against women and children and in all its forms, is related to the notion that family members are possessions of men and that men can exercise control over them and use any means necessary to control them, including physical force (Kawewe, 2001; Msimang 2000; Moja 2007). Such a notion reflects societal tolerance of human rights violations clearly found in the lower status accorded to women and girl children worldwide. The pervasiveness of violence against women and children in many societies, the denial of its existence and extent, and misnomer, conceal it. Yet family violence involves various actors, victims and survivors. Family abuse entails physical, psychological and emotional violence against wives, children, disabled, elderly, between parents, among siblings and other members of the extended family. In addition, violence is a form of social activity intended to harm another person, physically, psychologically, emotionally, socially and at times leading to homicide. Tradition perpetuates oppressive social arrangements and subjugation of family members on the basis of gender, age, marital status and so forth. Family abuse takes many forms such as wife-beating, battering, child abuse and sexual abuse including rape (Bose & Kim 2009; Green, 1999; Kawewe, 2001). Men abuse family members who have dependencies by virtue of their age (young or old), disability, sexual orientation, or gender role socialization. Women, in their effort to enforce men’s power, also abuse family members who are younger such as children and sisters-in laws, and younger junior wives in polygamous families (Women’s Action Group, 1995; Nhara, 1995; Snowsill, Watts, Nyamandi & Ndlovu, 1997). In Zimbabwe, as elsewhere, the victims of family abuse are overwhelmingly girls and women who experience sexual abuse, rape, incest, physical battering, and exploitation through uncompensated work in the family, even though there are costs involved, demeaning communication and bullying (WCoZ 2014; WIN News, 1996; Kawewe, 2001). After physically abusing their wives, and in their arrogance apologizing, and stopping the behavior, men sometimes erroneously use sexual advancement as an indication of their remorse. This is also an ultimate demonstration of patriarchal power and control within the cycle of the gender violence paradigm. In many marriages, and due to husbands having multiple partners, women yearn for intimacy with them. Thus, when a man suddenly makes sexual advances after abusing his wife, she might actually concur to relieve her own biological needs (Bose & Kim 2009; Green 1999). In some abusive homes the only communication between husbands and their wives entails beatings and/or forced sex (Musasa Project, 1997, Watts, Ndlovu & Keogh, 1997; Kawewe, 2001). Such family abuse is extended to other spheres of life, which is

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detrimental to the women and children’s social welfare and undermines sustainable economic and social development of Zimbabwe (Amnesty International, 2007 & 2013). Violence against women is a key mechanism that places women in a subordinate position to men in the family, community and society as a whole. Zimbabwe has failed to achieve national social justice and sustainable social development for women and children through affirmative policy revision (WCoZ, 2014). Zimbabwe’s articulation of gender-specific guarantees regarding women’s rights (Kawewe, 2001; Africa News, 1999) are pronouncements that have not been translated into action. This was clearly shown in a 1999 stunning reversal of women’s rights gained since independence when, in the case of Magaya vs Magaya, Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court overruled almost every law relating to women’s rights when it declared Ms. Magaya an ineligible heir to her father’s estate on grounds that the nature of African society dictates that women are less equal than men since they are considered teenagers or “junior males” (Tucker, 1999; Africa News, 1999; Kawewe 2001). This court upheld unwritten archaic cultural norms and overlooked the 1982 Majority Age Act which demolished the old code by granting women adult status at 18, regardless of traditional beliefs. Post-independence legislation that had made Zimbabwe a beacon and leading light in Africa on women’s rights was thwarted in a most revered aspect of African society, the family (Kawewe, 2001). This case demonstrates the dichotomy in nations across Africa attempting to synthesize the old traditional practices and beliefs which are blatantly discriminatory against women, and the contemporary legal codes attempting to enshrine equal rights for everyone (Tucker, 1999). The net result of all these cultural values is that women often lose equal access to the resources necessary to improve their lives and the lives of their children (Kawewe, 1998; Ahluwalia, 1998; Kawewe & Dibie, 1999; Kawewe, 2001). In this chapter, “family” includes nuclear and extended family members who do not necessarily live in the same household on a regular basis. Partners who live together are considered family even if they have had neither customary nor civil marriage, because a woman who moves in with a man performs all the roles of a wife and is subject to domestic violence just like married women. Many long-term cohabiting couples are generally treated as if they were married in Zimbabwe, and the women are subject to domestic violence sometimes leading to familial homicide (McFadden, 1998).

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Dynamics of Family Abuse and Women Empowerment According to the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe section 80 (1-3), every man and woman has full and equal dignity in the country. This includes equal opportunities in political, economic and social activities. Women have the same rights as men regarding the custody and guardianship of children, but an Act of Parliament may regulate how those rights are to be exercised. All laws, customs, traditions and cultural practices that infringe on the rights of women conferred by this Constitution are void to the extent of the infringement (Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013). As stated above, the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe recognizes the rights of men and women to equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres. It also guarantees the right to equal pay and voids all laws, customs, traditions and cultural practices that infringe on the rights of women. The new Constitution also calls for the state to ensure gender balance and fair representation of marginalized groups and promote women’s participation in all spheres of society (Amnesty International, 2013). According to Corner (2005), governance entails the manner in which power is exercised in the management of the affairs of a given initiative; the mechanisms (structures, rules, regulations and instruments) and processes required for citizens (men and women) and groups to articulate their interests, mediate their differences and exercise their legal rights and obligations (World Bank 2003; Corner, 2005). Women in Zimbabwe continue to be vulnerable to poverty because they constitute a higher proportion of both the poor and those unemployed in the country. In addition, women die every day due to childbirth and other pregnancy-related complications, and one in five women is affected by gender-based violence in her lifetime (OCEDAW, 2012). While the poor are susceptible to diverse risks—political, environmental, social and economic—the effects of these risks have significant differential impacts on men and women, with higher risks and vulnerability to poverty among women (Marunda, 2014). It is also interesting to note that women are paid between 20 per cent and 35 per cent less than men in jobs that are insecure and fall outside the protection of the mandates of the 2013 constitution of the country (UNDESA, 2013). Women in the country also shoulder the majority of their family and burden of unpaid care work (International Labor Organization, 2012). In Zimbabwe, women also remain underrepresented in decision-making processes at all levels of the public and private sectors (WCoZ, 2014).

58.8

49.2

59.8

55.6

58.2

60.8

49.5

63.6

58.0

60.5

Zimbabwe

Lesotho

Kenya

SubSaharan Africa

Low HDI

8.3

8.8

10.7

11.6

19.1

Female

9.8

10.1

11.3

10.6

9.5

Male

Expected Years of Schooling

3.1

3.7

5.4

6.8

6.7

Female

5.1

5.4

7.1

4.6

7.8

Male

Mean Years of Schooling

Source: United Nations Development Programme (2014). Human Development Report

Male

Life Expectancy at Birth

Female

Countries

Table 6-1 Zimbabwe’s GDI Compared to Selected African Countries

2,011

2,492

1.763

2.217

1.124

3,789

3,812

2,554

3,395

1,496

Male

GNI per Capita

Female

Women and Capacity-Building in Zimbabwe

0.446

0.460

0.508

0.474

0.468

Female

0.535

0.531

0.560

0.488

0.515

Male

Human Development Index Values

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The failure of the Zimbabwe government and those responsible for implementing the provisions of the 2013 constitution to effectively articulate gender equality as a human right, and also to reflect the multidimensional nature of women and girls’ experiences of inequalities and poverty, has undoubtedly limited progress during the almost three and half decades of the presidency of Robert Mugabe. During these three decades, participation in senior decision-making positions remains a male domain across the different government agencies and the formal and informal sectors in the country. As a result of not tackling discrimination against women and girls in Zimbabwe or addressing their needs by reducing the gender gap, particularly in education, employment in the public and private sectors and governance, women and girls have become more vulnerable to poverty. Table 6-1 shows Zimbabwe’s human development index relative to other African countries. According to the UNDP (2014) Human Development Report, Zimbabwe’s multidimensional poverty index is very low. Approximately 41 per cent of the nation’s population is multidimensionally poor (UNDP, 2014). In addition, 24.9 per cent of the country’s population is in nearmultidimensional poverty. The breadth of deprivation in Zimbabwe, which is the average of deprivation scores experienced by people in multidimensional poverty, is 44.1 per cent (UNDP, 2014). Further, Zimbabwe has a gender inequality index of 0.516, which ranks it 110 out of 149 nations globally in the 2013 index. One area of good news is that 35.1 per cent of the country’s parliamentary seats are held by women, and 48.8 per cent of adult women have reached at least a secondary level of education compared to 62 per cent of their male counterparts. In addition, Zimbabwe’s human development index for 2013 is 0.492: however when the value is discounted for inequality, the human development index falls to 0.356, a loss of 27.2 per cent due to inequality in the distribution of the dimension indices (UNDP, 2014). While the family is traditionally viewed as the most fulfilling site of intimacy in Zimbabwean society, as elsewhere, this basic institution of society can be a dangerous place rather than being the proverbial scene of tranquility and love (Gelles & Lancaster, 1987; Gelles, 1979; Kawewe, 2001). Some of the worst atrocities and violations of human rights are committed by the family, and the blanket protection of the patriarchal drive in the family privacy tradition ignores the intra-family abuses of young women and children (Kawewe, 1998; Kawewe & Dibie, 1999; Kawewe, 2001). Patriarchal violence has assumed the dialectically problematical forms of professed love and intimacy through the privatization of women.

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Women’s plight in the country is thus further negatively affected through socialization, rituals and social status regulations that keep many of them away from civil spaces, which frequently yield limited guarantees for women’s lives (Bose and Kim 2009; McFadden, 1998). McFadden (1998) notes: “It is a well-known fact that those who supposedly love women and children are the very ones who transgress the essential human element of trust,” (p.4). The brutalization and murders of women, the denial of women’s rights as human rights, and complete integrity and rights to choose who to spend the rest of their lives with, are violations and exclusion of women’s rights effected through privatization. The romanticization of the battered woman is found in newspaper headlines that read: “A husband kills an adulterous wife...”, which have both the individual and collective constructions of reality from a patriarchal perspective (McFadden, 1998; Kawewe, 2001; 1998). It implies justification of the killing, while overlooking the fact that the woman was caught sleeping with a man, but the person who was killed was not another man, but a woman. Adultery clouds the homicide, as if the woman’s choice to sleep with another man denies her her fundamental human right to life. Preventing and ameliorating violence and its effect requires a concerted effort to counter gender-based cultural mores, myths and roles that sanction and the eroticism of male violence (Koss et al., 1995). Family violence, which involves various actors and victims and survivors, takes place within the closed doors of a private institution, making it difficult to gain entry into a family in order to study women, children, elderly and other abuses. Research into family abuse has generally focused on domestic violence found in Zimbabwean police records, newspapers, and private agencies as the main sources of information (Kawewe, 1998; 2000b; 2001; WCoZ, 2014). While initiatives, legislation and research into child abuse clearly dominate the literature, and with some research into rape, little is addressed regarding marital rape. Some of the contributing factors to family abuse have been found to confirm the ecological patterns of family violence (Heise, 1997; Kawewe, 2000b). From an ecological/systems perspective, which addresses the context and interactions of family members, the family is a sensitive and complex institution of society to study, as individuals within it have multiple roles. Family members are concurrently systems and subsystems of the super-system of either family or community at any given time (Heise, 1997). The integrative model utilized in this chapter weaves together the cultural, socioeconomic and political factors as structural forces contributing to family abuse and the perpetual dispossession of women

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and children. Economic development efforts to attain social development and sustainable progress have not necessarily translated into social justice in Zimbabwe, as elsewhere, partly due to the fact that the position of women is often taken for granted when these concepts are discussed (Kawewe, 2001; Kawewe & Dibie, UNDSESA 2013; CEDAW 2010). In their most horrifying form, the litany of injustice in family abuse includes various forms of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, physical, and psychosocial abuse. Family abuse in the form of sexual assaults on female children traumatizes them physically and psychologically (Women’s Action Group, 1995), and robs its member-victims of their very being. Family abuse is a health issue whose adverse effects are sexual and physical injury, unwanted pregnancies, gynecological problems such as pelvic inflammatory disease, STDs, mental illness and maternal mortality and morbidity in the form of violently induced labor, miscarriages, complications at delivery and low baby weight. In many cases when a pregnant woman survives, she might lose the pregnancy, have a stillborn child, acquire an infection and become permanently infertile in a developing country where medical treatment is not readily available or affordable (CEDAW; 2012). Many children and women victims of rape are infected with STDs such as HIV/AIDS or seek health services to have abortions or turn to dangerous quackery for such a purpose. Due to a high prevalence of HIV in Zimbabwe, girl children and women who are sexually assaulted have high risks of being infected (UNDP, 2014). Msimang (2000) notes, “The conceptual parallels between the high rates of gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS infection rates are clear. Regardless of race, urban or rural Zimbabwean men have societal freedom to choose whomever to have sex with too many of them exercise this freedom without wearing condoms rendering advocating for monogamy as a solution to AIDS meaningless and mythical.” Men who beat their intimate partners do so in order to exert power and control in the crudest form that they know, over women’s bodies. Similarly, men who have multiple partners often have a “permanent” partner, and when they refuse to wear condoms with any of their partners, they are asserting their “rights” to control the reproduction and sexuality of those women (Basset & Mhloyi, 1995; Watts, Ndlovu, & Keogh, 1997). Because AIDS strikes the most productive members of society (20 to 49 years old) and the pandemic is at its peak in Zimbabwe, this mortality will inevitably affect the quality and quantity of labor leading to a further reduction in economic productivity (WCoZ, 2014). Thus, when men perpetrate inhuman acts of physical and genital injury, victims also suffer urinary tract and STD infections like AIDS (Basset & Mhloyi, 1995;

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Watts, Ndlovu, & Keogh, 1997). All forms of family abuse have a detrimental mental health effect on the victims, epitomized by severe depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, ulcers, self-hatred, confusion, obsessive compulsive disorder, paranoia, symbolization and anxiety, low self-esteem and low achievement (Musasa project, 1997; Nhara, 1995), thus undermining their ability to engage in productive activity in the social development of Zimbabwean society. Educationally, children from abusive homes may not utilize their teachers productively. The family then becomes the front line agent of women’s disempowerment (Kawewe, 1998; Kawewe & Dibie 1999; Thabethe 2009). Zimbabwean girl children are generally more sexually abused than boys, and represent one-fifth of abused children with serious psychosomatic disorders (Nhara, 1995). Sexually exploited/abused girls are more likely to grow up depressed and self-mutilate, abuse drugs, and have sexual difficulties as adults. Condoning harmful and unprogressive practices in the family serves to help sustain the disempowerment of women and girl children, which is detrimental to sustainable development for families, communities and nations. Victims of domestic violence face a dilemma whether to leave or stay. If they leave, they face stigmas associated with single parenthood as well as further impoverishment of their children. If they stay, they face continued abuse and possible death (Dibie & Dibie; 2012). Women and children generally have nowhere to turn to due to brainwashing, conditioning, and socialization that this is the way things are and will always be. The persistence of structural and socioeconomic systems that exploit or exclude women’s perspectives perpetuate unequal resource distribution abetted by culturally and religiously sanctioned abuses against women and children in the form of wife beatings and murders, and female servitude, which are violations of human rights (Kawewe, 1998; Kawewe & Dibie, 1999). Evidence of gender inequality and exploitation of women and children in families exists in most societies in various African countries (Dibie & Dibie, 2012). In Zimbabwe, as elsewhere in Africa, women carry the heaviest burden of impoverishment as being those most devastated by man-made conditions of unequal access to economic, social and political resources. Women and children bear the burden of all forms of physical and psychosocial harmful practices against them, undertaken in the absence of women’s perspective in decision-making structures and processes. In 1993, using a DALY to capture both healthy life years and loss of well-being due to disability or morbidity, the World Bank analyzed the relative health burden of different diseases or conditions worldwide and found women aged 15–44 lost more DALYs to domestic violence and

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rape than to many other widely recognized issues threatening women’s well-being (Heise, 1997). Also using the Shona Mental Health, an assessment of poor mental health status instrument, Nhara (1995) found compelling evidence that increased usage of health services was linked to family abuse. Most sources of depression among women are related to conflicts with their spouses, close relations or in-laws. Thirty-five out of 100 women attending a City Health Clinic of Glen Norah community surveyed in Harare suffered from depression, but communicated someone’s physical illness as their presenting problem (Nhara, 1995). These results support other studies found in similar studies in South Africa and London (Heise 1997; Chronic Poverty Research Center 2011). It is also interesting to note that the systemic diminishment of opportunities for women to exercise power in the family is translated into socioeconomic and political disenfranchisement at the micro, meso, and macro levels of society. Subordination of women and the supremacy of men is part of African culture, and traditional practices in a patriarchy serve to subjugate women because such practices are based on an ideology of male dominance (Kawewe, 1998; Kawewe & Dibie 1999; Bose and Kim 2009; Green 1999; Kawewe, 2001). The Zimbabwean family is patriarchal, whose premise is the supremacy of men over women. Traditional roles are that the male is the head of the household and breadwinner, while the wife is the reproducer of children, food and nurturer. Assumptions about the family are that it is male headed, democratic, protects all its members, is sacred and to be protected. Anyone who breaks away is marginalized. The family has historically been used to instill and perpetuate patriarchal values through the process of socialization in which women are assigned the major role of solidifying such subjugation of the womenfolk. The social script of male dominance is accepted as natural and normal, and women are used as custodians of culture while being supervised by men (Bose & Kim 2009; Green 1999). As a result, what society may accept as normal potentially exacerbates physical and mental health problems for women and children. Over time, culture changes in response to political, economic and social realities (Ruzvidzo, 1996; Kawewe 2001). Culture is used to legitimize gender differentiation and unequal power relations between men and women. Cultural myths, derived from cultural norms, values and beliefs that perpetuate violence and deny appropriate help to victims of violence, also support battery, sexual abuse and murder (CEDAW 2012; Koss et al., 1995). Because culture is dynamic it can be changed through deconstruction even though the transformation process for women is painfully slow, as elsewhere in the world.

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Present generations of adults seem unable to forsake the existing oppressive cultural values as shown by the failure of post-independence Zimbabwe’s legal reforms to significantly contribute to women’s emancipation. Although middle-class women have benefited slightly, the majority of poor women’s lives continue to deteriorate. There is a dire need for change in legal, socioeconomic, political and cultural aspects of women’s lives. The patriarchal society holds a monopoly of a minorityowned countryside, socioeconomic powers and systematically excludes women’s perspectives in decision-making, despite the government’s proclamations of upholding human rights (Marunda, 2014). The situation creates a self-serving entrapment for women living in abusive families, particularly where tradition, the environment of impoverishment and their own vested interests in the family minimize their options to subsist.

Child Abuse Men perpetrate most violence globally, with young women and girls being most at risk of being abused by men they are familiar with, or by intimates. Many women are raped by their family members such as brothers and uncles and cousins, and so are most children raped by fathers, stepfathers, uncles, family friends or significant others (Marunda 2014; Taylor & Steward, 1991). According to Nhara (1995) girls suffer different forms of abuse on the way to and from school. In some cases, this sexual abuse includes abduction and rape, which often exposes young girls to HIV/AID and other sexually transmitted diseases and severe health issues. In some regions in Zimbabwe, young girls are forced into early marriage. The majority of such teenage girls tend to divorce their husbands, who may be as old as their biological fathers, in addition, leaving their villages for other regions of the country where they often become commercial sex workers, to the dismay of their parents (Nhara, 1995). Additionally, childhood or adolescent victims of sexual abuse have been found to be at higher risk of STDs and unwanted pregnancy, and the inability to distinguish sexual from affectionate behavior. In the US, survivors have been found to be three times more likely than other youths to become teenage mothers. Survivors feel vulnerable, which limits their ability to say no to harmful activities such as drug abuse, prostitution and other dangerous activities (US Department of State, 2013). Family abuse contributes to the number of street children who are frequently deprived of nurture, love, social values, and skills necessary to lead future productive lives (Kawewe, 1998; Kawewe & Dibie, 1999; Kawewe, 2000b; 2001). It is not unusual that they turn to drugs, prostitution and crime. Many

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children are more consumed with threats to their survival than preoccupation with dreams of the future (CEDAW, 2012). Failing to successfully remove obstacles to the advancement of children and young women reflects intellectual arrogance and ignorance, the greatest threat to humanity (Mohan, 1977). This is evident in the structures of public programs that have excluded and marginalized children and young women as well as child-rearing practices that are demeaning to female children. Mohan (1997) very clearly makes the point about children’s needs: “Children need the milk of humanity: open schools, caring families, and nurturing communities; drugs, sex, guns, violence and broken homes terminally brutalize their innocence” (p.440). Incest, similar to marital rape, is one of the most under-researched aspects of child abuse. Coerced sexual relations are viewed as the norm, and in spite of strong cultural taboos against incest, many girls suffer sexual abuse from relatives (Taylor et al., 1991). Ndebele and Shonaspeaking people, like other southern Africa ethnic groups, sometimes do grant a man sexual touching rights, short of sexual intercourse, to the wife’s younger sisters (Kawewe, 1998; Kawewe & Dibie, 1999; Kawewe 2000b, 2001). Similarly, women have sexual teasing and touching rights with their husband’s younger brothers. In many cases these interactions have led to sexual intercourse, loss of innocence and virginity, teenage and/or unplanned pregnancies. Whether there is sexual intercourse or not, this practice is a form of sexual exploitation of children and should be banned completely. Further, a law ought to be effected making it illegal for men to have sex with girls under 18, contrary to the existing law whose cut-off age is 16 years (Dibie & Dibie, 2012). Most sexual abuse of children within the incestuous family involves older males with young female children. Though not commonly discussed, adult men, especially fathers seeking to get rich quickly, are often told by some unscrupulous witch doctors to have sex with their daughters (Kawewe, 1998; 200; 2001; Kawewe & Dibie; 1999). Similarly, such witch doctors also prescribe that people infected with AIDS have sex with a virgin in order to be cured, and these men often rape young girls. It is not known how many people are involved in this, as there are no records (WCoZ, 2014). The Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (ZINATA), which accredits and monitors activities of traditional healers, condemns such practices, but not all Zimbabwean healers belong to the association. Wives fear to report such information due to lack of an alternative source of livelihood, but, unlike physical abuse, sexual violations are generally carried on in the absence of other family members. Children are taught to obey and respect their elders, upon whom they depend. Adults have the authority and power

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to punish noncompliant children. If it is difficult for a woman to say no to sexual abuse, it is even more difficult for a helpless and defenseless child (Kawewe, 1998; Kawewe & Dibie 1999; CEDAW 2012).

Blaming the Victim The most common practice in domestic violence service providers is to blame the victim. When people ask a woman, or any victim of family violence for that matter, why they do not leave, they do not realize that they are blaming the victim for the victimization or abuse. This dominant ideology potentially prevents well-wishers and human rights activists from asking the correct questions and intervening appropriately to deal with the source of abuse, e.g. why is a violent man allowed to stay in the home? Why are women easily abused? (Hoff, 1990) Why are men violent? Review studies on domestic violence provide two interrelated perspectives on why women stay with abusive husbands. The nearuniversal position that informs conventional interventions is that such women’s intrinsic or individual weakness-psychosocial weaknesses contribute to their victimization and entrapment (Corner 2005). Such a stance is explained by the fact that early researchers into child abuse and women were psychiatrists, physicians and social workers and other clinicians, whose work was based on individual intervention methods, focusing on personality traits and grounded in the medical model. Those women who stay by choice are psychologically and socially victimized to the point of learned helplessness. Such a position not only blames the victim, but it is also disempowering (Kawewe, 1998; Kawewe & Dibie, 1999; Kawewe, 2001). While the simplification, dramatization and homogenization accompanying the publicity creates injustices and stereotypes regarding victims of domestic violence, women who stay with their abusers are often stigmatized as deviant. However, family abuse is so tenacious and pervasive that it cannot be defined solely by psychopathology. Until recently, literature on battered women has tended to blame the victims, that they stay, marry their abusers knowingly, and leave and return. The 50 to 60 per cent of women discharged from women’s shelters who return to their abusers are labeled weak, incompetent and with inadequate coping skills, which perpetuates their victimization and learned helplessness (Paled et al. 2000; Kawewe, 2001). For some women, leaving may be more dangerous than staying. Many women stay with their abusers because widowhood or divorce worsens a woman’s poverty status as her social security is tied to her spouse’s formal and informal work-related benefits, and her homemaking and food

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production is devalued (Thabethe 2009; Goliber, 1997). She has no assets, savings or income, and the houses are generally in the husband’s name. The second perspective is based on social entrapment emanating from the dynamics of patriarchal society’s gender roles, policies, economic dependence on men, lacking options and a non-supportive social environment (Peled et al., 2000; Yllo, 1993). Significant others in the extended family and support systems encourage the victim to stay, by revealing their own past abuse supported by old scars. The fear of the escalation of violence to the point of being killed is a rational decision by some women whose abuse stops when grown sons express resentment at the father’s abusive behavior, particularly in polygamous families where children tend to align with their mothers (Marunda 2014). It could therefore be argued that a Zimbabwean woman’s social network is both a source of plight and strife, from the cradle to the grave. The literature divides those who stay according to two types of explanation. This chapter adds yet another perspective that is elective, that women who stay may do so on the basis of a combination of the first and second considerations depending on their unique situation (Taylor et al., 1989 & 1991; 1995; Taylor, 1991; Ngwenya, 2000). Many battered women have choice, power and competencies (Mahones, 1994; Kawewe, 2000b; 2001) and they make a rational decision to stay after weighing the costs and benefits. Further, that when they leave and seek shelter, they are not only being assertive by indicating to their abuser that their behavior can cost their marriage or relationship, but they learn survival tactics through personal initiative and networking with other women they met at the shelter (Thabethe, 2009). In such cases, positive and affectionate feelings regarding their partners, the need to keep the children with their father, and the hope and belief that he will change often make such women stay with the abuser (Peled, 2000; Ngwenya, 2000). The nurturing role they are socialized into, and the genuine bonding the woman has with the family, plays a major role. In many cases, their status is limited by polygamy and/or culturallysanctioned extramarital relations of men, which are a form of emotional abuse and which lead to sexual deprivation of the wives involved (Marunda 2014; Bose & Kim 2009). The literature on marriage and family sexual relations in Africa, as elsewhere, indicates that men generally have a much higher number of multiple partners than women (Moyo, Low, Ray, Katsumbe, Chisvo, & Gumbo, 1993; Kawewe, 1996; 1998; 2001; Ulin, 1992; Wilson, 1991; Zimbabwe Ministry of Health, 1991; Norr et al., 1996; Govender et al., 1992). Those who leave are sanctioned through isolation and stigmatization, and potentially face a lifelong single motherhood with limited options to exit poverty, leading to many suicides

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among women (Musasa Project, 1997). Single motherhood, by divorce, choice and death or abandonment adds an additional burden to women’s surging workloads as they fend for themselves and their children. She is viewed as bringing humiliation and shame on her natural family and being viewed as defective merchandise for remarriage—damaged goods. Further, in a society where female divorcees are considered damaged goods, fetching low lobola if lucky to remarry, they may feel valueless, and resort to prostitution. Subsequent loss of support systems related to the societal stigma of single motherhood, widowhood, separation, or abandonment, also place stress on women and children (Kawewe, 2000b; 2001; Marunda 2014; Ngwenya 2000). Family abuse is a result of unequal power relations between men and women, as opposed to the psychopathology of women as seeking their own victimization. Hoff (1990) makes the point clear: Thus a person who is physically attached is not merely a helpless victim, and the attacker is not merely an irresponsible savage. Rather, human beings, who are by nature rational, capable and governed by cultural rules, are engaging in social actions whose sum is much more complex than individual behavior. They are therefore responsible for their actions in various situational contexts, although consciousness may be clouded and responsibility mitigated by certain social, cultural, and personal factors, e.g. insanity or self-defense (Hoff 1990, p.6).

The abused woman’s construction of reality takes place at both the individual and collective levels. Courts often grant custody of the children to the husband if the woman leaves the household to protect herself. In addition, if the woman does not drop charges of domestic violence against her husband, she loses credibility in court as judges often ask why the woman did not do so a long time ago if the abuse was previously so bad. Family abuse is found in various manifestations of gendered violence and on multiple levels of confluence on a continuum, beginning with the individual in the family all the way up to societal dimensions. Men must be held accountable for their actions (Msimang, 2000). Victim-blaming and victim-focus compounded by responses of the significant other and the criminal justice system have damaging consequences on male violence (Koss et al. 1995). The blaming-the-victim approach overlooks the perpetrator’s or other family members’ position on the violence. Batterers see abuse as a family problem rather than their individual handicap. They perceive that the abused wife remains in the family, and are perplexed when she leaves. Children are caught in a complex emotional predicament regarding their mother’s choice to stay or leave, and between loyalty and

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attachment between parents (Graham-Bermann, 1996; Peled, 1998; Peled et al., 2000; Kawewe, 2000b; 2001). Many abused women have nowhere to go because other patriarchal relations like brothers and uncles abuse them too. Some come from a very poor background and they perceive that staying is a better choice. The rural home is not a feasible option for them either due to the conditions attached to their bride price. Women tend to share family abuse matters more with informal networks—family, relatives and friends—than with formal institutions of society (Kelly, 1996; Taylor et al., 1989 & 1991; 1995; Taylor, 1991; Kawewe 2001). Many members of the Zimbabwean extended family system, which is patriarchal, place a higher value on family integrity than on the woman’s wants, safety, or empowerment. Many women stick by their marriage vows and commitments at all costs. While many women being beaten daily do not question the beating, and would not thank a stranger for intervening, there are women who are not aware that they have the right to do something about their predicament (CEDAW, 2012). In Zimbabwe, subservience of wives and children is taught through activities such as story-telling.

Intervention In the past ten years in Zimbabwe there has been an increasing awareness of family violence as deserving national and international recognition. NGO staff and other human rights professionals such as social work practitioners are increasingly responding to the unique needs of victims of family abuse, as in the case of battered women interventions that actualize their human rights to choose their predicament (Kawewe, 2000b; 20001; Dibie & Dibie, 2012). Couples therapy should address personal responsibility for the violence to the perpetrator. Children are left with feelings of ambivalence, confusion, anxiety and anguish regarding their mother’s decision to leave or stay. Various advocacy and social action groups concerned with women and children’s human rights and well-being have evoked international recognition/outcry, as well as action translating into projects like the Musasa project (Kawewe, 1996; 2000b; 2001). The Musasa project was started by an NGO in Zimbabwe in 1991 to deal with domestic violence, including sexual assault and rape, and coordinates with the police, health and legal sectors. There are 10 administrative districts of Musasa, with 600 decentralized regional committees. The project has helped curb violence against women as well as raise women’s consciousness on family, the dynamics of family abuse, and appropriate resources available to surviving abuse family environments. A stratified

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random sample of about 1,000 women aged between 18 and 78, with the majority aged between 26–35, and 50 per cent being rural dwellers, was drawn from the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. Seventy-four (married with 40 per cent of them in polygamous marriages), six (single), 10 (widowed) and 10 (divorced). The study found that 42, 39, 37, 32, 23, (per cent) of the women experienced mental, economic, sexual and physical violence respectively with 15 per cent reporting no violence. Cohabiting single women had higher levels of sexual abuse, violence during pregnancy with lower levels of physical, economic and psychological violence as compared to their married counterparts. Separated and divorced women had higher levels of economic, physical and psychological forms of violence. The study of the Midlands by the Musasa project alludes to the fact that people who are perpetrators of domestic violence are husbands, former husbands or live-in male partners, husband’s female relations in addition to the woman’s owns male relations (Kawewe, 2000b; 2001). In economic violence, the husband deprives the family by spending money on his leisurely needs, football matches, drinking, prostitution and habitually deserting the family for periods at a time following each payday. Such a situation makes it difficult for battered women and children to seek medical care, as medical services in Zimbabwe are based on a sliding scale. Further impoverishment may force a woman to sacrifice her own health to save the meager income for the basic needs of the family (Kawewe, 200; 2001).

Factors that Perpetuate Family Violence Socioeconomic and structural factors contributing to family abuse are alcoholism, poverty, stress, mental illness, limited resources, unemployment and impoverishment, a lacking in school places for children and the inadequacy of social support systems/networks. These forces are compounded by the absence of a national policy to address family violence, and meaningful access to legal redress to prevent further abuse and cultural values that render women second-class citizens (UNECOSOC 2012; Human Rights Watch 1999; World Report, 1999; Kawewe & Dibie; 1999; Kawewe, 2000b; 2001). Additionally, the Western premise brought about by colonialism that renders family and sexual relations a private matter and not the domain of public interest contributes to the neglect of family abuse as a social problem. Widespread abuse inflicted on female family members and children globally has been largely neglected because they are protected under the rubric of tradition

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and family privacy at both the community and state levels (Sullivan, 1995; Taylor, 1991; Kawewe, 1998; Kawewe & Dibie, 1999). This historical precedence of emphasizing individual civil and political rights of men, also reflected in the literature, creates an artificial distinction that precludes recognition of the interdependence between gender, cultural, economic, social, political civil rights and family abuse in Zimbabwe (Kawewe, 1998; Kawewe & Dibie, 1999). From a feminist perspective, violence against women has a social meaning and is a clear manifestation of gendered, unequal power relations. Domestic violence is thus not a Zimbabwean woman’s personal responsibility, but a manifestation of community and societal values, a global phenomenon. Wherever there is spouse abuse in a family, the children automatically suffer emotionally and psychologically. Violence against women is executed in its various forms in both the public and private arena, and private violence is public (Kawewe, 1998; 2000b; 2001; Kawewe & Dibie 1999; Dibie & Dibie, 2012). Thus, for intervention strategies to be effective they should target the private and public spheres. It is not the innate responsibility of women to combat social problems related to poverty and the violation and denial of women’s fundamental human rights. It is the responsibility of all citizens (US Department of State, 2012). Although the UN-sanctioned international human rights law may have some constraining ability on the power of the states, it is their responsibility to ensure individual rights and practices of children and young women (UNDP, 2014). Although Zimbabwe, like other nations, has made commitments to the 1995 Platform for Action and the Beijing Declaration and various UN instruments, and to a progressive social approach to defining and acknowledging political and civil rights of women and children, they have yet to be implemented. The Musasa study, like elsewhere in Africa, found that contributory factors to domestic violence were found to be, firstly, socialization which is instilled at an early age in the family life cycle and reinforced by peers and social institutions within the environment regarding acceptable behavior for children, women and men. Children grow up witnessing sexual, physical and psychological forms of male dominance, with violence as a normal mechanism for maintaining family discipline and pride, resolving conflict and asserting power. Such behaviors become internalized to the point that violence in the family is viewed as normal (Kawewe, 2000b; 2001; Bose & Kim, 2009). Secondly, lobola (bride price) which is traditionally intended to solidify the marriage, in modern times has become commercialized,

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fetching exorbitant charges according to the reproductive and economic earning potential of the bride, thus potentially influencing men to treat their wives as commodities. The bulk of the lobola, which transfers the authority of the father and brothers of a woman to her husband, goes to the patriarchy. Although the contribution of lobola to domestic violence cannot be determined, the husband demands unquestionable obedience and loyalty from his wife. The married woman is referred to as stranger (mutorwa), who loses part of her identity by adopting the husband’s family name, and becomes a convenient scapegoat. They defer to their husbands’ nuclear and extended family members, as well as to the wives of the husband’s elder brothers, regardless of their age, creating inequality and undemocratic arrangements. In cases of extra-marital rape, damages are paid either to the husband or father if the victim is single, but not to the victim. Thus the victim is not entitled to compensation. Due to impoverishment, many families use the bride price as soon as it is paid. When their son-in-law starts abusing their daughter, they are unable to reclaim their daughter without making the necessary refund. Similarly, the battered woman realizes that if she left the batterer, her biological family could not afford to repay the lobola, and so she stays. The only way to return without the bride price being refunded is when a husband divorces or rejects the wife without cause, and pays her a token called “gupuro” in the presents of a witness (munyai). Such cases are rare because the husband, who is also impoverished, cannot afford to ignore the bride price that he may need to remarry. Also, the practice of widow inheritance accompanied by forced sex by the deceased husband’s brothers is also tied to the lobola and woman ownership. The practice also spreads HIV/AIDS the leading cause of death in Zimbabwe. In African culture, a man cannot rape his wife since payment of lobola gives him unconditional conjugal rights to be claimed at any time and anyhow. However, eliminating lobola may not necessarily eradicate abuse, as shown by the Musasa study that cohabiting men beat their female partners, particularly after impregnating them (Musasa Project, 1997; Kawewe, 2000b; 2001), potentially leading to misogynist killings which are a core women-abuse issue in both political and conceptual terms. Thirdly, many women of higher socioeconomic status in urban areas do not report the abuse in order to protect their social status and reputation. Additionally, extended family members do not have as much influence over the urbanites to settle domestic disputes as in the past due to diminishing authority created by distance and modernization.

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Fourthly, regarding sexual rights in Zimbabwean culture and legal codes, there is no such a thing as rape or sexual abuse within marriage, although child sexual abuse is culturally and legally shunned. This is compounded by confusion emanating from the socialization of women to be non-assertive and say “no” to sex even if they mean yes.

Policy Recommendations Leaders that are dedicated to promoting women’s rights as part of human rights and appropriate policies offer real opportunity for governments, civil society, and particularly women’s movements and communities to work together to bring about a transformative change in everyday lives of women and girls in the interests of all citizens (Dibie, 2014). The government of Zimbabwe must adopt a new framework to address the underlying structural causes of gender inequality in the country. All economic growth strategies need to include giving women and girls the right to equal access to decent jobs with equitable pay, good working conditions, and secondary and primary education, as well as access to land rights, and inheritance (Kawewe, 1996; Dibie & Kawewe, 1999; Dibie and Dibie, 2012). In addition, the government of Zimbabwe needs to promote women’s and girls’ rights to a voice and influence at individual, household, community, national and global levels (UNDESA, 2013). Social work practitioners in the country have a unique responsibility to provide a holistic perspective that is cross-regional and cross-cultural. Comprehensive and integrated multi-sector approaches to combating family abuse inclusive of social welfare, judiciary, government, grassroots NGOs and individual that stand to succeed are as follows: (a) legislation criminalizing violence; (b) education of community stakeholders, men, institutions, helping professions and agencies in both private and public settings; (c) community-level intervention to prevent family violence; (d) establishing and facilitating coordination of services dealing with various segments of family abuse and educating on appropriate referrals such as human rights, and women’s and children’s formal and informal organizations; (e) continual evaluation of intervention strategies, their effectiveness and appropriateness; and (f) educating and training professionals on the front line of domestic violence and family abuse, including social workers, teachers, court and police officers (CEDAW 2010; Akitunde 2001; Kawewe, 1996; 1998; 2000a; 2000b; 2001; Dibie & Kawewe,1999; Kawewe & Dibie, 2000). Actualization of empowerment should be nurtured by all actors involved—the empowering agents, the community and the abused family

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members. Such empowerment entails helping survivors of family violence to reach a higher level of self-determination and mastery of their environment (Kawewe, 1996; 1998; 2000a; 2000b; 2001; Dibie & Kawewe, 1999; Kawewe & Dibie, 2000; Dibie & Dibie 2012; Peled et al., 2000). In order to devise effective intervention methods, the Zimbabwe national and regional governments need to understand why the women do not access help. Many women feel that they deserve being battered and so are reluctant to seek help as the husband rationalizes the situation by blaming her for the infractions that led to the battering. Social protection is seen as a key strategy for tackling the poverty problems women face in Zimbabwe. The country needs to adopt a transformative approach to social protection that entails addressing the complex nature of risk and vulnerability; and the fundamental issues of equity, empowerment and social rights and not just the income and consumption transfers but rather to address both strategic and practical needs of men and women (CEDAW, 2012; UNDESA 2013). The new effective social protection approach to service delivery in Zimbabwe should be anchored with a framework of good governance characterized by accountability, transparency, inclusiveness (voice and participation in decision making) and responsiveness to all citizens concerns, needs and priorities (UNDESA 2013). Helping professionals and NGOs need not only mean dealing with physical and psychological effects of abuse, but should also expand their horizons to include the plight of the women in terms of social manifestations of abuse (Kawewe, 1996; 1998; 2000a; 2000b; 2001; Dibie & Kawewe, 1999; Kawewe & Dibie, 2000; Dibie & Dibie, 2012). In rural areas there are virtually no alternatives for women battered by their spouses due to limited access to urban-based shelters. Beatings are employed to control women, keep them fearful, preoccupied with their own safety, angry and away from work outside the home; they also diminish their ability to influence family and community affairs by not participating in meetings or other forms of social interactions outside the family. Women’s internalization of the inferior role assigned to them and subsequent patriarchal application of structural systems that maintain that disempowerment are the underlying problems of gendered power relations in Zimbabwe. Women’s perception of their role affects how they operate in society. The strictly defined gender roles make it difficult to organize rights for them (Kawewe, 1996; 1998; 2000a; 2000b; 2001; Dibie & Kawewe, 1999; Kawewe & Dibie, 2000). While wife beating is a crime in Zimbabwe, the courts are more likely to excuse a husband or live-in boyfriend for abusing his partner. Physical

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violence is often manifested in the form of slaps, claps, kicks, punches, shoving, choking and the administration of weapons. Psychological abuse entails the husband sleeping out, taking a mistress, ignoring, periodical abandonment, forced sex and unwanted physical contact. Male members of the family often vent their anger and frustrations from elsewhere on women and children. Batterers are rarely convicted or sentenced, and even if the case goes to trial, they are given a slap on the wrist because many of the professionals involved themselves commit family abuse (WCoZ, 2014). Victims are judged according to their husbands’ standards such as receiving beatings for not having sons, being lazy or talking back, which is also extended to children. Wife beating is a distress that requires rethinking and social change through awareness and consciousness rising. Ruzvidzo (1996) makes the point clear: “Women’s critical role in social education should be used to their advantage by redefining the purpose and content of social education so that cultural transformation is in the right direction for women” (p. 4). As custodians of change and social educators, women have potential to fashion new gender roles and identities for female and male children in a way that is compatible with social, political and economic gender equity that is conducive to sustainable social development. Women could engage in Zimbabwean cultural deconstruction and transformation in response to existing realities (Kawewe, 1996; 1998; 2000a; 2000b; 2001; Dibie & Kawewe, 1999; Kawewe & Dibie, 2000). The significance of the controversy about whether the problem of wife beating is a private or public matter directed us to the fact that if the government of Zimbabwe relegate it to the private domain, then no public action is necessary. Family abuse is a social problem requiring state intervention and should be criminalized, because family abuse is gendered violence, with devastating consequences for the individual family member victimized, the family, the community and Zimbabwean society as a whole. Family abuse should be treated as a social rather than a personal matter (Akitunde 2001; Stewart, 1989). Although various efforts and campaigns to increase public awareness about family violence by various women’s rights organizations and NGOs are progressive, family abuse continues unabated by the government. While national level policy and interventions are necessary, curbing family abuse requires reforming gendered power relations in Zimbabwe. Family abuse is a social issue, requiring a holistic intervention approach. National policy assumes that the family is the smallest unit of analysis, and this generally implies the male-headed family type. There is no national policy designed to directly benefit the family with its members.

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Families need alternative sources of subsistence and welfare to prevent poverty-induced abuses, and in response to today’s reality in which an increasing number of non-traditional families are mostly headed by women due to the devastation of AIDS and growing divorce rates in urban areas. In Zimbabwe, the Beijing Platform for Action should reach the implementation stage with countries such as Namibia. Actualization of empowerment should be nurtured by all actors involved—the empowering agents, the community and the abused family members (Kawewe, 1996; 1998; 2000a; 2000b; 2001; Kawewe & Dibie, 2000). Despite the controversy, religious freedoms should be forsaken if they condone harmful practices or subvert individual human rights (UNECOSOE 2012; UNDP 2014). This position supports the one taken by international feminists who advocate for women’s rights as human rights. Human rights activists, feminists and others have an ethical responsibility to target harmful and dangerous social environments as loci of change, while at the same time directly intervening with survivors to improve social functioning through their empowerment and/or removal. Family abuse not only undermines a healthy family life and the full potential of family members to contribute to society, but is also harmful in the following ways: (a) it socializes the children to bad habits; (b) it destroys families through separation, divorce, injury and death; (c) it is an unnecessary drain on health, police and workforces’ resources; (d) it demeans its members rendering women and children second-class citizens; and (e) it wastes the time and energy of the abuser and abused (Kawewe, 1996; 1998; 2000a; 2000b; 2001; Dibie & Kawewe, 1999; Kawewe & Dibie, 2000). Progressive social policy should be accompanied by a change in laws related to rape, sexual wife beating and disenfranchisement. Such advancements can be accompanied by a judicial system with women and child-friendly courts and helplines to curb all forms of family abuse. Advocacy should entail a total rejection of violence in any form. The UN, NGOs, and the public and private sectors should continue to steadfastly promote local indigenous creativity and control of their resources such as land, to reach self-sufficiency and boost the economic power base of grassroots communities (Kawewe, 1996; 1998; 2000a; 2000b; 2001; Dibie & Kawewe,1999; Kawewe & Dibie, 2000; Dibie & Dibie 2012; CEDAW 2012). The UN could work with the Zimbabwean government and others in developing an international program, like other family programs in the West, that pay parents to take care of their children and hence alleviate their impoverishment and increase options available for those trapped in abusive families (US Department of State, 2013).

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Opening up choices for women allows both the perpetrator and the woman to realize there are options which a woman can pursue and that may force the men to stop the abuse. This is much more imperative in an era where global forces shape production, consumption and resource distribution. Indigenous ingenuity could be utilized by developing strategies and policies that protect children while at the same time developing a global minimum wage to allow workers to support their families. The persistence of community attitudes that help perpetuate family abuse speaks to the significance of involving men in dialogue to combat abuse. There is growing evidence that men are beginning to recognize the issue of violence and trying to redefine manhood that is not attached to controlling women (UNDP 2014; Musasa Project, 1997; Kawewe, 1998; 2000a; 2000b; 2001; Dibie & Kawewe, 1999; Kawewe & Dibie, 2000). Zimbabwe needs to adopt and implement pragmatic cultural transformation and education programs to change community norms that sustain abuse, entailing dialogue with men and among men’s groups, workshops mass media campaigns and organizing and lobbying to change legislation. Violence against women leads to substantial cost to the government. Survivors are more likely to access the health care system, which escalates public expenditure in a free health care environment, and adversely affects corporate budgets when employees perform below standard with valuable time lost to cater to illnesses emanating from family abuse (UNECOSOE, 2012). It is in the patriarchy’s best interest to save money. Because victims of family abuse suffer serious health problems and are more likely to access health care services, the cost of health care escalates. Public expenditure also inflates as the police take time writing comprehensive reports which are later withdrawn when the victim withdraws charges under pressure, or otherwise voluntarily (Kawewe, 1996; 1998; 2000a; 2000b; 2001; Dibie & Kawewe,1999; Kawewe & Dibie, 2000). While national level policy and intervention are necessary, curbing family abuse requires reframing gendered power relations in society. It is important to change how police, prosecutors, judges, clergy, hospital personnel and other helping professionals think regarding family abuse (US Department of State 2013; CEDAW 2012; World Bank 2013). Because cultural and economic factors disempowering women prevent them from seeking help, community efforts should aim at changing individual minds and hearts by emphasizing rejection of aggression and encouraging nonviolence and creating a conducive environment to supporting survivors of family abuse (CEDAW, 2013). There is a dire need to develop and implement policies, programs and proceedings

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designed to promote the status and dignity of women and curb violence in all its forms (World Bank, 2013). A serious dilemma in many impoverished societies such as Zimbabwe has to do with the legal system punishing an abusive husband through imprisonment without punishing the wife and children. When a man is jailed, and the wife lacks access to a wage income, the family may be devastated. On the other hand, behavior does not change unless the person weighs costs and benefits, so introducing creative punishment could help curb family abuse. Such innovations could entail community service, weekend detentions and public humiliation as a way to reduce the cost of family violence (Kawewe, 2000a; 2000b; 2001; Dibie & Kawewe, 1999; Kawewe & Dibie, 2000; Dibie & Dibie; 2012). Activists need to aggressively protect women while at the same time changing societal norms and values that condone the subjugation of women and children and investing in long-term interventions like women mobilizing, self-help and government education to upgrade and uplift women, thus boosting women’s confidence through extensive transformational and capacitybuilding education work. Preventing and ameliorating violence and its effects requires concerted effort to counter gender-based cultural mores, myths and roles and the eroticism of male violence (UNECOSOE 2012; UNDESA 2013). If we accept such a stance, then we can effectively deal with the collective responsibility to safeguard human rights like those of children and women as well as those based on sexual orientation, age, and disability, and economic status, geographic and ethnic background. Women and children can become educated to have the courage to recognize violations without making any apologies, and proceeding to challenge such violations whether it is perpetuated by a father, lover, uncle, brother, and so forth, as a vital component of making the personal political. Education on self-worth and eradication of learned helplessness is necessary (CEDAW 2012; Ofei-Oboagye, 1994; Kawewe, 1998; Kawewe & Dibie, 1999). Even if progressive legislation were put in place, in practice it would always lag behind, but helping women acquire knowledge, skills, material and emotional resources would enable them to achieve immediate self-determination, and gain meaningful and fulfilling social roles in Zimbabwe (World Bank, 2013). Women and their children who choose to stay can learn how to avoid the situations, say no, and feel comfortable and encourage them to tell someone, and keep on telling them until someone listens (Kawewe, 1996; 1998; 2000a; 2000b; 2001). Such choices are based on their situational condition and constraints as well as cultural norms. Change dominant socio-cultural expectations, and provide societal support for their choice

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and help them learn to stop the violence. Therefore, a more conducive government program should be established for battered women and other survivors of family abuse. Such an initiative should be incorporated into the development of national policy and subsequent interventions if the goal of women’s empowerment is to be achieved in Zimbawe. Thus both clinical and collective approaches need to be utilized (World Bank, 2013). Women’s self-determination implies their right to stay is a legitimate choice that service providers should respect and accept. There needs to be a shift from applying middle-class professional ideologies and political values to those of the clients. Because battered women are subject to trauma, brutalization and danger, interventions should incorporate individual and couples therapy for restoration of selfesteem, advocacy, shelters, addressing personal responsibility for the violence by the perpetrator, health care information, legal measures regarding use of the legal system, custody issues in cases of divorce, child maintenance, long-term group support systems and various types of legal advice appropriate for different types of marriages (Kawewe, 1996; 1998; 2000a; 2000b; 2001; Dibie & Kawewe, 1999; Kawewe & Dibie, 2000; CEDAW, 2012). Many women are confused about their rights emanating from four different types of Zimbabwean marriages (civil, registered customary, and the unregistered customary long-term cohabitation without lobola). Effective interventions require an understanding of family members’ needs and their fears including conflict resolution abilities. Utilizing the strength of the extended family, particularly in cases of child abuse, can be a feasible option. The government of Zimbabwe should establish community education to teach men about the outrage of domestic violence.

Conclusion This chapter has examined women’s empowerment issues and the physical integrity of female citizens in Zimbabwe. In the past two decades the country has been affected by a sluggish economy as a result of ineffective government policies and lack of the political will to take the right action for the common good. The aftermath of the economic decline is a tremendous increase in poverty for the population as a whole, especially women and girls. Hence the government of Zimbabwe needs to improve the environment and create more incentives to increase the level of innovation that could lead to high-tech industries, higher efficiency, and better-quality goods. The innovation strategy could also spill over to creating jobs for men and women in Zimbabwe (Kawewe, 1996; 1998;

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2000a; 2000b; 2001; Dibie & Kawewe, 1999; Kawewe & Dibie, 2000; Dibie & Sam-Okere, 2015). It is rather unfortunate that Zimbabwe’s customary family code grants very few rights to women. This is strange, because the 2013 Constitution of the country granted women and men equal rights. Another impediment to women’s empowerment in the country is that polygamy is accepted by the traditional religion practiced by a majority of Zimbabweans. The UNECOSOC (2012) report indicated that about one in ten women live in polygamous unions. It is also stated that such marriages are more frequent in rural communities than in the urban areas of Zimbabwe. It is interesting to note that under the rules of customary marriage, widows cannot inherit their husband’s property (CEDAW, 2012). It is only the small minority of women who were married in civil ceremonies that have the legal right to inherit from their husbands (UNDP, 2014). In Zimbabwe, violence against women is rampant. Domestic violence is very common and occurs across society. Women’s spouses, including husbands, boyfriends, or ex-husbands are often involved in committing physical and sexual violence (WCoZ, 2014). Men must be held accountable for their actions with respect to gender-based violence (Kawewe, 1996; 1998; 2000a; 2000b; 2001; Dibie & Kawewe, 1999; Kawewe & Dibie, 2000; Dibie & Sam-Okere, 2015). When victims do not report violence, and when they are blamed for being abused, the perpetrators are left unaccountable and unchallenged to take responsibility for their acts. Thus, it is wrong for community norms to continue to protect the perpetrator from receiving appropriate punishment and treatment to stop the violence in Zimbabwe (Kawewe, 1996; 1998; 2000a; 2000b; 2001; Dibie & Kawewe, 1999; Kawewe & Dibie, 2000; Dibie & Sam-Okere, 2015). It is necessary to introduce stricter penalties for the abusers of women and children. Social networks, crisis centers, women’s organizations, churches, health centers, schools and the legal system could benefit by receiving training in how to identify, assess and support victims of family violence. Education on problem awareness, the impact of the problem on the individual, family, community and society as a whole is necessary for both men and women in the country (Kawewe, 1996; 1998; 2000a; 2000b; 2001; Dibie & Kawewe, 1999; Kawewe & Dibie, 2000; Dibie & Sam-Okere, 2015). Women tend to experience abuse for as long as ten years before seeking help (Kawewe, 2000a; 2000b; Amnesty International 2013; CEDAW, 2012). Worse still, there are no specialized treatment centers for physically and sexually abusive men in Zimbabwe. It could therefore be argued that the civil liberties of women in Zimbabwe are still very restricted by tradition. The 2013 constitution of the country

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guarantees women’s freedom of movement; in practice, however, most men exercise control over their wives’ actions. As a result of all the predicaments that women face in Zimbabwe, the nation should articulate gender equality as a human right more clearly than they have done with the 2013 Constitution provisions.

References Ahikire, J. (2003). “Gender Equality and Local Democracy in Contemporary Uganda: Addressing the Challenge of Women’s Political Effectiveness in Local Government,” in A. M. Goetz and S. Hassim (eds.) No Shortcuts to Power, London: Zed Press. Akitunde, D. O. (ed.) (2001). African Culture and the Quest for Women’s Rights. Ibadan, Nigeria: Institute of Women in Religion and Culture, p. 31. Akosua. A. A. (2007). “My Cocoa is between My Legs: Sex as Work,” in Women’s Labor in the Global Economy: Speaking in Multiple Voices. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. Ammerman, R. & Hersen, M. (1991). Case Studies in Family Violence. New York: Routledge. Amnesty International (2007). Zimbabwe: Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Women Human Rights Defenders at Risk. London: Amnesty International. —. (2013) Zimbabwe: Human Rights Agenda for 2013-2018. http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AFR46/017/2013/en/e19f252 d-9dc4-4d87-882c-99e3e476d645/afr460172013en.pdf. Accessed May 8, 2015. Anonymous. (1996). Women and Development. WIN NEWS, 22(3), 19– 31. Basset, M. T., Mhloyi, M. (1995) “Women and AIDS in Zimbabwe: The Making of an Epidemic.” In: Fee E. & Krieger N. (Eds.) Women’s Health, Politics and Power: Essays on Sex/Gender, Medicine and Public Health, pp. 269–283. New York: Baywood Publishing. Bose, C. & Kim, M. (2009). Global Gender Research: Transnational Perspectives. New York: Routledge. Constitution of Zimbabwe. (2013) Government of Zimbabwe. constituteproject.org. Accessed May 10, 2015. Corner, L. (2005). Gender-sensitive and Pro-poor Indicators of Good Governance Paper prepared for the UNDP Governance Indicators Project, Oslo Governance Centre.

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Chronic Poverty Research Centre (2011) Widowhood and asset inheritance in sub-Saharan Africa: empirical evidence from 15 countries. http://www.chronicpoverty.org/uploads/publication_ files/ WP183%20 Peterman.pdf Accessed May 2, 2015. Demographic Health Survey (1999) Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey 1998–1999, http://www.measuredhs.com/. Accessed May 5, 2015. Demographic Health Survey (2012) Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey 2011–2012 http://www.measuredhs.com/. Accessed April 29, 2015. Dibie, R. & Kawewe, S. M. (1999). “Education Policy and the Future of Sustainable Development in Zimbabwe and Nigeria.” Social Development Issues, 21(3), 22–30. Dibie, R. & Sam-Okere, J. (2015). “Government and NGOs Performance with Respect to Women Empowerment in Nigeria.” Africa’s Public Service Delivery and Performance Review, vol. 3, (1), 92–136. Dibie, R. (2014). Public Administration: Theory, Analysis and Application. New York: Routledge. Dibie, J. and Dibie, R. (2012). “Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the Empowerment of Women in Africa.” African and Asian Studies Journal, vol. 11, no. 1, 95–122. Editor (1999). “SADIC Women Still Sidelined in Decision-making.” Africa News. http://www.Africanews.org/south /stories/199990218_ feat1.html,p1-2. Accessed November 15, 2015 Fineman, M.A. & Mykitiuk, R. (1994). The Public Nature of Private Violence: The Discovery of Domestic Abuse. New York: Routledge. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (n.d.) Gender and Land Rights Database Full Country Report – Zimbabwe [database]. Accessed May 28, 2015. Gabi, R. (1995). “Educating the Girl Child.” Speakout, Taurai, Khulumani, 32, 15. Gelles, R. J. & Lancaster, J. B. (1987). Child Abuse and Neglect: Biosocial Dimensions. New York: Aldine De Gruyter. Gelles, R. J. (1979). Family Violence. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Green, D. (1999). Gender Violence in Africa. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Gwenya, T. L. (2000). “Personal Interview with Her as Musasa Project Program Coordinator.” Musasa: Harare (January 5). Hartmann. H. (1999). “The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism: Towards a more Progressive Union” in Kourany J., Sterba J., and Tong

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R. (eds.) Feminist Philosophies. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Press. Heise, L. (1997). “Confronting Abuse: Options for Community Action.” Violence Against Women in Zimbabwe: Strategies for Action’. Report of the Musasa Project Workshop, 10–13, Musasa: Harare. —. (1997). “Violence against Women: A Global Health Problem.” Violence Against Women in Zimbabwe: Strategies for Action: Report of the Musasa Project Workshop, 6–9, Musasa: Harare. Hoff, L. A. (1990). Battered Women as Survivors. New York: Routledge. Human Rights Watch, 1999. “Women’s Human Rights.” World Report, http//www.hrw.org/hrw/worldreport99/women/women2.html, 1–9. Accessed November 15, 2015 International Labor Organization (ILO) (2012) Database of Conditions of Work and Employment Laws [database] http://www.ilo.org/dyn/ travail/travmain.home. Accessed April 30, 2015. Kawewe, S. M. (1996). “Social-Networking Zimbabwean Families: An African Traditional Approach to Waging a War Against HIV/AIDS.” Social Development Issues, 18 (2), 34–51. —. (2001). “The Impact of Gender Disempowerment on the Welfare of Zimbabwean Women.” International Social Work Journal, 44(4), 471– 485. —. (1998). “The Inability of the United Nations to Reform World Practices that Endanger Third World Children.” New Global Development: Journal of International and Comparative Social Welfare, XIV, 46–61. Kawewe, S & Dibie, R. (1999). “United Nations and the Problem of Women and Children Abuse in Third World Nations.” Social Justice, 26(1), 78–98. Kawewe, S. M. & Dibie, R. (2000). “The Impact of Economic Structural Adjustment Programs [ESAPs] on Women and Children: Implications for Social Welfare in Zimbabwe.” Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, XXVII(4), 77–105. Kawewe, S. M. (2000a). “The Impact of Gendered Unequal Land Distribution, Population Movement and HIV/AIDS on the Welfare of Zimbabwean Women and Children.” Social Work Africa,1(1), 33–45. —. (2000b). “The Impact of Family Abuse on Women’s and Children’s Welfare in Zimbabwe.” New Global Development: Journal of International and Comparative Social Welfare, 47–58. Kelly, L. (1996). “Tensions and Possibilities: Enhancing Informal Responses to Domestic Violence.” In J. L. Edleson & Z. C. Eisikovits

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(eds.), Future Interventions with Battered Women and Their Families (pp. 67–86). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Koss, M. P., Goodman, L.A., Fitzgerald, L. F., Keita, G. P. & Russ, N. P. (1995). No Safe Haven: Male Violence Against Women at Home, at Work and Community. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. Marunda, S. (2014). “Violence against Women: Time to Respect the Constitution.” http://www. wcoz. org/ component/content/article/58home/157-violence-against-women-time-to-respect-the-constitutionby-sibusisiwe-marunda.html. Accessed May 11, 2015. McFadden, P. (1998). “Making the Personal Political: A Key to the Transformation of the African Women’s Movement.” Woman Plus, 3(3), 3–5. Midzi, O. & Ndlovu, M. (1997). “Community Attitudes Perpetuating Violence.” Against Women in Zimbabwe. Violence Against Women in Zimbabwe: Strategies for Action. Musasa Project, 14–16, Harare, Zimbabwe. Moja, T.(2007). “Politics of Exclusion in Higher Education: The Inadequacy of Gender Issues in Global Debate,” in N. A. Lumunba (ed.), Women and Higher Education in Africa: Re-conceptualizing Gender-based Human Capabilities and Upgrading Human Right to Knowledge. Abidjan: CEPARRED. Mohan, Brij. 1997. “Toward New Global Development.” International Social Work, 40, 4: 433–50. Msimang, S. (2000). “Violence Against Women.” End-violence website [email protected], pp. 1–2. Musasa Project. (1997). Domestic Violence and Its Magnitude. Author: Harare. —. (1999). Counseling Shelter and Legal Service. Author: Harare. —. (1999). Women, Violence and HIV/AIDS. Author: Harare Muwanigwa, V. (2013) Zimbabwe: New Constitution Gives Hope to Women and Girls. 8 April 2013 http://www.genderlinks.org.za/article/ zimbabwe-new-constitution-gives-hope-to-women-and-girls-2013-0408. Accessed May 9, 2015. Nhara, F. (1995). “Women’s Mental Health.” Speakout, Taurai, Khulumani, 32, 11–12. Ofei-Oboagye, O. (1994). “Domestic Violence in Ghana: Some Initial Questions,” in Fineman & Mykitiuk, The Public Nature of Private Violence. Routledge: New York.

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Osorio, C. & Temba, E. (2009). “Feminine Injustice,” in Bose, C. & Kim, M. (eds). Global Gender Research: Transnational Perspectives. New York: Routledge. Paled, E. Eisikovits, Z. & Winstok, Z. (2000). “Choice and Empowerment for Battered Women Who Stay: Toward a Constructivist Model.” Social Work, 45(1), 9–25. Ruzvidzo, T. (1996). “Culture.” Woman Plus, 1(2), 3–4. Snowsill, F., Watts, C., Nyamandi, U. & Ndlovu, M. (February, 1997). Violence Against Women in Zimbabwe: Strategies for Action. A Report of the Musasa Project, 3–4. Musasa: Harare. Steward, S. & Taylor, J. (1995). “Women Organizing Women—Doing it Backwards and in High Heels,” IDS Bulletin, 26(3), 79–85. Sullivan D., (1995). “The Public/Private Distinction in International Human Rights Law,” in J. Peters and A. Wolper (eds.), Women Rights Human Rights: International Feminist Perspective, pp. 126–134. New York: Routledge. Talks, G. (1995). Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Center and Network News Bulletin, 4(1), 14–15. Taylor, J. & Steward, S. (1989). Musasa: A Project for Zimbabwe, Ottawa: MATCH International. Thabethe, S (2009) Southern African Development Community Gender Protocol Baseline Study: Zimbabwe, http://www.genderlinks.org.za/article/sadc-gender-protocol-barometerbaseline-study-zimbabwe-2009-10-16. Accessed May 8, 2015. The Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) (2014) “Ending gender based Violence,” http://www.wcoz.org/component/content/article/58home/158-ending-gender-based-violence-we-all-have-a-role-toplay.html. Accessed May 10, 2015. Tucker, N. (1999). “Reversal of Fortune Ruling Strips Zimbabwe Women of Two Decades of Courtroom Victories.” ProQuest Direct mailbox:C/%7C/SIUsuite/ Netscape/Mail/Inbo... 9.M AA 20429312@pqdmaill .umi. com &number=435. Accessed November 15, 2015. UNDP. (2014). Human Development Report. New York: Oxford University Press. United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC) (2012). “Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective into all Policies and Programmes in the United Nations System. http://www.nmun.org/ny_archives/ny15_downloads/ BGGs/NY15_ BGG_ECOSOC_Update.pdf Accessed April 19, 2015.

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United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (2012). Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. CEDAW/C/ ZWE/CO/2-5, New York, NY. Accessed November 15, 2015 United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) (2010). Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Zimbabwe, Combined second to fifth periodic report of States parties, CEDAW/C/ZWE/2-5, Geneva. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) (2013), World Abortion Policies 2013. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, New York. United States Department of State (2010) 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Zimbabwe, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/ hrrpt/2009/af/135984.htm (accessed 30 November 2013). —. (2013) 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Zimbabwe, www.state.gov/documents/organization/204395.pdf(accessed 30 November 2013). Accessed November 6, 2015. Watts, C. Ndlovu, M. & Keogh, E. (1997). “The magnitude and health consequences of violence against women in Zimbabwe.” Violence Against Women in Zimbabwe: Strategies for Action: Report of the Musasa Project Workshop, 10–13, Musasa: Harare. WIN News. (1996). Women and Violence. Author: Lexington. 1–8. Women’s Action Group. (1995). Speak-out, Taurai, Khulumani, 30. Author: Harare, Zimbabwe. —. (1995). Speak-out, Taurai, Khulumani, 32. Author: Harare, Zimbabwe. Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ) (2014). “Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe filed a complaint with the Media Complaints Committee.” http://www.vmcz.co.zw/index.php/2014-03-13-12-56 24/complaintscases-2014/304-women-s-coalition-of-zimbabwe-wcoz-vsnewzimbabwe-com-january-2015. Accessed December 2014). Women’s Resource Center. (1999). Woman Plus, 4(1). World Bank. (2013). Global Financial Inclusion Database [database] http://databank. worldbank.org/ Data/Views/ reports/tableview.aspx. Accessed May 8, 2015. Accessed November 15, 2015. World Development Report. (2003). Achievement and Challenges: Sustainable Development in a Dynamic World – Transforming. New York: Oxford University Press. World Bank. (1999). World Development Report. New York: Oxford University Press.

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Yllo, K. A. (1993). “Through Feminist Lens: Gender, Power and Violence,” in R. J. Gelles & D. R. Loseke (eds.), Current Controversies on Family Violence, (pp.47–62). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

CHAPTER SEVEN WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN KENYA FREDAH MAINAH AND MARIAM KONATE

Introduction Kenya is member of the East African Community (EAC) trade bloc that includes Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, with its main export partners being the UK, the Netherlands and the U.S., while its main import partners include China, India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and South Africa. Kenya’s economic freedom score is 57.1, with notable advancements in trade freedom, labor, and monetary freedom, making its economy the 111th freest in the 2014 Index (KIPPRA, 2013; Manda, 2003). Several obstacles have been identified that generally prevent Kenyan women from advancing to political spheres, including lack of enough participation and empowerment in decisions that affect their lives in political and social processes, for example, negative socio-cultural beliefs, attitudes, biases and stereotypes, ineffective institutional frameworks guiding gender division of labor, gendered recruitment, lack of vertical mobility, inequalities in education, health and employment, discrimination, the feminization of poverty, the urban-rural divide, the effects of armed conflict and ethnic clashes, trade liberalization policies that are not supportive of women in developing countries, and HIV/AIDS (Adhiambo-Oduol, 2003; Tarimo, 2008; Tignor, 1977). Kenya’s history has been described as one of endurance, as evidenced by its various ethnic groups, the progress made in adjusting political and economic structures that it inherited from the British colonial system, and its significant attempts to blend all these with its perception of what modern politics and economics is, led by “a few powerful individuals whose choices have so influenced Kenya’s future” (Hornsby, 2011, p.2). Kenya was a British colony, and gained independence in 1963 after 60 years of colonization. At that time, the British saw themselves as morally

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and culturally superior even to other European communities. Colonialism and the concept of white supremacy was used by the settler-colonialists to erase the Kenyan traditional non-binary roles of gender orientation and systems of sexuality (Singer, n.d.) as well as the inclusive traditional religions and way of life which continue to affect women to this day. Pre-colonial Kenya had little differences in wealth possession and no economic or gender categories since its “kinship system was the basis of ownership of factors of production which included land, livestock and labor” (Ndege, 2009, p.1). Land ownership was communal by family, but the post-colonial era saw title deeds beginning to be issued to men only for the previously European settler White Highlands. The construction of patriarchal power structures, gender identity and roles was an important pillar of the white supremacist movement (Martinot, 2012; Smith, 2010). Patriarchal structures and practices meant that men could dominate, oppress and exploit women as they would any other natural resource to assert their power and authority with impunity. The intersections of settler colonialism, heteropatriarchy, and heteropaternalism, and the erasing of the Kenyan communal family, paved way for the deconstruction of their way of life and into a nuclear family with redefined roles. The violent assimilative and annihilation measures that were used to colonize Kenya stripped everyone of their rights and dignity resulting in a society that did not have its own identity, values, traditions and cultures (Tarimo, 2008; Tignor, 1977). The British education, market systems and cash crop production were introduced through religion to pave way for a power shift focusing on cash crop production. Education was expanded and moved into gender-separate boarding schools for easy indoctrination and control. Land, social and economic policies were introduced that promoted rural-urban, regional and class differences, and development policies that imposed international and local administrative boundaries, and later increased tribal hostilities even with communities that the women used to trade with. As women lost access and control of land and food production, they were forced to become more economically dependent on men who were allowed to work for little pay by the settler colonists. The changed perception of the role of women after their agricultural contribution to the household was reduced, and caused family conflict. Eventually, their vital role in food production was overshadowed by the more lucrative male-controlled cash crop cultivation (Mondo, 2014). Introduction of wage labor and private ownership of land, through the Swynnerton Plan of 1954 of registering and consolidating land and granting titles to male individuals, greatly affected Kenyan communities,

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and specifically women. The colonial economy forced men to seek employment in European economic ventures and took them away from the communal labor responsibilities they used to have in the traditional Kenyan economy. The concept of the Victorian woman also reduced Kenyan women’s autonomy, denied them access to land and forced them to take on the duties previously carried out by men on scarce land. The new status of men becoming patriarchs, introduced and supported by the colonialists, became a new preoccupation with controlling female mobility and freedom of choice as to who they married. Together, the Kenyan males and the colonialists excluded women from the new political and administrative system. And thus began the process of deleting the original lineage and history, marginalizing women and the spread of the belief that women were incapable of leading and thus their voice and decisions getting relegated to second place (Tarimo, 2008; Tignor, 1977). After independence, most communities experimented with acts of retraditionalization to reclaim their identity, religion, indigenous knowledge, beliefs, values, customs, traditions and definition of gender and sexual orientation. It was also a way of decolonizing themselves, expressing their political identity and resisting colonialism (Singer, n.d.; Martinot, 2012; Smith, 2010). This forms the basis upon which patriarchy, a powerful mode of organizing society, culture, and individuals, became adopted as an institution or system. Women were silenced and their rights became even further eroded at a time when white supremacy and male dominance established themselves as a way of life globally. The form of government that existed from independence until 1979, when the founding president, Jomo Kenyatta, died, was a post-colonial one heavily laden with British leaders who stayed on to oversee the handover of power and of course to protect British interests. After 1980, when the second president took over, a new bureaucratic leadership was evident. This was characterized by massive abuse of human rights and many restrictions on access to, or dissemination of, information. The education curriculum across all levels was controlled and changed frequently as the government experimented with various educational systems that they saw fit for ensuring control. The 1990s were a period of experimenting with democracy and multi-partyism, but unfortunately it resulted in mobilizing the citizenry around ethnic political parties. The first decade of the twentyfirst century has seen Kenya move towards becoming a mature democracy, steady economic growth, and political stability. Currently, Kenya is a strong strategic partner of the USA and Europe, and an anchor state in East Africa, and is critical to counterterrorism efforts in the region (Becker, 2013). However, the UN Declaration

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recognizes that African countries face particularly difficult development challenges, with the main challenge facing many gender-equality advocates globally being the differences in shared values as reflected in the various national and international policies and practices (Cleeve & Ndhlova, 2004; Heintz, 2006). This chapter examines the process and government policies that started the implementation of actions towards empowering Kenyan’s women. It explores the current status of women in Kenya, and analyzes their historical contributions to the political, economic and social development of the country. The chapter presents an argument that despite myriad challenges, the slow pace of rising to the top, and the low compositional diversity in most organizational leadership, women are becoming increasingly visible in top positions in the country. In addition, it points out that a good knowledge of gender issues would enhance and promote mutual understanding, respect and appreciation between women and men, as well as foster cooperation and sustainable development. The chapter also analyzes the efforts that the Kenyan national government is making to empower women and include them as equal and active agents of sustainable development. It explores initiatives made by gender advocates with regards to women’s inclusion as active and equal participants in solving community problems such as inequalities and injustices based on gender, class, religion, ethnicity, sexuality and age in Kenya. In order to improve the performance of human development in Kenya, the chapter recommends sustainable human development policies and programs. Kenya, like other African countries, needs to enthrone gender democracy and a more equitable and enhanced human civilization that guarantees greater social justice, peace and stability, and progress in the continent.

The United Nations and Women’s Empowerment Eleanor Roosevelt, the former first lady of the United States of America, oversaw the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and asserted that it be wide and inclusive, considering all spheres of life including neighborhoods, schools, workplace and other social places, that individuals use in search of justice, opportunity, and dignity. According to Berger (2014), Eleanor Roosevelt advocated for the expansion of women’s role in the workplace when she served as the first Chair of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights 1933–1945. Berger (2014) also contends that although political and women’s rights activists in the 1960s gained a lot of ground and generated significant transformation which

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paved the way for women’s empowerment, these gains were not for women everywhere (World Bank, 2012). In developing countries like Kenya, women still faced challenges, including the entrenched political and patriarchal systems inherited from the colonial periods. Kenya, for instance, at that time was struggling to free herself and did not become independent until 1963. Kenyan women did not formally start fighting for their freedom until after 1964. Education for women, which later became a strong pillar for women’s empowerment, was not acclaimed, even after the first female PhD in East Africa in 1971. Organizations such as the Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF), the Pan-African Women’s Organization, and the Economic Commission for Africa had a nationalist approach and an emphasis on freedom and anti-colonialism. Consequently, they became the foundation for Kenyan women’s rights organizations like the Maendeleo ya Wanawake (Women’s Progress) and the Green Belt Movement, more than the transnational feminist movements and the UN programs (United Nations, 2000). These avenues became the vehicle for women’s expression of their historical culture of self-organization and determination of self-reliance. The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), a partnership initiative of UN Women and UN Global Compact (UNGC), expounds the role of business in sustainable development by providing a set of guidelines through seven steps for how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community, which were forged through an international multi-stakeholder consultative process (United Nations, 2000). This initiative offers a general guideline on what empowering/empowerment of women means. It is aimed at providing the workplace, and society in general, with a framework for empowering women and other marginalized groups, to promote the self-actualization or influence of women and support them to free themselves from political, social and cultural domination, and economic exploitation so that they can participate freely and fully in economic life, and in the process improve the quality of life for themselves and their families (United Nations, 1985). The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) include: establishing high-level corporate leadership for gender equality; treating all women and men fairly at work, and respecting and supporting human rights and nondiscrimination; ensuring the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers; promoting education, training and professional development for women; implementing enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women; promoting equality through community initiatives and advocacy; and measuring and publicly

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reporting on progress to achieve gender equality (United Nations, 2000). It calls on governments to use the WEPs to understand the ways in which the private sector can promote gender equality and women’s empowerment when engaging in dialogue with businesses about their role in sustainable development; when developing and revising public policies relating to corporate sustainability; and when considering corporate commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment and making decisions on business partnerships and procurement. Moreover, it includes the Rio+20 outcome document’s strong language linking the gender and private sector dimensions of sustainable development; and takes the opportunity to reinforce the importance of business and make such crucial connections as will ensure that innovative efforts to bring about sustainable green economies are also reinforcing the efforts to close the gender divide (Odhiambo, 2011).

The International Bill of Rights for Kenyan Women The UN, although committed to women’s rights, and specifically focusing on reducing feminized poverty, ending violence against women, and achieving gender equality in democratic governance, did not define what discrimination against women was until 1979. It did not assert women’s rights as human rights until 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, and only integrated gender issues into the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 (specifically goals 3 and 5). Information on the UN Women website indicates that only in 2010 did the UN merge all four of the world body’s agencies and offices on women and named it UN Women (the UN Development Fund for Women [UNIFEM], the Division for the Advancement of Women [DAW], the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women [UN-INSTRAW]). Recognizing women’s role in development, the UN had named 1976 to 1985 the UN Decade for Women, with an agenda for the advancement and empowerment of women. This period also saw transnational women’s movements become more inclusive in their agenda and embracing other women as partners rather than subjects waiting to be rescued (Berger, 2014). The International Bill of Rights for Women, or the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), defines the right of women to be free from discrimination and sets the core principles to protect this right. It establishes an agenda for national action to end discrimination, and provides the basis for achieving equality between men and women through ensuring women’s equal access

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to, and equal opportunities in, political and public life as well as education, health and employment. What it fails to do is place all rights equally, and instead gives some rights preeminence such as civil and political rights (which tend to be concerns at the forefront of Western feminists’ agendas) over economic and social rights (which still remain the primary concerns of the majority of women in the Global South). This leads to political rights or human rights being more monitored than economic and social human rights, and continues to perpetuate the public-private/productivereproductive dichotomies, and continues to create an environment within which women are still discriminated against. In Kenya, the National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK) was registered in 1961 as an umbrella organization to coordinate activities of Kenyan women and formed as the Kenyan chapter of the International Council of Women. This worked alongside the Maendeleo ya Wanawake (MYWO), a colonial social welfare program that was eventually handed over to Kenyan women to run upon the country’s gaining independence. In its 59th session in September 2015, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN Women) planned to raise more awareness on women’s issues and to call upon all member states to undertake a comprehensive review of the progress they had made and challenges they had encountered in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly. The six guiding elements to be used for this process were dignity (ending poverty and fighting inequality); people (ensuring healthy lives, knowledge and the inclusion of women and children); prosperity (growing a strong, inclusive and transformative economy); planet (protecting the ecosystems for all societies and children); justice (promoting safe and peaceful societies and strong institutions); and partnership (catalyzing global solidarity for sustainable development). The Beijing Platform for Action was a shift from the UN Women’s forum and programs on achieving equality and eradicating discrimination. Its new theme and agenda was the empowerment of women, making them equal partners in all policies, power-sharing and decision-making processes where they can set their own priorities, bring their own views and values to policy-making and the development of their societies. Its goals were to remove all the obstacles to women’s active participation in all spheres of public and private life through a full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political decision-making. Pietilä (2007; 2002) suggests that through the formation of the UN and its Women’s Forums in member states, women’s issues have become part of the international agenda and have influenced legal and political goals.

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Feminist Movements and Women’s Empowerment in Kenya Two major social movements formed around women’s organizations in Kenya are the Maendeleo ya Wanawake (MYWO) and the Green Belt Movement (GBM). Maendeleo ya Wanawake, the oldest Kenyan women’s organization, was founded in 1952 by the colonial government as part of social welfare and for training Kenyan women to behave correctly (a form of British assimilation). It was eventually handed over to women after independence as a welfare agency (Mondo, 2014). Later, and strongly influenced by the United Nations’ Declaration of the Decade for Women (1976–1985), MYWO aligned its efforts to supporting women’s mobilization and empowerment and became instrumental in building schools, clinics, and community centers across the country, and is now a prominent voice for community-based women’s organizations. Currently, and with support from UN Women, it seeks to unify, nurture, empower, improve and enhance the social economic status of all Kenyan women and envisions enhancing the role of women in leadership and public policy processes, through national cohesion, peace and proactive intervention at local and national levels. Its current programs include civic education and engagement, gender and governance, women and development, peace building and conflict management, equality and gender-based violence (female genital cutting). Wangari Maathai, the first woman to earn a PhD in Kenya and East Africa, started a self-help movement organized around grassroots mechanisms for empowering individuals and communities to get involved in saving the Kenyan environment, reducing food insecurity and water shortages, providing jobs through environmental restoration and internationally advocating for social justice. Influenced by what she saw during her husband’s political campaigns in 1969 and 1974, a 1977 U.N. (UNEP) Conference on Desertification in Nairobi, and of course her doctorate studies, professional networks, and experience as Board Chair for the Environment Liaison Centre in Nairobi, Maathai took a National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK) project and grew it into a globallyrenowned local, social movement. With funding from UNEP, the movement has currently expanded throughout Africa and is now the PanAfrican Green Belt Network. For her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace, she was awarded the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize (Maathai, 2007). One woman’s dream for peace and sustainable living became a national dream for Kenyan women and a platform for community empowerment, education, advocacy and raising

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national consciousness through tree planting, water harvesting, idea and knowledge dissemination, and demonstrating the capacity of women in development, resisting environmental and political oppression while avoiding direct political involvement (Hunt, 2014; Maathai, 2007; 2003). The Green Belt Movement, because of its empowering approach and goal of liberating Kenyan women to explore and self-actualize, is now viewed as an example of ecofeminism. From a social justice and change theory, ecofeminism and the Green Belt Movement intersect at the goal of reducing environmental degradation and at the critical theory perspective of reducing exploitation of the lives of women. Through programs that are aimed at involving women and other marginalized groups at their daily activities level, Maathai’s movement raised women’s awareness and equipped them with skills for activism toward social change, combining them with environmental ethics and social transformation.

Current State of Kenyan Women’s Affairs In its implementation of international development commitments, as discussed previously, Kenya is guided by the UN guidelines. Currently, Kenya is undergoing rapid social and economic change and is now the largest economy in East Africa. However, and although attitudes towards working women have always been positive, this has not made significant changes for Kenyan women in the political arena where they are still much underrepresented. Globally, over the past 30 years, there has been an observable change in perceptions about African women who are now viewed “as more capable in careers outside the home” (Leathers, 2010, p. 93) than was likely in the 1960s, which is still not enough to propel African women into decision-making and leadership positions. Women form a majority of Kenya’s population (52 per cent) yet their representation in leadership positions is still very low. In 1998, out of 222 members of Parliament only 4 women were elected, while 5 were nominated; in the 2003 elections, only 12 women were elected to Parliament, while 6 were nominated; in 2007, 18 women were elected to Parliament, while 4 were nominated; and only in 2013 did women see some significant representation when MPs increased to 86; 16 elected from single member constituencies, 47 county representatives, 5 nominated members, and 18 nominated senators (Government of Kenya, 2010; 2003). Women’s rights to political participation are curtailed due to male dominance in the ownership of the political parties. The country has the potential for empowering women and is making efforts towards that, however insignificant and slow. Gradually integrating

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with the global economy, Kenya has a market-based economy with a liberalized foreign trade policy and a labor force estimated to include about 19.7 million workers, from a population of 45,010,056 with a lifeexpectancy of 62.95 years. Approximately 61.75 per cent of women work in agriculture, and 43.4 per cent of people live below poverty line, the majority of whom are women (Government of Kenya, 2012 estimates). The following population statistics demonstrate that Kenyan women do stand a chance if the environment is made more conducive to their productivity, participation and contribution: The main challenge to women’s empowerment in Kenya is not in their numbers, life expectancy, economic participation or literacy rates, as they seem to fare well in those factors, as seen in Table 7-1. It is that Kenya remains a very patriarchal society with male domination supported and perpetuated through culture, religion and science, as well as socialization and political and psychological development. Patriarchy in Kenya is characterized by three ownership frameworks: the Muslim communities; traditional and modern society, most of which support polygamy; and a relegated role for women. As such, the status of women remains relatively low with prevailing inequalities and inequities. There are many cases being reported by the customary and judicial law, on lack of property and land access, lack of access to finance and collateral and ownership discrimination against women, including more severe legal, regulatory, and administrative barriers to starting and running businesses than do their male counterparts (Do, Levchenko, & Raddatz, 2011; OECD, 2010; World Bank, 2007). Women’s strategies of survival include those for food, clean water, education, health-care delivery, land ownership and credit facilities. Wangari, Kamau, & Kinyau (n.d.) argue that the lack of, or poor access to, these basic life strategies shape women’s daily lives in most developing countries like Kenya. Access to these resources, along with legal literacy, are important components in improving women’s status and need to be among the major objectives of government planning and its partners on globalization and human rights. 0–14 years: 42.1% (male 9,494,983/female 9,435,795) 15–24 years: 18.7% (male 4,197,382/female 4,202,399) 25–54 years: 32.8% (male 7,458,665/female 7,302,534) 55–64 years: 3.7% (male 751,296/female 910,523) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 548,431/female 708,048) (2014 estimates) Literacy: male: 90.6%; female: 84.2% (2010 est.)

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Table 7-1: Distribution of Employed Persons Aged 15–64 Years Old by Industry and Gender Industry

Male

Female

Total

3,133,872

3,803,108

6,936,980

Forestry and logging

41,455

37,229

78,684

Fishing

49,156

3,913

53,069

Mining and quarrying

52,229

12,591

64,820

364,383

137,818

502,201

24,282

3,793

28,075

Construction

328,523

7,597

336,120

Trade, wholesale & retail trade

904,747

1,083,448

1,988,195

Transport and storage

383,946

18,435

402,381

38,515

31,945

70,460

Financial intermediation

111,822

54,559

166,381

Public administration and defense

160,498

42,618

203,116

Education services

248,058

213,380

461,438

13,871

10,590

24,461

Agriculture and hunting

Manufacturing Electricity, gas, steam and water supply

Communication

Research and scientific institutes

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Health

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39,105

62,848

101,953

Other community and social services

147,625

57,470

205,095

Personal and household services

398,077

456,405

854,482

5,061

3,151

8,212

131,640

90,274

221,914

6,576,865

6,131,170

12,708,035

International and other extra-territorial bodies Activities not adequately defined Total

Source: Government of Kenya Labor Statistics, 2007

The colonial experience that introduced Western gender and patriarchal perceptions and practices affected the traditional involvement and level of participation of African women in the development of their societies, leading to women’s marginalization and economic and political disempowerment. Walby (1990) argues that patriarchy is a form of a collaborative system of capitalist-political laws, policies, and practices that allow the exploitation of women’s unpaid household labor and underpaid wage work. She asserts that to understand patriarchy and how it is used to maintain patriarchal power, it is necessary to view it as a complex combination of household work, paid work, reproduction, sexuality, cultural institutions, the state, and male violence. It is within this background that the Kenyan patriarchal beliefs in the dispersion of resources and foreign aid for development has continuously hindered the funds from trickling down to women and children, whose involvement at the grassroots level of development is reflected by the large representation of women and youth at the county leadership levels. This leaves non-elite poor women and youth in the nation out of the development process as they cannot participate in the state’s development because they do not have access to men in the ruling class (Ngugi, 2009). Transformative power (or power as ability or capacity), an empowerment-based conception of power, if embraced in Kenya with aims at empowering those over whom it is exercised as an alternative to

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putatively masculine notions of power-over would provide a conducive environment for women to develop and self-actualize as they support their societies (Wartenberg, 1990).

The Kenyan Promise: Government Efforts at Empowering Women Njogu (2013) suggests that the empowerment of women, a national development goal, although poorly implemented, recognizes that the respect of women’s rights and their political participation, access to education, improved socio-economic status, protected legal and civil rights, provision of care for broad health issues and social welfare are crucial for the sustainability of human economic and social activities and population. He asserts that empowered women “contribute significantly in reshaping gender roles and expectations” (p.7). Historically, there is evidence that Kenyan women have lost faith in their government’s ability to keep its promises or recognize their involvement in development even after successfully helping it achieve goals such as fighting for, and gaining, national independence and increasing literacy rates (Ngugi, 2009). Owano (2014), however, suggests that the Kenyan woman is a second-class citizen regardless of which community she comes from or her social status in the country. Yet most Kenyan women, although lacking access to training, technology and updated information are the tillers of the land, the food processors and marketers of the fresh produce, and the psychological and physical nurturers of families (Atieno, 2010). Political parties, however, are not supportive of power sharing as they are “personalized outfits devoid of an organizing ideology, structures independent of their founders and internal democracy…individual enterprises for capturing power in the name of ethnic groups” (Njogu, 2013, p.4). In its attempt to empower and increase women’s participation and equity, the Kenyan Ministry of Devolution and planning document reports that, “The exclusion of women from leadership and decision-making has led to inequality and skewed policies which have increased women’s marginalization, poverty and insecurity. Their participation in leadership and decision-making in social, economic and political spheres is crucial in ensuring good governance and accountability” (p.59). Yet the violations of women’s and girls’ property and inheritance rights, including their right to an adequate standard of living and housing, continues to rise, and the impact of all these on economic empowerment of women and girls continues to be ignored. The result is greater vulnerability to violence and

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harmful practices, HIV infection, and total violation of their rights and the conflicts that arise from the fact that Kenya is a multi-ethnic society. Amidst all these challenges, there is very limited involvement of men in the campaign against all forms of gender-based violence; the media continues to stereotype and objectify women and lacks gender-sensitive reporting. Furthermore, the same planning documents assert that Kenya has ratified and complied with the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Like many of the countries that have ratified CEDAW that still have discriminatory laws governing marriage, land, property and inheritance, the government of Kenya says that it recognizes that the empowerment of women is critical in alleviating poverty, hunger, disease and stimulating development, yet according to the Federation of Women Lawyers Kenya (FIDA Kenya), the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (CESCR) has not done enough. Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women states among others that the principle of shared power at home, in the workplace and other spheres of leadership should enable women to access positions just as men do. This, although agreed upon as the best way to build a sustainable, just, and developed society, is not the situation on the ground, especially at the national level. For example, the laws of succession grant widows a life interest in their matrimonial home, but have failed because the government does not adequately enforce this protection to property, health, work, and the protection of the family. Furthermore, customary marriages and marriages by cohabitation, although legally recognized, are not registered. The danger in that for women is that customary laws largely exclude them from inheriting, owning, and possessing land, including their matrimonial homes, which they have worked on and, in many cases, helped purchase. Additionally, because Kenya lacks statutory guidance on the division of matrimonial property at divorce, women often leave marriages, or abusive or polygamous unions, with nothing.

The Role of the Constitution in Women’s Empowerment and 2030 Target National challenges for women include limited access to sex disaggregated data to inform policy- and decision-making, inadequate capacity to integrate gender perspectives in legislation, policies, planning and budgeting at the national level, limited knowledge of what human rights are, as well as inadequate understanding of the human rights approach at

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grassroots level. Odhiambo (2011) suggests that “women are not always targeted for discrimination, but are sometimes overlooked or not encouraged, mentored or supported” (p. 669) and that “global feminism does not address the special conditions in which African women find themselves” (p. 672). One area where Kenyan women have significantly succeeded is that of micro finance and mobile phone banking and business culture (AEO, 2012). Women-led organizations such as Faulu Microfinance Bank Ltd., Kenya Women Microfinance Bank Ltd., and Uwezo Microfinance Bank Limited, among others, whose goals are to support and uphold the dignity of women by providing increased and sustainable access to credit and financial solutions for women’s small businesses, helping women to create jobs for themselves and their families at the national level, have contributed to improved livelihoods and the overall quality of life for women and their families. In line with the UN Post-2015 Declaration, the 2010 Constitution of Kenya, which has been lauded as being one of the most progressive in the world, prohibits discrimination on the basis of—among other things—sex, pregnancy and marital status. The new constitution recognizes economic and social rights, including the right to property, housing, a clean environment, health and education among others. The constitution now allows Kenyan women to confer citizenship upon their foreign husbands and children, and not lose their own citizenship through marriage or upon dissolution of marriage. The National Land Policy, which recognizes women’s rights to own property, and the enactment of the gender laws which include the Matrimonial Property Act of 2013 and the Marriage Act of 2014, safeguards women’s property rights during and upon dissolution of the marriage. The Counter-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2010, the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Act of 2011 and the Sexual Offences Act of 2006 outlaw specific forms of violence against women. Although Kenya is among the many countries that have ratified the commitments of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and has made attempts to improve its discriminatory laws governing marriage, land, property and inheritance, the legal system still needs to embrace these changes. Women consistently experience rights abuses, yet they are expected to take on an overwhelming amount of responsibilities in agriculture and food production. During ethnic conflicts, men account for the largest number of combatants or perpetrators, while women and children comprise the largest segment of victims, with incidences of women and girl children

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being raped and their property destroyed being common. The abuse of women in such conflicts is rooted in a global culture of discrimination that denies women equal status with men and the objectifying of women.

Education and Health In education matters, although there are more girls joining schools at the primary level, the number is considerably reduced at transition to high school. The obstacles include early pregnancies leading to school dropout, traditional and cultural ideas about the roles of girls and women that restrict their contributions and access to education, forced early marriages, female genital cutting, gender-based violence and negative cultural stereotypes, and child labor that primarily uses girls more than boys for home and elderly care. This reduces access to technology that is specifically education related for girls (EFA, 2012). Local-education focused organizations, including the Forum for African Women Education (FAWE), advocate for girls’ education by negotiating with, and encouraging, governments, international organizations and local communities to implement local and international policies on education, and to ensure that learning environments are equally conducive to both girls and boys. If the Kenyan government, through its Ministry of Education, aligned its mission with that of UN Women, and specifically the mission of the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) initiative to inspire and champion responsible management education, research and thought leadership, education for women would greatly benefit. However, that is not currently happening. As far as health is concerned, women’s health issues are complex, and yet they are managed by a male-dominated sector. Although most lowlevel health care personnel are women, most doctors and health care managers are men. This results in ineffective measures to address women and girls’ access to quality and affordable health care including sexual and reproductive health services, inadequate healthcare personnel (current doctor to patient ratio of 1:500), inadequate equipment and medical supplies (Do, Levchenko, & Raddatz, 2011; OECD, 2010).

Recommendations If the Kenyan government could include in its planning the designing of policies that help increase the number of women students in higher education as an intervention for increasing women’s participation in decision making and leadership; clear government policies and actions to

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support them; ensure a broader understanding of the concept of gender equity and affirmative action; and an increase on research on female leadership, this would be in line with the empowerment principles of UN Women. The government should also implement the UN WEPs and the Rio+20 recommendations as far as women’s issues are concerned. Other recommendations include those already made by the Beijing Declaration that are still not achieved such as: Strategic objective C.1 that calls for the increase of women’s access throughout the life-cycle to appropriate, affordable and quality health care, information, technology and related services; Strategic objective D.1 that requires member States to integrate measures to prevent and eliminate violence against women; Strategic objective D.2 that calls for states to link this to D.1, and investigate the causes and consequences of violence against women and plan for effective preventive measures; Strategic objective G.2 that requires governments to plan to increase women’s capacity to participate in decision-making and leadership; and Strategic objective J.2 which calls for the promotion of a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women in the media and in the national culture.

Conclusion This chapter has examined the history, and role of the UN and other development partners, and the process and government policies that started the implementation of actions towards empowering Kenyan’s women. In exploring the current status of women in Kenya, and analyzing their historical contributions in the political, economic and social development of the country, the chapter traced the role played by two major women’s social movements using the critical and ecofeminism theories. The Global Gender Gap Report provides a framework for capturing the magnitude of gender disparities around the world and opens its 2013 report with the observation that “Countries and companies can be competitive only if they develop, attract and retain the best talent, both male and female. While governments have an important role to play in creating the right policy framework for improving women’s access and opportunities.” It is also the imperative of the Government of Kenya to create an environment where women and men (everyone) can flourish. The chapter presented an argument that women, who are in the majority in Kenya, are becoming increasingly visible in top positions in the country. However, patriarchal challenges, including lack of legal and financial support, inadequate health care, ethnic conflicts and stereotypical beliefs about the role of women, are hindering them and even losing them,

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as well as losing some of the gains made over the years. If the government of Kenya could endeavor to increase its knowledge of gender issues and implement effective affirmative action, this would enhance and promote mutual understanding, respect and appreciation between women and men, as well as foster cooperation and sustainable national development.

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Hornsby, C. (2011). Kenya: A history since independence. London: I.B. Tauris Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA). (2013). The Fifth Kenya Economic Report: Creating an Enabling Environment for Stimulating Investment for Competitive and Sustainable Counties. Nairobi: KIPPRA. Leathers, L. (2010). Sociocultural, Sociohistorical, and Sociopolitical Effects on African American Women’s Sense of Self. Dissertation, no. 538, University of Iowa. Educational Psychology Digital Commons. Maathai, W. (2007). Unbowed: A Memoir. New York: Anchor Books. —. (2003). The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience. New York: Lantern Books. Manda, K. D. (2003). Globalization and Labor Market in Kenya, Discussion Paper 6, Nairobi, Kenya: KIPRA. Martinot, Steve (2012). “White Supremacy, the Colonial Commodification of the Land, and the Corporate Structure.” Understanding & Dismantling White Privilege, 2(1), 1–14. Mondo, N. N. (2014). Pioneer Women Leaders in Kenya: Learning from Experience (Order No. 3621786). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. Ndege, P. (2009). Colonialism and Its Legacies in Kenya. Lecture delivered during Fulbright – Hays Group project abroad program: July 5th to August 6th 2009 at the Moi University Main Campus. Ngugi, R . (2009). The Kenyan Woman: Her Historical Relationship with the State. Dissertation, Columbus State University. Retrieved from: Columbus State University Archive https://archive.org /details/ kenyan woman herhi00ngug. Accessed October 17, 2015. Njogu, Kimani, ed. (2013). Citizen Participation in Decision Making: Towards Inclusive Development in Kenya. Nairobi, KEN: Twaweza Communications. Odhiambo, G. (2011) “Women and Higher Education Leadership in Kenya: A Critical Analysis.” Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, (33)6, 667–678. OECD (2010), ”Kenya,” in OECD, Atlas of Gender and Development: How Social Norms Affect Gender Equality in non-OECD Countries, OECD Publishing. DOI: 10.1787/978 9264077478-113-en Owano, N. A. (2014). “Gender Disparities in Kenya.” Journal of Research in Gender Studies, 4(2). Pietilä, H. (2007). The Unfinished Story of Women and the United Nations. UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service.

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Pietilä, H. (2002). Engendering the Global Agenda. The Story of Women and the United Nations. Development Dossier, UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service, Geneve [The short history of women’s participation and activities in the League of the Nations and the United Nations in years 1919–2000.]. Republic of Kenya. (2015). Effective Management for Sustainable Economic Growth and Poverty. —. (2012). Ministry of Labour: Labour Perspectives, Government of Kenya. —. (2012). Ministry of Education. (2012). A Policy Framework for Education, Draft. —. (2007). The Kenya Vision 2030: A Globally Competitive and Prosperous Kenya, first medium term plan, 2008–2012. Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030. —. (2013). Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Facts and Figures. —. (2013). Medium Term Plan 2013–2017. Retrieved from Devolution Planning: www.devolutionplanning.go.ke. Accessed November 23, 2015. Singer, P. (2013). Colonialism, two-spirit identity, and the logics of white supremacy. Retrieved from Afrikaneye Wordpress: http://afrikaneye.wordpress.com/. Accessed November 23, 2015. Smith, A. (2010). “Indigeneity, Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy.” Global Dialogue, 12(2), 1–12. Tarimo, A. J. (2008). Politicization of Ethnic Identities and the Common Good in Kenya.. Journal of Asian and African Studies 45(3):297-308 · Tignor, R. (1977). “Colonial Impact on African Culture in Kenya-The Colonial Transformation of Kenya: The Kamba, Kikuyu, and Maasai from 1900 to 1939.” Africa Today, (24) 2. United Nations. (2000). Beijing+5 Review and Appraisal, The 23rd General Assembly Special Session, UNGASS, New York. —. (2000). Political Declaration and Further actions and initiatives to implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Report of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole of the Twenty-Third Special Session of the General Assembly. A/S-23/10/Rev.1.[This is the Outcome document of the United Nations (2005)]. —. (2005). Review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action: Report of the Secretary General. (E/CN.6/2005/2) [This is the global summary of governments’ replies to the Beijing+10 questionnaire on Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (1995) in 2005.]

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CHAPTER EIGHT WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT IN RWANDA ROBERT DIBIE AND MARYAM O. QUADRI

Introduction The Republic of Rwanda is a country in Central Africa. Rwanda used to be a Belgian colony before it became independent in 1962. Its shares boundaries with the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west, Uganda to the north, Burundi to the south, and Tanzania to the east, in a region that is termed the Great Lakes of Africa because of the shared lakes, namely: Victoria, Kivu, George, Albert, Tanganyika, Kyoga and others. Rwanda is traditionally a patriarchal society where women are subordinated and limited by their “natural” role of child-bearers (Twagiramariya and Turshen, 1998). Even though the 1991 Constitution of Rwanda guarantees equal opportunities for both men and women, female citizens are restricted from equally participating in a wide array of capacity-building opportunities outside the household. This has wider implications for women in Rwanda as it contributes to the discrimination against them in profound and systemic ways. The 2003 Constitution of Rwanda also prohibits gender-based discrimination, but women in the country continue to face social inequality (OCED, 2010). In addition to the 2003 Constitution, the nation’s 1992 Family Code improved the legal position of women with regard to marriage, divorce, and child custody. Provisions of the nation’s Inheritance and Marital Property policies were stated in the 1999 law. Although the law guarantees equal rights for men and women, the nature of the nation’s social and cultural traditions often prevent women from inheriting their late husband’s property or when there is a divorce. According to Hunt (2015), polygamy is legal in the country, and the practice continues to affect at least one out of ten women. The practice and pattern of polygamy is almost the same in both the urban and rural areas in the country. It is also

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reported that approximately 7 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed (OCED, 2010). As a result of the 1994 genocide, approximately one-third of Rwandan women now head their household (UN Human Development Index 2014). In 1994, Rwanda witnessed a genocide in which 800,000 people were killed over a period of 100 days. The roots of the genocide lie in decades of political power struggle between the Hutus and the Tutsis, in colonial and postcolonial relations, and in a tangle of definitions of ethnic identity. Many male citizens were killed during this tragic incident, and many women are now left to raise their children without a husband or father. Rwandan women continue to face discrimination within their family because of the nation’s tradition. According to Green (2012) and Sia (2012), sexual violence was severely aggravated during the Rwanda genocide. These authors also argued that rape was recognized as an instrument of the genocide. Women from the Tutsi ethnic group suffered most from the very high incidence of human rights violations and the incidence of rape (Twagiramariya, and Turshen, 1998). Domestic violence is widespread due to the stereotypical image of women being portrayed as docile and subordinate. The secondary status of the women in Rwanda is commonly linked to high levels of poverty, with its population highly dependent on agriculture for income (Hunt, 2015). The profound discrimination against women has carried over into a postgenocide Rwanda and poses serious problems for women, particularly given that they now constitute roughly 70 per cent of the population. Many survivors are widows who lost their families in the genocide and found themselves displaced, or refugees with no remaining male relatives. Others are women whose husbands fled the country when the Rwanda Patriotic Front-led government took over. Others are young girls whose families were killed or have fled the country. Many households are headed by women who are in turn supporting their elderly parents and children (Hunt 2015; Sia 2013). Another problem that is apparent in rural areas of Rwanda is lack of social development, as the social sector has traditionally been considered a “soft” area within multilateral lending institutions like the World Bank and African Development Bank (Miller, 1998). Thus, the number of gender specialists employed and their ability to influence policy at various levels can be constrained. Class-related problems are acknowledged in this context while those pertaining to gender, ethnicity, and other identities are made invisible in the débâcle. Scarcely addressed, and thus invisible, are the issues of women in resource management in these emerging civil society protest actions. Mainstreaming gender equality in these groups has therefore also

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been a rather elusive project (Green 2012; Twagiramariya and Turshen 1998). Most women in Rwanda have moved away from traditional roles and joined politics in unprecedented numbers. As a result of this sudden interest in politics, Rwanda’s parliament is 64 per cent women. This is the highest number of women in parliament in any country in the world (Hunt, 2015). Several women participated in the drafting of the 2003 Constitution, and they made sure that laws and policies were put in the document to ensure that women have equal opportunity to contribute to the development of Rwanda. Thus, women are now able to own land. In addition, unlike previously, girls can now inherit from their parents as well as their families. These new efforts have given women much-needed economic empowerment. The Rwanda Minister of Gender and Family Promotion stated that the National Government of Rwanda is now focusing on making sure that their girls are being educated so that they can be able to really lead the country in the future (Hunt, 2015). This chapter examines the role of women in governance, social, and economic sectors in Rwanda after the 1994 genocide. It explores how the interface between the influence of culture and socio-legal institutions contributes to inequality and discrimination against women. The chapter argues that a social system fosters certain kinds of behavior on the part of its members, regardless of their personal qualities or gender. As a result, gender inequality manifests itself in the family, labor market, political structure, and in cultural ideological production sectors in Rwanda. In the post-genocide era, the government of Rwanda has encouraged the enhancement of civil, political, and social rights of its citizens. The chapter investigates the nature of engagement and solidarity to promote women’s human rights across the regions of the country. It also explores the widespread stereotypical image of women as docile and subordinate in some communities. The majority of the nation’s women are widows and poor because they are the head of their household and depend on subsistence agriculture. Others are young girls whose families were either killed or have fled the country. The chapter stresses the importance of recognizing how values, norms, and social institutions may foster inequality, reinforce power differentials between genders, and perpetuate violence against women. The concluding section provides some policy recommendations on how to further promote women’s human rights and gender capacity-building.

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Conceptual Framework In Rwanda, various forms of civil society organizations are involved in helping the country to rebuild and accomplish its goal of sustainable development and capacity-building. The current débâcle in Rwanda is about whether women should be given the same rights as their male counterparts. While some citizens argue for equality among men and women, others believe in more freedom for men as well free-market capitalism (African Development Bank report 2013; de Brouwer & Ka Hon Chu 2009). Despite the position or beliefs of citizens on the left and right, the consequences of increased civil society engagement with global governance organizations are unclear. According to the African Development Bank Report (2013) and United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC, 2014), civil society groups can contribute to the empowerment of women. In addition, civil society could also engage in a democratization of global governance by engaging in public education, stimulating public debate, connecting citizens to global governance authorities, pressuring global governance arrangements to become more transparent and strengthen accountability through watchdog activities (African Development Bank report, 2013). They could also help to increase participation by socially excluded groups and providing recognition, a voice for marginalized political identities and provide legal support for the disadvantage women (Bexell et al. 2010; Cornwall 1998). The women’s capacity-building and empowerment roles of civil society organizations is a potential that may not be completely fulfilled in Africa due to traditions, religious factors, and a lack of the political will (Dibie & Dibie, 2012). One thing is, however, most clear: nongovernmental organizations from global, national and local contexts are not necessarily pro-democratic, and the democratic credentials of such actors may themselves be questioned (Saner and Michalun, 2009). The influential transition theory, outlined by O’Donnell and Schmitter (1986), highlights the role of agency in the processes of democratization. The transition theory could therefore be useful when analyzing the interaction between women’s empowerment and capacity building in Rwanda. The bone of contention is, however, how to understand the various trade-offs such as pragmatic and moral values that are involved in trying to bring the former rulers of a particular country to account after a successful transition to democracy. The transition from genocide to a democratic Rwanda resonates well with what O’Donnell and Schmitter (1986) tried to explain.

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According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2014), the economic empowerment of women in any country is a prerequisite for sustainable development, pro-poor growth and the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Rwanda, like any other country, also recognizes that gender equality and empowered women are catalysts for multiplying development efforts. However the political will to invest in gender equality in order to yield the highest return of development is not quite there yet. A common practice in Rwanda is that women often face discrimination and persistent gender inequality, with some women experiencing multiple levels of discrimination and exclusion because of factors such as ethnicity, culture or religious values. The Utilitarian theory of Bentham and Mill (cited in Ferrel et al. 2015) states that a person’s welfare or utility should be maximized. Thus, utilitarianism, in its simplest formulation, claims that the morally right act or policy is that which produces the greatest happiness for the most members of society (cited in Hosmer, 2006). There are two features of utilitarianism. Firstly, the goal which utilitarianism seeks to promote does not depend on the existence of God, or a social, or any other dubious metaphysical entity. Some moral theories say that what matters is the condition of one’s soul, or that one should live according to God’s Divine Will, or that one’s life goes best by loving everlasting life in another realm of being. Many scholars have thought that morality is incoherent without these religious notions (Hayek 1960; Hosmer 2006; Nozick 1974). Without God, all we are left with is a set of rules “do this,” “don’t do that”—which lack any point or purpose. Utilitarianism just demands that the pursuit of human welfare or utility must be done impartially, for everyone (women and men) in society. Whether or not citizens are regarded as God’s children, or have a soul, or free will, government cannot deny that happiness is valuable, since it is something citizens value in their own lives (Hosmer, 2006). Secondly, consequentialism is also attractive because it conforms to peoples’ intuitions about the difference between morality and other spheres. Consequentialism, which seems to demand that anyone who condemns something as morally wrong, needs to show who is wronged. It also provides a straightforward method for resolving moral questions (Geuras & Garofalo, 2010). Finding the morally right answer becomes a matter of measuring changes in human welfare, not of consulting spiritual leaders, or relying on obscure traditions. Utilitarianism, historically, was therefore quite progressive. It demanded that customs and authorities which had oppressed women and poor people for centuries be tested against the standards of human improvement (Ferrel et al. 2015). At its

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best, utilitarianism is a strong weapon against prejudice against human beings, and superstition, providing a standard and a procedure that challenge those who claim authority over others in the name of morality in Africa and around the world. The two major utilitarian attractions are that: (1) it conforms to government intuition that human well-being matters; and (2) to citizens’ intuition that moral rules must be tested for their consequences on humans’ well-being (Hosmer 2006; Ferrel et al. 2015). If human welfare is the good with which morality is concerned, then surely the morally best act is the one which maximizes women’s and men’s welfare, giving equal weight to each person’s welfare. Those who believe that utilitarianism has to be true are convinced that any theory which denies either of these two intuitions must be false. The author of this chapter agrees with the two core intuitions. If there is a way to challenge utilitarianism, it will not take the form of denying citizens (women and men) these intuitions. A successful challenge will have to show that some other theory does a better job of spelling them out. Theorist Robert Nozick has criticized the welfare hedonism account of utility with his experience machine argument (Nozick 1974, 42–45). Further, this may sound paradoxical. However, it raises a true and important point. Utilitarianism is essentially a standard of rightness, not a decision procedure (Brink 1986, 421–427). What defines utilitarianism is the claim that the right act is the one that maximizes utility, not the claim that people should deliberately seek to maximize utility (Sanger 1979; Hosmer 2006). Some utilitarians continue to claim that utilitarianism requires a radical critique of the arbitrary and irrational aspects of everyday morality (Singer, 1979). But it is unlikely that utilitarianism will ever form a coherent political movement, such as those which characterized its birth. The problem is that the winds of utilitarian argumentation blow in too many directions. For example, while some utilitarians argue that utility is maximized by massive redistribution of wealth due to the declining marginal utility of money, others defend laissez-faire capitalism because it creates more wealth (Ferrel et al. 2015). Given these disagreements about how and when to measure utility, utilitarianism is bound to yield fundamentally opposed judgment. Thus, modern utilitarianism, despite its radical heritage, no longer defines a distinctive political position. Rawls has two arguments for his principles of justice. One is to contrast his theory with what he takes to be the prevailing ideology concerning distributive justice, namely, the ideal of equality of opportunity. He argues that his theory better fits our considered intuitions concerning justice, and that it gives a better spelling out of the very ideas of fairness to which the prevailing ideology appeals. The second argument is quite different: Rawls (2001) argues that his principles of justice are superior because they are the

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outcome of a hypothetical social contract. He claims that if people in a certain kind of pre-social state had to decide which principles should govern their society, they would choose his principles (Rawls, 2001). According to Pettit (1991), each person in what Rawls calls the original position has a rational interest in adopting Rawls’s principles for the governing of social cooperation (Pettit, 1991). Rawls’s main argument is a social contract about what sort of political morality people (women and men) would choose if they were setting up a society from an original position. In the literature, different theorists have used this technique, and Hobbes, Locke, Kant, and Rousseau came up with different answers. But they have all been subject to the same criticism, namely, that there never was such a state of nature, or such a contract. Hence neither citizens nor government are bound by it. Contracts only create obligations if they are actually agreed to. Human beings (women and men) can say that a certain agreement is the contract that people would have signed in some state of nature, and so is a hypothetical contract (Sen, 2009). But as Dworkin says, a hypothetical agreement is not simply a pale form of an actual contract; it is no contract at all (Dworkin, 1977, 151). Part of the idea of being moral equals is the claim that none of us is inherently subordinate to the will of others, none of us comes into the world as the property of another, or as their subject. Human beings (men and women) are all born free and equal (Sen, 2009; Ferell et al. 2015). Throughout most of history, many groups have been denied this equality. In feudal societies, for example, peasants were viewed as naturally subordinate to the aristocracy. It was the historical mission of classical liberals like Locke to deny these feudal premises. And the way that they made clear their denial that some people were naturally subordinate to others was to imagine a state of nature in which people were equal in status. As Rousseau said, man is born free, and yet everywhere is in chains. The idea of a state of nature does not, therefore, represent an anthropological claim about the pre-school existence of human beings, but a moral claim about the absence of natural subordination among human beings, especially women and the poor. The utilitarian idea of giving equal weight to each person’s preferences has some initial plausibility as a way of showing equal concern for people’s welfare. But on inspection, utilitarianism often violates our sense of what it is to treat people as equal, especially in its lack of a theory of fair share. This was Rawls’s motivation for developing a conception of justice that provides a systematic alternative to utilitarianism. Thus, the more fortunate only receive extra resources if it benefits the unfortunate or least advantaged. But the difference principle is both an overreaction and also an insufficient reaction to the problem of undeserved inequalities. Dworkin’s theory of auctions and

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insurance is one suggestion for fairly resolving the tension created by Rawls’s conception of equality. Thus, Rawls’s egalitarianism is a reaction against utilitarianism, but is also partly a development from utilitarianism’s core intuitions and the same is true of Dworkin’s relationship to Rawls. Each theory defends its own principles by appealing to the very intuitions that led people to adopt the previous theory. According to Nozick (1974), individuals (women or men) have rights, and there are things no person or group may do to them without violating their rights. Nozick (1974) also presented a brilliant account of justice in his entitlement theory. According to him, if we assume that everyone is entitled to the goods they currently possess, then a just distribution is simply whatever distribution results from people’s free exchanges. Any distribution that arises by free transfer from a just or legitimate situation is itself just. For the government to tax these exchanges against anyone’s will is unjust, even if the taxes are used to compensate for the extra costs of someone’s undeserved natural handicaps. The only legitimate taxation is to raise revenues for maintaining the background institutions needed to protect the system of freeexchange, e.g., the police and justice system needed to enforce people’s free exchanges. Habermas’s (1979) theory provides another alternative to Rawls’s original position, and the various critiques associated with it. As an heir to the early Frankfurt School of Critical Social Theory, Habermas has long argued that the idea of critique found in Marx and the tradition of Western Marxism is in need of a renewed normative grounding. He revised Marx’s emphasis on the material forces of production and the class struggle so that it would apply to advanced capitalist societies, especially to Max Weber’s dark picture of increased rationalization. Habermas (1979) approached this without Weber’s pessimism and within Marx’s hopes for human emancipation. He further analyzed the instrumental rationality of advanced capitalist society and culture, and offered a theory of communicative competence. Such a theory may help to analyze both the deep structure of society and to transform it in the interests of the emancipation of women and men. According to Habermas (1979), the advanced capitalist societies were developed on the basis of economic and political levels but, since this has led to domination from above via science and technology, the mass of the population has become depoliticized, and has lost motivation, trust, and consensus. Hence, there is the need to restore integration via developing communicative competence in the realms of culture, society and personality. In the early 1970s, Habermas turned his focus away from epistemology to linguistic groundings, with the aid of insights from contemporary social theory and an analytical philosophy of language. An important part of this

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project has been the development of what he calls discourse or communicative ethics. The basic idea of discourse ethics is thus that “only those norms can claim to be valid that meet with the approval of all affected in their capacity as participants in a practical discourse” (Habermas, 1970). In defining what he meant by a practical discourse, Habermas introduces his own principle of universalizability as a constitutive rule of argumentation. He also claims that this principle could be derived from the pragmatic presuppositions of argumentation when these presuppositions are combined with a notion of what it means to justify a norm of action. According to Habermas, the clarification of this pragmatic presupposition is the task of a theory of formal pragmatics. Habermas also wants the evaluation of different ways of life to be a political question or public policy issue, but unlike communitarians, he does not hope that this political deliberation could promote human rights and the alleviation of poverty in all societies. Indeed, he thinks that political deliberation is required precisely because in its absence people (men and women) will tend to accept existing practices as givens, and thereby perpetuate the false needs and false consciousness which accompany those historical practices. For Habermas, although he was not clear about the two independent parallels between the case of truth and justice, the author believes that he offered a way of drawing the parallel between justice and truth. The main point to be made is that justice is implicitly claimed not only by someone making an assertion, but also by someone giving an order, putting a request, offering advice, and so on. By engaging themselves in this communicative action oriented towards reaching an understanding, people accord mutual accountability to each other in relation to the validity of three universal claims they raise in their speech (which are identified by Habermas as truth, normative legitimacy and sincerity, with the middle one occupying a central position in critical theory); and to such an understanding ought to be attached great importance. Put in a nutshell, the just sociopolitical arrangement is the one which would attract consensus between women and men in such an extended, autonomous communicative process. As a result, women’s economic participation and empowerment are fundamental to strengthening women’s rights and enabling women to have control over their lives and exert influence in society (Eyben, 2008).

Analysis of Gender issues in Rwanda The history of the world will always remember April 4, 1994. This was the day that the Rwandan genocide, which took an estimated 1.2 million lives,

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began. Unfortunately, most of the 1.2 million people killed belonged to the Tutsi ethnic (Twagiramariya and Turshen 1998). The crisis was exacerbated by ethnic rivalry between the two major ethic groups in the country. According to Green (2012), when European colonizers reached Rwanda they encountered a land inhabited by three groups: the Tutsi, the Hutu, and the Twa. These three groups were not distinguishable tribes with different cultures and customs. Instead, they had “developed a single and highly sophisticated language, Kinyarwanda. The Hutu, Tutsi and Twa people had also crafted a common set of religious and philosophical beliefs, as well as created a culture which valued song, dance, poetry, and rhetoric” (Hunt, 2015). During the Belgian colonial rule that began after the First World War, for reasons known only to the Belgians, favored the Tutsi more than the Hutu and Twa. The Tutsi were particularly showered with European social welfare status, economic and social policies (Nduwimana, 2004). Green (2012), however, contends that the occupation and physical characteristics differentiated the three groups. The Hutu, comprising the vast majority of the population, were peasants with standard Bantu physical characteristics, resembling the Ugandan or Tanganyikan populations (Hunt 2015; Palash 2012). In addition, the Twa, comprising only approximately 1 per cent of the population, were pygmies and either hunter-gatherers or servants (Brunet, and Solon Helal, 1998). The Tutsi, cattle-herders with particular phenotypes distinct from the Hutu and Twa, constituted the remainder of the population. The Tutsi were extremely tall and thin with angular facial features (Hunt 2015). The Europeans used these phenotypic differences between the three groups to produce a theory of ethnic superiority: the Twa were at the bottom, followed by the Hutu, with the Tutsi at the top of what constituted an ethnic hierarchy (Green, 2012). What was distinguishing during this period is that the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa were, in large part, a creation of colonialism (Hunt, 2015). After gaining Rwanda from the Germans following World War I, the Belgian authorities systematized indirect rule over Rwanda through Tutsis who had been educated at missionary-run schools (Palash 2012; Nduwimana 2004). This method of governance, combined with the Tutsi elite’s recognition that supporting the ethnic hierarchy created by the colonialists would benefit them, led to a substantial Tutsi superiority and its “institutionalization in the colonial state apparatus” (Green 2012; Gervais 2004). To further compound the discrimination against the Hutu and Twa, the Tutsi, who were the minority group, were given opportunities to seek higher education. In most cases, the Belgian colonial administration

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deliberately gave the Tutsis more administrative positions than the other ethnic groups (Twagiramariya and Turshen 1998). In addition to this pattern of discrimination, the Belgian colonial administration officially delineated identities through registration (Nduwimana, 2004). This colonial policy instigated resentment among the Hutu. The act also set the stage for the ethnic conflict that led to the April 4, 1994 genocide (Sai, 2012). It should be noted, however, that the animosity between the Hutu, Twas and Tutsi that was caused by the Belgian colonial administration was a major reason that galvanized the Hutu majority to seek solidarity and form political support. The new political mobilization of the Hutu also propelled them to take over the government of the country from Belgian rule in 1962 (Nduwimana, 2004; Twagiramariya and Turshen 1998). After taking over from the Belgian colonial administration in 1962, a series of military coups occurred in the country. One of these resulted in a Hutu named Juvenal Habyarimana becoming president in 1973 (Hunt, 2015). Since the Tustsi were previously favored by the colonial administration they became afraid of a government head by a Hutu ethnic group member. During Habyarimana’s presidency, thousands of Tutsi fled the country because the Hutus engaged in reverse discrimination policies and violence against them. Green (2012) contends that the Tutsi who fled to neighboring countries later formed the Uganda-based Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF). This militia rebel group eventually ended the genocide that took place in 1994. According to Gervais (2004), there were pressures from growing internal opposition and international donors, both pushing for a more moderate government, as well as threats of invasion by the RPF, threatening Habyarimana’s monopoly on power. The situation got out of hand on April 6, 1994, when a plane carrying President Habyarimana was shot down in Kigali, the capital. This incident gave the Hutu extremists the opportunity to further explore the intense ethnic tensions and conflict they had fuelled through various means, including an anti-Tutsi propaganda campaign (Green 2012; Twagiramariya and Turshen 1998). The tension of Habyarimana’s death became the last straw that made the Rwandan Armed Forces and the Hutu militia groups set up roadblocks and begin a house-tohouse search to find and murder Tutsi. It is estimated that almost 1.2 million Rwandan men, women, and children were slaughtered in the genocidal persecution of Tutsi and in massacres of moderate Hutus within 100 days of the crash of President Habyarimana’s plane in Kigali (Twagiramariya and Turshen 1998). The bone of contention, however, is that the nation’s media before this genocidal incident had often portrayed Tutsi women as evil seductresses,

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transformed into pistols to conquer Rwanda (Askin, 2005). This alreadyestablished image of the Tutsi women contributed to the use of sexual violence during the genocide. The existence of such hate-propaganda targeting Tutsi women supports the argument that the sexual violence was not a mere side-effect of the conflict, but rather an integral part of the genocidal campaign led by the Hutu (Burnett 2005; Askin, 1999). According to Green (2012), the notion of Tutsi women being overly sexual in the country, where a woman’s virginity is important, sent the wrong message that Tutsi women were deserving of the sexual violence and humiliation inflicted on them during the genocide by the Hutu militia group. The aftermath of the genocide was that rape came from all sides. It was reported by Des Forges (1999), a human rights watch representative, that the Rwanda Armed Forces and the Hutu militia group carried out most of the sexual violence. On the other hand, the Tutsi women contend that the sexual violence that took place was not merely a side-effect of the genocide, but rather an integral part of it (Green, 2012). During the 100-day period of the genocide, women were violently raped. Rape during the genocide was particularly brutal because it was used as a weapon of war. Many of the women were physically mutilated and psychologically scarred for life (de Brouwer and Ka Hon Chu, 2009). United Nations Special Rapporteur on Rwanda Rene Degni-Segui, in a 1996 report, estimated that between 250,000 to 500,000 women and girls were raped in the course of the genocide. He also found that psychological problems have been what the women victims most commonly shared. There are varied sources of the shame associated with sexual violence. For example, African tradition prohibits the sexual acts committed and considers them taboo (Nduwimana, 2004). The stigmatization associated with these acts has compounded their detrimental effects all women. Indeed, women victims of sexual violence have demonstrated a variety of responses ranging from over-sensitivity and shame to a form of madness (UN Human Development Index 2001). Over two decades after the genocide and malicious rape incidents, the aftermath of the débâcle is still very real. Approximately 15,000 children had been born out of these rapes and thousands of women and children were infected with HIV (Hunt 2015). The stigma caused by rape has forced these women and children to live on the margins of society (Sai, 2012). Rwanda is regarded as a country where the culture portrays women as dependents of their male relatives and first and foremost as wives and mothers, so sexual violence has had particularly devastating effects (Brunet & Helal, 1998). This is because the traditional Rwandan society values women for the number of children they can produce. Therefore the

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excessive rape, physical mutilation and violence produces a dual harm: a physical harm based on the injury itself, and an emotional and social harm for the woman who can no longer reproduce and thus fulfil her role as a mother (Green, 2012). The rape and sexual violence situation has also caused women to be silenced and neglected by their community and families. According to Flanders (2000), Human Rights Watch (2000) and Green (2012) the sexual violence that the nation’s women suffered has also resulted in social exclusion. As a result of the rape, most women no longer have any value in their society. Raped girls constantly feared that they would no longer be able to find husbands. As a result such girls have fled their homes to live in seclusion and anonymity (Twagiramariya and Turshen 1998). Forced impregnation has had deep psychological effects on Tutsi women. Suffered exclusively by women, forced pregnancy involves a violation of, among other things, reproductive freedom and sexual autonomy, and has had lasting effects, given that the women may then have to raise the offspring (Brunet and Helal, 1998). Another very painful experience is that Tutsi women who became pregnant have suffered intense shame and ostracization in a society that is particularly unwilling to accept unwed mothers (Flanders 2000; Hunt 2015). Moreover, mistreatment by society, including by their own families, has led many unmarried mothers to resort to abortion or infanticide. The passage of time is unlikely to cure the psychological harm done to the victims of forced impregnation (Green, 2002). The emergence of HIV/AIDS in the past two decades, and the complex interaction between the virus and conflicts, has reinforced both the human and state security dimensions of disease. Whilst the state security dimension focuses on the collapse of the apparatus of governance, the human security dimension focuses on threats to the vulnerable groups, especially women and girls, during conflicts (UNDP, 2013). According to Nduwimana (2004), the profound discrimination against women has carried over into a post-genocide Rwanda and poses serious problems for women, particularly given that they now constitute roughly 70 per cent of the population. Many survivors are widows who lost their families in the genocide and found themselves displaced, or refugees with no remaining male relatives (Richter-Lyonette 1997). Others are women whose husbands fled the country when the RPF-led government took over. And still others are young girls whose families were killed or have fled the country (Green, 2012). Many households are headed by women who are in turn supporting children of their own, children of relatives, and orphans they have taken in. Their subordinate status continues to disadvantage

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them as they attempt to rebuild their lives (Brunet & Helal, 1998). As a result of past and current discrimination, many female genocide survivors have been reduced to an even lower standard of living now that they are widowed or orphaned. Most female genocide survivors have little education, lack marketable skills, and are often denied access to their husband’s or father’s property because they are women (Twagiramariya & Turshen 1998). During the post-genocide period, domestic violence has spread due to the stereotypical image of women being portrayed as docile and subordinate. The secondary status of the women in Rwanda is commonly linked to high levels of poverty, with its population highly dependent on agriculture for income (OECD, 2010; Sai 2012). The problem of domestic violence in Rwanda has led some scholars to argue that more than a decade after the genocide crisis women do not seem to have equal rights to capacity building in either the urban or rural communities (de Brouwer &. Ka Hon Chu 2009; Gervais 2004; Newbury & Baldwin 2001). It is very important to note however, that Rwanda is a traditionally patriarchal society where women are subordinated and limited by their “natural” role as child-bearers.

Some New Gender-Related Laws There are very many new gender laws that have been passed by the government of Rwanda. The 1991 Constitution guarantees equal opportunities for men and women, however in practice these rights are not protected (Hunt 2015; Sai 2012). The 1992 family Code also has provisions that call for the legal position of women with regard to marriage, divorce and child custody. The government has also passed the women’s property rights policy through a 1999 Inheritance Law that grants equal inheritance rights to sons and daughters. This law also provides protection of property rights within marriage for women in Rwanda (Hunt, 2015). The 1999 Inheritance and Marital Property Law also guarantee equal rights for men and women. Despite these laws, social and cultural obstacles prevent women from inheriting property from their husbands or fathers (OCED, 2010). Articles 11 and 33 of the Constitution of Rwanda, adopted May 2003 (cited in Committee on the Rights of the Child [CRC], 2004, p.4), confirmed that the 2003 Constitution of Rwanda prohibits gender-based discrimination, but women in the country nonetheless continue to face social inequalities. The 1992 Family Code improved the legal position of women in regard to marriage, divorce and child custody (ECOSOC, 2003).

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Rwanda ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Violence Against Women (CEDAW) in 1981, and the Optional Protocol in 2008 (UNTC, 2011). Rwanda was one of the first countries to ratify the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa in 2004 (African Union, 2010). Rwanda has recently strengthened its laws protecting women’s physical integrity. Rape, including spousal rape, is a criminal offense in Rwanda, with sentences of 5–10 years, or the death penalty, if the attack results in the victim’s death (Hunt 2015; CEDAW 2007, p.41). In an attempt to further liberalize the status of women, Rwanda enacted the law on the Prevention, Protection, and Punishment of Any Gender-Based Violence in April 2009. The law was Rwanda’s first comprehensive legislation on violence against women. The new policy also addressed spousal violence, marital rape, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse of children in its definition of gender-based violence, and lists the occurrence of such violence as grounds for divorce (Institute for Inclusive Security [ISS], 2008). The law recommends imprisonment of six months to two years for these crimes. Additionally, a broad support network has been set up: each police station in the nation has a gender desk officer trained in gendersensitivity, and public outreach programs (United States Department of State, 2010). Despite these laws, violence against women continues to prevail in Rwanda. For example, the United States Department of State reported that between January and June 2010, police investigated 1,572 cases of gender-based violence (United States Department of State, 2011). In 2005, almost 31 per cent of women reported having experienced violence, and more than 19 per cent of women had experienced some form of violence in the previous 12 months (INSR and ORC Macro, 2006). It is also very important to note that among those who had ever experienced violence, the husband or ex-husband was the perpetrator in more than 66 per cent of the cases (INSR and ORC Macro, 2006). The culture of Rwanda requires the issue of domestic violence to be dealt with within the extended family rather than being referred to the police or other law enforcement agencies (United States Department of State, 2011). These cultural practices tend to deny the country’s women access to external support and justice. In addition, nearly 13 per cent of women reported experiencing some form of sexual violence (INSR and ORC Macro, 2006). Women are often unwilling to report sexual assaults, due to shame and taboos regarding discussion of anything to do with sex (CEDAW 2007). The unwillingness to report sexual assaults on women has wider implications for women in Rwanda as it contributes to the discrimination against them in profound and systemic ways. Further, many women are

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not aware of their rights due to a lack of available information in a system that allows discrimination against women to continue. Following the death of a father, the eldest son obtains all the household property upon his marriage (Palash 2012; OCED, 2010). Despite these laws the physical integrity of women in the country is not effectively and properly protected. Women are still often beaten by their spouse (Hunt, 2015). Laws are not effectively implemented (OCED, 2010). The most troubling aspect of all this is that abused women rarely make reports to the police. Most domestic violence issues are settled privately by family members. In previous years, Rwanda’s parliament passed pivotal laws enabling women to own land and daughters to inherit property. The legislature’s newly formed Forum for Parliamentary Women played a central role in both bills. A close analysis of the new gender policies in Rwanda reveals that some of the policies contradict each other. On the one hand, the 2003 Constitution of Rwanda prohibits gender-based discrimination, while on the other, the Civil Code limits women’s movement. The Civil Code stipulates that married women are not entitled to choose their place of residence, but must respect their husband’s decision.

Some Gender Status Improvement The status of Rwandan women has improved considerably since the 1994 genocide: women have come to play a more important role in the formal sector, although the majority of Rwandan women still work in subsistence farming. Approximately one-third of Rwandan women now head their households (INSR, 2006). In subsequent elections, female members of parliament widened their margin. In the most recent elections women picked up even more seats in the national parliament and now hold 64 per cent (Palash, 2012). Thirty per cent of seats in the national parliament is a given, the quota set in the post-genocide constitution to boost women’s representation throughout the government (Green, 2012). Unlike most African nations’ leaders, the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), led by President Kagame, has done very well in selecting 50 per cent women to play active roles in his cabinet. It must be noted that President Kagame is not pushing for women just for the sake of promoting gender equality (Palash 2012; Green 2012). To his credit, he is mostly interested in women with high ethical and education standards as well as experience. Rwanda has thus become the first nation in the world to elect 64 per cent of its national legislature as women. This is a standard that other African leaders should emulate. Table 8-1 shows Rwanda’s human development index relative to other African countries.

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55.6

55.3

55.6

58.2

57.4

56.9

58.0

60.5

Togo

Guinea

Sub-Saharan Africa

Low HDI

8.3

8.8

7.4

8.5

10.3

9.8

10.1

10.1

11.9

10.2

3.1

3.7

0.8

3.3

3.1

Female

5.1

5.4

2.6

6.7

3.6

Male

Mean Years of Schooling

Source: United Nations Development Programme (2014). Human Development Report

62.4

65.7

Male

Female

Female

Male

Expected Years of Schooling

Life Expectancy at Birth

Rwanda

Countries

2,011

2,492

0.913

0.998

1.263

Female

3,789

3,812

1.370

1,263

1.550

Male

GNI per Capita

Table 8-1 Rwanda’s Gross Development Index Compared to Selected African Countries

236

0.446

0.460

0.344

0.401

0.463

Female

0.535

0.531

0.439

0.499

0.950

Male

Human Development Index Values

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According to the United Nations Development Programme’s (2014) Human Development Report, Rwanda made has progress in each of the Human Development indicators. Between 1980 and 2013, Rwanda’s life expectancy at birth increased by 16.1 years. The nation’s mean years of schooling also increased by 2.2 years and expected years of schooling for females and males increased by 8.3 years. Rwanda Gross National Income per capita increased by about 57.3 per cent between 1980 and 2013. In addition, Rwanda has a gender-inequality index of 0.410, ranking the nation 79th out of 149 countries. In Rwanda, 64 per cent of parliamentary seats are held by women and 7.4 per cent of women have reached at least a secondary level of education compared to 8 per cent of their male counterparts (UNDP Human Development Report, 2014). Further, the human development index value for Rwanda is 0.463 in contrast with 0.487 for male, resulting in a Gross Development Index (GDI) value of 0.950 (UNDP Human Development Report, 2014). The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) continues to train young men and women from rural areas to go back to their communities and urge parents to let their children be educated. The Ministry of Education reports that girls complete high school at rates slightly higher than boys and that the percentage of women at universities is steadily on the rise. Still, despite the many strides, there have been controversies and obstacles. It could therefore be argued that Rwandan women have taken control of their country’s affairs simply because they had no other choice. By 1999, when women proved themselves adept at starting up and operating profitable businesses, property laws were amended to permit female ownership of land and other assets. As a result of new laws in the country Rwandan women have also gained the right to inherit property. It is reported that Rwandan women tend to have a better understanding of the problems of both their homes and the nation’s. As a result of the culture of the country, men used to think that women were there to be in the house, cook food, and look after the children. However the real problems of a family are known by women and when they do it, they help the country to get much better (de Brouwer & Ka Hon Chu, 2009). Women have also apparently taken a key role in restoring the nation’s economy, particularly its coffee-growing sector, for with neither scarce natural resources nor much manufacturing, agriculture is still the dominant sector (Palash, 2012). As in every African country, not all are very rich or successful: some women in Rwanda from poor, landless households usually work in agriculture for their survival. Some of them also engage in

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trade, like the other women, but their hands are full combining wage labor, domestic work, and farm work on their rented rain-fed fields. According to Hunt (2015), the impact of female leadership has yet to reach women who live in rural areas or have lower levels of education. A report published few years ago by the German development fund and the Rwandan government noted that women’s participation in some locallevel positions is as low as 3 per cent (Sai 2012; Hunt 2015). The government of Rwanda-owned Gender Monitoring Office documented a “wide existing gender gap” between policy and practice. Thus, it could be argued that gender equality has not fully trickled down to the grassroots level despite laws, policies, strategies, and mechanisms that have been introduced by the government of President Kagame.

Policy Recommendations The genocide that occurred in Rwanda in 1994 created a deep and profound wound in the citizenry’s heart: the incident and its aftermath devastated women and men alike. However, more than twenty years after the events, Rwanda now has more women in parliament than any other country. One thing is clear: more political participation of women meant that women in the country have better educational and economic empowerment to effectively enhance their rule in the sustainable development processes in Rwanda.

Legal Reform Over the past decade, some progress has been made in addressing legal safeguards against violence. In Rwanda, the country has adopted legislation specifically prohibiting domestic violence. The female empowerment laws that do exist are, however, not effectively implemented. The lack of effective implementation of appropriate gender public policies often result in increased cost structures, and monitoring and evaluation for accountability. In some cases the laws in Rwanda tend to have double standards or loopholes. For example, men found guilty of rape may be given a chance to marry the victim to avoid jail. But what if the affected women do not wish to marry such criminals? This a question that has not been satisfactorily answered by local government officials. The government of Rwanda must establish better legal protection for women in the country. The new legal system must include measures to address violence affecting children, including corporal punishment. Corporal punishment, however light, is a clear violation of the Convention

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on the Rights of the Child. There are also correlations between childhood experiences of sexual violence and adult experiences of sexual and domestic violence, which again continues the cycle of physical abuse. Corporal punishment is clearly an important link in the chain that can lead to HIV/AIDS infection and other diseases for women and girls.

Guaranteed Equal Rights of Women and Men before the Law The vast majority of the new laws in Rwanda provide for equality of citizens or their equal protection before the law, with some explicitly specifying equality or equal protection regardless of sex or making specific reference to equality between men and women. The government of Rwanda must make take additional efforts to guarantee equal rights for men and women by effectively implementing the current new gender laws of the country. It is very important to know that constitutional declarations of equal rights between men and women (or regardless of sex) appear to be more common and effective than prohibitions of discrimination.

Property Inheritance Law The 1999 Inheritance and Marital Property Law also guarantees equal rights for men and women. Despite these laws, social and cultural obstacles prevent women from inheriting property from their husbands or fathers (Hunt 2015; OCED, 2010). Although in most Rwandan urban areas women are now able to own land, and girls are also able to inherit from their parents or their families, the women in most rural communities do not have such rights (OCED 2010; Green 2012). Property rights in Rwanda are also defined through a mix of customary and religious laws. These multiple legal frameworks continue to create contradictions and confusion about what women’s rights are, and which ones should be recognized. This unfortunate practice in the country is very distressing for women. As a result, the harmonization of laws across different statutes, urban and rural communities in Rwanda is an essential step toward strengthening women’s property rights in the country. Constitutionally guaranteeing equal protection for women and men, especially women’s right to own property such as land or inherent property from their late father or husband would be a capstone for Rwanda’s women’s economic empowerment.

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Awareness Laws and Reform There are many gender-specific laws that have been enacted by the government of Rwanda since 1999. These laws stipulate and guarantee equal rights for men and women in the country. In spite of these laws, poverty, illiteracy social and cultural obstacles tend to prevent women from experiencing the benefits of the law (OCED, 2010; Hunt 2015; Green 2012). In addition, many women, especially those in the rural areas, are not aware of their rights due to lack of available information that allows discrimination against women to continue. Therefore, the government of Rwanda should adopt comprehensive awareness-raising strategies and campaign on the nature, scope and seriousness of sexual and gender-based violence at all levels. This action is necessary to ensure the protection of survivors from discrimination and stigmatization, and engage men and boys, as well as government officials, community and religious leaders, the media, women’s groups and other opinion makers in promoting and protecting the rights and welfare of women and children. The aggressive promotion and creating the awareness of all the laws that protect women or enhance equality between women and men is paramount. The dissemination of the awareness campaign should include both rural and urban regions of the country.

Create Visible Women Civil Society Groups One of the components of participatory development today is eliciting the views and feedback of stakeholders as a means of redressing the communication gap between policy makers and local groups. Creating active women’s civil society groups in Rwanda will further enhance the articulation of gender laws and their implementation all over the country. Women’s civil society groups have been on the rise as evidenced in the series of demonstrations held in some African countries. These protests are linked to an international movement towards globalization of women’s equal rights in all spheres. Globalization has been defined as a political and ideological construct that promotes the opening up and integration of national economies into a neo-liberal market economy that fails to address equity issues within and among nations and individuals. Initially, much of the resentment of Rwandan women’s civil society groups has been directed towards the girls and women’s rights to equally participate in the social, political, economic and sustainable development of Rwanda. To create gender-sensitive and pro-poor indicators in Rwanda the underlying data must first be “engendered” by incorporating the effect of

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differences between women’s and men’s lives into all data definition, collection and processing procedures. In addition, all individual-level data obtained (including that collected through gender-blind methodologies) must be disaggregated by sex in order to highlight the different experiences and situations of women and men, and by relevant socioeconomic variables in order to reveal the specific experiences and situations of poor women and men. Finally, construction of the gendersensitive and pro-poor indicators needs to consider the relevant experiences and perspectives of women’s issues and concerns.

Conclusion This chapter has examined the fundamental ideal of equality among women and men in Rwanda. It explores how the interface between the influence of culture and socio-legal institutions contributes to inequality and discrimination against women in the country. The chapter presents an argument that a social system fosters certain kinds of behavior on the part of its members regardless of their personal qualities or gender. Gender inequality in Rwanda is therefore manifested in the family, labor market, political structure, and in cultural ideological production sectors in Rwanda. The question of a successful justice theory has never been answered by political philosophers. The trend of modern-day philosophical theorists has always been taking different extreme positions, notably “left and right”. But if the disagreement between these values of contemporary political theory is really foundational, how can they be integrated into a single theory that is applicable to Rwanda? Egalitarian theories require that the government treat its citizens (women and men) with equal consideration. Thus, each citizen is entitled to equal concern and respect. Also, the basic notion of equality and fairness is found in Nozick’s libertarianism as well as in utilitarianism theories. While people on the left believe that equality of income or wealth is a precondition for treating people (women and men) as equals, those on the right believe that equal rights over one’s labor and property are a precondition for treating people as equal. It is the opinion of the authors of this chapter that the idea of an egalitarian plateau for political argument is potentially better able to accommodate both the diversity and unity of contemporary political situation in Rwanda. The government of post-genocide Rwanda has introduced a number of reforms including policies for more systematic and extensive civil society engagement, gender equality policy in recruitment of staff into all

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government ministries and agencies, a public communication policy making public disclosure the rule, and an innovative accountability mechanism. These reforms are probably not primarily intended to make the government of Rwanda more democratic and accountable to its male and female citizens, but are, apparently, mechanisms to accommodate both the diversity and unity of contemporary political institutions in Rwanda. It is also very important to note that these reforms have also attracted more domestic and international nongovernment organizations’ actors to increase their influence on the women’s empowerment and capacity-building training process. In order not to devalue the concept of democracy and shared governance in Rwanda, it is crucial for the government of the country to establish more gender-sensitive and pro-poor policies. This is because poor women and men need to work as equal partners in the accomplishment of sustainable development goals of Rwanda. Future policies should also establish mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the actions of decision-makers and hold them accountable for the achievement of gender-sensitive and pro-poor outcomes. Gender-sensitive and pro-poor governance indicators are essential inputs to accomplishing good and shared governance in Rwanda.

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CHAPTER NINE WOMEN AND CAPACITY-BUILDING IN GHANA LEONARD GADZEKPO

Introduction The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. The nation was formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory (La Verle, 1994). It became the first sub-Saharan African country to achieve independence from Britain, in 1957 (BBC, 2011; Central Intelligent Agency 2016; Chazan 1992). Ghana has boundaries with the Ivory Coast to the west, the Republic of Togo to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the south and the Republic of Burkina Faso to the North. The population of Ghana was 28.5 million in 2016 (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2017). Women constitute approximately 49.1 per cent of the population, while males are about 50.9 per cent (World Economic Forum, 2013). Since 1957, Ghana has experienced growth, stagnation, and then limped into a vibrant development at the beginning of the twenty-first century. New development opportunities point to potential and robust sustainable development, economic growth and capacity-building, if all resources, especially human resources, are harnessed. The current system of government in Ghana could be described as a presidential representative democracy. Under this system of government the president serves as both the head of state and head of government (CIA, 2016). The country’s gross domestic product per capita in 2017 is approximately US$1,381.41. Ghana has natural resources such as gold, timber, diamonds, bauxite, manganese, and fish. The nation’s top exports include crude petroleum ($2.66B), gold ($2.39B), cocoa beans ($2.27B), cocoa paste ($382M) and cocoa butter ($252M) (Observation of Economic Complexity 2017; World Bank Group 2017). Some scholars have argued that over the past few decades the social and economic well-being of women as mothers, traders, farmers, and

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office workers in Ghana has changed drastically (Hojlund 2012; Women in Ghana 2016; Awumbila 2006; Adu-Gyamerah 2007). For instance, the social and economic capabilities of women in Ghana vary by generation, location, and culture as well from rural to urban societies (Adu-Gyamerah (2007; Little, 1997; Awumbila 2006; Hojlund 2012). In some traditional Ghanaian rural societies, marriages are conducted under the nation’s customary law. Marriages under this law are often agreed by fathers and other kinsmen of the couple (Owusu-Ansah 1994). This was one of the reasons why marriage within some ethnic groups was preferred because it tends to link two families together in a social relationship (Wumbila, 2006). The marriage dynamics in Ghana have begun to change from traditional practice. According to Hojlund (2012) marriages in the country now vary in rural and urban societies. While more modern-style marriages in which women are encouraged to choose their husband take place in the urban communities, the traditional methods of parents, kinsmen, ethnic integration and customary laws still take place in some rural areas (Awumbila, 2006). In addition, the urban wife is often seen as a partner, rather than as a subordinate, unlike what a woman or wife would be expected to practice in many rural settings. The implication of this urban liberal approach to marriage in Ghana is, however that it is often harder for the urban wife to address grievances or leave her husband because of that responsibility and lack of family support that rural women are traditionally required to practice (Hojlund. (2012). It is interesting to note that among the matrilineal ethnic groups, such as the Akan people in Ghana, married women continue to reside at their maternal homes (Lloyd & Anastasia, 1993). Under this type of marriage system meals prepared by the wife would be carried to the husband at his maternal house. Furthermore, in some polygynous situations in rural and some urban areas, visitation schedules would be arranged for the second and third wives and their children (Women in Ghana 2016; Owusu-Ansah, 1994). In most rural, and in some urban, societies in Ghana, the traditional division of wealth tends to place women in positions subordinate to men or their husbands. According to Dibie and Atibil 2012) since women are the foundation of the family, the national government and societies in subSaharan Africa ought to empower their female citizens to be more productive as well as be capable of contributing towards the sustainable development process of the country. Although Ghana has a strong history of female leadership, the uneducated urban women also have large families. On the other hand, average, urbanized, educated, and employed women have fewer children (Women in Ghana, 2016). In the past two decades educated women dominated the secretarial and nursing

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professions in Ghana. The gender policy of the country allows that employed women in the same line of work as men are paid equal salaries, as well as being granted maternity leave with pay (World Economic Forum 2013; Hojlund 2012; World Bank Group 2017). In 2007, the government of Ghana was among the first and progressive countries in Africa to pass a public policy to prosecute men who abuse their wives (Adu-Gyamerah 2007; Women in Ghana 2016). Women’s involvement in all aspects of national life has been significant, and at the core of development even though mostly in the informal sector. Given that women constitute 49.1% of the nation’s population, their involvement at official levels offers the ultimate injection of self-sustaining manpower and limitless potential. But for such a reality to be manifested, capacity-building among Ghanaian women has to be augmented, because Ghana’s population of women is almost equal to those of men. Studies and research accumulated over the decades point to a single fact of development—a reality Ghana also faces—that women are an active and determining human resource for development (Nussbaum, 1995; Tinker 1990). As Kofi Annan, a former UN Secretary General, who happens to be Ghanaian, puts it, “Study after study has shown that there is no effective development strategy in which women do not play a central role” (Mutume, 2004). The basic fact is that, if women fare well, families are healthier and better fed, and their income, savings and investments go up, “and what is true of families is also true of communities and, in the long run, of whole countries” (Mutume). The question is, then, how does a country, especially various African countries and particularly Ghana, ensure women fare well? Capacity building at all levels involving women cannot be overemphasized in this context. It also implies historical outcomes and past neglects, present deficiencies and problems, and preparedness and institutional frameworks for future developments have to be critically addressed. This chapter investigates the dynamics of women and capacity building in Ghana. It argues that Ghana must equitably empower women and men to manage its public institutions, and private organizations and civil society to extract indispensable elements that foster and sustain growth. Women’s organizations, non-governmental organizations, and governmental policies and implementation are discussed within the larger context of capacity-building for sustainable development to occur and bear fruits for the good of the populace. The chapter recommends capacity building in women’s education, economic empowerment, political, social and cultural involvement. Equal gender representation at all levels is the

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key to Ghana’s capacity-building. Gender-related public policies could enhance the nation’s ability to deliver unhindered and continuous national development and growth.

Colonial Legacy and Post-Independence Realities One may start with the limited involvement of women in colonial political and economic life. By default, women of the then Gold Coast could not bequeath to girls of the period, and so to following generations down to the present, capacity building that would have been experiential as well as systemic. European colonialism and Christianity introduced into nonMuslim Africa a concept of unfettered patriarchy, that in practice placed political power, economic advantages and benefits, social control, cultural imperatives, and religious leadership in the hands of men, much like Islamization did earlier in some regions of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Queen Victoria was on the British throne when the Gold Coast became a British colony, and Queen Elizabeth II, when it gained independence as Ghana, but colonialism and colonization were male chauvinistic in thought, and an anti-woman enterprise in the Gold Coast as in the rest of Africa. Across black Africa, women traditionally banded together to support and protect each other, a cultural trait taught to them from childhood into adulthood in age-group training or initiations as they were groomed into womanhood for their survival and that of the whole society. Marriage and motherhood widened the scope of female bonding as communal involvement in nurturing children was prevalent and articulated in the African saying, “It takes a village to raise a child” (Cowen-Fletcher 1994; Clinton, 2006). Economic activities, farming and trading were some examples where, despite competition, group support and protection were given practice. Women dominated commercial activities in local markets, affording them considerable economic independence, just as leadership roles in religious activities offered them clout in matters of culture and politics. Given the inseparability of religious and political spheres in subSaharan Africa, women therefore shared in governance, leadership, and political life, as was evidenced by Edwesohemaa Yaa Asantewaa, the Queen Mother of Ejisu, who led the Asante against British invasion and colonization after the capture of the Ashanti king, Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh I (Boahen 2003). Cognizant of the new reality, African women had no other option but to apply their traditional prerogative and agency to confront and fight colonialism, sometimes on their own as a group, and also with men. In the Gold Coast, and across the continent, European

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colonization dismantled intricate, sophisticated, and balanced roles of complementarity of genders fostered between men and women in various communities. If African women were not co-opted into the colonial administrative system in any significant way, they understood very clearly that the foreign system was ultimately against them, their children, and society, because it took away men to work for the colonial government on various infrastructure projects in forced labor camps, imprisoned those who refused or protested against taxation, and concentrated power in the hands of the very few men who abused it, leaving them and their families exposed and unprotected. Their communities were pauperized. Violence against men and their emasculation were directed at them, and at women, because the men helped to protect them and were their relatives, children, spouses, and fathers of their children. The pattern of limited participation of women in colonial governance and in leadership of the Christian Church as it grew in the Gold Coast and the rest of SSA was replicated in commerce and in the economy. Colonization superimposed European gender-inequalities on African gender–complementarity, and heightened, amplified and extended existing inequalities, for example in the land tenure system, favoring male-run colonial government apparatuses, and indigenous men over women. Cashcrop production—for example, cocoa farming—saw large tracts of land allocated by chiefs to men in communities in which hitherto land ownership had been communal, thus relegating women to food-crop production on smaller tracts of land for sale in local markets. Gendered economic inequality was inadvertently instituted so that cash-crop producers had access to international markets through the colonial government and European trading companies, while women’s economic activity was limited to small-scale local market commercial activities (Oyera, 2007). On one hand, capital accumulation enhanced the economic and social status of men, who were also bonding and developing a network within the evolving middle and upper classes. Men who had bicycles travelled further with European manufactured goods as house to house retailers, and others who owned or drove cars and trucks carted larger quantities of goods to distant markets and maximized profits. On the other hand, some women entrepreneurs employed traditional skills as expert traders and saleswomen in local markets to become very successful, even outdoing male merchants, including some Europeans, regardless of any advantages the colonial system gave males. In general, however, very few women prospered commercially during the colonial period in Africa in general, and in Ghana in particular.

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Education At independence in 1957, Ghana inherited political, economic and social systems that gave women limited access to official institutions and hampered their full participation. But even before independence, most Ghanaians, indeed Ghanaian men, knew a system that undermined women and kept everybody down. James Kwegyir Aggrey (1875–1927), a Ghanaian educator, eloquently articulated that understanding with regard to education: The surest way to keep a people down is to educate the men and neglect the women. If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a family (Boko, 2005). The family in the Ghanaian or black African context is not a nuclear family but an extended family, with a reach that covers communities, and even a nation, so that educating women means educating a nation. Policies and their implementation for decades since independence have yielded relatively good results, with gradual growth in the enrollment and retention of girls at primary and secondary-school level education. There are, however, substantive issues of poverty, as well as cultural and social impediments, which have dogged female education in Ghana. Parents with limited resources in both urban and rural areas, but most especially in rural areas where the majority of Ghanaians live, are often forced to make a choice between educating their male and female children, with the result that they mostly choose to educate the boys. An underlying reason for the choice is to be found in a notion that brings cultural and social imperatives into focus, in that a female child becomes a woman, eventually marries, and becomes part of another family that she would help to prosper, while the male child remains, and becomes, a source of prosperity for his family. The introduction of free and compulsory primary education immediately after independence generated a surge in overall education of all Ghanaian children, and helped to increase the numbers of girls enrolled in primary schools. Decades of political instability and economic stagnation, even decline, following the euphoric post– independence years were reflected in education funding that directly affected enrollments, especially the enrollment of girls in primary schools and, therefore, in secondary schools, and far more rarely, in tertiary educational institutions. It would not be until the 1990s that government funding and initiatives spurred increased female enrollment at all levels of education. If women represent the “dreams of their nations,” educating girls would make Ghanaian developmental goals come true (Suliman, 1991). For Ghanaian girls and women, and across Africa, basic primary education and secondary education or a few years of post-primary vocational or technical training, augment not only life skills but also the

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ability to earn a living, indicative of the highest percentile in the world of social return on female education of 24.3 per cent for primary education and 18.2 per cent for secondary education (Nduru, 1999). Pregnancy and childcare combine to create a constant dent in female enrollments and education at all levels. The very biological imperatives that sustain society and guarantee Ghanaian population stability become tools in creating “time poverty” for young adults who get pregnant, and for women in general. It is time poverty because they have to make a pause in their education, that is, if they ever return to continue and complete it, given they now have a child to care for, but also to sustain themselves, even if they are married. While traditional culture does not frown on or castigate teenage pregnancy, it does not encourage it, as against public education policy and, most stringently, private Christian education policy that has been influencing education trends in Ghana since the colonial era. When teenage girls are thrown out of school for getting pregnant, they face a lifetime of hardship and poverty that would be passed on to their children. The moral judgments and social ostracization they face only compound their quandary. There is an urgent need for a policy to end the expulsion of girls from school for pregnancy. Even suspension has no justifiable grounds, despite religious and moral positions taken by schools in general, Islamic schools included, and especially Christian schools. It is not teenage pregnancy that is the problem, because children have to be born for society to survive; it is what happens to the teenage mother and child that should be the primary concern for all, so public policies and strategies have to put in place to direct the teenager towards completion of her education and enter into a full productive life. Ghana, like all SSA countries, needs a critical mass of educated and trained women to join forces with equally educated and trained men to act as dynamos of sustained political, economic and social development. The education policy must invest in a younger generation being trained to follow and inherit a legacy of capacity-building and continued growth.

Women, Finance, Productivity and the Economy Education, indigenous, traditional, Islamic and/or Christian and Western, is at the core rooted in endowing Ghanaians with skills and sensibilities to live productive lives. Social capital that families bestow on members can only be put to effective use if it is backed by financial capital, given Ghana is inextricably embedded in the global economy, a development that began with the trans-Atlantic slave trade, a system that was imposed and deepened during the colonial era, and made a fait accompli at

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independence. Women have been operating on the margins of official economic policies and financial institutions for centuries, even though they control very large sections of the Ghanaian informal economy. On a daily basis, they provide nutrition that fuels all human activities in the country, first, as farmers, often as subsistence farmers in rural areas producing food crops; second, as retailers and market-women who supply every household with provisions; and third, as caterers selling prepared food publicly and in homes as those who cook meals. Meager monetary returns on their efforts are also accompanied by time poverty. The endless hours they spend leave them with poverty of time indeed, with hardly any time for themselves or to engage in exploration and accessing official commercial portals and financial institutions. The overwhelming majority of them are, therefore, caught in a vicious cycle in which because they have neither financial resources nor knowledge of the financial system nor time, they cannot access loans and other financial instruments that would have helped them build and expand commercial activities, maximize profit, and create wealth so they remain poor. Pauperization that started with colonization is most severe among women because they have less access to land and property. As the gender group with the least education, they are also locked out of official laborforce employment that would have given the majority of them the ability to earn a living beyond traditional subsistence farming and trading activities. Ghanaian women’s inability to compete effectively in the local, national and international free market has a devastating effect on their personal lives, families, communities and on the country as a whole. If maximizing profit is a driving force of capitalism, banks and other financial institutions operating within their parameters analyze and view the limited profits they may make from small loans made to poor clientele they perceive as risky ventures and conclude that those types of loans undermine and are counter to their bottom line of maximizing profit to satisfy shareholders’ demand for higher returns on their investments. For Ghana to see robust growth in its financial sector and have local capital to invest in national projects and maintain economic health, it must encourage financial institutions to help women accumulate capital and create wealth by implementing policies that foster and sustain financial development. Across Ghana, especially in local markets, women traders have been employing an indigenous loan and group capital-accumulation system called susu. In every village and in all markets in Ghana, susu is operated as a rotating savings scheme by credit organizations whose members are overwhelmingly women. For an example, between 1990 and 1992, there

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was a marked increase in susu activity, especially in urban areas, so that in Accra, the capital city of Ghana, the mean number of depositors in a month per susu collector rose from 155 in 1990, to 221 in 1991, and 290 in 1992, a total increase of 48 per cent over the period (Aryeetey, 1994). It also meant that more women started and were engaged in commercial and entrepreneurial activities. The informal financial practice indicates that limited financial services are being offered to women. The gap in financial service delivery exemplifies the lack of initiative to bring and link an effective and time-tested indigenous financial system into the national formal financial system as a viable use of culturally relevant microfinancing rooted in trust, reliability, honesty, confidence and socio-cultural networking for economic development. Some villages and towns have been deploying funds garnered by members of community groups from susu to complete local projects like building schools, clinics, and roads where resources and efforts from the government have been either slow in being offered, or simply nonexistent. If maximizing profit were the basic goal of banks and other financial institutions, millions of Ghanaian women could be the source of profits that may trickle in, pesewa by pesewa, in the hundreds, to become thousands of cedis, stacked up into millions. These institutions should dig deeper nationwide wells of susu and fetch from them, while making millions of Ghanaian women clientele as they save, accumulate capital, and engage in entrepreneurial activities. Wealth created by these activities, as exhibited in using funds from susu, is often invested in not only education of offspring but is also put to use in building or purchasing homes and, thus, extending services to underserved groups and areas by financial institutions expanding the economy to reach higher levels of prosperity. Families have shelter, an improved lifestyle, and general socioeconomic well-being when they own homes, so increased home ownership is an indicator of economic growth and robust development. While in Ghanaian urban areas, home ownership has direct economic outcomes, including equity accumulation that comes with mortgage payments and appreciation of property value, in rural areas, shelter is the primary role of home ownership and other financial gains, and economic projections are peripheral. But even in urban areas, whatever financial gains accrue from home ownership are controlled by men, so accessing loans and capital has to be negotiated between spouses, although traditional gendercomplementarity offers the possibility of an equitable access to family resources. The majority of urban dwellers live in rented property and, therefore, could not take advantage of financial instruments or openings

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that home ownership offers. This is a reason most women often depend on susu for credit and initial capital accumulation to start ventures. In rural areas, the land tenure system does not allow women to use land to leverage loans because it is communally owned and chiefs and councils of elders (who are mostly men, with limited women’s representation), act as custodians and regulate land use. Dominance of male land-control heightened during the colonial era, and its trajectory after independence into the twenty-first century has left women, although not landless, handicapped in leveraging land, not only for major agricultural expansion, but also in making financial decisions and accessing the full potential and economic benefits of land. Leases and sales of land hardly see funds serving the needs of communities and women who, hitherto, did subsistence farming on such land. On the other hand, foreign investors who make land purchases in Ghana benefit from government incentives, including tax breaks, and no taxes are levied on the resale of property, the release of profits, and against capital gains, and all profit can be transferred out of Ghana (Broll, 2011). Profit and wealth created from Ghanaian land, in this case, does not benefit Ghanaians in general, or women in particular, as taxes garnered could be invested in micro-financing and effectuate sustained economic growth at all levels. Do politicians and policy-makers see impediments in the path of women’s full participation in Ghanaian development?

Ghanaian Women’s Social and Political Realities As in personal life, in national life no individual or group can speak eloquently on behalf of women, or represent their interests better than themselves. Over half a century of a short history as a nation, marginal participation of women in the formal and official life of Ghana, and policy outcomes across the full spectrum of national affairs, attest to that reality. For gender issues to be addressed in a more informed and comprehensive manner, more women parliamentarians and policy-makers have to participate in national life at local and nation-wide levels. Literacy and knowledge of the mechanics of governance within the Ghanaian democratic dispensation among women has to be nurtured at the grassroots level across the nation. A contemporary older generation might not reach the higher echelons of government: however, the trend indicates that a younger generation, with better education, could and should do so. The Rwandan example, before the 1992 genocide, and more so afterwards, epitomizes an African example unmatched even by developed countries with older and longer histories. There is no other country on earth where

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there are more women in the legislature (up to 63.8 per cent in the lower house and 38.5 per cent in the upper house after the 2013 elections), than in Rwanda (IPS, 2015). The Rwandan democratic achievement of women’s representation is doable across Africa, and especially in Ghana. The meager achievement in women’s representation can only be overcome if radical and far-reaching approaches are instituted and relentlessly pursued, election after election, to beef up the presence of women in parliament. During the 2012 elections in Ghana, out of the 133 women who contested 102 parliamentary seats, only 29 won, which means only 21.8 per cent of women who ran were sworn in as parliamentarians. As of 2015, there are 30 women parliamentarians, i.e. barely 10 per cent out of 275 parliamentarians, even though women constitute almost half of the population of Ghana (IPS). This is a meager improvement on the 2008 election results in which out of 230 seats, the number of women parliamentarians was 20, representing 8.7 per cent of members of parliament. Ghana ranks lower than South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, Uganda, Burundi, Sudan, Namibia, Lesotho, Senegal, Malawi, Mauritius, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Gabon, Zambia, Cameroon, Niger, Sierra Leone and the Central Africa Republic in women representatives, and that is after being the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence. The Inter-Parliamentary Union ranked Ghana as 120 out of 189 countries for female representation in government in 2015 (IPS). Ghanaian women face surmountable problems to become legislators and high-level government officials. They are surmountable because some women, including Georgina Theodora Wood, the Chief Justice of Ghana (a position she has held since 2007), and Joyce Bamford-Addo, the Speaker of the Fifth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana (2009– 2013), to mention just two, have proven that the country is capable of expanding and deepening women’s participation in all aspects national public life. Beatrice Boateng’s experience running twice as a candidate, and as a member of parliament in 2012, underscores issues that have to be addressed in removing impediments and fostering the full involvement of women. She publicly expressed her frustration at the tenuous conditions under which she ran, but won and served, saying: “It was not easy. The men really ganged up against me. They said I was a teacher and didn’t have money, so I was flirting with other party members for it. They thought as a woman they could manipulate me to do whatever they wanted” (Migneault, 2012). Although many women want to run for political office, unfair party nomination processes, including exorbitant candidate registration fees, discourage them, while those who raise enough

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money to enter the process are locked out of networks. The further they move towards nomination, the more veteran party elites and aparachiki entrenched in patriarchy encircle them and attempt to suffocate their political ambitions. When they win, they continue to face their efficiency and effectiveness being questioned. For the Ghanaian democratic system to grow and remain robust, entrance into candidacy and competition for votes at local and national levels should not be encumbered by high financial demands, because not only does it shrink the overall pool of possible candidates, but more importantly, it eliminates large numbers of women. If the majority of women are financially strapped, they are, therefore, locked out of party political processes of import beyond casting votes. Women are reduced to followership and are not joining in leadership. The traditional political system favors men as chiefs, but without women leaders as elders and priestesses, the system would collapse. Among the various Akan-speaking groups that are a majority of Ghanaians, especially among the Ashanti, the queen mother appoints her own ministers and holds sway over appointments of Asantehene’s, the king’s ministers. The full strength of her power is the veto she has in choosing the next king, and her participation in Asante’s state council meetings as a preeminent authority. Across Ghana, in villages and towns, women function as leaders in the traditional political system, so it is not that women lack leadership skills, but how they become an unhindered part of the modern Ghanaian democratic dispensation through building women’s leadership capacity at a national level. Just as susu is not being readily utilized by the formal financial system, women’s traditional political leadership roles are not being translated and expanded within multi-party democratic political processes. Understandably, because many women in rural areas may not be literate, they could not function effectively as representatives, legislators, and government officials at higher national levels, and also in local government positions that demand considerable levels of literacy. There are, however, many areas where their expertise would be of great value in governance. The Socialization of Ghanaian women, starting during childhood, makes them excellent organizers of people and negotiators. These are some qualities that could be tapped into in building civil-society institutions and further expand the capacity of women as dynamos of development. There is a direct link between the large participation of citizenry in political activities and the success of democratic processes. Encouraging and engaging women, especially at the grassroots level in rural areas, enhances the Ghanaian democratic system and makes it more accessible, representative, and truly democratic.

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Given the history of the unequal treatment of women and the continuing limited access they have, it may be suggested that affirmative action provisions at party level, and within parliament should be implemented to ensure equal representation of Ghanaian women. It is possible to slate a number of parliamentary seats to be occupied by women, even though such a policy may be looked at as a quota system. One did not in the past, and does not in the present, hear similar arguments about quotas, that is a 90 per cent quota of parliamentary seats for men, when for over half a century, without it being policy, about 90 per cent of parliamentary seats have gone to men in a system manipulated and calculated to keep women out, as exemplified by Beatrice Boateng’s experience. The same suggested policy of allocating portions of representation to women could be put in place at local and regional government levels. The import of such a policy is that the more diversity one has in government, the more transparent governance becomes in tackling problems faced by various communities and the nation. Leagues of women already experienced in traditional political leadership, and many more engaged in various localities, if trained and absorbed into governance across the country, would change the Ghanaian political landscape for the better. The establishment of the Ministry for Gender, Children and Social Protection in 2001, that became the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs, with the objectives of formulating gender and children’s policies and guidelines, offering programs that promote women’s and children’s affairs and the development of institutions that encourage women’s empowerment augurs well in addressing critical issues that women face (GhanaWeb, 2015). A constant issue that working women face is maternity leave. Depending on the area of employment, especially in the formal sector, maternity leave for working mothers does not last longer than two to three months. In government and the public sector, a mandatory three-month maternity leave is the norm. Fathers do not receive leave after the birth of their children. Traditional maternity practices do not put a limit on time spent recovering from birthing and early nursing. Since extended family members and friends see to the welfare of nursing mothers, they are able to rest and regain full strength. Regimen, routines, and work schedules do not favor nursing mothers, and returning to work early endangers both mother and child. Extending maternity leave to six months should be implemented so that the responsibility women bear on behalf of all Ghanaians and humanity does not become a biological chore that undermines their health and general well-being. The corollary to immense

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gains and possibilities that grassroots women’s unfettered political involvement would bring to the Ghanaian body politic is the deeper reach of civil-society organizations into hitherto neglected areas, and with that reach, the ability to collect data so that the outcomes of implemented policies and developments would be quantified and true quality of development ascertained. An area that remains in the shadows and hidden from unabashed public scrutiny, incessant policy implementation, and redemptive national cultural endeavors to confront and end, is domestic violence. Data collection is essential in dealing with domestic violence against women because its very nature is perceived as private domain by many in a society controlled by men; thus, it eludes accurate assessment and, therefore, generates limited targeted policy and enforcement of laws against it. Domestic violence is readily emptied out of its criminal character and reduced to disputes and disagreements between spouses and within the family. In some cases, victims are blamed for starting such disagreements and disputes by being disrespectful and not fulfilling their gender-defined obligations in a marriage. Attempts at controlling women’s biological function as mothers, including the number and gender of children they must have, may be considered abuse because psychological pressure, health issues, and complications are imposed on women. A culture that undermines women undermines human life itself, since all humans are born of women. That many girls and women live in fear every day across the country means society is failing the vulnerable and those who give birth to generations of Ghanaians. The World Health Organization reports that one in three women worldwide experiences physical or sexual violence, and as many as 38 per cent of all murders of women are committed by intimate partners (WHO, 2015). Ghana is not an exception. A survey conducted by the Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Center concluded that 95 per cent of rape incidents are not reported, and also that the most common perpetrators of violence against women are not strangers, but rather, the perpetrators are men known to the victims, including both male acquaintances and male relatives (GSHRDC, 1999). Physical abuse is concrete and identifiable, but it is also in most cases the accumulated manifestation of other forms of abuse, including verbal and emotional, economic, and social, which are just as harmful and deadly, and undermine not only individual lives, but also those of families and the nation. If social abuse strips victims of social contacts and isolates them so that perpetrators continue other forms of abuse with impunity, economic abuse deprives victims of funds and resources, thus forcing them to be

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completely dependent on abusers for money and survival. Preventing a female partner from working with other people and being engaged in gainful employment outside the home, for example, in an office, a shop or in a market, denies her money and funds, so her need for shelter, food and medical care for her children and herself is employed as a blunt tool to cower her into submission. On the one hand, the family suffers financially because a two-income home obviously fares better than a single-income one. On the other hand, the abuser loses because he expends energy and financial resources to undermine his own family, and the whole nation suffers as bits of financial losses and wasted potential created by domestic violence abusers add up to real economic loss for all. Many women, for the sake of their children, remain in abusive marriages and relationships, with dire consequences, including death. Ultimately, they are unable to nurture and protect their children, who have to contend with lifelong psychological issues as a result of the abusive environment in which they grow up. Social norms and religious mores steeped in patriarchy converge to worsen the lot of women who battle abuse, while public institutions, including the police, the courts, and the laws are weak, and thus limited in acting as a deterrent to alleviate and end domestic violence. The establishment of the Ministry for Gender, Children and Social Protection, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice of Ghana, (CHRAJ), the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service that started operating in 1998 as the Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU), affirms efforts to get a handle on gender issues in general, and domestic violence against women in particular. With 52 offices in various regions of Ghana, the Accra branch, which is also the headquarters of the DOVVSU, reported that between 1998 and 2004, 11,335 cases of domestic violence were reported, but out of that number only 19 per cent resulted in a court hearing, and fewer than 3 per cent of cases led to actual convictions (US Department of State, 2006). Laws against domestic violence are of use only when they are enforced. It should be noted that men are also victims of domestic abuse; however, out of the 109,784 cases reported by DOVVSU between 1999 and 2010, a greater portion was perpetrated against women. For example in Northern Ghana in 2009, 71 cases were reported by male victims, 47 in 2010, 44 in 2011, 77 in 2012, 147 in 2013 and 132 in 2014 (Gyebi, 2015). Laws are often embedded with the positions and attitudes of legislators, and the Ghanaian criminal code, dealing with sexual violence and rape captures that characteristic unfinished-business urgency demanding constant vigilance by the citizenry and civil society groups

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within the country and without. The code defines rape as “an unlawful carnal knowledge against a female,” but is ambiguous, and not comprehensive, when it comes to proof of all sexual violence, stipulating that “when the assaulted woman is physically incapable of resistance to force, rape does not have to be proved” (Ankomah, 1997). Proof beyond reasonable doubt is placed on victims of sexual violence and rape if they are capable of resisting, while mandatory sentencing terms for those convicted of sexual assault remain mild. During the debate and passing of the bill in parliament, the male caucus opposed an increase in the length of incarceration from twelve months to three years, soliciting an editorial in a national daily newspaper with the comment that the male caucus’s position, attitude and behavior were “sheer display of male chauvinism and lack of respect and understanding of women’s sensitivity” (Ankomah). Absence of or limited number of female parliamentarians negatively affects how gender issues are debated and how legislation to strengthen legal protection, to address continuing problems, and to institute change are debated, voted on, and passed. No matter how sensitive male legislators are, they could not possibly speak for and understand the totality of womanhood better than women themselves.

Women and Civil Society The unfinished business of women’s political representation requires capacity-building. Without true and full representation, effective and farreaching policies and changes could affect improvements to the lives of women, families and Ghanaian society as a whole. From the president, through ministers to local government officials, the legislature is a powerful tool of both change or maintenance of the status quo parliamentarians, laws they pass, and various initiatives they endorse; and the courts and law enforcement apparatus, their activities and practices, have not gone beyond the status quo that relegates women to the periphery of national life. If the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government are dominated by men, and for over five decades have not overcome the patriarchal undercurrent of official processes and policies (some of which were inherited from the colonial era), civil rights pressure and active civil society engagement independent of government and business offer the most viable options. To enhance and expand such demands and engagement, considerable attention should be paid to the integration of traditional and cultural elements so that the overwhelming majority of women are attracted to getting involved, given that greater numbers of them live in rural areas where traditional modes hold sway. A

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careful calibration is necessary in matters of tradition and culture so as not to alienate men. But where traditions and cultural practices undermine women’s welfare, compromise could only maintain the status quo for women and would not bring betterment of their lives and those of their children. It is the future of the nation that is at stake in these matters. Gender complementarity, and women’s prerogatives and rights, have been the bedrock of traditions and cultural practices of the various ethnic groups in Ghana. In tapping into the gender-specific balance within Ghanaian culture to confront patriarchy and gender inequality, the jagged edges of traditional and modern national culture would be wedged into each other and retooled to fit and forged to deal with present realities and projected into the future. As in other African countries south of the Sahara, Ghanaian children are at the center of nuclear and extended families, indeed the raison d’être of life. But to undermine women’s health, to manipulate and employ their biological role as mothers to control their full participation in all aspects of national life, and stifle their ambitions because they are women, denies Ghana its full potential. Elsewhere in Africa, in Liberia and Malawi, women have reached the pinnacle of political power as presidents, e.g. Joyce Banda in Malawi and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia. Before she became President of Malawi in 2012, Joyce Banda was an educator, a grassroots gender activist and a businesswoman in Kenya and Malawi, who like hundreds of millions of black African women, knowledgeable of who they are as women and their rights and prerogatives, said: If a woman says, “This body can have two children,” and the husband says, “You will have five,” that is domestic violence. But there’s no way women are going to make a choice about their health or the number of children they have, without economic empowerment (UNFA, 2008).

Men are often emboldened and seduced by enhanced patriarchy, in which traditional and embedded patriarchy in modern political, social and economic systems overlap in crude manifestations to misinterpret African traditions and culture. Some men even attack mechanisms in the traditional system that help stabilize the imbalance in responsibilities and rights, and correct gender inequality to justify their misogynic attitudes and actions. Thus, they stagnate and undermine with impunity the political, economic, social and cultural development and growth of Ghana. The third sector of society, civil society, independent of government and business, value-driven, and made up of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), non-profit organizations (NPOs) and other civic organizations, becomes the bulwark against further erosion. Civil society

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organizations are part of the vanguard for change in Ghana that sometimes works in tandem with government and business after pressure has been applied on both to change the status quo. When a delegation of chiefs and elders from traditional areas presents problems their communities face, such as lack of health centers and maternity clinics to government, or absence of banking facilities or retail outlets to business, an official process is set in motion soliciting response from government or business. For government, addressing health care issues of communities alleviates deficiencies within that constitutional mandate in healthcare delivery to women and all citizens and, for business, it brings new clientele, expansion of business, and eases the demands on women’s time and energies as homemakers. The value of organizations from the third sector of society putting pressure on government is that, because they are independent of government, they do not have to follow a hierarchy of procedures and protocols, are not subjected to bureaucratic bottlenecks, and, therefore, are able to reach the citizenry directly without intermediaries and also rally them to pressure government and businesses to respond to official traditional authority. In other cases, these organizations work with local citizens’ groups. On those occasions, traditional and modern approaches to problem-solving merge to help in better governance and economic development. Without giving the names of many scores of NGOs or NPOs and other pressure groups and civil organizations operating in Ghana, one could offer that their operations are dependent on funding, paid workers and/or volunteers. Some local organizations began as women’s support groups that matured into fullfledged NGOs. And some others have affiliations with, or are branches of, foreign NGOs and NPOs that focus on women’s issues. Local NGOs may be effective because they understand local conditions better, have sensibilities about nuances and how best to encourage women to be involved in effecting change. While foreign-affiliated NGOs may not readily reach women without local collaboration, any financial backing they have, and resources they possess outside Ghana, make them truly independent of Ghanaian government and business. In addition to their independence, they can also marshal support outside the country and exert external pressure on government, because preserving Ghana’s good image would induce officials to effect positive change. External pressure may generate negative response from government and generate a blowback. Critiques of polygyny or polygamy by organizations dealing with women caught in the complicated conditions such marriages create, would be considered an attack on ethnic culture by foreigners and/or by citizens funded by foreigners who have their own

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agenda, and even accusations of neo-colonization. Religious groups, e.g. Muslims, would perceive it as an attack on their religion and, with that, good intentions could turn into a quagmire of cross-cultural debates and intolerance, while Ghanaian women’s needs again recede into the background. Government positions and laws and religious groups’ reaction to homosexuality and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual (LGBT) groups exemplify how external pressure can make the work of NGOs and other pressure groups harder. In 2006, when an LGBT organization called a conference on the rights of gay people, the government banned it, and various religious groups and cultural institutions incessantly condemned the LGBT lifestyle. In 2011, the government reiterated that homosexual activities are illegal in Ghana. Human rights groups, some NGOs, and their foreign supporters and sponsors exerted pressure, joined by the United Nations and foreign governments, especially the United Kingdom and the United States, only to have the Ghanaian government take an intractable position. The same year, when at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, the then British Prime Minister David Cameron indicated that the United Kingdom would consider cutting off aid to any country that failed to recognize gay rights, the then President of Ghana, John Mills retorted that the British premier “does not have the right to direct other sovereign nations as to what they should do, especially where their societal norms and ideals are different from those that exist” in the United Kingdom (BBC, 2011). Another Ghanaian official asked a rhetorical question affirming the government’s position: “If that aid is going to be tied to things that will destroy the moral fiber of society, do you really want that?” (BBC, 2011). Balancing local engagement, activism and pressure, and how far external support should go, and how much external pressure could be exerted on government and business, are critical in dealing with gender issues in Ghana, including lesbianism. While the law identifies male homosexuality and criminalizes it, the law is not clear on female same-sex sexual activity and, therefore, illegality is not confirmed and enforced. NGOs and organizations focused on gender issues have to carefully navigate Ghanaian cultural sensitivities, sometimes working through back channels so as not draw attention to themselves and jeopardize projects they are involved in, as well as their funding from foreign countries not being perceived and questioned as geared towards eroding and destroying Ghanaian culture (Hodžiü, 2009). However, if public attention is not drawn to gender issues and focused policies are not implemented, real change will not occur. Various organizations and pressure groups have

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very few options beyond public exposure of problems and working directly with affected women and, if possible, dealing directly with government officials and policy-makers and legislators. Data collection and analysis are paramount in exposing problems. The information from the data is distilled and emptied out of emotionally-charged perspectives and distortions based on personal or group sensitivities, and the unvarnished reality of women in Ghana is put in stark terms. Government officials faced with the facts, and all Ghanaians confronted by undeniable conditions being endured by women who are their mothers, wives, children, friends, and fellow citizens would be motivated to demand and institute change for the better. When a Ghanaian of Kofi Annan’s stature, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former UN Secretary General, cites data and draws on studies about improving women’s well-being and positive outcomes in national development to awaken a nation to achieve its full potential, he reaches deep into the national psyche and ethos to override entrenched resistance and interests (Mutume, 2004). Abantu-Rowa (2009) offers a prime example in Ghana of local, national, multi-national and international approaches to dealing with gender issues, not only in Ghana and in the West African sub-region, but also across sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. Popularly referred to as the “NGO of NGOs,” it is an amalgam starting with ABANTU for Development, which is an NGO built on a network of people focused on women’s rights and gender parity, that forged a strategic alliance with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations, and with the Regional Office for Western Africa (ROWA) based in Accra, Ghana (Abantu-Rowa, 2009). By building alliances with a broad spectrum of NGOs and civil society organizations, in developing effective working relationships with parastatal organizations, and also working directly with government, it has been reaching various areas of Ghanaian society, helping to enhance and broaden the capacity of women to participate in development and in the political and economic structures. A document, The Women’s Manifesto for Ghana, registers AbantuRowa’s (2009) work, and what other organizations do, and points in the direction of training and capacity building, advocacy, and strengthening of women’s ability to demand their rights as equal citizens (The Coalition on the Women’s Manifesto for Ghana, 2004). The manifesto is a culmination of years of collaboration and mobilization of women’s organizations and movements, trade unions and professional associations, community-based organizations and elected local district representatives from all Ghana’s 110 administrative districts (Feminist Africa, 2005). That the Ministry for Women’s and Children’s Affairs reluctantly got involved, and marginally

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applauded the manifesto to Ghanaians for fear of encroachment on its sphere of policy-making and engagement, indicates that there are more bridges to be built and more expansive networks to be connected, even though the Women and Juvenile Unit of the Ghana Police Service made contributions to the document and the National Commission for Civic Education, a body established by the Constitution of Ghana, launched the manifesto in regions across the country. As a publicly acknowledged platform sanctioned by Ghanaian local district government elected representatives, a plethora of nongovernmental organizations, and civil society networks and organizations, the manifesto is a tool to be employed by all sections of society to advance women’s issues, and advocate and effect real positive change in the lives of Ghanaian women. It is also a mirror for a nation to look at its own reflection to see flaws, if it does not uphold the standards and live up to the framework it has set up to bring gender equality and to build and sustain a better nation. Success is not going to be measured by a few token leadership roles given to women in political parties and in government and business. The real measure of success in addressing Ghana’s gender inequality is to be seen in how the country is able to train and build the capacity of women across the country, mobilize resources, and allocate them to uphold women’s rights and equity in all affairs of the democratic republic.

Conclusion This chapter has investigated the dynamics of women and capacity building in Ghana. It provided evidence for arguing that Ghana must equitably empower women and men to manage its public institutions, private organizations and civil society to extract indispensable elements that foster and sustain growth. During the two decades of constitutional establishment of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, multi-party democratic rule allowed the country to develop peacefully. A gnawing distortion of human resource utilization and potential, however, has been the limited access women have to the country’s resources and decades of their stymied participation in government and business at the formal level. While Ghanaian women’s minimal presence in official spheres may, to a certain extent, be due to a history of unequal treatment, especially in education and training, the persistence of that phenomenon can also be attributed to cultural and social practices and entrenched patriarchy that undermine national development. The first step in addressing the gender problem is expanding the education and training of women,

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simultaneously targeting young and old. Ever-increasing numbers of educated female young adults means a generation is being groomed to take the helm of society. Expanding the numbers of older generations of women who are trained and engaged in all sectors augments family financial earnings and well-being, and speeds up economic development at the local and national level. If the single most important indicator of family well-being is financial health, working trained women means stable families that increase social capital and cohesion and economic growth. Men who use financial means to control spouses and women would have their control degraded as the economic power of millions of women is unleashed for the good of the nation. Education and training are the cornerstones and the starting points of capacity-building among women in Ghana. Democratic processes facilitate the participation of all in choosing representatives who are their voice, and protectors of their interests. The fewer women representatives there are in parliament, the less women’s needs are attended to, although they are almost half of the Ghanaian population. Women’s political engagement should go beyond casting votes to becoming elected representatives, because their perspectives add to the diversity of ideas and positions needed in debates, laws and policies that foster development. Political party-leadership elections should be transparent, and burdensome financial impediments that close doors to women’s candidature should be abrogated. Male networks and circles that manipulate processes to benefit members to the detriment of women require reform, otherwise their claims to uphold democracy become hollow and undo progress made in Ghana in maintaining democracy, peace and stability. Party political leadership and elected representatives determine legislative agendas and work with the executive in allocating funds through budgets. The limited presence of women at those levels of governance is a blind spot in politics in Ghana, because men cannot speak on behalf of women better than women can themselves. The enactment of laws and the endorsement of policies that do not protect women’s interests are possible because a critical mass of female representatives is not in the halls of parliament to effectively ensure that women’s, families’ and children’s needs are addressed and answered with viable and concrete outcomes. When women’s voices are unheard and they suffer, the nation suffers. Cultural practices that undermine women’s life, dignity and productivity have no place in a modern democratic republic and their eradication is paramount for healthy social development supported by political will to

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expand economic opportunity for all citizenry. Laws that criminalize such practices are deterrents only when they are vigorously enforced. Women themselves are central in ending these practices. If law enforcement agencies are dominated by men, there is a strong likelihood that they may reluctantly—because these practices are part of their own cultural orientation and socialization—pursue those who fall foul of the laws and continue in such cultural practices. Capacity building captured in numbers of support groups established across the country to help women who have to contend with cultural practices that hinder their freedom and equality and millions trained to identify and document, coordinate with their peers and other women, and publicly report to authorities, gives Ghanaian women a powerful tool. Support and security to be found in numbers of motivated women is a bulwark against time-encrusted cultural practices and entrenched well-connected interests. Security in the numbers of women, and the fact that they are almost half of the population, as well as mass protest, have been effectively used in every ethnic group by women to voice their concerns before the colonial period, during Ghana’s struggle for independence, and after. Powerful individuals, local chiefs, government officials and institutions had, and still have, to contend with such protests when they abuse power, have been put on notice, and removed from power as a result. The mass denial of conjugal rights to men as a form of protest, however sparingly deployed to pressure them to do right by women and the community, is very intimate and personal, but it is also a very public silent protest performed in individual homes as a civic gender group. Across sub-Saharan Africa and especially in West Africa, the ultimate mass protest that starts with a threat from groups of women, like a “nuclear option” threat in international geopolitical super-power politics, is often termed “the naked option” (Schermerhorn, 2011). What treatment and condition would force women to threaten marching or occupying sites deliberately stark naked, and then do it? Incessant attacks on their bodies, violence perpetrated against their children and communities with impunity, government and officials’ insolence, impudence, disregard of life and people’s humanity, and loss of property and life trigger women to call upon their traditional prerogative as custodians of society and life to speak to power. They become armies of righteously indignant women who bare not only their bodies, human sacred vessels of life according to their culture, but also deliver a tour de force that like mouth to mouth resuscitation brings back to life an incapacitated body politic. Thus, they rescue society in its death throes that are manifested in impunity, undemocratic processes, and wanton violence,

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with their bare bodies much like giving birth to the millions who make up society. Ghanaian women have always been clear about their rights and prerogatives. Their voices are ancient, just as they are modern, because knowledge of their womanhood and contribution it makes to their communities and society has been passed down through the generations in various ethnic groups, and converge and merge into modern Ghanaian womanhood. It is not monolithic, but as varied as the millions of Ghanaian women and girls and encased in African womanhood that without reservation gives, nurtures, and protects life for all. The inherited and embraced responsibility and confidence in their individual personhood give Ghanaian women the audacity to question gender inequality and engender in them righteous indignation to confront abuse and disregard of their humanity. Tradition in all Ghanaian ethnic groups is taught to every female age group, and as they progress through the years and rites of passage from adolescence into matured women, the bonds they develop, and the communication, organizational, and leadership skills they learn and acquire, afford them strategic moral fortitude to demand their rights to be upheld and their equality affirmed in concrete actions across the country. They are a critical mass of women steeped in values that cherish life, social harmony, and what is best for their country. Values that traditional ethnic education instilled in them are enhanced and infused with expanded understanding of liberty and rights through formal education, especially acquired by generations born during and after attainment of independence into the present. The national motto of Ghana, Freedom and Justice, is taught to all in civic study classes in schools across the land, so Ghanaian womanhood is rooted in both the traditional and modern understanding and manifestation of it in the twenty-first century. The rootedness of womanhood implies Ghanaian women have an array of strategies and methods, and a legal and constitutional bedrock on which to confront inequality and construct the framework to deal with contemporary gender issues. They continue building a country in which their womanhood and individual contributions attest to capacity built, and progress made. One may use the mitochondrial DNA as a metaphor, but it is also an irrefutable fact of humanity, so that capacity building in Ghana and elsewhere begins with each individual woman and girl. As members of the unbroken line from a common matrilineal ancestor of all modern humans, each woman or girl is the link that holds life, family and society together and the more equal each is, the more equal society becomes. It is common knowledge in Ghana that if a mother is not free and equal, her

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children are also not free and equal. When Ghanaian women get equal access to resources and opportunity, Ghanaian society facilitates a majority’s realization of its full potential, and by default, the whole nation.

References Adu-Gyamerah, E. (2007). “Domestic Violence Bill Passed At Last.” Modern Ghana: https://www. modernghana.com/news/124409/1/ domestic-violence-bill-passed-at-last.html. Accessed May 30, 2015. Ankomah, A. (1997). “Sexuality,” The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality, vol.1, New York: The Continuum Publishing Company. Aryeetey, E. (1994). Financial Integration and Development in SubSaharan Africa: A Study of Informal Finance in Ghana, Mimeo. London: Overseas Development Institute. Awumbila, M. (2006). “Gender equality and poverty in Ghana: implications for poverty reduction strategies”. GeoJournal. 67 (2): 149–161. BBC. (2011). “Ghana Refuses to Grant Gays’ Rights Despite Aid Threat.” London: BBC Publication. Boahen, A. A. (2003). Yaa Asantewaa and the Asante-British War of 1900–1. Oxford: James Curry. Boko, S. H.; Balaimoune-Lutz, M. and Kimuna, S. R., eds. (2005). Women in African Development: The Challenges of Globalization and Liberalization in the 21st Century. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press Inc. Broll. (2011). Ghana, Country Report: Maximising Property Potential. http://www.brollghana.com/booklet/broll-ghana-countryreport/download.pdf. Accessed April 6, 2015. Central Intelligent Agency (2016) Ghana Country Profile. CIA World Factbook. http://www.ciaworldfactbook.us/africa/ghana.html. Accessed May 19, 2015. Chazan, N. (1992). “Liberalization, Governance, and Political Space in Ghana..” In Goran Hyden and Michael Bratton (edied, Governance and Politics in Africa. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner, pp. 121-141. Clinton, H. R. (2006). It Takes a Village. New York: Simon & Schuster. Cowen-Fletcher, J. (1994). It Takes a Village. New York: Scholastic. Dibie, R., and Atbil, C. (2011). “NGOs and the Social and Economic Empowerment of Women in Ghana and Nigeria.” Journal of International Politics and Development, vol. 10, no. 1 and 2, pp. 27-64. Friends of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFA). (2010). International Honoree: The Honorable Joyce Banda, Minister of

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Foreign Affairs, Malawi. New York: Friends of UNFPA Accessed March14, 2015. GhanaWeb.(2015). “Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs.” http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/republic/ ministry.profile.php?ID=41. Accessed March14, 2015. Gyebi, E. (2015). “Ghana: 518 Men Report Wives to DOVVSU-For Beating Them.” Ghanaian Chronicle Accra. Hodžiü, S. (2009). “Unsettling Power: Domestic Violence, Gender Politics, and Struggles over Sovereignty in Ghana.” Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology, vol. 74, issue 3, 20: 331–360. Hojlund M. D. (2012). “Mainstreaming from Beijing to Ghana - the role of the women’s movement in Ghana”. Gender & Development. 3. 20: 573–584. Inter-Parliamentary. (2013). Ghana Parliament. IPS. http://www.ipu.org/ parline/reports/2123_E.htm. Accessed February 16, 2015. La Verle B. (1994). (eds). Ghana: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress. http://countrystudies.us/ghana/. Accessed May 27, 2015. Little, K (1997). “Women’s Strategies in Modern Marriage in Anglophone West Africa: an Ideological and Sociological Appraisal”. Journal of Comparative Family Studies. 3. 8: 341–356. Lloyd, C., and Anastasia J. G. (1993). “Women’s Role in Maintaining Households: Family Welfare and Sexual Inequality in Ghana”. Population Studies. 1. 47: 115–131. Mama, A. (2005). “In Conversation: The Women’s Manifesto for Ghana.” Feminist Africa. http://agi.ac.za/sites/agi.ac.za/files/fa_4_in_conversation.pdf. Accessed March14, 2015. Migneault, J. and Okertchiri, J. A. (2012). “Making it Compulsory to Have Women in Ghana’s Parliament,” Accra: Inter Press Service. http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/07/making-it-compulsory-to-havewomen-in-ghanas-parliament/. Accessed April 3, 2015. Mohamed, S. M. (1991). “Alternative Development Strategies for Africa,” Environment and Women. London: IFFA. Mutume, G. (2004). “Women Break into African Politics: Quota Systems Allow More Women to Gain Elected Office.” Africa Recovery. vol. 18, no.1: 1–4. Nduru, M. (1999). “Education: Africa Urged to Invest in Girls to Reduce Poverty,” IPS, Africa, Development & Aid, Education, Headlines. Harare. http://www.ipsnews.net/1999/03/. Accessed March 9, 2015.

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Nussbaum, M. C. and Glover, J., ed. (1995). Women, Culture, and Development: A Study of Human Capabilities: A Study of Human Capabilities. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Observation of Economic Complexity (2017). Ghana. http://atlas.media.mit.edu /en/profile/country/gha/. Accessed May 13, 2015. Owusu-Ansah, D. (1994). “The Position of Women.” In A Country Study: Ghana, La Verle Berry, editor. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress. Overa, R. (2007). “Women’s Work: Structural Adjustment, Unemployment and Changing Gender Relations in the in Formal Economy of Accra, Ghana.” The Journal of Modern African Studies, vol. 45, no. 4: 539–563. Schermerhorn, C. (2011). Naked Option: A Last Resort. New York: Filmakers Library. The Coalition on the Women’s Manifesto for Ghana. (2004). The Women’s Manifesto for Ghana. Accra: ABUNTU for Development. The Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre (GSHRDC). (1999). Violence Against Women and Children in Ghana. Accra: GSHRDC. Tinker, I. (1990). Persistent Inequalities: Women and World Development. Oxford: Oxford University. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2017). Ghana – Country Maters. http://www.countrymeters.info/en/Ghana/. Accessed May 20, 2015. United States Department of State. (2006). Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005 – Ghana. Washington, DC: United States Department of State. Women in Ghana (2016) https://topics.revolvy.com/topic/Women+in+Ghana. Accessed May 23, 2015. World Bank Group. (2017). Doing Business in Ghana. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Publication. World Economic Forum. (2013). The Global Gender Gap Report 2013. Geneva, Switzerland: World Economic Forum.

CHAPTER TEN SOCIO-ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO JOSEPHINE DAWUNI

Introduction The Democratic Republic of Congo is a country in Central Africa. It was known as Zaire between 1971 and 1997. The territory now called the DRC was colonized by Belgium from 1908 to 1960, when it was granted independence (Central Intelligence Agency 2016; Shah 2010). The country has boundaries with South Sudan and the Central African Republic to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest, and Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, and Rwanda to the east. Angola and Zambia are located to the south of the DRC. Since the 1960s the country has been marred by social and political instability. The nation’s capital city is Kinshasa. It had a population of approximately 80 million in 2015, and it is regarded as the most populated French-speaking country in Africa (BBC, 2016). According to the World Bank (2016) report, the DRC is extremely rich in natural resources such as diamonds, coltan, tin, copper, timber, cassiterite, and fresh water. Despite the exploitation of these natural resources by several multinational corporations, the politically unstable environment has resulted in lack of infrastructure, deep-rooted corruption and centuries of both commercial and colonial extraction and exploitation (World Bank, 2017). Its GDP per capita was $800 in 2015, while the nation’s GDP purchasing power parity was $62.7 billion in the same year (World Bank, 2016). Several Human Rights Watch reports suggest that some multinational corporations from rich countries have been profiting from the war in the DRC. As with most conflicts in Africa, the current situation has much to do with the legacy of colonialism. The violent 1885 Belgian imposition of

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colonial rule was begun by King Leopold II, who regarded it as his personal fiefdom, and called it the Congo Free State (Shah, 2010). In addition, many multinational corporations have developed elite networks of key military and business elites to plunder the nation’s natural resources (Human Rights Watch, 2014). While the nation’s rich natural resources have provided ways to finance the conflict, there are some 2.6 million displaced persons and refugees in the nation and 323,000 DRC nationals living in refugee camps outside the country. A humanitarian emergency persists in the more unstable parts of the DRC, and rates of sexual violence against women remain high. Most of the women in the country are prevented from making deeply personal choices in their private lives. In past decades, renewed activities in the mining industry, the nation’s sources of export, has boosted its fiscal position and GDP growth rate. However, the revenue generated is not effectively utilized to build infrastructure or empower women (Human Rights Watch, 2014; World Bank 2017; British Broadcasting Corporation (2016). Human Rights Watch is still working diligently in the DRC towards the protecting the rights and improving lives of women and girls in the country, as well as preventing sexual violence (Central Intelligence Agency 2016; Human Rights Watch, 2014). The incidence of sexual violence and acts of systematic rape in the ongoing civil conflict in the Great Lakes region has galvanized much of the scholarly literature. While many studies on the DRC have focused on sexual violence during the civil war, little attention has been paid to the forms of violence occurring within the domestic setting. Both forms of violence are inexcusable. This chapter remedies the gap in the current discourse on violence against women, by presenting a socio-economic analysis of violence against women in the DRC. In particular, this chapter highlights the nexus between women’s contributions to the socioeconomic development of their communities and how domestic violence stands to derail such contributions. Increasingly, women continue to be marginalized and domestic violence plays an important role in such marginalization. In analyzing domestic violence, this chapter contributes to existing literature on gender and development by highlighting the adverse impacts of domestic violence on women as agents of socioeconomic development. The theoretical basis of this chapter draws from Heise’s (1998) integrated framework, which continues to inform many studies on violence against women. Domestic violence, often referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs when violence is used in a domestic setting. Often, but not always, the perpetrator is a male who is known and related to the victim, often a

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woman. Theoretical and conceptual attempts at defining domestic violence are varied, and this frequently complicates the possible solutions to the problem. The definition of domestic violence is context and culture specific, thus further complicating international and regional efforts at problematizing, framing and intervening in the prevention, prosecution and punishment of acts of violence. For purposes of contextualizing the problem of domestic violence in the DRC, the paper adopts the broader definition by the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993). The resolution defines violence against women as: any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life (United Nations, 1993).

The purpose of this chapter is to investigate the social and economic empowerment of women in the DRC. It argues that the contributions of women to the socio-economic development of their communities are paramount to achieving sustainable development in developing economies. While the criminal code of the country prohibits various types of violence against women, domestic violence is rarely reported, but believed to be widespread. This chapter analyzes the significant increase in the number of cases of domestic violence recorded in the past few years. It should be noted that the focus on domestic acts of violence in this analysis does not attempt to capture the magnitude and intensity of the wartime violence that has been occurring in the conflict-ridden parts of the DRC such as North Kivu. While the Criminal Code of Congo, as amended, has sought to criminalize and prohibit various types of violence against women, domestic violence is not specifically mentioned in the law. In analyzing this phenomenon, the goal of this chapter is to examine the linkage between discrimination against women and the socio-economic empowerment of women, as well as the development of their communities. Women currently account for 60 per cent of the agricultural workforce, but own only 25 per cent of agricultural land. They also face some discrimination in their attempts to gain financial independence. The chapter explores the role of national and international efforts at addressing and criminalizing violence against women. While this assertion is true, the empirical record shows that women continue to be marginalized within the multiple intersections of economic disempowerment, social relegation and cultural abuse. Some policy recommendations are provided in the

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concluding sections to address the trends and impacts of discrimination against women in the country.

Framework in Understanding Violence against Women According to Griffin et al. (2017), gender role-orientation entails the extent to which a society reinforces, or does not reinforce, traditional notions of male dominance over females. A nation or society could be regarded as modern when gender roles overlap. In such an overlap, roleplaying environment or society, women and men are supposed to be modest, tender and concerned with the equal quality of life. Equity theory describes the comparison process in terms of input-to-outcome ratio between women and men towards an organization’s or nation’s set goals. The theory defines equity as a belief that women and men are being treated equitably and fairly in relation to one another (Lussier & Achua, 2015). On the other hand, inequality entails that one gender is being treated unfairly compared with the other. In most cases, group orientation of women’s tasks often gives them the opportunity to develop same-sex bonds and relationships. In a number of African countries where the socialization of women is different from those of men, women cooperate in their chores, in caring for their children, in the maintenance of their quarters, and in myriad other domestic and family chores. The rising rates of poverty and increased economic insecurity place the family structure under considerable strain (Dibie & Dibie, 2012). The current practice in many countries in Africa is that women are now forced, owing to economic circumstances, to work outside the household for their family to survive economically. Therefore, it could be argued that the economics of conquest led to increased matriarchy and more working women, and thus equality in the role of men and women in most societies. Unfortunately, in the DRC, public policies and laws of the country have not effectively addressed the issue of gender equality. Men tend to focus more on their situation without considering that of women. This root of gender discrimination is one of the causes of sexual violence against women. Women in the country are still struggling for their legal rights, respect and equality. According to a 2010 statement by the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Margot Wallström, the DRC has earned the infamous accolade of being the “rape capital of the world” (BBC, 2010). This statement, though focusing on a particular type of violence against women (rape), fails to capture the wide range of other types of violence women suffer, often in the domestic sphere. The Johnson et al. (2010)

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study of sexual violence in the DRC produced staggering results, demonstrating the prevalence of various forms of violence. In a sample of 586 women, 39.7 per cent indicated that they had been subjected to one form of sexual violence, compared to 23.6 per cent of men in a sample of 399. Of this number, 36.9 per cent of women were subjected to some form of intimate partner violence, while 16.6 per cent of 362 men had suffered intimate partner violence. Violence inflicted upon women does not distinguish between the private and public spheres. In recent years, the focus of analyses, research and intervention programs has tended to be on the public sphere—many of these studies have focused on the incidence of violence inflicted upon women during a time of armed or civil conflict. Thus, the enduring and lingering armed conflict which has plagued the DRC since the early 1990s has resulted in a great deal of attention being paid to violence against women during the conflict in the Great Lakes region, thereby overlooking the other forms of violence which often occur in the private or domestic spheres. The focus of this chapter is to draw attention to the continued incidence of violence against women within the domestic sphere. This is not an attempt to minimize the horrendous violence inflicted upon women during the armed conflict in the DRC. Rather, this chapter moves the discussion beyond existing studies, focusing on violence in post-conflict DRC, and argues the need to refocus attention on the determinants, effects and possible solutions to preventing, prosecuting and punishing acts of domestic violence. The author further posit that paying increased attention to the issue of domestic violence and its socio-economic and legal implications on women within the domestic setting is necessary for acknowledging women not as victims, but as agents of development. Reports compiled by the Canadian immigration refugee board (IRBC, 2006) indicate that domestic violence in the DRC remains a persistent, pervasive and widespread problem. The author also argues that the failure of existing scholarship to understand and problematize domestic violence in the DRC has limited the effectiveness of discourse on violence against women in the ongoing conflict. Domestic violence is a global phenomenon, and Africa is no exception. Various studies have addressed this growing menace in both developed and developing countries (Kishor and Johnson, 2004; Kimani, 2007; Peterman et al. 2011; Appiagyei-Atua, 2013). For instance, Fulu and Mediema (2015) view globalization and the consequent widening economic gender-disparities as contributing factors to gender violence. In the case of the DRC, the effects of the long civil conflict have resulted in the generation of data and statistics measuring the widespread prevalence

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of violence against women during the armed conflict. These data are not without some limitations, as Heaton (2013) cautions against media sensationalism of reports on rape and other forms of violence. In this chapter, the focus is on domestic violence, largely defined as violence perpetrated against women within a domestic setting, often involving a close acquaintance. Domestic violence occurs in various forms. Physical forms of violence include acts such as pushing, slapping and other forms of physical intimidation. Sexual violence may include forceful sex, rape and sexual assault. Psychologically, violence can be manifested in the form of threats, use of coercion, humiliation and threats to harm. Economic violence is manifested through control over resources and or limiting or preventing the ability of the victim to effectively gain employment and be selfsufficient (Sardenberg, 2011). Violence against women is a multifaceted problem, and as such, requires the adoption of integrated approaches in understanding its occurrence and outcomes. Attempts by scholars to provide a concise framework for understanding the incidence and effects of violence against women is subject to the ethos of different disciplinary approaches (O’Toole, Schiffman and Edwards, 2007). For the purposes of this study, this chapter adopts the integrated ecological framework espoused by Heise (1998, 2011) which views the problem of violence as the combined outcome of multilayered factors which cut across individual, situation and community levels of social interaction. The interaction of these multiple factors is in consonance with the O’Toole et al. position (2007: xiii), “The ways in which the organization of both interpersonal interactions and social institutions such as law, economics and religions contribute to the social construction of gender and to gendered violence.” Using this framework, the chapter looks at the different approaches and paradigms used in explaining domestic violence from an economic, feminist, sociocultural and the conflict perspectives within the context of DRC. The economic explanations within the integrated framework draw on the economic theories of Marx and Engels (O’Toole et al., 2007). According to their theorizing, the position of women in society is not biological, but rather sociological, emanating from the desire of men to control the means of production. Furthermore, they argue that the position of women becomes relegated to that of dependents, with men controlling the means of production, and women becoming property to be owned. From an economic perspective, inequality in the earning capacity of men and women therefore contributes to the incidence of violence perpetrated against women. According to Levinson (1989), where the male dominates

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the economic decision-making processes, there is a higher likelihood of violence being used as a means of authority. Within the African context, other studies have suggested the effects of World Bank structural adjustment programs as having a deleterious impact in perpetuating family violence (UNICEF, 1989). Other scholars are not so hung up on the idea of economic inequality. Studies have demonstrated that women who are highly educated, earning a high income and well informed of their rights, may still be victims of domestic violence (Ofei-Aboagye, 1994; Amoakohene 2011; Beninger, 2014). The case of the DRC appears to support the economic determinants of domestic violence. In fact, in the DRC, the use of law may be exacerbating the economic determinants of domestic violence. The Family Code of 1987 (as amended in 1999) discriminates against women by restricting their freedom to own land, take a job, or seek legal counsel subject to the consent of the husband. Women’s economic freedom becomes hijacked, thus leaving the man to control her mobility, independence and her ability to financially contribute to the home. Unemployment and or low wages create economic disadvantages and an increased occurrence of violence against women (Kishor and Johnson, 2006). Feminist theorists see patriarchy as the only theoretical explanation for domestic violence. The emphasis on patriarchy by feminist scholarship tends to limit other social and individual factors that may help us understand and explain domestic violence (Heise, 1998:263). O’Toole et al. (2007:3–7) demonstrate that gender is a social construct. The institution of patriarchy—the control of male over female—was borne out of historical arrangements by human beings to coexist through division of labor. The effect of such division of labor consequently led to gendered roles in society, thus making patriarchy a human invention, which needs to be deconstructed in order to address violence against women. For feminist theorists, therefore, in understanding the factors that contribute to violence against women, gender inequality plays a critical role. The inherent power structures within societies, reinforced by gender stereotypes, marginalizing and relegating women to the home have contributed immensely to fostering a culture of impunity. Patriarchal norms, which are a global occurrence, are reinforced in African countries due to historical connections between the colonizing powers and African communities. In the case of the DRC, the penal laws still contain provisions from the era of Belgian colonization, which emphasized the right of the man to beat his wife and the use of violence as a means to settle conflicts. Wife beating is therefore seen as the right of a man to “punish” his wife (Ampofo, 1993).

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Furthermore, evidence suggests that post-conflict situations provide a fertile ground for the reemergence of patriarchal and masculine control. Domestic violence becomes prevalent as ex-combatants try to reintegrate in their communities and attempt to redefine their control over families and communities (Dahrendorf, 2005). According to Obiora (2004), the patriarchal norms and hegemonic tendencies in African communities and institutional arrangements have been reinforced by global economic arrangements that continue to reinforce the economic position of men relative to those of women. The result has been a change in the gendered structures in many post-colonial African communities where the postcolonial institutional arrangements left behind have further reinforced the dominance of men in power and government. The result has been a trickle down of power structures into the home, resulting in an exacerbation of power inequalities in the domestic sphere. Heise (1998:263) rejects the feminist emphasis on patriarchy and power structures, noting its failure to explain why some men engage in domestic violence, and not others. While acknowledging violence against women as a global problem, Bowman (2003) stresses the need for understanding the specific role cultural beliefs and practices play in perpetuating violence within the African context. Heise (1998:267–269) confirms earlier studies suggesting that witnessing violence, victims of child abuse, and the absence of a father in the home often combine to create an individual’s culture of violence. In the DRC, as in other African polities, dowry or “paying for a bride,” and customs that prevent women from inheriting property of their deceased parents all work to rob women of their equality within the family and in society. The cultural practice of early child-marriages has been suggested as a contributory factor to gender-based violence where girlbrides have to depend on their husbands for economic sustenance. The culmination of these practices creates a system of dependency; women become marginalized as the “property” of their husbands, due to economic dependency on the man. Anecdotal evidence suggests, however, that even where women are able to gain some level of economic independence, they are still bound by the local customary ethos of power structures within the family. Tamale (2008) critiques the culturalism argument by arguing the need to re-conceptualize culture as a positive tool for gender empowerment. Arguing from a post-colonial framework, she makes the case for questioning the value-laden, Eurocentric definition of culture and the need for scholars and practitioners to view African cultural norms as capable of being used as a strategy to empower women. Conflict has been shown to contribute to domestic forms of violence. The decades-long civil conflict in the DRC has added another layer to the

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types and impacts of violence against women. Zongwe (2012) describes the three phases of the conflict spanning 1996–1997, 1998–2003 and 2003–present. Each phase has presented escalated incidences of the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war in the DRC. While the focus of this chapter is on domestic violence, it is worthwhile noting that the systematic rape, torture and killing of women have sometimes happened within their homes, thus these crimes have taken the form of domestic acts of violence (Johnson et al., 2010). A study conducted by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UN, 2013) indicates the increasing prevalence of violence against women as a result of the conflict. Of a total of 705 cases reported between January and July, armed fighters reportedly committed 434 of these crimes. The North Kivu region witnessed a spike from 4,689 cases in 2011, to 7,075 cases in 2012. What is often missing from these data is the amount of violence that occurs within the home. For returning soldiers and combatants, reintegration into their local communities can prove a real challenge to their sense of control. Consequently, Dahrendorf (2005) has suggested that excombatants tend to take out their violence within the domestic setting, and the victims are invariably women. What is alarming about these statistics is the fact that many cases remain unreported due to the stigmatization of victims in their communities and the fear of being ostracized by their families, and inaccessibility to the police or courts to seek redress. The multi-layered analysis presented here supports Heise’s (1998), integrated framework, which considers the individual, situational and sociocultural determinants of violence against women. While the foregoing analysis is by no means exhaustive in explaining domestic violence, it nonetheless affords a working framework for understanding violence against women. The integrated ecological framework, however may have failed to fully capture the broad range of socio-economic outcomes resulting from violence against women in conflict-ridden communities like DRC. As her study notes: This framework is based on a review of the North American academic research on violence from the perspectives of anthropology, psychology and sociology and from cross-cultural comparative studies that use statistical methods to analyze coded ethnographic studies (Heise, 1998: 264–265).

To remedy this shortcoming in the integrated framework, the analyses presented below fill a void in the literature by moving the discussion from causes of violence, to an examination of how violence affects the socioeconomic fabric of women and their communities.

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Assessing the Socio-economic Impact of Violence According to the World Health Organization’s 2014 global report on violence, the effects of violence have far-reaching implications for both local and national development. The implications for economic development range from the short-term loss of employment and increased government spending on health services, to long-term effects such as disease and death. Women in the DRC account for well over half of the country’s estimated population of 67.51 million people. A report issued by the United Nations Human Development Indicators in 2013 suggests that the gender-parity index remains very high, scoring 0.669, with values closer to 1 indicating a high prevalence of inequality. On the human development indicators, the DRC ranks 147 out of a total number of 187 countries. Women in the DRC tend to be concentrated in the agricultural sector, with women accounting for 84 per cent of the workforce, as compared to 62 per cent of men. Agriculture contributes about 42.5 per cent of the country’s gross national product (USAID, 2014). Women in government institutions are very few, with 9.4 per cent of women in parliament. Women running for parliamentary office in 2011 decreased from 13.8 per cent in 2006, to 12.1 per cent in 2011. Women account for 6 per cent of ministers and vice-ministers, out of 37 positions (UK Government, 2013). The statistics provided here strongly suggest that women still have a long way to go to achieve gender parity in national decision-making processes. This is also evidence of the attitudes towards women’s decision-making at the family and communal levels. Where decision-making becomes the sole domain of men, then the likelihood of increased violence as a tool for decision-making increases (Levinson, 1989). The social marginalization of women who have been victims of rape negatively impacts socio-economic development. Domestic violence destabilizes the economies of developing countries due to the strain on the productivity of women. Victims of domestic violence are most likely to be absent from work, resulting in a reduction in social capital (Morrison and Orlando, 2005). The persistence of cultural norms in the DRC—to the effect that a raped woman is considered a “dirty” woman—has resulted in high levels of stigmatization against victims of sexual violence. Consequently, women and girls are less likely to report incidences of sexual violence against them (Latek, 2014). In cases where they decide to report to the police, they come up against another complication—limited access to the courts, corrupt judicial officials who skew the laws in favor of male perpetrators and the high cost of filing and legal fees, resulting in

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justice becoming costly for victims of violence (FIDH, 2013). The combination of a lack of monetary reparations and societal stigmatization rings a death knell for most women who are not able to fully reintegrate into society and contribute to communal and national sustainable development efforts. Though there are no data available to assess the impact of intervention policies for victims of domestic violence in the DRC, estimates from other jurisdictions indicate that the cost of addressing domestic violence can create a huge dent in the meager resources of victims who have to pay for health and counseling services out of their own pocket. According to the World Bank’s Doing Business in the Democratic Republic of Congo (2017), a gender component has been added to the quality of the land administration index. This component measures women’s ability to use, own, and transfer property according to the law. Further, Doing Business 2017 covers eight questions on job quality: (i) whether the law mandates equal remuneration for work of equal value; (ii) whether the law mandates nondiscrimination based on gender in hiring; (iii) whether the law mandates paid or unpaid maternity leave; (iv) the minimum length of paid maternity leave (in calendar days); (v) whether employees on maternity leave receive 100 per cent of wages; (vi) the availability of five fully paid days of sick leave a year; (vii) whether a worker is eligible for an unemployment protection scheme after one year of service; and (viii) the minimum duration of the contribution period (in months) required for unemployment protection (World Bank, 2017). Table 10-1 shows how ineffective women’s empowerment policies have been in the DRC. Table 10-1 Gender Component of Job Quality Policy in DRC Women and Job Equality Policy

Benefit of Policy to Women

Equal remuneration for work of equal value among men and women

None

Gender discrimination in hiring

Most against women and girls

Paid or unpaid maternity leave mandated by law for women

None

Minimum length of maternity leave

98.0 days

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Women and Job Equality Policy

Benefit of Policy to Women

for women (calendar days) Do Women receive 100 per cent of wages on maternity leave?

No

Do women receive five fully paid days of sick leave a year?

No

Do women receive unemployment protection after one year of employment?

No

Minimum contribution period for unemployment protection (months)

Not applicable for women

Source: World Bank (2017). Doing Business in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Washington, D.C. World Bank Publication.

The physical effects of violence against women translate directly into determining their ability to fully contribute to economic development. A study conducted by Johnson et al. (2010) demonstrates how physical violence results in either deaths or physical incapacitation. Physical incapacitation often means the inability of women to take care of themselves and their children, resulting in abandonment by their husbands. In other reported cases, female victims are often subjected to male control, unable to seek gainful employment, control their wages, or be self-reliant. These controls foster a vicious cycle of poverty for the women and their families (Sardenberg, 2011). The inability, or limited ability, of women to seek gainful employment results in a limited workforce. In instances where women can be employed, the lack of educational opportunities has resulted in an unprepared, uneducated workforce, thus relegating women to menial jobs. Limited social capital due to the marginalization of women consequently affects the gross national product of the DRC, which the World Bank estimates to be less than $220 per capita as of 2013. On the human development index, the DRC scores 186 out of 187 countries, making it one of the lowest in the world despite the vast amount of resources available in the country (World Bank, 2013). The inability of

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women to be active participants in social and economic development affects the country as a whole. Women are disproportionately viewed as custodians of the home in the sense of taking care of the needs of the husband and children and the needs of other members of their extended families. Ensuring social and family cohesion falls largely on the backs of women. Violence perpetrated against women in the home consequently affects the family unit as a whole. Children are adversely affected by being witness to such horrendous acts, resulting in behavioral problems (Tenkorang et al., 2013). Additionally, it has been observed that children who are unintended victims of violence within the domestic setting have a higher probability of poor academic performance and low self-esteem (Tenkorang et al., 2013). Evidence from the DRC strongly suggests that most perpetrators of violence, both within the domestic context, and in the conflict settings, have often grown up witnessing violence at home (WHO, 2013). While a single woman may be a direct victim of violence, the ripple effects are felt in other family members and in the community at large. The vicious cycle of violence is therefore set in motion at the home and this has numerous negative consequences for sustaining development such as human capital predisposed to a culture of violence. Equally important to mention are the health implications of violence against women, which has a direct bearing on their ability to contribute to social and economic development. The physical manifestations of violence against women, whether sexual, emotional, psychological or mental produce adverse consequences for the physical and mental health of victims (Mwaura, 2008; Kaminer et al., 2008). In particular, reports from the United Nations HIV/AIDS Programme indicate that the percentage of women in the DRC who have contracted diseases such as HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancies as a result of violence remain quite high. Most of these cases are directly related to violence against women both in the domestic and public spheres. The infection of victims with the HIV/AIDs virus is often a byproduct of violence in marriages in society where women are largely not allowed to negotiate the use of condoms (WHO, 2004). The effect of domestic violence on the mental health of victims receives little attention in most African settings. Mental health due to the trauma of violence has been shown to contribute to depression, substance abuse, anxiety and in some cases suicide (Ellsberg and Shane, 2002). A victim of sexual violence who contracts a sexually transmitted disease is essentially put on a fast-track to death in a country like the DRC, where health services remain woefully inadequate. Sick women are consequently unable to fully contribute to economic development through

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gainful employment and become burdens for their family members. Unwanted pregnancies in the case of girls who are sexually abused result in their dropping out of school, further limiting the possibility of their effectively contributing to national development efforts. Health risks are not limited to women only, as Asling-Monemi et al. (2003) have demonstrated, based on evidence from Nicaragua. Their study strongly suggests that women who experience domestic violence are likely to experience high infant mortality rates and children who survive often live with long-term physical and psychological disabilities. Where women’s health is adversely affected, this translates into lowered productivity and consequently a stalled or limited economic development. This is true for a place like the DRC where women contribute immensely to the country’s dependence on economic production. The prevalence of violence against women in the DRC has critical political implications for national development. The marginalization and relegation of women as second-class citizens frequently translates into the lack of women in political institutions. For instance, the national legislature of the DRC has only 9.4 per cent of the seats taken by women. Despite the enactment of a parity law in the 2006 constitution calling for an equal representation of men and women in all government institutions, the electoral laws of the country have not protected these rights by removing the option for political parties to have party lists of women. Further complicated by inherent discriminatory practices preventing most girls and women from attaining higher levels of education, social prohibitions against women running for office and the heaving demands on women in the family have combined to limit the amount of women in politics. Consequently, the lack of important allies in the form of women in the national legislature or important cabinet positions has a number of implications. First, it means that women are continually viewed as second to men when it comes to decision-making whether at home or in politics. Second, this also has an effect on the extent to which gender-friendly laws and policies can be made to address issues such as violence against women. Third, the very limited number of women judges in the courts has affected the institutional culture of the courts in that female victims do not have substantive representation in the courts and where they do make it to the courts, the existence of discriminatory laws further complicates the award of damages and the length of sentencing that perpetrators of violence against women face (FIDH, 2013). The negative impact of violence against women in the DRC no doubt poses serious challenges for economic and social development. What have been the efforts at the local

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and international levels to address domestic violence in the DRC, and how have these efforts been successful? It is to this discussion I now turn.

Legal and Policy Efforts at Addressing Domestic Violence Efforts aimed at addressing domestic violence in societies around the world involve the interplay of multiple actors, strategies and laws. In most countries, the primary laws guaranteeing equal protection under the law and non-discrimination against a woman are enshrined in national constitutions. Evidence suggests however, that constitutional guarantees of non-discriminatory practices including the use of violence have not been fully actualized. Through the advocacy of transnational networks, women’s civil society organizations and intergovernmental organizations, some countries have taken further steps to pass laws through their national legislatures directly aimed at addressing domestic violence. A growing number of African countries have undertaken efforts to pass national legislation to criminalize various forms of violence against women (Manuh, 2007; Beninger, 2014). This has yet to happen in the DRC. One explanation for the absence of a domestic violence law harks back to what was discussed earlier, namely the very limited number of women in political institutions, especially the legislature in the DRC. A detailed discussion of governmental policies and laws pertaining to addressing domestic violence is necessary to set the context for understanding why private violence (domestic) should be considered a public and national issue in the DRC. The 2006 constitution of DRC provides in Articles 14 and 15 that: Article 14 The public authorities see to the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and ensure the protection and promotion of their rights. They take in all areas, and most notably in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural areas, all appropriate measures in order to ensure the full realization of the potential of women and their full participation in the development of the nation. They take measures in order to fight all forms of violence against women in their public and private life. Women are entitled to equitable representation in national, provincial and local institutions. The State guarantees the achievement of parity between men and women in said institutions. The law determines the conditions for the application of these rights.

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The public authorities are responsible for the elimination of sexual violence used as an instrument in the destabilization and displacement of families. International treaties and agreements notwithstanding, any sexual violence committed against any person with the intention to destabilize or to displace a family and to make a whole people disappear is established as a crime against humanity punishable by law.

Prima facie, these constitutional provisions appear to demonstrate the DRC government’s efforts to criminalize and prosecute sexual violence within the family and the community at large. But that is as far as it goes. Enforcing these constitutional provisions has not seen much success, and this is partly due to the lack of governmental will to take the constitutional provision and translate it into legislation condemning sexual and other acts of violence perpetrated against women. The lack of a comprehensive domestic violence law and the weak enforcement mechanisms of the law totally defeat the intent of the constitutional provision. As a result of ad hoc attempts by the government to address the incidence of violence against women, in 2006, two amendments were made to the Congolese Criminal Code of 1940 and the Criminal Procedure Code of 1959. Amendment 6/18 broadened Congolese Criminal law to address sexual violence by redefining rape, forced prostitution, expanding the definition and classifications of sexual violence and introducing tougher punishments for the crime. Additionally, Amendment 6/19 reforms the Procedure Code by expediting the process of reporting and prosecuting sexual crimes of a violent nature, safeguarding the dignity of victims, providing victim support in the form of physical and psychological evaluation and providing reparations for victims (FIDH, 2013). The combined effect of these changes is to increase punitive measures against perpetrators, expand the classification of acts of violence prosecutable by law and most importantly to expand the definition of rape by bringing it closer to internationally recognized standards. The author has some reservations about Zongwe’s (2012:37) views that these amendments are “progressive, liberal, gender-neutral and in keeping with international law.” These amendments are very limited in scope and have failed to address domestic violence for a number of reasons. First, the amendments were specifically directed at sexual violence, which is a subset of the wide range and forms of abuse that occur within the domestic setting. Despite these modest gains made for protecting women against sexual violence, the observable impacts remain negligible. This is due to a combination of factors. Second, in terms of

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institutional challenges, the import of Amendment 6/19 was directed at procedural changes aimed at expediting the prosecution of sexual violence cases. The limited access to justice in the form of physical access to courts by women has slowed down the process of initiating the fast resolution of rape cases. In addition, where women are able to make it to court, the endemic high levels of corruption within the judicial system means justice is up for sale and male perpetrators who are able to pay their way out are left to go free. The payment of filing fees and the need to retain and pay for a lawyer is an added cost. Most women who do not have the means of income are left with no choice but to abandon a charge against a perpetrator (Douma and Hilhorst, 2012). Third, in terms of the conflict in the laws, Amendment 6/18 appears to be in contrast to the Family Code which stipulates among other provisions, that the man shall be deemed to be the head of the household and a woman has to seek her husband’s consent to seek legal redress in courts. Thus, while there is no mention of marital rape in any law pertaining to domestic sexual violence in Congo, the idea that a woman who is the victim of a domestic violence will have to seek the consent of her husband to take him to court, defeats the very purpose of the intent of Amendment 6/18. Fourth, there is limited governmental interest in nationally enforcing domestic and sexual violence laws in the county. A national strategy put in place by the Minister of Gender in 2009 to enforce the laws on violence against women and girls and the further creation of a national implementation agency failed to take off due to the lack of budgetary appropriation (FIDH, 2013). Despite the limited-to-no laws aimed at directly addressing the various forms of domestic violence in the DRC, the legal obligation to prosecute perpetrators and to end impunity is not limited to domestic laws. Activists fighting for ending impunity against women have advocated for the DRC government to fulfill its international obligations by enforcing and implementing international law into domestic law. Fifth, the failure of the government to adhere to its international obligations. Congo is signatory to major multilateral treaties and conventions aimed at addressing discrimination against women. Some of these treaties are specifically directed at addressing violence against women. These international agreements include the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW, 1979) and the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court, which criminalizes crimes against humanity. At the African regional level, the DRC is a signatory to

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the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) and, more specifically, the Additional Protocol on the Rights of the Woman (Maputo Protocol) which also outlaws all forms of discrimination against women (Gawaya and Mukasa, 2005). The failure of the DRC government to fully adhere to its international obligations in protecting women against violence and provide safeguards to enable them to fully contribute to economic and social development of their communities constitutes a fundamental breach of its international obligations. The sixth challenge is the influence of international aid agencies in prescribing solutions. The failure of the government to address violence against women has necessitated a multiplicity of local and global actors in addressing the domestic matter (Coomaraswamy, 1996; 1999; 2000). The specialized United Nations agencies on the rights of women, and other agencies such as the Human Rights Council, are some of the actors directly engaged in activities aimed at supplementing the lack of governmental accountability in addressing violence against women. The World Bank, in conjunction with development aid from Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium and regional organizations such as the European Union have provided monetary assistance to help address judicial sector reforms, prevention mechanisms and victim rehabilitation projects. Some of the judicial reforms have focused on building the capacity of judges, magistrates and court staff to better identify and enforce the provisions of the law pertaining to violence against women. As of 2010, it was estimated that $86.4 million had been spent on efforts to address violence against women in the DRC (Douma and Hilhorst, 2012), bearing in mind that most of these programs were directed at victims of conflict-based violence. Non-governmental organizations such as the International Committee for the Red Cross, Amnesty International and other women’s rights advocacy organizations have stepped up to provide material, physical and legal assistance to victims of domestic violence (Dauer and Gomez, 2006). Most importantly, individuals, both local and international, have been key players in helping to assuage the suffering of women victims. Dr. Mukwege, a Congolese gynecologist, won the European Parliament Sakharov Prize in 2014 for his dedication to treating victims of rape. Together, these intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and individuals have in various ways contributed to helping address the incidence of violence against women in the DRC. Their efforts have had the effect of reconstructing and redefining the socio-economic, legal and political rights of women. Overall, these activities have in modest ways helped to revitalize the contributions women in the DRC can,

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and do make to the development of their families, local communities and the nation as a whole.

Recommendations The foregoing discussion has focused on providing a litany of problems and challenges to the effective prevention, prosecution and punishment of domestic violence against women in the DRC. A review of existing research on the matter of violence against women globally, and in the case of DRC in particular, clearly shows that there is no lack of solutions to the problem: how can these solutions be effectively implemented? Attempts at addressing domestic violence require framing domestic violence using both international human rights norms and domestic legal standards (Beninger, 2014). The question remains, however how to effectively and expeditiously implement these international and domestic legal norms. How effective will these recommendations be in addressing the problem? How do we measure the effectiveness (or lack thereof), and how do we use these measurable outcomes as a blueprint for addressing the problem in other jurisdictions across the continent of Africa? In this section, the author put forward bold proposals and recommendations, which have not been fully addressed in the existing literature on domestic violence against in DRC. I categorize these recommendations within a cultural and sociolegal framework. The recommendations within this framework focus on ways in which cultural values and norms can be effectively integrated into addressing violence against women.

Community-based Awareness Programs Adopting a cultural perspective proceeds on the assumption that attempts to fully address the root causes of violence against women requires family, communal and national debates about gender relations in the home. African cultural values and norms hold very promising tools for empowering women, contrary to mainstream analysis of African cultural values as disempowering women (Tamale, 2008). Globally, the institution of patriarchy and its various manifestations across cultures and contexts has been identified as the leading cause of gender inequity. Congo is no exception, and an attempt to fully address violence against women will therefore require awareness raising, informal educational programs and family discussions on the roles and rights of women vis-à-vis men. Engaging in open discussion and dialogue within community settings, on gender relations, though viewed as taboo in most communities, is

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definitely the first step in making men (and women who also engage in violence) understand the wider socio-economic implications of violence against women.

Community-based Justice Enhancing Groups The second recommendation, flowing from the cultural perspective, is the need to focus on establishing what I call community-based justice enhancing groups. These groups will consist of both men and women in the communities who understand and value gender rights. These groups should be tasked with being the mouthpiece for setting community standards on what are acceptable modes of discipline within the family. Choosing the members of these groups needs to be done tactfully, taking into account the negative reinforcing nature of traditional leaders who have little-to-no interest in losing their relative power positions to other constituents—such as women. For that matter, the justice group members should be individuals who have received formal training and guidance in the legal provisions of the domestic laws on violence against women. In addition, they need to demonstrate a personal commitment to addressing the issue of violence against women. Their mission and vision should be to engage in community discussions that seek to adopt a rights-based approach to solving gender-based violence, but also one that focuses on discussing and highlighting the negative socio-economic impact of violence against women.

Training Traditional Rulers and Religious Leaders The third culturalism recommendation should be the involvement of traditional and religious leaders. Let me first throw in a caveat here; it has been well documented that religious and traditional leaders have been found in many other jurisdictions to be complacent and in fact aiding and abetting the commission of violence against women (Appiagyie-Atua, 2013). This often stems from the fact that religious and traditional leaders see the “discipline” of a woman or girl as necessary for holding and preserving “traditional” family and community values (Tenkorang et al., 2013). At this juncture, it is worth pointing out that the authority and prestige of traditional and community leaders can be equally harnessed for the good of stamping out violence against women. A series of activities aimed at educating and raising awareness among traditional and religious leaders could have the potential to yield measurable positive outcomes in addressing the incidence of violence within domestic settings.

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Socio-legal Framework The following section discusses socio-legal recommendations for addressing violence against women. Here, the first recommendation is directed at increasing the political participation of women at all levels of government in the DRC. This should start at the communal and district levels, up to the national level. Increasingly, studies have demonstrated that increasing the number of women in government not only has a symbolic representation, but can also lead to some substantive representation on women’s issues (Bauer and Britton, 2006; Bauer, 2011; Bauer and Okpotor, 2013). The representation of women in the lawmaking channels of government and the law-interpreting organs of government has the potential to incrementally lead to changing the laws, norms and institutional cultures in Congo which remain highly detrimental to women’s rights. Increasing the number of women in parliament could set the context for the presence of important allies for women’s rights groups to mobilize and put pressure on the government to pass a domestic violence law in Congo.

Shared Responsibility between Actors Another equally important area for reform is the need for shared responsibility between the government of Congo and foreign donors. In problematizing the incidence and effects of violence against women, it is very crucial for the government to be held accountable by donor agencies. As posited by Douma and Hilhorst (2012), the funding regimes for ending violence against women in the DRC have resulted in the unintended side effect of making assistance programs appear as a form of business, what they call fonde de commerce. Douma and Hilhorst (2012) caution against the unintended results whereby attempts to address and end sexual violence against women in the DRC lead to a reduction in the role of the Congolese constituency in addressing the issue. To that end, they argue the need for reforms within funding agencies to make resource assistance more effective. Effective reform of funding agencies should therefore be widespread and aimed at supplementing government efforts within a welldefined ratio of 50/50. I argue that funding agencies should focus on supplementing government efforts in addressing the issue. This will hopefully increase government commitment to fully addressing the problem.

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Addressing Institutional Norms From a socio-legal perspective, I would recommend that efforts be directed at changing societal perceptions of the judicial and police services—two critical avenues for addressing violence against women. The challenges confronting the police and judicial services remain largely financial. These include poor infrastructure in the form of court buildings and equipment, the cost of filing fees and its impact on indigent women, the lack of access to courts due to remoteness of some villages, the high levels of police and judicial staff corruption and the poor police procedures in evidence gathering (FIDH, 2013). There is no doubt that these challenges contribute immensely to the further institutionalization of violence against women in Congo. The recommendation put forth here is the need for the government, and other justice sector-enhancing agencies such as the World Bank, to focus on introducing the use of local customary courts and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms to address violence against women. However, some of the challenges associated with the use of ADR, such as the re-institutionalization of patriarchal customary norms (AppiagyeiAtua, 2013) should be borne in mind. The efforts in the DRC therefore have to be very context-specific, taking steps to minimize the reintroduction of discriminatory practices against women during arbitration hearings. For instance, in the case of Ghana, the 2007 Domestic Violence Act makes an express provision for the use of ADR mechanisms to address domestic violence. However, the law makes it clear that such efforts have to be undertaken under the guidance and supervision of the courts and with the consent of the parties thereto. The successful implementation of the above recommendations rests on one pre-condition—namely the economic empowerment of women as a necessary foundation for ending violence against women. The provision of opportunities for women’s self-help groups, micro-credit schemes and educational opportunities for upward mobility will greatly contribute to reducing and hopefully diminishing the incidence of violence against women. Recognizing that economic empowerment is not the be-all and end-all, I posit the need to refocus on addressing the socio-economic determinants of violence as a critical bridge to developing a multispectral and intersectional approach to ending the scourge of violence on women. Putting an end to impunity for the violation of the inherent dignity of women and girls in the DRC requires a holistic approach. The foregoing recommendations are some plausible efforts, which have the potential to address the issue from many angles, starting with the personal agency of victims.

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Conclusion This chapter has reintroduced the discussion on domestic violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and its attendant socio-economic impacts on women. The lingering civil conflict that has ravaged the country for decades has resulted in the systematic occurrence of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Consequently, national and international discourse have shifted away from addressing domestic violence to wartime sexual violence. Yet, domestic violence continues to occur, with very wide and deep implications for women’s socio-economic development. In this chapter, I have sought to reinvigorate the discussion on the need to pay attention to domestic violence in the DRC. To that end, I have argued that ending immunity against gender-based violence should be a national agenda backed by a full governmental commitment to eradicate the endemic scourge of violence against women. Through the lens of a rights-based approach to development, the chapter argues the need to recognize women in the DRC as vital and capable agents of development. However, their ability to contribute to the full realization of socio-economic development of their communities and national sustainable development cannot happen in a vacuum. Political freedoms and liberties aimed at preventing discriminatory practices against women should be a top agenda on the government’s national plan of action. The recommendations provided are important and can be used by governmental, nongovernmental and intergovernmental agencies. In addition, these recommendations can be used by individuals and groups interested in and concerned with ending the scourge of violence against women in the DRC. These recommendations are also vital for development agencies as they seek ways to empower women as important agents of sustainable development in the DRC and the global economy. This chapter adds value to existing literature by highlighting the nexus between domestic violence and socio-economic development. The analysis presented here moves the discussion away from studies that tend to view women as the victims of domestic violence. Rather, this chapter portrays women as active agents of development, whose contributions should be recognized and programs put in place to address their victimization and marginalization as active agents of social and economic change. Considering the limited amount of work that has been done in specifically addressing domestic violence in the DRC, the following areas of research may be necessary. First, future studies can examine the intersection of Belgian colonial policies and customary laws in perpetuating the subordination of women and perpetration of violence against women.

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Another area of future research can explore how civil society actors (and especially women’s organizations) in the DRC can advocate for the passage of a domestic violence law to protect women. Additionally, studies can investigate the international legal implications of the DRC’s failures to enforce international human rights laws aimed at protecting women.

References Ampofo, A. A. (1993). “Controlling and Punishing Women: Violence against Ghanaian Women.” Review of African Political Economy, 56, 102–111. Appiagyei-Atua, K. (2013). “Alternative Dispute Resolution and Its Implications for Women’s Access to Justice in Africa – Case-study of Ghana.” Frontiers of Legal Research, 1(1), 36–57. Asling-Monemi, K., Pena, R., Ellsberg, M., and Persson, L. (2003). “Violence against Women Increases the Risk of Infant and Child Mortality: A Case Reference Study in Nicaragua.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization 81(1), 10–16 Bauer, G. (2012). ‘“Let There Be a Balance’: Women in African Parliaments.” Political Studies Review, 2012, 10(3), 370–384. Bauer, G., and Britton, H. E., eds. (2006). Women in African Parliaments. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 237. Bauer, G. and Okpotor. F. (2013). ‘“Her Excellency’: An Exploratory Overview of Women Cabinet Ministers in Africa.” Africa Today, 60(1), 76–97. BBC News (2010). “UN Official Calls DR Congo: “Rape Capital of the World,’” (April 28), http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/ 8650112.stm. Accessed November 13, 2015. Beninger, C. (2014). “The Effectiveness of Legislative Reform in Combating Domestic Violence: A Comparative Analysis of Laws in Ghana, Namibia and South Africa.” Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, vol. 32/1, 75–108. Bowman, C. (2003). “Domestic Violence: Does the African Context Demand a Different Approach?” International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 26, 473–491. —. (2003). “Theories of Domestic Violence in the African Context.” American University Journal of Gender and Social Policy Law 11 (2), 847–863.

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British Broadcasting Corporation (2016). Democratic Republic of Congo Country Profile. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13283212. Accessed November 23, 2016 Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. (2006). Democratic Republic of the Congo: Prevalence of domestic violence, the availability of legal protection, methods of punishing or deterring offenders, and presence of support systems for victims. Available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/45f147152d.html. Accessed November 2, 2015 Central Intelligence Agency (2016). World Factbook. Democratic Republic of Congo. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworld-factbook/geos/cg.html. Accessed November 23, 2016 Coomaraswamy, R. (1996). Further Promotion and Encouragement of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms for Women. Report to the UN Commission on Human Rights. E/CN. 4/1996. —. (1999). Violence against Women in the Family. Report to the UN Commission on Human Rights. E/CN. 4/1999. —. (2000). “Combating Domestic Violence, the Obligations of the State,” in Domestic Violence against Girls and Women. UNICEF. New York: United Nations Children’s Fund. Dahrendorf, N. (2005). “Mirror Images in the Congo: Sexual Violence and Conflict.” http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-resolution1325/ congo 2964.jsp. Accessed November 2, 2015. Dauer, S., and Mayra G. (2006). “Violence against Women and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Africa.” Human Rights Review 7 (2), 49– 58. Dibie, J. and Dibie, R. (2012). “Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the Empowerment of Women in Africa.” African and Asian Studies Journal, vol. 11, no. 1, 95–122. Douma, N. and Hilhorst, D. (2012). “Fond de commerce? Sexual Violence Assistance in the Democratic Republic of Congo.” Disaster Studies Occasional Paper 2. Wageningen University. Constitution of Congo. (2006). Available at http://www.constitutionnet.org/files/DRC%20%20Congo%20Constitution.pdf. Accessed March 10 2015. Ellsberg, M. and Shane, B. (2002). “Violence against Women: Effects on Reproductive Health.” Outlook 20(1). Fulu, E. and Mediema, S. (2015). “Violence against Women: Globalizing the Integrated Ecological Model.” Violence against Women, 21 (7), 1– 25.

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International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). (2013). DRC. Victims of Sexual Violence Rarely Obtain Justice and Never Receive Reparation. Major Changes Needed to Fight Impunity. Report 6, 19a. Gawaya, R. and Mukasa, R. (2005). “The African Women’s Protocol: A New Dimension for Women’s Rights in Africa.” Gender & Development 13 (3), 42–50. Griffin, R. W., J. M. Phillips, S. M. Gully (2017). Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning Heaton, L. (2013). “What happened in Luvungi?: On Rape and Truth in Congo,” Foreign Policy, March 4, 2013. Heise, L. (1998). “Violence against Women: An Integrated, Ecological Framework.” Violence against Women, 4, 262–290. —. (2011). “What Works to Prevent Partner Violence? An Evidence Overview.” London, England: Department for International Development. Human Rights Watch (2014). Women’s Rights in Democratic Republic of Congo. https://www.hrw.org/topic/womens-rights. Accessed November 20, 2016. Johnson, K. et al. (2010). “Association of Sexual Violence and Human Rights Violations with Physical and Mental Health in Territories of the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.” Journal of American Medical Association, 304(5), 533–588. Kaminer, D., Grimsrud, A., Myer, L., Dan J. Stein, D. and Williams, D. R. (2008). “Risk for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Associated with Different Forms of Interpersonal Violence in South Africa.” Social Science & Medicine 67 (10),1589–1595. Kimani, M. (2007). “Taking on Violence against Women in Africa: International Norms, Local Activism Start to Alter Laws, Attitudes.” Africa Renewal, 21 (2), 4. Kishor, S. and Kiersten, J. (2006). “Reproductive Health and Domestic Violence: Are the Poorest Women Uniquely Disadvantaged?” Demography, 43, 293–307. —. (2004). Profiling Domestic Violence—A Multi-Country Study. Calverton: ORC Macro. Latek, M. (2014). “Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.” European Parliamentary Research Service. Members’ research service. European Union. Levinson, D. (1989). Family Violence in Cross-Cultural Perspective. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Manuh, T. (20070. “African Women and Domestic Violence.”

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www.opendemocracy.net/article/african_women_and_domestic_violen ce. Accessed October 11, 2015. Morrison, Andrew, and María Beatriz Orlando (2005). “The Costs and Impacts of Gender-based Violence in Developing Countries: Methodological Considerations and New Evidence.” Washington, D.C.: World Bank Working Paper Series. Mwaura, Philomena Njeri. (2008). “Stigmatization and Discrimination of HIV/AIDS Women in Kenya: A Violation of Human Rights and Its Theological Implications.” Exchange 37 (1):35–51. Obiora, L. Amede. (2004). “Supri, Supri, Supri, Oyibo? An Interrogation of Gender Mainstreaming Deficits.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture & Society 29 (2), 649–662. O’Toole, L., Schiffman, J. R., & Edwards, M. L. K. (2007). “Preface: Conceptualizing Gender Violence.” In L. O’Toole, J. R. Schiffman, & M. L. K. Edwards (eds.), Gender Violence: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (2nd ed., pp. xi–xiv). New York: New York University Press. Peterman, Amber, Tia Palermo, and Caryn Bredenkamp. (2011). “Estimates and Determinants of Sexual Violence against Women in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” American Journal of Public Health 101 (6), 1060–1067. Sardenberg, Cecilia. (2011). “What Makes Domestic Violence Legislation More Effective?” Pathways Policy Paper. Brighton: Pathways of Women’s Empowerment RPC. Shah, A. (2010). The Democratic Republic of Congo. Global Issues. http://www.globalissues.org/article/87/the-democratic-republic-ofcongo. Accessed October 30th, 2016. Sylvia T. (2008). “The Right to Culture and the Culture of Rights: A Critical Perspective on Women’s Sexual Rights in Africa.” Feminist Legal Studies, 16 (1) 47–69. Tenkorang, E. Owusu, Y., Adobea Y, Yeboah, Eric H and Bannerman, R. (2013). “Factors Influencing Domestic and Marital Violence against Women in Ghana,” Journal of Family Violence, 28, 771–781. UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). (2014). Progress and Obstacles in the Fight Against Impunity for Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. United Nations Fund for Children. (1989). The Invisible Adjustment: Poor Women and Economic Crises. Santiago, Chile. UNICEF, The America’s and Caribbean Regional Office.

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United Nations High Commission for Refugees. (2013). UNHCR Statistics Show Alarming Rise in Rape and Violence against Women in North Kivu. UNHCR News. United Kingdom Government. (2013). Supporting Women’s Political Participation in the DRC. Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/world-location-news/supportingwomens-political-participation-in-the-drc#history. United Nations Development Programme. (2013). Human Development Reports. Available at http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/table-4-genderinequality-index. United States Agency for International Development. (2014). Agriculture and Food Security. Available at http://www.usaid.gov/democraticrepublic-congo/agriculture-and-food-security United Nations. (1993). General Assembly Resolution 48/104. United Nations Declaration of the Elimination of Violence against Women. World Bank. (2017). Doing Business in Democratic Republic of Congo. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Publications. World Bank Group. (2016). Democratic Republic of Congo. http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/drc. Accessed November 28, 2016 World Bank. (2013). Democratic Republic of Congo Overview. New York: World Bank Publications. World Health Organization. (2010). Preventing Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence against Women: Taking Action and Generating Evidence. Geneva: WHO. —. (2014). Global Status Report on Violence Prevention. Geneva: WHO. Zongwe, D. (2012). “The New Sexual Violence Legislation in the Congo: Dressing Indelible Scars on Human Dignity.” African Studies Review, 55 (2), 37–57.

CHAPTER ELEVEN WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH SUDAN DESMOND BROWN AND ROBERT DIBIE

Introduction The Republic of South Sudan is a landlocked country located in eastcentral Africa. It has boundaries with Ethiopia to the east, Kenya to the south-east, the Central Africa Republic to the west, the Republic of Sudan to the north and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the south. The nation gained independence from Sudan in July 2011 (Republic of South Sudan Government, 2016), thus becoming the newest country in Africa, and the world. The creation of this new country is as a result of a 2005 agreement that ended Africa’s longest-running civil war (British Broadcasting Corporation, 2016). Unfortunately, independence did not bring the conflict in South Sudan to an end. The 2013–2016 civil war displaced 2.6 million people and threatened the success of the world’s newest country. Among those displaced were women and their children (Mabor 2013; British Broadcasting Corporation 2016). South Sudan has a population of approximately 2.34 million. Its gross domestic capita (GDP) was about US$2,000 in 2015, while the GDP—purchasing power parity for the same year was US$23.69 billion (World Bank Group, 2017). The nation’s economic conditions have deteriorated drastically since January 2012 when the government decided to shut down oil production following bilateral disagreements with Sudan (Central Intelligence Agency 2016). In December 2013, conflict between government and opposition forces led to a humanitarian crisis with millions of South Sudanese displaced and food insecurity (World Bank Group, 2017). The nation is one of the most diverse countries in Africa. According to the Central Intelligence Agency (2016) report, South Sudan is home to over 63 different major ethnic groups, and the majority of its people follow traditional religions. South Sudan was formally part of the Republic

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of Sudan (U.S. Department of State, 2016). The British colonized the territory up to 1956 when Sudan was granted independence. There was a mutual understanding that the southerners (now South Sudan) would be able to participate fully in the political system of Sudan after independence in 1956. However, few years later the Arab Khartoum government reneged on its promises to the Christian South. This denegation led to two prolonged periods of conflict (1955–1972 and 1983–2005), in which perhaps 2.5 million people died (British Broadcasting Corporation 2016; World Bank 2016). The new South Sudan government has little infrastructure. Although the nation has large deposits of petroleum, iron ore, gold, silver, copper, aluminum, coal, uranium, chromium ore, copper, zinc, mica, diamond, quartz and tungsten, only less than 150 miles of paved roads are available (Government of the Republic of South Sudan, 2016). Electricity is mostly produced by generators while indoor plumbing and tap water are reported to be very scarce (Central Intelligence Agency 2016). As a result of the civil war, South Sudan mostly depends on imports of goods, services, and capital, mainly from Uganda, Kenya and Sudan (World Bank Group, 2017). Most of its citizens in the rural areas are reported to be suffering from starvation and drought (U.S. Department of State, 2016). According to the World Bank Group (2016) report, subsistence agriculture provides a living for the vast majority of the population, and land and property rights are insecure. The Republic of South Sudan government (2016) reported that the nation holds one of the richest agricultural areas in Africa, with fertile soils and abundant water supplies. Currently the region supports 15–25 million head of cattle (Central Intelligence Agency 2016; World Bank 2016). The warring parties signed a peace agreement in August 2015, which calls for a transitional government of national unity. Since the signing of a peace agreement in August 2015 and the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity in April 2016, instability has nonetheless persisted across the country, exacerbated by intertribal and intercommunal violence, cattle raiding, economic uncertainty, and an increase in violent crime (United States Department of State 2016). The nation’s current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city, though it is planned to move the capital to the more centrally located Ramciel (Government of the Republic of South Sudan, 2016). Tourism is one of the world’s biggest industries, but it has not been well developed in South Sudan. As a result of new nation-building issues and political crises, responsible tourism—that is, concerned with the effects of tourism on people, ecology, and communities—has not been effectively implemented. In addition, the government has not been able to

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ameliorate this by providing tourism which benefits host communities, improves working conditions, involves the local community, promotes cultural heritage, and benefits the environment. Although South Sudan is likely going to be notable as one of the fastest growing tourism regions, not surprisingly, tourism in the country has been negatively affected by the civil war in the country. Further, the tourism industries in South Sudan have been challenged with inadequate employment of women and political instability. The general literature on economic development in Africa is replete with prognoses on the continent’s future regarding poverty eradication. For example, it has been suggested (Somavia, 2007) that the number of people working in extreme poverty in Africa will increase by 22 per cent by 2020. In sub-Saharan Africa, 55 per cent of the population lives on less than US$1 a day, and 80 per cent on less than US$2 a day (Somavia, 2007). Given these grim economic predictions, entrepreneurship has been identified as one solution to improving economic conditions of women (Nieman, 2001). However, as previous research has shown, women are very often excluded from participation in entrepreneurial activities. The broader social-change literature argues that gender differences are tending to disappear across the spectrum rather than merely at the leadership level. This is because time has supplemented, and perhaps superseded, occupation as a key variable (Stewart 1994; Smee & Woodroffe 2013). The public opinion literature, on the one hand, tends to find significant differences between women and men on globalization issues (Bose & Kim, 2009). A recent public opinion study also indicted that gender is among the very weakest correlates on globalization beliefs (Payne & Nassar 2006; Falola & Amponsah 2012). The most plausible new interpretation appears to be that gender roles are changing, and with them the distinctive character of female and male participation (McGovern & Wallimann 2012; Smee & Woodroffe 2013). This chapter will make a major contribution to the gender literature because it proposes that women will play an increasingly important role in leadership position in South Sudan in the near future, despite the fact that one may judge the pace of women’s empowerment in Sudan as incremental and slow. There can nevertheless be little disagreement about the trend. The new government of South Sudan appointed five women out of 29 ministerial positions in 2011. It also appointed ten women out of the nation’s 28 deputy ministers. Despite these political appointments of women, the ladies in the country had also been active in liberation causes, by providing food and shelters to soldiers and by caring for children and

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by caring for wounded military personnel during their political struggle prior to the country’s independence (Mabor, 2013). In addition, CARE Impact Groups (2013) and Mabor (2013), contend that that rape, beatings, psychological abuse, denial of education and economic opportunity were both commonplace and seldom reported. Gender-based violence is common, with 41 per cent of respondents (women and men) in a 2009 UNIFEM survey reporting having experienced gender-based violence within the last year. On the other hand, during the 1983–2005 and 2011–2015 conflicts, documented gender-based violence included sexual violence, rape of women, and men trading women for food or security, and some of the nation’s traditional practices, including forcing girls to get married at an early age and compensating their parents in the form of bride-price paid by the family of the groom for allowing their daughters to get married. (United States Department of State, 2016). Domestic violence is also widely accepted by both women and men in South Sudan: 82 per cent of women and 81 per cent of men agreed that “women should tolerate violence in order to keep her family together.” There is no specific domestic violence law in South Sudan. Early marriage is very common: 45 per cent of girls married before they were 18 , and 7 per cent of girls were married when they were younger than 15 (Government of South Sudan, 2016). A bride-price paid by the husband to the girl’s family is the norm (Ali, 2011). To obtain cattle for the brideprice, cattle-raiding has increasingly targeted women and children in the attacks. Polygamy is also very common, with 41 per cent of unions involving more than one wife. Divorce is extremely difficult for women to obtain: traditionally only men can ask for one, and the wife’s family must pay back the bride price (United States Department of State 2016). According to Ali (2011), gender-based violence and protection violations in South Sudan are driven by a culture of silence and stigma, masculine identity tied to cattle-raiding, bride-price, a lack access to legal recourse, and customary practices that favor compensation for crimes like rape (CARE Impact Groups, 2013). The Transitional Constitution and Bill of Rights (2011) provides guarantees for the equality of men and women (cited in Ali 2011). It recognizes the historic inequalities between women and men in South Sudan, and sets out a 25 per cent affirmative action quota for women in legislative and executive bodies. Women currently comprise 26.5 per cent of the National Legislative Assembly. Women in South Sudan have a historic engagement in peace negotiating teams, and a significant number of women participated in drafting the Constitution of the new nation

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(British Broadcasting Corporation, 2016). According to Mabor (2013), 25 per cent allotted for women participation as a measure of redress is an attempt to rectify the historical imbalance created by generational wars that could not allow women to study and compete with men on an equal footing. Ali (2011) contends that neither the Constitution nor the Bill of Rights (2011) of South Sudan guarantee a 25 per cent affirmative action quota for women. This gender inequality problem makes it difficult for women to compete effectively with the remaining 75 per cent allegedly legislative and executive positions assigned to men in the country. In Africa, there is currently a growing recognition that in the current urgent pursuit of development, women, although still a minority in the business world, possess real entrepreneurial potential and are an important resource for economic growth and job creation. Further, there is growing awareness that the development process could be significantly enhanced if more women were encouraged to become entrepreneurs. However, the issue of skill shortages has been central to these discussions. While many other factors such as credit constraints, business environment and infrastructure bottlenecks have dominated the discussion on obstacles facing new firms in Africa, skill shortages (both on the side of workers and entrepreneurs) have received less attention (Brixiova, 2010). While there exist many cottage and small-scale industries in Africa today, the hospitality/tourism industry exhibits tremendous potential as a means of achieving poverty reduction because of the sector’s ability to create jobs and foster international business. It could also be argued that very few of the least developed countries in the world have significant levels of receipts from international trade (Blake et al., 2008). This is especially the case in sub-Saharan Africa, where most of the main generators of GNP businesses are classified as Small Scale Enterprises (SSEs)—officially defined as having less than 50 employees (Hansom, 1992). Some qualitative characteristics that define this sector include: justin-time production for direct sale of products to consumers, lack of specialization in the labor force, poor or nonexistent book-keeping, and heavy employment of family members (Hansom, 1992). It is estimated that the number of SSEs in many developing countries far exceeds the number of medium or larger firms, and accounts for between 40 and 90 per cent of non-government employment (Gartner, 1999). Further, in the majority of these countries (which are mainly in sub-Saharan Africa), receipts from these activities are less than 5 per cent of GDP (World Bank, 2010). This chapter examines women’s empowerment with respect to skillsdevelopment training in the tourism industry in South Sudan. It explores

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how women are allowed to engage in the attainment of basic hospitality skills that were designed and facilitated with the cooperation of a multinational donor and its partners. It also analyzes how the objective of promoting entrepreneurship among women in post-war South Sudan has been achieved thus far. A brief review of women’s empowerment and the entrepreneurship development literature from an international donor perspective was conducted along with a discussion of the entrepreneurship program as a targeted approach for empowering and sustaining women’s economic situation in South Sudan. Emphasis is placed on women’s empowerment and Small Scale Enterprises (SSE) entrepreneurs, and the current involvement of multinational assistance agencies to regenerate women’s active participation in securing hospitality skills training in a poor country after decades of devastation and civil political conflict. Some policy recommendations are provided in the concluding section on how the new government of South Sudan could rejuvenate women’s active role in the development of all spheres of the country’s socio-economic transformation.

Gender Considerations in Development in Africa According to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (2010), gender equality, the empowerment of women, women’s full enjoyment of all rights and the eradication of poverty are essential to economic and social development, including the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals (United Nations, 2010). It is also argued that women’s economic empowerment is a prerequisite for sustainable development, pro-poor growth and the achievement of all the goals set for the millennium (United Nations, 2010). Eyben (2008) contends that economic empowerment increases women’s access to economic resources and opportunities including jobs, financial services, property and other productive assets, skills development and market information. Dibie and Dibie (2014) argued that gender equality and empowered women are catalysts for multiplying development efforts. As a result, investment in gender capacity-building and equity could yield the highest return of all countries bid for sustainable development. Gender issues are critical aspects of diversity in an organization, and affect women and men from all races, ethnicities, ages, and abilities (Bell, 2012). Gender relations issues in South Sudan are shaped by the social and economic realities of being one of the world’s new countries as well as the poorest economy. These realities make gender relations in the country more complex. For example, the roles and responsibilities of women, men, boys and girls are clearly delineated, but can, and do, change (Ali, 2011).

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In addition, on the one hand, women and girls have responsibilities for farming, collecting water and firewood, cooking, cleaning, childcare, and brewing beer, while on the other, men and boys have responsibilities as decision-makers for the communities and their families, cattle (boys in particular tend to be cattle-herders), hunting, fishing and charcoal making (Mabor, 2013). During the current politically unstable period, 2011 to 2016, gender roles and responsibilities changed to take account of the needs and the different coping strategies families and individuals can put into action (British Broadcasting Corporation, 2016). Although men are significantly less likely to experience gender discrimination and other forms of gender-based diversity issues, they are often otherwise affected because of their emotional attachment to women (Bell, 2012). In this respect, all men have mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, or female friends, making women’s concerns personal for many men as well as the women they care about. On the other hand, men with working wives experience the negative effects of women’s lower wages and job rewards on family incomes (Dworkin & Dworkin 1999; Bell 2012). Women, and increasingly men, face work and family issues as they cope with work, children, and sometimes parents or other relatives who need care. According to CARE Impact Groups (2013) and the United States Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook (2016), South Sudan has more men than women. They reported that the nation has 52 per cent male compared to 48 per cent female. The population of the country is very young: 72 per cent are under 30. South Sudan has the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world: one in seven women will die from childbirth or pregnancy (2,054 per 100,000) (World Bank, 2010). Infant mortality rates are also extremely high, with 75 children per 1,000 dying before their first birthday, of whom more baby boys than girls are affected. Education rates are low, with 27 per cent of the adult population literate: 40 per cent of men over 15, compared with 16 per cent of women over 15. UNICEF estimates that 70 per cent of children aged 6–17 have never set foot in school (United Nations, 2010; World Bank Group 2017). While there are variations of gender disparities in many developing countries around the world, the gender gap in Africa is even wider, and the situation is more complex due to the cultural and traditional context which is anchored in beliefs, norms and practices which breed discrimination and “feminized” poverty (Drine and Grach, 2011). Thus, the importance of taking gender into account in the continent’s development cannot be overemphasized—an assertion that has been supported by research. For example, a recent study by the organization InterAction found that, “gender mainstreaming confirmed that addressing the issues of both men and women

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can directly confront poverty and bring about profound cultural change in gender roles, labor distribution, and harmful practices.” (World Bank Group 2017). In its proven ability to dramatically improve the lives of both women and men, gender mainstreaming can lead to tangible, enhanced, and more sustainable outcomes for women—and men—in resource-poor communities with conservative religious and cultural traditions that oppress women and girls (World Bank Group 2017; Mayoux 2009). The gender debacle in South Sudan is a bone of contention because even though women have worked throughout the history of the country and region, they are inaccurately thought of as relatively new entrants to the economy and workforce (British Broadcasting Corporation 2016; World Bank Group 2017). Further, women are frequently viewed as uncommitted workers and lacking the skills for leadership, management, and decision making, which are desirable in the newly independent democratic country. On the other hand, men are widely thought of as capable workers, providers for their families, committed, and having strong leadership and management skills. It could be argued that despite these sentiments, a greater willingness to cooperate, seek consensus, and reach common goals are assets in the twenty-first century complex global organizations, yet such skills are less valued when women hold them (Eyben 2008; OCED 2011). The way forward is to reach out to poor women in South Sudan who are landless laborers, smallholder agricultural producers, cross-border traders and factory and domestic workers and ensure that these women have access to better education, skills and the opportunities as well as the benefits of economic growth and trade in the nation.

Barriers to Women in South Sudan’s Development Prior to obtaining formal independence in July 2011, Sudan had been in a protracted civil war for over 40 of the past 60 years since its independence from Britain. Although there was a brief truce from 1972–1983, due to the Addis Ababa Peace Accord, the next civil war broke out in 1983 and lasted for over 21 years, after which another peace accord between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement Army (SPLMA) and the Government of Sudan (GOS) was signed on January 9, 2005 in Nairobi, Kenya. The impact and consequences of the civil war have been destructive and distressing to Sudan in general, and South Sudan and other war-affected regions in particular. Due to the war, national resources had been diverted to war efforts and as a result, socio-economic destitution and disrupted administrative and governance structures and systems in the region have emerged.

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Given the fact that women constitute over 48 per cent of the South Sudan population, their participation in leadership and decision-making processes of the country is very meager. The low level of female education, lack of confidence and self-esteem as well as cultural norms and unwritten laws that discriminate against women and their reproductive roles overburden their active productive capacity and participation. In addition, access to, and control of, resources are among the reasons that hinder women’s participation in decision making and their participation in the overall leadership procedures at all levels. Community organizations and civil society groups that advocate for women’s participation in leadership have their own leadership structures that are either male–dominated, or managed by men. As a result, most do not have adequate capacity and skills to increase the participation of women in the decision making either. Table 11-1 highlights some of the actual and potential constraints faced by women in many sub-Saharan countries in general, and in South Sudan. Although the post-war constitution of South Sudan has an affirmative action clause that allows for the full participation of women at all levels, the institutional apparatus does not have the necessary capacity, skill and resources to advance women’s development issues. Strong institutions such as network and lobby groups that should advocate and strengthen women’s leadership roles do not exist, and if they do, have no capacity to manage the situation in South Sudan, and as a result there is a general lack of public awareness about women’s capability and productivity. Table 11-1 shows barriers to women’s participation in economic activities in South Sudan. Table11-1: Barriers to Women’s Economic Activities in South Sudan Barriers to Women’s Economic Capacities

Regions Affected

Lack of human capital

Urban and Rural Areas

Lack of finance, credit

Urban and Rural Areas

Lack of organization. Exclusion by organized formal sector interests.

Urban and Rural Areas

Location—far from tourism sites

Urban and

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Barriers to Women’s Economic Capacities

Regions Affected Rural Areas

Lack of market power. No ownership/control over resources of market value. No bargaining power with investors.

Urban and Rural Areas

Regulations and red tape. Exclusion from registered and promoted categories of tourism facility/service.

Urban and Rural Areas

Inadequate access to tourist market.

Urban and Rural Areas

Limited capacity to meet requirements of tourism market.

Urban and Rural Areas

Under-development of domestic/regional/independent tourism by comparison with international tourism.

Urban and Rural Areas

Government support targeted to formal sector.

Urban and Rural Areas

New tourism opportunities conflict with existing livelihood strategies.

Urban and Rural Areas

Source: Adapted from Ashley, (2000)

The issue of skills shortage and development has been central to the discussions on economic growth and development in Africa. Although tourism is increasingly viewed as a means to generate foreign exchange (Richter, 1985), promote employment development and ultimately stimulate economic growth, the issue of skills and lack thereof in the tourism and hospitality industry has attracted some considerable attention among researchers. Many scholars (for example, Baum et al. 1997; Thomas and Long 2001; Szivas et al. 2003; Kaplan 2004a, 2004b; and Marchante et al. 2005) are in general agreement that there is a shortage of skills in the tourism and hospitality industries, and that the labor supply

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and development of skills are critical for the development and growth of the tourism industry. However, the issue of skills shortage assumes paramount importance for African countries that are currently recognizing that tourism can be an important driver of poverty reduction and economic growth for their economies. Various researchers have extolled the value of entrepreneurial skills training as a precursor to successful tourism industry development and local economic regeneration. For example, Thomas and Long (2001) have argued that the supply and utilization of skills development for hospitality is an issue of key importance. The crux of their argument centers on the fact that many small enterprises (particularly in developing countries) operate in “low skill/low quality” equilibrium. The authors conclude that for regeneration to be fully realized, providers must provide appropriate skills as well as the infrastructure to deliver them. Since the percentage of hospitality industry jobs filled by women in developing countries varies from over 60 per cent in some countries to under 10 per cent in others, it can be argued that the service nature of the industry and high proportion of low-skilled domestic-type jobs can help to increase accessibility to women. Often, women are most involved in informal sector activities, particularly hawking (Shah, 2000). Consequently, the sole purpose of the training delineated in this chapter is to empower women and enable them to play a more active and effective role in entrepreneurship and decision-making process in small-scale hospitality business levels in South Sudan.

Multinational Organizations and Development in Sudan A host of multinational institutions exist today that support tourism development in one form or another (Hawkins and Mann 2006). One of the most common sources of multinational assistance for SSEs is the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which is focused mainly on productive investment, infrastructure and SSE development in the least developed countries. USAID has undertaken approximately 123 projects in 72 countries since 2000 that support Agency objectives of conserving natural resources, stimulating economic development, and alleviating poverty (www.usaid.gov). In addition, many of the sub-contracting agencies of USAID do currently, or at some point have had, some component of hospitality/tourism development as part of their portfolio—for example, International Relief and Development (IRD), International Business & Technical Consultants, Inc. (IBTCI), Winrock International and Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA). The

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latter is implementing an Agriculture Market and Development Program in South Sudan. The aim of the program is to support private sector development in post-war Sudan as well as build the capacity of the infant government of South Sudan (GOSS) to create an enabling environment that would facilitate private sector development and reintegration of persons affected by the 21-year conflict. To achieve its strategic objectives, the program draws expertise from its consortium members and past experience and relies on volunteer assignments from within the region and overseas, as well as Sudanese in the diaspora. Since its commencement, the VEGA/AMED program has facilitated numerous volunteers from the USA, Australia, Canada and other nations of Africa who have provided valuable technical assistance to the government, as well as public and private institutions in South Sudan. Currently, the program covers the geographical towns of Juba, Wau and Malakal, which are considered returnee hot spots.

Analysis of the Female Entrepreneurship Training Project The South Sudan Skills Training Program was a multi-year technical assistance grant made possible through a grant from USAID, aimed at providing structural support and understanding of effective training for improving female entrepreneurship after the civil war. The training primarily aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of those women leaders who were already in leadership/management positions, and at the same time built the confidence of those aspiring for leadership positions in the hospitality sector, particularly the restaurant industry. In addition, this training was to groom young women to become leaders in order to be able to champion the women’s cause and eventually boost the overall percentage of women participation in SSE’s decision-making in the hospitality and tourism tertiary sector in the country. The project consisted of a collaboration that included VEGA and female leaders from the Women’s Self Help Development Organization (WSHDO)—a grassroots organization with multiple partners in several projects, including operation of three restaurants. The first phase of this project included the establishment of an advisory board in South Sudan as a point of reference for program planning and management. The board consisted of community representatives from the WSHDO and local staff of the VEGA office in South Sudan. The initial task was to develop a protocol for interviewing and selecting participants for the training program that would include women entrepreneurs from the pre-identified geographic areas of towns of Juba, Wau and Malakal. A selection

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committee interviewed more than 35 candidates who represented a crosssection of women working in the three restaurants owned by WSHDO. From this process, 20 individuals were chosen to participate in the training program in Juba. Table 11-2 highlights some of the potential positive impacts of this sector on aspects of livelihoods, especially for women. Table 11-2: Existing Cottage and Small-scale Industries in South Sudan Category of SSEs

Current type

Comments

Handicraft

—hand craft work is limited. Lots of handicraft items from Ugandan and Kenya are being offered in the market

ƒ

Opportunities exist to develop the following handicraft products from within: Baskets, hats, mats, kitchen accessories, and novelty items. This is an industry with potential to benefit women

Woodcraft (wood carving)

—A good number of furniture cottages exist in the town. Major products are house, office and school furniture —Few produce religious statues

ƒ

Demand for wood products is huge due to surging demand for materials for construction.

Metal craft/ Metalworking/Fabricating shops

—Traditional kitchen accessories —Architectural products (gates, window frames, window rods, metal sign post). Generally metal preparation, welding and assembling works are on the rise according to sources

ƒ

Demand for metal craft is high but supply is limited due to availability of scrap metals, high cost of production and limited technical know-how are some of the problems identified. This industry has the potential to employ returnees and persons

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Current type

Comments affected by war

Garments/Embroidery

—There are small group of women who are involved embroidery that the team visited. Their products include sweaters, hats, sacks, African wears

ƒ

This is another sector with potential to benefit women. Production is small, often based on demand. Quality is an issue. Lack of product development and competition from products from Uganda impedes development domestically

Tourism/ Hospitality

Guest houses, restaurant and bars

ƒ

Management is a crosscutting problem. Tourism/Hospitality sector employs many women compared to other enterprises

Source: Derived from Field Research in South Sudan

The second phase consisted of on-site visits by the trainer and the program organizers with the object of apprising participants of the opportunity to closely examine the facilities being used for business operations, as well as observe them in action in order to determine the handicaps that existed, so that proper development training tools and topics could be developed to meet those needs. Since a lack of sustainable financing mechanism was deemed to be part of the constraints to developing entrepreneurial talent among women in post-war Sudan, a corollary object was to assess the financial needs of the selected women who intended to seek funding for owning and operating their own personal restaurants as well as those who were employed in WSHDO-owned restaurants. The visit uncovered other cross-cutting observations such as product development constraints, lack of entrepreneurial and managerial skills and access to market and market information. However, lack of entrepreneurial and managerial skills were cited by most respondents as the two main major factors contributing to business failures in the areas visited. Specifically, the

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consensus was to build capacity among the 20 women leaders by offering practical training in hospitality management skills to enable them to operate locally owned restaurants and future guest houses in a profitable manner. Thus, in addition to learning about the various guiding principles of operating a successful restaurant, they had several opportunities to join actual training sessions for prospective entrepreneurs. Phase three of the project entailed the actual training process, which consisted of classroom meetings, and field trips. The topics covered and approaches used during the three weeks of intensive training are listed in Table 11-3. Table 11-3: Training Methodology for Women’s Skills in South Sudan Activity

Approach

Topics

One-day orientation workshop with 20 restaurant workers/entreprene urs from the three pilot areas (Juba, Wau and Malakal)

Discussion & identification of current project needs and discuss topics to be covered during the training process

1.Overview of the hospitality services in South Sudan

Week 1 Class Meeting

Use of a paid interpreter to translate lecture and demonstrations from Arabic to English

2. Safety and sanitation issues: x Identification of factors that affect the growth of pathogens x Identification of methods for preventing biological contamination. . x Steps to proper hand washing, and when hands should be washed. x Identification of proper personal cleanliness practices and appropriate work attire. x Identification of ways to handle ready-to-eat food safely. x Discussion of proper procedures for storing food. x Discussion of proper procedures for holding, cooling, and reheating food.

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Activity

Approach

Topics x x x

Week 2

Use of a paid interpreter to translate lecture and demonstrations from Arabic to English

Identification of ways to handle food ready for service. Outlining proper procedures for preparing and serving food for off-site service. Discussion of proper procedures for cleaning and sanitizing tools and equipment

3. Customer Service x Explanation of the importance of customer service to the restaurant and foodservice industry. x Greeting guests x How to make a good first impression on customers. x Identification of ways to identify customer needs. x Service set up x Taking food orders x Serving the meal 4. Cost control in Restaurant Operations x Identification of types of costs incurred by a foodservice business x Purposes of a budget. x Identification of cost control

Week 3 Field Trips to 3 internationally operated restaurants in Juba

Use of a paid interpreter to translate lecture and demonstrations from Arabic to English

5. Entrepreneurship and business skills training x Basics of business planning, x Budgeting x How to analyze Food & Beverage business opportunities in the area.

Program Evaluation Source: Derived from Field Research in South Sudan

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As previously stated, the Skills Development Training among Women Hospitality Industry Entrepreneurs in South Sudan consisted of three weeks of training in Juba, Sudan. The training included 20 participants representing several grassroots women’s organizations represented by leaders from the Women WSHDO. During the last day of training, the participants were given a program evaluation to assess the immediate impact of the program. The evaluation included four closed-ended questions using Likert-type scaled responses. As illustrated in Table 11-4, the final evaluation was completed by all participants (N = 20). Table 11-4: Pre and Post Hospitality Skill Levels (N = 20) n

%

Very poor Poor Average Good Excellent

10 3 3 2 2

50 15 15 10 10

TOTAL

20

100

1 1 3 9 6

5 5 15 45 30

20

100

Pre-Hospitality Skill Level

Post-Hospitality Skill Level Very poor Poor Average Good Excellent TOTAL Source: Derived from Field Research in South Sudan

Prior to the implementation of this project, the aspect that was missing from business development dimensions for women was a clear understanding of basic hospitality skills suitable for operating small restaurants as workers and entrepreneurs. As Table 11-4 indicates, prior to the training, over 50 per cent of the participants rated their ability to operate a restaurant as either very poor or poor, whilst another 25 per cent self-rated themselves as possessing good-to-excellent basic skills.

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However, by the end of the training, over 70 per cent of the participants rated their ability to successfully implement the newly acquired training skills at between good and excellent. These statistics underscore a significant change in the participants’ self-rated ability before and after the training.

Policy Recommendations and the Way Forward Today, public policy for women’s issues in South Sudan resembles more of the traditional concern for connecting impoverished areas and people with jobs and opportunity. While this concern may address both urban and rural poverty, the continued civil war and ethnic conflict has resulted in disconnection of some the nation’s gender population from traditional economic activities. The social and economic development challenges in the country reveal that gender and protection issues are closely interlinked. Gender and protection concerns for women, men, boys and girls continue to be crucial issues in South Sudan (Mabor, 2013). As a result of these predicaments, the government of South Sudan needs to take initiatives to mitigate the harm the above issues cause to women and girls in the country. There is no secret in the fact that women experience barriers in almost all aspects of work in South Sudan. In addition, women perform the bulk of the unpaid care work in the country (OECD, 2011). This predicament calls for employment opportunities to be improved by the government of Sudan. Job creation by implementing appropriate fiscal and monetary policies is an area for greater attention by development actors such as the public, private sectors and NGOs. Employment opportunities for women through increased recognition and the valuing of the ways in which care work support thriving economies and sustainable development is vital to the growth of South Sudan. There are several challenges currently facing the government of South Sudan. These challenges include lack of infrastructure, limited understanding of gender equality policies, human rights issues, and slow economic development. Women are currently being perceived as second class citizens or aliens in their own country. Thus, women experience, a terrible and lowest level of empowerment and capacity-building benefits from the government as well as local communities (Mabor, 2013; Care Impact Groups, 2013). As a result of these challenges, it is recommended that in the future the government should appropriate an adequate budget to meet the needs of the Ministry of Gender, Child and Welfare. This is necessary for the ministry to function properly as well as be able to

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implement measures that could further prevent the discrimination against women in the country. It is also paramount for the government to take initiatives to strengthen efforts to prevent gender-based violence as well as address the needs of gender-based violence victims and survivors. It is essential for the government to invest more in the quality and accessibility of health care and education at all levels in the country. Gender relations do affect the needs, coping strategies, participation, and access of women, men, boys and girls to humanitarian assistance, because the prevailing cultural norms, especially in the countryside, marginalize women from participation in any level of political activity or decision-making. Although since independence in 2011, there have been real changes in national policy and laws on gender equality, the civil war has somewhat escalated the problem (CARE Impact Groups, 2013). Since the signing of a peace agreement in August 2015 and the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity in April 2016, it is recommended that the government of South Sudan should work with its international partners to ensure political stability in the country (United States Department of State 2016). All efforts should be made by the government of South Sudan to ensure peace with the various ethnic groups that are demanding to participate in the national governance. A peaceful political environment could allow the women who managed to keep a semblance of community life as they go about taking care of their children and doing most of the work done by men, most of whom had gone off to war. Therefore, the following key policy recommendations need urgent implementation by the women and policy makers. In order to change social attitudes towards women’s participation in public life, brought about by customs and traditions that degrade the level of women to preparation of food and caring for siblings under the absolute whim of men, there is a great demand for public awareness to take place. This should take a long-term approach, and include public awarenessraising around gender, knowledge of democratic values and practices, the roles and responsibilities of voters, as well how to hold elected officials accountable (Dibie & Dibie 2014; Mabor 2013). There is also the need for women’s rights groups to conduct research on statistical evidence about educated women in South Sudan, including their political colors and nonpartisan women. It is imperative now, before the expected 2017 general election to map out potential aspiring women at all levels of contestable offices. This exercise is significant for effective lobbying and policy change for aspiring women leaders to prove their alternative leadership, leading to the election and appointments into political leadership and other

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professional service (Mabor, 2013). The commitment must be followed by a process with the participation of everyone in South Sudan to formulate a program to enhance governance. The aim would be to reach a consensus on key directions for enhancing governance or on actions to enhance inclusiveness and accountability across a wide array of governance issues and institutions, and on the definition of indicators that could be used to chart progress and to progressively adapt the gender-equality programs. It is also recommended that governments all over the African continent, governments of Western industrial nations and NGOs, women’s groups, as well as other civil society organizations, should be encouraged by the government of South Sudan to form partnerships with other sectors and groups in addressing gender issues in the country. The author realizes that some NGOs in South Sudan have so far done a good job; however, a lot is needed when funds prevail. The UN women and other regional and international organizations with similar agendas need to organize women in the world’s youngest nation to fit uniform levels of women’s participation in the world order. As in the case of many other countries around the globe, women’s associations and civil society groups have the potential to raise the voice and visibility of women and can provide many services and benefits to their members. Through collective action, women’s associations are able to reach out to government and private sector organizations and to seek institutional support for women’s incomegenerating activities (OECD, 2011). Finally, the government of South Sudan should enact new gender policies to enhance the Transitional Constitution and Bill of Rights of 2011, as well as the judiciary, with competence to declare some customs and tradition invalid, null and void, because such traditions tend to contradict some of the provisions of the constitution and discriminate against women coming closer to the national decision-making arena. In addition, the government of the nation should reform the civil service to make it more accountable for emphasizing results over bureaucratic actions, for ensuring faithful implementation of gender policies and for treating all citizens fairly and competently. One of the benefits of strengthening the bureaucracy is to better control corruption by public officials through reforms to reduce opportunities for malfeasance, through stronger sanctions, and through an ethic of integrity and stewardship.

Conclusion This chapter has examined women’s empowerment with respect to skills development training in the tourism industry in South Sudan. It explores

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how women are allowed to engage in the attainment of basic hospitality skills in a program that was designed and facilitated with the cooperation of a multinational donor and its partners. Aside from the immediate impacts observed from the training exercise and described above, after an analysis of the core problems identified by the research team, an integrated intervention approach that took into consideration the diversity and magnitude of the challenges faced by SSEs in the region culminated in technical and financial involvement of USAID through the implementing sub-agency of VEGA. As a new country, there is great potential for gender equality and respect for women’s rights. While the government has expressed commitments to equality between women and men, and to women’s full participation in the administrative, social and economic development of the country, the current civil war has made it very difficult for the government to enact and effectively implement new gender equality policies. Many international actors interested in South Sudan recognize that promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment and addressing gender-based violence are key to achieving sustainable development in the country as well as maintaining peace, security and capacity building. There no doubt that gender relations do affect the needs, coping strategies, participation and access of women, men, boys and girls to humanitarian assistance as well as alleviation of poverty in South Sudan. As in most businesses, appropriate training provides a very important contribution to success and growth. Given the service nature of the industry, and the high proportion of low-skilled, domestic-type jobs among many women in Africa and other developing countries, this type of skills training can help to increase accessibility of women and overcome one of the major barriers to growth and entrepreneurship. Hence the need for the design and delivery of specific business and technical training programs by national and regional institutions responsible for fostering the growth of women-owned businesses in developing countries. As this project has demonstrated, priority must be given to skills training, the development of customer service programs and networking skills in order to serve local needs as well as the burgeoning inbound international tourism business and investors traveling to African countries in the foreseeable future. Widespread poverty, especially in the rural areas, is part of the reason why many families in the country are unable to release their children from agricultural work or to pay the costs of fees required in schools. Among the small proportion of girls in the rural areas that attend school, only about half are able to complete primary school. It is therefore

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recommended that the government of Sudan should stop being skeptical about training women to compete with men in government and business sectors in the country. It will only take South Sudanese women and men to genuinely develop their country, and human resource development is a primary mechanism to achieving capacity building, economic growth and sustainable development. Although, the literature on gender issues in Africa has grown dramatically in recent years, much of it focuses on the cultural and religious socialization of women and men. This chapter constitutes a major contribution to the gender literature in Africa, because it presents evidence of capacity-building in the area of entrepreneurship as well as empowerment in South Sudan.

References Ali, N. M. (2011). Gender and State Building in South Sudan. Washington, D.C.: United Institute of Peace Publication. Ampofo, A. A., J. Beoku-Betts, W. N. Nambi and M. J. Osirim. (2009). “Women and Gender Studies in English Speaking Sib-Saharan Africa: A Review of Research in the Social Sciences.” In C. Bose and M. Kim, eds., Global Gender Research. New York: Routledge. Ashley, C. (2000). “The Impacts of Tourism on Rural Livelihoods: Experience in Namibia.” ODI Working Paper No. 128, London: ODI. Baum, T. (2007). Human Resources in Tourism: Still Waiting for Change. Tourism Management, 28(6), 1383–1399. Bell, M. (2012). Diversity in Organizations. Mason, OH: SouthWestern/Cengage Learning Blake, A, J. S. Arbache, M. T. Sinclair and T. Vladimir (2008). “Tourism and Poverty Relief.” Annals of Tourism Research 35: 107–126. Bose, C. and Kim, M. (2009). Global Gender Research. New York: Routledge. Bowditch, N. (1996) “Micro-Economic Assessment of the Tourism Related Business in the Central Region.” Tourism Center, University of Minnesota. Brixiova, Zuzana, (2010). “Unlocking Productive Entrepreneurship in Africa’s Least Developed Countries.” African Development Review 22, (3), 440–451. British Broadcasting Corporation, (2016). South Sudan Country Profile. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14069082. Accessed November 30, 2016. CARE Impact Groups, (2013). South Sudan Gender Brief. http://www.care.org/sites/default/files/documents. Accessed December

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McCormick, D. (1992). Why Small Firms Stay Small: Risk and Growth in Nairobi’s Small-Scale Manufacturing, Nairobi: Institute of Development Studies, University of Nairobi. McCulloch, N., L. Winters and X. Cirera (2001). “Trade Liberalization and Poverty: A Handbook.” London: Center for Economic Policy Research. McGovern, L. and Wallimann, I. (2012). Globalization and Third World Women. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. Nieman, G. (2001). “Training Entrepreneurs and Small Business Enterprises in South Africa: A Situational Analysis.” Education & Training, 43(8/9), 445–450. Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED) (2011).Women’s Economic Development Issues Paper (GEDERNET). OCED Paris. —. (2010). Accelerating Progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through Pro-poor Growth: Messages from the DAC Network on Poverty Reduction, OECD, and Paris. Payne, R. and J. Nassar (2006). Politics and Culture in Developing World: The Impact of Globalization. New York: Longman. Republic of South Sudan Government. (2016). https://www.bing.com/search ?q= GOVERNMENT +OF+SOUTH+ Sudan form=PRUSEN&pc=SK2C&mkt=en-. Accessed December 2, 2016. Rodenburg, E. (1980). “The Effects of Scale on Economic Development: Tourism in Bali.” Annals of Tourism Research 7: 177–196. Shah, K. (2000) ‘Tourism, the Poor and Other Stakeholders: Asian Experience.” ODI Fair-Trade in Tourism Paper. London: ODI. Smee, S. & Woodroffe, J. (2013). “Achieving Gender Equality Through a Post-2015 Framework.” Institute of Development Studies Policy Brief Issue 43, (August), pp. 1–2. Somavia, J. (2007). Director General Address. International Labor Organization (110) 11th regional meeting in Addis Ababa. Stewart, A. M. (1994) Empowering People (Institute of Management). Pitman. London: Financial Times Management, vol. 5, pp. 1–3. Szivas, E., Riley, M., & Airey, D. (2003). “Labor Mobility into Tourism: Attraction and Satisfaction.” Annals of Tourism Research, 30(1), 64– 76. Thomas R, Long J. (2001). “Tourism and Economic Regeneration: The Role of Skills Development.” International Journal of Tourism Research 3: 229–240.

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United States Department of State. (2016). U.S. Relations With South Sudan. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/171718.htm. Accessed December 2, 2016. World Bank Group. (2017). Doing Business in South Sudan. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Publication. World Bank (2013). South Sudan—World Bank Country Survey 2013. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Publication. —. (2005). World Development indicators CD-ROM. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.

CHAPTER TWELVE GENDER AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN TANZANIA LIGAYA LINDIO MCGOVERN AND ROBERT DIBIE

Introduction Tanzania is a country in East Africa. The nation is bordered on the south by Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia; on the west by Congo (Kinshasa), Burundi, and Rwanda; on the north by Uganda and Kenya; and on the east by the Indian Ocean. Lake Nyasa forms part of the southern boundary, Lake Tanganyika part of the western boundary, and Lake Victoria part of the northern boundary (The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2012). The nation consists of two territories: (1) a mainland and (2) an island in the Indian Ocean called Zanzibar. The national capital was in Dar-esSalaam until 1996, when the government decided to move it to Dodoma, although many government offices still remain in Dar-es-Salaam (CEDAW, 2008), which remains the largest city of the country and the main commercial center. The country’s population is of African descent, and most of them speak Bantu languages. There are approximately 130 ethnic groups in Tanzania. Inhabitants of South Asian, European, and Arab descent constitute approximately 1 per cent of the population (World Bank, 2013a). The inhabitants of are mainly of Arab, African, or mixed Arab and African descent. Swahili and English are the official languages in Tanzania. Arabic is also spoken, primarily on Zanzibar. About 30 per cent of the mainland population is Christian, while 35 per cent is Muslim, and another 35 per cent follow traditional religious beliefs (World Bank 2013b; OCED 2014). The population of Zanzibar is almost completely Sunni Muslim. The literacy rate of the country is higher for males (79 per cent) than females (66 per cent) (World Bank, 2013a; OECD 2010).

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The provisions of the 1977 Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania stipulate equal of rights for all its citizens. The 1977 Constitution was amended in 1984. The main premise of the constitution is that all the citizens of Tanzania are to be guaranteed the right to justice before the law, and respect for their gender identity. Thus, constitutionally, men and women have the right to security of life, right to ownership of property and productive resources, and the right to education at the highest level (Legal and Human Rights Center 2008; The Constitution of The United Republic of Tanzania, 1977). However, in spite of the provisions of its constitution, Tanzania, like many African countries, continues to marginalize women in the political processes, although women have equal voting rights with men. The ballot does not discriminate, even though the results of the balloting frequently do not meet the expectations of the voters. Elections are obviously an important component of democracy, and, even though many United Nations studies indicate that African citizens have been losing faith in the value of elections, elections offer the only peaceful path for both attaining and consolidating democracy (Moehler, 2005). Yet, as a patriarchal country, Tanzania has failed in providing women an equal voice and level of participation as their male counterparts in the political system and public governance. This is an issue that Tanzanian women continue to struggle for in their fight for gender equality. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (2011), women in Tanzania constitute nearly 51 per cent of the population. In addition, the male-to-female sex ratio for the total population in 2014 is 0.99, while the sex ratio at birth is 1.03 (UNICEF, 2013). It is interesting to note that Tanzania is not a country of low concern in terms of losing women due to AIDS mortality. Further, in 2012, the ratio of female-to-male primary school enrollment was 103.2 per cent and 87.5 per cent for secondary school (World Bank, 2014). Tanzania’s gender gap in access to secondary education is quite detrimental to girls. It is reported that during the 2005– 2012 period, the total percentage for birth registration was 16 per cent (UNICEF 2013; World Bank 2014). The government of Tanzania accepts the importance of the reproductive and production roles played by women in the country. It is reported that about 75 per cent of women in the country engage in agriculture. In spite of these essential roles that women play in the economy, their status is still very low (ECOSOC 2003; World Bank 2014). Despite the fact that Tanzania’s constitution wishes to have a nation in which all citizens (men and women) are assured equality, justice, freedom and the opportunity to participate and use to the fullest extent their abilities

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and talents for national and community affairs, culture, leadership, production and to benefit from social services available, the nation has not been completely successful in ensuring that women in the country have the freedom, opportunity and respect accorded to men in economic, political, social and cultural development. Moreover, although a handful of gender policies have been enacted in the past two decades, they have not been effectively implemented, due to the 130 ethnic groups in the country as well as various religion and customary laws (OCED, 2014). There has been a deliberate lack of correct interpretation of the true concept of women in the sustainable development process of the country. There is also the lack of specific institution or public agency charged with the responsibility of framing and issuing guidelines, as well as following up with the implementation of development programs for women (Carpano 2010; CEDAW 2008). It is also reported that the nation has not been able to adequately incorporate women’s issues in the planning process at all levels, including local, regional and national governmental spheres (United States Department of State 2013). This chapter will examine gender and sustainability issues in the context of Tanzania. It examines some barriers or roadblocks to attaining gender and class equality as an essential dimension of sustainability. It also explores some responses to these barriers, and what insights can be learned from them as to what further policy changes need to be considered. As Julius Nyerere, former president of Tanzania, who tried to reroute the development process of Tanzania away from neoliberalism towards a more socialist path, had said: “[W]e cannot say that we are developing while we are leaving one part of the population behind, and that part is women” (Masaiganah 2012: 188). The chapter argues that in spite of the various measures taken by the government of Tanzania after independence, and even several decades after Julius Nyerere’s presidency, women have not been fully empowered in the country. The male–tofemale ratio, though improved over the past few decades, is still far from satisfactory. It uses primary and secondary data to show that female literacy rates are also lower than those of their male counterparts. The ground reality in Tanzania is deprivation, degradation and exploitation of women, especially women in the rural areas. Women are constantly being brutalized, materialized, commodified, and subjected to inhumane exploitation and discrimination in spite of the provisions of the nation’s constitution. The chapter also provides a major observation that the urban elite class of women has no doubt benefited more from the efforts of women’s empowerment of the government. In the concluding sections of

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the chapter, some recommendations are provided aimed at strengthening the nation’s legal system to eliminate discrimination against women as well as enhancing partnerships with civil society organizations in the process of women’s empowerment in Tanzania.

Framework for Sustainability and Gender Equality The concept of empowerment reinvigorates the individual process of taking control of and responsibility for one’s life and situation (Oxaal, 1997). Empowerment is the political process of granting human rights and social justice to disadvantaged groups of people (Radovic-Markovic et al. 2012; Dibie &, Sam-Okere, 2015). The empowerment of women is closely associated with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and how to eradicate poverty in the world. In addition, the agenda of gender equality is increasingly being reflected in the agendas of international development organizations, perhaps more as a means to achieve economic growth and sustainable development through increasing women’s participation in productive actvities (Nelson & Quick, 2013). At the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1993 and the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt in 1994, governments of several countries, including Tanzania, committed themselves to the empowerment of women. It should be noted that Tanzania has also ratified the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Further, Tanzania is a signatory to the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, which stipulates that each person is equal before the law, and has equal rights of access to resources and social services. In the African platform, Tanzania has also signed the Organization of African Unity’s (now called the African Union) Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (OCED, 2011). The concept of care economy refers to the social reproductive functions of society that involve the caring of the young, the elderly, the sick, the disabled and maintenance of the household that includes the daily household chores of cleaning, cooking, washing clothes, procuring food, and so on (Creighten & Omari 2000). These functions are still defined and viewed in Tanzanian society as a sphere mainly for women. Women are generally the ones expected to physically care for elderly parents, children and do other domestic tasks. This leaves women to experience the double burden of productive work and social reproduction (Makoye 2013, OCED 2011).

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The concept of environment has three levels: the micro, the meso, and the macro level (Rosenbaum, 2014; Dorado 2013). The micro level refers to the immediate environment of the baby/fetus while he or she is still in the mother’s womb. The baby gets nourishment directly from the mother. The meso-level refers to the family and community that children are born into, which includes the various institutions, community resources, the ecological environment, the social, economic, political, educational and cultural resources that will help shape the development of the children’s potential and into their adulthood (ECOSOC, 2003). The macro level environment refers to the global environment that affects the wellbeing of people and communities, which could include global warming and climate change, the international development policies that impact on the course of development of nations which ultimately affect the welfare of local communities (Rosenbaum, 2014). For example, neoliberal policies that are often externally imposed on developing countries by neoliberal institutions (such as the IMF and the World Bank, the transnational corporations, the World Trade Organization, the G-7) do often shape the capacities of local communities to access and control their resources for their own benefit (McGovern & Walliman 2009; OCED 2010; UNDP 2011). Sustainability is a multi-dimensional process of promoting and protecting the quality of life of all people, both for present and future generations, in a way that respects and enhances their human dignity and protects their inalienable rights (Kraft & Furlong, 2015). It has economic, political, social, cultural, environmental, gender, policy, and moral/ethical dimensions (Taylor, 2012). Essential to the process of achieving sustainability is social justice, which involves transforming exploitative and oppressive structures that create barriers to its particular realization in different societies (Kendall, 2012). Since national cultures are diverse, the conceptualization, policy framing, and implementation of sustainability will have to take into consideration the social context of people’s lives. Women, children and the elderly are the most vulnerable sectors of the population at all levels of the environment (Dibie, 2014b; McGovern 2013). Women and children may experience more severely the impact of environmental degradation because they have particular needs to meet at certain physiological phases in their life cycle, and are therefore more vulnerable to environmental crises (Smith-Sebasto, 2012; McGovern 2013). For example, a pregnant woman has her womb as the immediate environment of the baby. The mother’s physical and psychological health, nutrition and access to clean and safe water and air will affect the wellbeing of the baby. When the baby is born the larger economic, social, and political environment and ecological system in her immediate community

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will shape the growth and future of the child (McGovern 2011 & 2013; OECD 2010), which is why the idea of environmental sustainability includes looking at the welfare of the future generations through responsible actions of the present generation (Dibie, 2014b). For instance, seriously searching for ways to invent various alternative sources of energy now, other than over-dependence on energy from non-regenerating fossil fuels—the production of which has a very negative impact on the environment and human beings—will significantly contribute to the wellbeing of the future generations. Tanzania’s Environmental Management Act of 2004 in some ways shows that the government has responded, at least in terms of social legislation, to the need for environmental regulation. Part II, Article 4 of this act states: (a) “Every person living in Tanzania shall have a right to clean, safe and healthy environment”; (b) “The right to clean, safe and healthy environment shall include the right to access by any citizen to the various public elements or segments of the environment for recreational, educational, health, spiritual, cultural and economic progress” (Rutechura 2005:13). However, barriers to the implementation of this act exist. For example, mining in Tanzania has caused environmental problems: the small miners’ use of pollutants, the pouring of mercury products into Lake Victoria, and the use of open pits. In agriculture the use of pesticides, and illegal and irresponsible logging raise environmental concerns (Rutechura 2005:13). The destruction of the environment due to mining is not a sustainable approach to development and leaves various harmful legacies to present and future generations. The new outlook of Tanzania, however, seems positive. Investment in public infrastructure, increased agricultural production, and buoyant services are reported to be key drivers of growth in the country (World Bank, 2013a). On the other hand, however, societal expectations about attributes and behavior appropriate to women or men continue to shape the culture and tradition of the country. Women in the country are still not empowered enough and have less personal autonomy (World Bank, 2013a). There continue to be fewer resources available to women, as well as limited political influence over decision-making processes that shape their societies and lives. In addition, education is one of the most powerful tools for women’s empowerment, because it provides women with knowledge, skills and self-confidence that could enable them to seek economic opportunities. Despite the importance of education, the government of Tanzania has not done enough to build higher education institutions in the rural areas in the country (United States State Department Report 2013). Some remote communities do not have quality

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teachers, and school fees are still considered too high for rural and poor families to send their girls to school. Well-designed vocational training schools that could help women and men to secure paid work, and that do not concentrate women in low-wage and low-skill work or reinforced occupational segregation between women and men in both the rural and urban areas, may be one of the ways that may contribute towards sustainable development and empowerment of women in Tanzania.

The Nature of Women’s Rights and Discrimination The World Bank (2013a) report and the United Nations war on poverty initiative argue that the economic empowerment of women entails making markets work for them. It also calls for the empowering of women in terms of being able to compete in markets. These views, however, are still within the limited “integrationist view of development” which assumes that integrating women in capitalist development will lead to their empowerment. In Tanzania, the market comes in the form of land, labor, finance and production. Many women in the country continue to face disproportionate obstacles in accessing and competing in markets. This predicament includes women’s relative lack of mobility, capacity and technical skills in relation to men (OCED, 2010). Even when the Constitution and legislation are in place in Tanzania, lack of legal knowledge and weak implementation often limit the ability of women in the country to exercise their rights (Masaiganah 2012; Makoye 2013). According to the United States Department of State’s (2013) Tanzania Country Human Rights report, in practice, discrimination against women continues at the household level especially, noting that most communities in Tanzania are essentially patriarchal, whereby traditional norms, practices, and attitudes are centered on male domination (CEDAW, 2007, p.12). Further, men and women are not equally responsible for the financial management of household resources, under the Law of Marriage Act (Law of Marriage Act, Article 63[a]). It is also reported that the Law of Marriage Act is also discriminatory, in that only men are allowed to sue their wives for desertion—women are not allowed to sue their husbands for the same and, similarly, women are the only ones to be viewed as adulterers under the law (Joint NGO Report, 2008). The minimum legal age for marriage is 15 years for women and 18 years for men, but the Marriage Act of 1971 allows exceptions for girls aged 14 years, with parental consent, and under “justifiable” circumstances (CEDAW, 2008, 10).

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In addition, the Law of Marriage Act in Tanzania provides that a marriage can be monogamous or polygamous, where in a polygamous union a man may be married to more than one woman (Legal and Human Rights Centre 2009). The United States Department of State (2013) and the World Health Organization (2005) report that domestic violence remains very widespread and severely under-reported. The problem is even worse because pressure from family and the community to remain silent, and the stigma surrounding gender-based violence, prevents many women from reporting spousal violence (US Department of State, 2013). The number of complaints filed in relation to violence against women has increased in recent years. The 2009–2010 DHS found that 44 per cent of women had experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime (OECD, 2014). Evidence and reports provided by the Legal and Human Rights Center show that 6,531 cases of gender-based violence were reported in 2007 (Legal and Human Rights Center, 2008, p.9). The government of Tanzania enacted the Sexual Offences Special Provision Act of 1998, which addresses both rape and incest, but there is no code, or set of laws, protecting women against violence. The law also criminalizes spousal rape, but only if the couple is legally separated. Rape is punishable by life imprisonment or by 30 days in prison with corporal punishment (CEDAW 2007; Sexual Offences Special Provisions Act, 1998; ECOSOC 2003). It is also very important to note that this Act recognizes the rape of minors unless the victim is over 15 and the wife of the perpetrator (Sexual Offences Special Provisions Act, 1998). Furthermore, sexual harassment in the workplace is prohibited in Tanzania, but the scope of the problem is not clear (US Department of State, 2013, p. 30). It is also reported that instances of sexual harassment include women being expected to perform sexual favors in exchange for promotion at work (US Department of State 2013, p. 30). The Legal and Human Rights Centre indicates that abuse of women is widespread, putting the rate of gender-based violence in the country from between 30 and 50 per cent (Legal and Human Rights Center, 2012, p. 158). Other forms of violence against widows include the practices of inheritance and widow cleansing. In these cases women are “inherited” by a male-relative of their deceased husband and in some cases raped by one of the husband’s relatives under the pretext of being “cleansed” or “purified” (Eze 2002; Legal and Human Rights Center, 2012). It has also been reported that violence against older women and widows has increased. Some of these older women and widows are also targeted as witches (HelpAge International, 2011). The Legal and Human Rights Center reported that women (and men) are targeted as witches due

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to economic conflicts within and among families, superstition, and the use of witch doctors (Legal and Human Rights Center, 2012, p. 33). The Legal and Human Rights Center (2012) reported that a total of 2,585 killings of older women occurred between 2004 and 2009 in areas where witch attacks and other killings have occurred. And the practice does not seem to be in decline; in 2012 alone, 630 men and women were killed after accusations of witchcraft (Legal and Human Rights Center, 2012, p. 31). Despite all these incidences of abuse and violence against women in the country, the Tanzanian government has not introduced comprehensive legislation to address the issue directly.

Provisions of Tanzania New Constitution The Government of Tanzania has drafted a new constitution which is yet to be enacted. The newly-drafted constitution was completed in June 2013, and has generated many concerns about the future type of governance system in the country (Makoye, 2013; Branson 2015). Both the newly drafted constitution and the existing laws stipulated that mothers and fathers in Tanzania have equal rights with regard to parental authority, and there is no known legislation restricting women from becoming heads of households (Branson 2015; Friedman, 2014; Makoye 2013). Currently, the 1977 Constitution of Tanzania prohibits gender-based discrimination, but the country’s legislation has yet to be adjusted to support this principle (Friedman, 2014). In general, legal protection for women remains limited, in part because Tanzania’s judicial authorities take into account both customary and Islamic laws, though customary law is not recognized as a valid source of law under the Constitution (Makoye 2013; OCED, 2010). Many of the most notable advancements in the new draft constitution are in women’s rights. The new document guarantees women equal citizenship rights, including the right to own land, and the ability to bestow citizenship on their children rather than taking citizenship from their father (Makoye, 2013). The new Constitution also guarantees women equal employment rights and maternity leave, along with a definition of children as those under 18, consequently making a significant stride against child marriage (Friedman 2014; Makoye 2013). The new constitution provides for full equality for women, and full equality for both spouses in marriage, including matters relating to marriage, child custody, property ownership and inheritance, and divorce (Makoye, 2013). It also guarantees equal representation between men and women in decision-making bodies, including in parliament. This is a

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positive development in the country with 36 per cent female representation in its parliament (Friedman, 2014).

Structural Adjustment Programs When President Benjamin Mkapa was elected in 1995, he continued the development agenda and direction initiated by the second president, Ali Hassan Mwinyi, who was under pressure from the IMF and the World Bank to dismantle the ujamaa or African socialism from Tanzania’s first president, Julius Nyerere. Mwinyi and Mkapa followed the structural adjustment policies and program dictated by the IMF (Smith 2001:21). Indeed, when former President Nyerere initiated socialist reforms, the IMF reacted by withdrawing development loans and assistance as a way to undermine his development agenda. The underlying development assumption behind structural adjustment policies in Tanzania is the notion that economic liberalization—which is one of the key features of structural adjustment—will enable the emergence of a national bourgeoisie (a capitalist class) that will lead the nation’s economic development (Smith 2001:21). Indeed, such underlying assumption runs counter to socialist reforms. Neoliberalism, as the global expansion of capitalism, is indeed propelled by the IMF’s structural adjustment policies imposed on nation states and has been contested globally, given its devastating impact on local economies, especially Third World nations (Lindio-McGovern 2012; Lindio-McGovern and Wallimann 20012; Polakoff and Lindio-McGovern 2011). One of the barriers to sustainable development in Tanzania is the structural adjustment policies (SAPs) imposed by the IMF and the World Bank that have negatively affected women’s lives. SAPs have increased women’s poverty, deepened income inequality among classes, and have threatened food security essential to sustaining families (Brown 2001; Harcourt 2012; King 1991; Wangwe 1991). The SAPs have placed Tanzania’s development under external control, putting pressures on the government not to pursue more profound democratic reforms. Pili Mtambalike of the Tanzanian Media Women’s Association (TAMWA) criticized this phenomenon: “The economic reforms were based on the wishes of the World Bank and the IMF, all this open market. A growth in the GDP does not represent the common person… When we lobby the government their response is usually to agree, be complacent and do nothing. It is not a threat to them if we criticize these reforms, they know the impacts, it’s not a secret, they have been well documented” (Brown 2001:70). One of the important dimensions of sustainable development is

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to eradicate poverty, but if SAPs increase women’s poverty and their families, then alternative development policies must be sought. SAPs impinge on the local people’s sovereignty on their resources and further reinforce the neoliberal stranglehold on the nature of Tanzania’s development (Caplan 2007). Indeed, the task is humongous because it means challenging the national government to assert its sovereignty and for civil society to organize collective power in order to reclaim control of their right to sovereignty. One of Tanzanian women’s responses is to focus on advocating and lobbying for women’s representation in the government as one way to influence government policy and reforms. Another group, the Bagamoyo Women’s Development Network (BAWODENE), brings women together, and is especially geared to women in the rural areas who experience more the brunt of poverty. It helps women engage in sustainable livelihoods by providing women without collateral access to credit. It also provides women with “training in management skills, accountability, and selfsustainability” (Masaiganah 2012:184). While BAWODENE has played an important role in supporting women in capacity building, fighting for their rights, improving their social and economic well-being, and in their social justice demands, they are faced with more challenges and minimal success. One difficulty the women experience is that their products are unable to compete in the market with products from other countries (Masaiganah 2012:185). Such experience is partly a consequence of the neoliberal structural adjustment policy of economic liberalization. Being a non-profit NGO, BAWODENE is also confronted with limited funding that poses difficulties in meeting the expectations of the women. It therefore becomes clear that initiatives to fight poverty and promote sustainable livelihoods from women and other civil society groups must be accompanied by macro- and micro-economic reforms to address the structures and broader economic policies that create local conditions that can have detrimental effects on the local population. Again, it brings up the issue of economic sovereignty. While the Tanzanian government has embarked on a “war against poverty” (Likwelele 2008), it has yet to aggressively address this issue of economic sovereignty that structural adjustment policies and neoliberal policies often trample upon. Moreover, the task towards economic sovereignty must address the particular conditions of poor women who are most vulnerable to the impact of structural adjustment policies while seeking macro-micro policy reforms.

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The Gendered Care Economy Another barrier to gender equality towards sustainability in Tanzania is its still largely-gendered care economy (Creighton and Omari 2000). The gender dimension in care work, when viewed within the political economy framework, intersects with other aspects of the economy and sustainable development. Transforming the unequal gender division of labor is important, but there must be corresponding changes in the political economy so that parents are able to meet the basic needs of their families. There must also be a corresponding change in the political ideology of care work, so that social reproductive functions and the maintenance of the household do not merely become a private function of the family, but rather a shared responsibility of the state, family, community, workplaces. This shared responsibility requires that there must be some form of publicly subsidizing it so that the financial and material burden associated with these functions does not fall mainly on women. Workplaces also have a stake in care work, since social reproduction socializes the next generation of workers providing a reserved labor power for production. How workplaces can have a share of the social and public responsibility for care work must be considered in the paradigm shift and development policy frame in rethinking and shaping the political economy of care. Under the neoliberal structural adjustment policy of privatization and reduction of state subsidies to social services, this concept of shared responsibility of care work is threatened and must be asserted and translated into policy. Development policies must also be designed so that redistribution of basic resources and opportunities occur, ensuring decent and living wages especially to poor women in the urban areas, and women in the rural areas, where the impact of devaluation on income disparity is felt more severely (King 1991). Performing care work involves procuring the basic food needs for members of the family. However, development policies and practices that focus on cash crop production over food production have threatened the food security of families, especially for female-headed families in rural communities. The controversial development approach of the Economic Recovery Program seem to have had no significant positive impact on achieving food security in Tanzania since it is premised on rapid growth based on capital accumulation (Kapunda 2000). The education and socialization of children is an important function of social reproduction and care work. But education is not accessible to all. As Bertha Koda (2000:238) says, the youth are faced with unequal opportunities which place large sections of the new generation in underprivileged positions for educational, vocational and cultural

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development. The alarming presence of child labor limits boys’ and girls’ school attendance. Due to low family income and poverty, many children are forced to sacrifice their own recreational, schooling and social needs in order to meet the broader needs of the family (domestic chores, childcare, productive work (Koda 2000:250). If they work outside their home, children are used to provide part-time and full-time casual work in farms, beer brewing, manufacturing, and mining. Girls are often used as domestic servants in affluent families, usually in urban areas, where they work for long hours and are vulnerable to exploitation and sexual abuse. Typically, a domestic servant in Tanzania is a young girl between nine and eighteen years old. Girls are also used in illegal prostitution, shattering their future, and violating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Moreover, the socialization of girls is geared towards patriarchal relations in the family, unlike boys who are socialized to be heads of households. Boys are therefore allocated more resources than girls (Koda, 251, 247). Thus, early in life girls already experience gender inequality that will have a negative impact on their later status in society. The movement towards sustainability must therefore challenge and transform gendered ideologies and cultural norms found in family relations and practices that reinforce and reproduce gendered structures in the broader Tanzanian society. In addition, the shaping of a sustainable care regime in Tanzania must involve changing patriarchal family structures alongside formulating and implementing social policies that will allocate more resources to adequately meet the needs of families, promote the rights of children, eradicate/ameliorate poverty, eliminate development policies that have been proven to have a more detrimental economic impact on families, and put in place alternative development policies. Efforts towards sustainability must be sensitive to the particular needs of women and their families. Given that women are mainly responsible for ensuring food security, especially for the most vulnerable members of their households (children, the elderly, the sick and disabled), it is important that women are given opportunities for acquiring and maintaining sustainable livelihoods. Sumi Krishma (2012:14) cites Robert Chambers and Gordon Conway’s earlier definition of sustainable livelihood as consisting of three key elements: capability, equity, and social sustainability. Thus, a livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (stores, resources, claims and access) and activities required for a means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when a person can cope with, and recover from, stresses and shocks, maintain and enhance its capabilities and assets, and provides sustainable livelihood opportunities for the next generation; and which contributes net benefits to other livelihoods at the

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local and global levels, and in the short and long term (Krishma, 2012). The United Nations Development Program (UNDP, 2011) later on defined sustainable livelihood as “the capability of people to make a living and improve their quality of life without jeopardizing the livelihood options of others, either now and in the future”. Krishma suggests that a fourth element—collective political action—should be added to the three welldefined elements of sustainable livelihood approach—capability, equity, and sustainability—since all these cannot be attained or reclaimed without collective political action. One of the barriers that women face in attaining a sustainable livelihood is access and entitlement to land (Hendricks & Hendricks 2002:56). Tanzanian customary laws have deprived women of ownership and rights to productive land, unlike men. A gender-sensitive land-reform program that would address gender inequality in landownership and women’s control of the use of land must be a salient component of Tanzania’s sustainable development program. The issue of control is important, since men who own land usually use the land for cash crop production that raises issues of its impact on local food security in the long term.

The Way Forward In Tanzania, there is a Swahili term, “mazingira” which captures the reciprocal interaction and relationship between people and nature—that the environment shapes human beings and how human beings deal with nature will have environmental consequences (Rutechura, 2005 p16). The respectful and responsible relationship and interaction between human beings and the natural or ecological environment is another dimension of building a sustainable world. The consequences of environmental degradation due to human action affects everyone—women, men and children. In order to better participate in the sustainable development process in Tanzania there is the immediate need for integrating a gender-specific perspective at the design stage of policy and program. It is very important to note that implementing the nation’s sustainable development goals may require starting with women’s empowerment (OECD, 2011). This strategic plan might become an overarching good practice for both donors and the country. In addition, it means specifying gender equality as a goal in policies, strategies, budgets, programs and projects, as well as indemnifying unintended consequences and risks for women in the country (Inter-American Development Bank 2010).

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The Church in Tanzania has been active in raising social awareness, lobbying, and advocacy about environmental sustainability. It has taken an active role in forestation, soil conservation, attaining food security, and crop diversification. In 1992, the Church issued a Pastoral Letter about environmental rights, “The True Human Development”, wherein it called upon the citizens to care for the environment, such as preserving water resources (Fr. Rutechura 2005:15). Such a call had social significance because water is essential to life at all levels of the environment, from the immediate to the global. According to Buvinic (2010), intervention in women’s empowerment needs to vary from region to region, or community to community, or one rural area to another. In the case of Tanzania, women’s access to basic agricultural inputs and market skills will continue to be needed. This is because women produce most of the food that is consumed locally and are responsible for household food security in many rural areas. As a result, more equitable access to land, water for irrigation, seeds, technology, tools, livestock and extension services would make agriculture a more efficient means of promoting shared economic growth, reducing poverty and improving food security and rural livelihoods (Buvinic 2010; OCED 2011). The government of Tanzania needs to enact a new national policy for the empowerment of women. The main objective for this policy should be how to accelerate the pace of women’s empowerment in the country. The implementation criteria should be to ensure women’s empowerment through positive economic and social policies for the full development of women in the country so that they could realize their full potential. The policy must also assure equal access of women to health care, education, participation and decision-making in social, political and economic spheres of the country. Our research reveals that neoliberal globalization has posed new challenges for the realization of the goal of promoting women’s equality in Tanzania. Where globalization has widened the gap between rich and poor, there is evidence in the country that it is women and children who are most affected. It is, however, evident that there is a need for re-framing policies for access to employment and equality of employment in both the public and private sectors in the country. It is also interesting to note that the benefits of the growing global economy have been unevenly distributed in the country, leading to wider economic disparities. This predicament has also led to the feminization of poverty, and increased gender inequality through often-deteriorating working conditions and unsafe working environments, especially in the informal economy and

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rural areas (OCED, 2011). Therefore, the government of Tanzania needs to design appropriate strategies to enhance the capacity of women, as well as empower them to address the negative social and economic impacts that may result from the influence or policies of neoliberal globalization. In addition, the government of Tanzania should ensure that donors’ interventions need to be responsive to international trade and investment regimes and could, for example, support fair trade initiatives (OCED, 2011). It is also paramount that donors’ interventions should target gender equality and women’s empowerment initiatives. According to Nelson and Quick (2013) and the World Bank (2013a), education is a powerful tool of social transformation. As a result, education for women and girls has to be paid special attention. It should therefore be contested that greater access for women to education must be ensured in the educational system of Tanzania. A gender-sensitive analysis of the rate of girls and women gaining access to education must be developed. Further, a watch has to be kept on the dropout rate of girls, and corrective measures should be taken to check the dropout rates in both the urban and rural schools all over the country. Another important area that needs attention is the social empowerment of women in Tanzania. In order to adequately address this, steps need to be initiated to improve the health status of women and reduce maternal mortality, especially in the areas that do not have good medical facilities. Special programs for checking the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, like HIV/AIDS, and infections or communicable diseases like tuberculosis, need to be created. As in most developing nations, women in Tanzania face a high risk of malnutrition, therefore focused attention should be given to meet the nutritional needs of women at all stages of their life in the country. Further, social programs need to be established to help women who are victims of marital violence, or who are deserted or prostituted. The government of Tanzania needs to establish public relations campaign programs for creating awareness among women who are vulnerable, poor or belong to marginalized sectors of society. Therefore, the government of Tanzania must be vigilant to ensure that there is no discrimination against the girls and their mothers and make certain that their rights are protected. The national problems associated with child marriage, child abuse, female feticide, and child prostitution should be eradicated all over the country.

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Conclusion This chapter has examined the nature of marginalization and discrimination against women in Tanzania. It argues that in spite of the various measures taken by the Tanzanian government after independence, women have not been fully empowered in the country. The nation might be proud of a handful of women occupying important positions, but the fact remains that most women in Tanzania still endure domestic violence and exploitation. As a matter of fact women are being brutalized, commodified, and subjected to inhuman exploitation and discrimination, despite protections stipulated for women’s equality in the national constitution. The gender and sustainability issues that this chapter has focused on are just a few among the many issues that confront women in Tanzania. The issues are complex. The issues presented here do interact in reality and are key concerns in shaping and constructing a sustainability regime in Tanzania. Without addressing the gender inequalities embedded in the structures of the social, cultural, economic, and political spheres of Tanzanian’s society, there can be no real sustainable development. The empowerment of women, if made a major component of the efforts toward social transformation in Tanzania, could be a powerhouse for attaining sustainability that will ensure the quality of life of all, especially the children of Tanzania who will inherit the earth and its life-support systems. In the past, there have been some government efforts to ensure gender equality, but government initiatives alone are not enough to achieve this goal. All of society, including private and non-governmental organizations, needs to take initiatives to create a social climate in which there is no gender discrimination. It is paramount for women in the country to have the full opportunity for autonomous decision-making and equal participation in the social, political and economic spheres. Finally, the international agencies, donors, private, government and non-governmental organizations in Tanzania need to ensure that women have a genuine voice in all governance institutions, from the judiciary to the civil service, as well as in the private sector and civil society. Such partnerships could further facilitate women’s equal participation in public dialogue and decision-making and shape change that could determine the future of their families and nation. These issues have policy implications. Policy-making in Tanzania must address them. It is on the level of social policy that social transformation is officially conceived and institutionally embodied, and it is also where implementation can begin.

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Eze, T. (2002) “Inheritance Law in Tanzania: The Impoverishment of Widows and Daughters.” The Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law. http://winafrica. Org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/inheritancelaw-intanzania1.pdf. Accessed October 29, 2014. Friedman, A. (2014). “A New Constitution for Tanzania Equals New Hope for Women.” http://afkinsider.com/74828/new-constitutiontanzania-equals-new-hope-women. Accessed January 15, 2016. Harcourt, W. (ed). (2012). Women Reclaiming Sustainable Livelihoods: Spaces Lost, Spaces Gained. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. HelpAge International (2011). Violence against Older Women: Tackling Witchcraft Accusations in Tanzania. HelpAge International, August 2011. https://www.codesria.org/IMG/pdf/11- Machangu_AZ_18_19_ 2010-2011.pdf. Accessed November 25, 2015. Hendricks, S. and S. Hendricks. (2002). “Unfair Burden: Women’s Risks and Vulnerability to Food Insecurity.” Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity, no. 51, pp. 51–57. Inherit Your Rights (2013). Inherit Your Rights blog post, 4 September 2013 http://www.inherityourrights.org/blog. Accessed November 29, 2015. Inter-American Development Bank. (2010). Operational Policy on Gender Equality in Development, Washington, D.C.: IADB Publication. Joint NGO Report (2008) Tanzania Non-Governmental Organizations’ Shadow Report to CEDAW: The Implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. CEDAW, New York. Kapunda, S.M. (2000). “Gender Inequality, Poverty and Food Insecurity in Tanzania,” in Creighton, Colin and C. K. Omari (ed.) Gender, Family and Work in Tanzania, pp. 220–236. Burlington, VT: Ashgate. Kendall, H. (2012). “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity,” in Sustainability, edited by Nicholas Smith-Sebasto. New York: McGraw-Hill. King, K.F.S. (1991). “Introduction,” in SAATA United Nations Development Programme Structural Adjustment Advisory Team for Africa (ed.) Stabilization and Adjustment, pp. xi–xvii. New York: United Nations Publications. Koda, Bertha. (2000). “Democratization of Social Relations at the Household Level: The Participation of Children and Youth in Tanzania,” in Creighton, Colin and C. K. Omari (eds.) Gender, Family and Work in Tanzania, pp. 237–265. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.

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Krishna, S. (2012). “Redefining Sustainable Livelihoods,” in Wendy Harcourt (ed.) Women Reclaiming Sustainable Livelihoods: Spaces Lost. Spaces Gained, pp. 180–190. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. Kraft M. and Furlong, S. (2015). Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives. Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Legal and Human Rights Center (2008) Tanzania Human Rights Report 2008 http://www.mcdgc.go.tz/data/Tanzania_human_rights_report_2008__women_s_rights.pdf. Accessed December 16, 2015. Legal and Human Rights Center (2012). Tanzania Human Rights Report 2012. Legal and Human Rights Centre, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania and Zanzibar Legal Services Centre, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Law of Marriage Act (1971). http://www.law.yale.edu/rcw/rcw/jurisdictions/afe/unitedrepublicoftan zana/ tanz_marriage_act.pdf. Accessed January 18, 2016. Likwellie, S.B. (ed). (2008). Attacking Poverty in Tanzania: Contexts, Processes. Challenges and Lessons. Papers on the War against Poverty in Tanzania. Compiled by Mary J. Mwingira. Lindio-McGovern, Ligaya. (2013). “Philippine Super Typhoon: Natural and Human Factors and Immediate and Long-Term Responses.” PowerPoint Presentation at IU Kokomo, Arts and Sciences Research Forum; and at the Lion’s Club Fund Raising Dinner for disaster relief for victims of super typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, November 2013. Lindio-McGovern, L. (2011). “Neoliberal Globalization in the Philippines: Its Impact on Filipino Women and Their Forms of resistance,” in Gender and Globalization: Patterns of Women’s Resistance, Polakoff, E and Ligaya Lindio-McGovern (eds.), pp. 33–56. Whitby, Ontario, Canada: de Sitter Publications. —. (2009). Globalization, Labor Export and Resistance. London: Routledge. Lindio-McGovern. L. and I. Wallimann. (2012) [2009]. Globalization and Third World Women: Exploitation, Coping and Resistance. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. First published in hard copy by Ashgate in 2009. Makoye, K. (2013) Tanzania: Government Hopes New Tanzanian Constitution Bans Child Marriage. All Africa, http://allafrica.com/stories/201310140133.html. Accessed November 29, 2015. Masaiganah, Mwajuma (2012). “Sustaining Women’s and Community Livelihoods in Rural Tanzania,” in Wendy Harcourt (ed.) Women

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Reclaiming Sustainable Livelihoods: Spaces Lost, Spaces Gained, pp. 180–190. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) (2003). Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective: Violence against Women, E/CN.4/2003/75/Add.1, New York: United Nations. National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) [Tanzania] (2013) Tanzania in Figures. National Bureau of Statistics, United Republic of Tanzania http://www.nbs.go.tz/index.php? option=comcontent&view=article&id=392: tanzania-infigures2012&catid=85: tanzania-in-figures&Itemid=10. Accessed November 29, 2015. National Bureau of Statistics (2011). Tanzania and ICF Macro: Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey 2010. Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania: NBS and ICF Macro. Nelson, D. and J.C. Quick. (2013). Organizational Behavior: Science, the Real World and You. Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning. Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED) (2011). Women’s Economic Empowerment. DAC Network on Gender Equality, OECD, Paris. Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED) (2010). Accelerating Progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through Pro-poor Growth: Messages from the DAC Network on Poverty Reduction, OECD, and Paris. Oxaal, Z., (1997). “Gender and Empowerment: Definitions, Approaches and Implications for Policy,” BRIDGE Report, No. 40, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton. Polakoff, E.G. and Ligaya Lindio-McGovern. 2011. Gender & Globalization: Patterns of Women’s Resistance. Whitbey, Ontarion: de Sitter Publications. Radovic-Markovic, M., Nelson-Porter, B., & Omolaja, M. (2012). “The New Alternative Women’s Entrepreneurship Education: E-learning and Virtual Universities.” International Women Online Journal of Distance Education, 1(2), 46–54. Retrieved from http:// wojde.org/ FileUpload /bs295854/File/06a.markovic Accessed July 4, 2015. Rosenbaum. W. (2014). Environmental Politics and Policy. Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Rutechura, Fr. Pius. (2005). “Environmental Concerns from a Tanzanian Perspective,” in AFCST (African Forum for Social Teachings) (ed.), The Social Teachings of the Church on the Environment: Perspectives from Eastern and Southern Africa, pp.13–17. Harare, Zimbabwe: Blackwell Printers.

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Smith, C.D. (2001). Ecology, Civil Society and the Informal Economy in North West Tanzania. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate. Smith-Sebasto, N. (2012). Sustainability. New York: McGraw-Hill. Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS), ZAC (Zanzibar AIDS Commission), NBS, OGCS (Office of the Chief Government Statistician), and Macro International, Inc. (2008), Tanzania HIV/AIDS and Malaria Indicator Survey 2007–2008, TACAIDS, ZAC, NBS, OGCS, and Macro: Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. Taylor, R. (2012). (Eds.) Taking Sides: Clashing views in Sustainability. New York: McGraw Hill, pp. 421–437. The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania (1977). Dar-esSalaam: Government Press. http://www.judiciary.go.tz/downloads/ constitution.pdf. Accessed January 18, 2016. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (2012). 6th ed. 2012, Columbia University Press. UNICEF (2013). Statistics of the United Republic of Tanzania. http://www.unicef.or /infobycountry/tanzania_statistics.html. Accessed June 16, 2015. —. (2013). Understanding Children’s Work Programme. http://www.ucwproject. org/Pages /Tables.aspx?id =1252. Accessed June 16, 2015. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2011) Human Development Report 2011, http://hdr.undp.org/en/data/profiles/ (accessed 8 November 2011). United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) (2003). Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective: Violence against Women, E/CN.4/2003/75/Add.1, New York: United Nations. United States Department of State (2013). 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Tanzania, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, D.C. Wangwe, S.M. (1991). “A Review of Structural Adjustment in Tanzania Since 1986,” in SAATA United Nations Development Programme Structural Adjustment Advisory Team for Africa (ed.) Stabilization and Adjustment, pp.119–140. New York: United Nations Publications. World Bank (2014). Development Indicators Database. http://databank.worldbank.org/data/views/reports/tableview.aspx. Accessed January 15, 2016. —. (2013a). Women, Business, and the Law [database] http://wbl.worldbank.org/ Accessed 25 November 2015.

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—. (2013b). Global Financial Inclusion Database [database] http://databank.worldbank.org/Data/Views/reports/tableview.aspx. Accessed November 25, 2015. World Health Organization (WHO) (2005). WHO Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women: Report on the First Results, WHO: Geneva, Switzerland.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN SOUTH AFRICA REUBEN SEBENZILE MASANGO AND LYN SNODGRASS

Introduction The advent of the “new” South Africa in 1994 was upheld by the world as a model of a peaceful transition to a new constitutional democracy, premised upon, and protected by, a vigorous human rights framework which many consider as one of the most progressive in the world. The dismantling of apartheid and the emergence of a democratic South Africa set off a series of sweeping national reforms and massive structural changes in the country under the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) who were voted into power. State President, Nelson Mandela, signed into law on December 10, 1996, International Human Rights Day, the final constitution of South Africa which guaranteed access, representation, and participation for all races and founded on the following tenets: non-racialism, non-sexism, human dignity, achievement of equality, and the advancement of human rights and freedoms. This constitution, regarded as one of the most impressive globally, actively affirms and renders unassailable the principle of equity. In December 1995, the South African Parliament had adopted without reservation the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and its Optional Protocol, thus joining the world community in the protection and recognition of women’s rights (South African History Online [SAHO] (2015). In the past two decades (1994–2014), the proclamation and implementation of policies on gender equality in South Africa has made noticeable changes regarding the status and the quality of lives of some South African women. However, much more needs to done in promoting

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gender equality, since the living conditions of many women have not yet improved when compared to those of men. Progress towards gender equality is slow, and this does not augur well for women in general and those who perceive themselves as not having benefited from the proceeds of gender equality policies in particular. Therefore, the pursuit of gender equality will remain an important task until the policy objectives pertaining to gender equality are realized. The chapter explores the socio-political, legal and judicial challenges in women’s empowerment in South Africa since 1994. It will further argue that the advancement of women’s rights will not be sustainable if extensive discrimination in the various forms of endemic violence in South African society is not addressed. The introduction of South African democracy in 1994 also introduced the recognition of all South African women as equal citizens with the rest of the South African population. In 1996, this was guaranteed by the new Constitution through the Bill of Rights. Besides the universal rights of, inter alia, dignity, liberty, security and privacy, women also received specific protection in Section 9, titled “Equality.” This means women in South Africa are guaranteed protection from discrimination on the grounds of gender, sex, pregnancy and marital status. Under apartheid, South African women, both white and black, had the status of second-class citizens in the dominant patriarchal system and black women were doubly disadvantaged as a result of their race and gender. Post-apartheid South Africa was thus seen as ushering in a new era of empowerment for all women, both black and white, in South Africa. The South African constitution, during twenty years of democracy, has provided the vehicle for the progressive empowerment of women with various legislative and judicial interventions protecting sexual and reproductive rights, including the rights to health, equality and nondiscrimination, support of women’s lobby groups and gender mainstreaming. In addition, the Commission on Gender Equality was set up by the South African government under the terms of the Constitution, to advance gender equality and make recommendations on any legislation affecting the status of women. The parliamentary “quota” system has been effective in ensuring that women are present in representative numbers in government, and many see the prominent role women play in South African politics as indicative of progress in women’s rights. Despite the political, legal and judicial structures in place to support women’s empowerment, the gains made in South Africa are overshadowed by the endemic gender-based and structural violence against women and children. Research reveals that South Africa has the highest rates of violence against women in the world (for a country not at war) and

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includes, inter alia, domestic violence, assault, rape, and other forms of sexual assault. In addition, the problem of maternal health is shocking, with 1,426 recorded maternal deaths in 2012, and these were linked to late, or lack of access to, antenatal care. The chapter will provide some recommendations on policies that the government of South Africa could adopt to resolve the problems associated with domestic violence and maternal deaths.

The Concept of Gender The concept of gender is relatively new on the African continent, especially in comparison to the West, but the struggles of African women for emancipation from patriarchal social systems which enforce male dominance are not dissimilar to the struggles of their counterparts in the West (George-Williams, 2005). Gender refers to the attributes and opportunities associated with being female or male, and the power relationships between men and women which are socially constructed and internalized through socialization processes. “Gender is thus a major organizing principle for every aspect of life, shaping everyday routines, relationships, and institutions as well as capacities and vulnerabilities” (Snodgrass 2010). Men are expected to demonstrate masculine behavior, and women to conform to models of femininity. Women are stereotyped as nurturing, loving and compassionate and males as physical, aggressive, powerful and with any failure in control seen as “unmanly”. An important debate is whether women are biologically predisposed and genetically wired to be mothers, homemakers and caregivers, or whether they are socialized into societal expectations of their gender roles. The biological imperative is often cited to maintain the status quo in patriarchal societies, and women’s continued oppression and exploitation. The underlying assumptions that need to be challenged are that women, in this case African women, are a homogeneous group whose common “feminine” characteristics lend themselves to nurturing and passivity (Snodgrass 2010). Without entering the “nature/nurture” debate, women’s supposed innate “sensitivities” need to be questioned as a product of a gender system that serves to reinforce the stereotypes of men as strong warriors while relegating women to an inferior status as weak and passive. This can actually perpetuate violence and war because “just as the idea of mothering can serve as a source of peace, it can also motivate men to fight” (Moolakkattu, 2006). Stereotypical perspectives which “ghettoize” women as having special needs, qualities and capacities which accord them an inferior societal

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status need to be challenged (Snodgrass 2010). It is obvious that the roles of women, which cut across ethnic, religious or geographic lines, such as those of wives, mothers or care-givers, mean that women have a pivotal role to play in the challenges facing modern society. They have a vested interest and are key role-players in ensuring a sustainable peace and safe environments for their children and communities in a world struggling with extreme violence and escalating environmental degradation (Whitman, 2006). When gender is discussed in South Africa, the concept becomes synonymous with women’s issues because the state has prioritized women as “special” and thus largely excluded men from this agenda. Research conducted worldwide points to a backlash from men because moves in the direction of gender equality usually provoke resistance. An interesting study conducted in 18 countries (Shefer et al. 2008) with 15,000 men and women, which assessed sexism, indicates that the South African scores are particularly interesting when compared with the samples of other nations. South African men and women endorse ambivalent sexism, which means the women they feel the most positive about are those in roles which serve men’s needs such as wives and sexual partners. Ambivalent sexism involves polarized images of women which indicates that men may believe that modern women are intelligent and hardworking, but they also believe this makes them selfish, aggressive and cold. They favor women who are subservient to their needs, and endorse “cherishing” women who maintain the status quo. In fact, the research indicated that men felt the empowerment of women had gone too far, and a deep ambivalence was evidenced in both men and women about the changes in the direction of gender equity (Shefer et al. 2008). Gender mainstreaming is a strategy that has been adopted by the South African government and other governments on the African continent to address inequality and power differentials in post-conflict societies. Gender mainstreaming gained visibility when UN Resolution 1325 (United Nations, 2009) recognized that in order to promote and establish peace within any society, the participation of males and females, irrespective of their race, age, class, status and ethnicity is required. It involves “ensuring that gender perspectives and attention to the goal of gender equity are central to all activities—policy development, research, advocacy, dialogue, legislation, resource allocation, and planning, implementation, and monitoring of programmes and projects” (United Nations, 2009). Gender mainstreaming is premised on the involvement and equality of both sexes. It is also argued that if the goal is to ensure equality of outcome for both men and women, then it must be realized

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“that women and men have different needs and priorities, and that women and men should experience equal conditions for realizing their full human rights, and the opportunity to contribute and benefit from national, political, economic, social and cultural development” (Moses, 2005). Gender mainstreaming has not achieved the desired results in terms of the government’s gender reconstruction and development plans for South Africa. Gender mainstreaming is a top-down process, and its implementation and effectiveness depends on political will and strong, visionary leadership. Leadership must mobilize the “buy-in” of both men and women, and allocate the resources needed to support policies and procedures of accountability (Ingrid 2009). Mainstreaming gender requires efficient and effective resource allocation, distribution and accountability, and starts at the policy level and feeds into all development programs. The state is ubiquitous in women’s lives, in that they are responsible for turning rights into reality and creating gendered citizenship. Gender mainstreaming has not been well-managed in South Africa due to severe skills shortages in both the public and private sectors, and leadership challenges and rampant corruption in the public sector. Hames (2008) adds that the state strips women’s movements of their radical potential by mainstreaming gender and making them receptive to “state feminism.” She urges the state to restructure “the architecture of the existing ‘womensensitive laws’ so that interventions ensure substantive equity can take place, bringing meaningful change to ordinary women’s lives”. Another key issue is that gender mainstreaming is incorrectly perceived as targeted affirmative action for women, and therefore marginalizes men. Research conducted in two communities in South Africa (Shefer et al. 2008) shows that men are threatened by the perceived empowerment of women and the allocation of state resources to address gender imbalances that comes at their expense. What is evidenced by this research is that “As long as South African men (and some women) conceptualize power as a zero-sum game, legal changes, economic changes and social programmes aimed at empowering women will continue to provoke resistance.” The ideology of patriarchy supports oppressive “isms” at all levels of South African society; racism, sexism, classism or colonialism, and like all forms of systemic humiliation devalues, demeans and debases whole groups of people and renders them inferior. The literal meaning of patriarchy is known as the “rule of the fathers”, but the concept encompasses far more—“the prevalence of male-dominant, competitive values that determine virtually all human enterprises while illustrating the historical and social dimensions of women’s exploitation and oppression”

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(Jeong 2000). Patriarchy speaks to male dominance where authoritarianism and coercive power are embedded in competitive, hierarchical societal structures which render human beings unequal. Structural violence, embodied in patriarchal values, is deeply rooted in the social fabric of South African society. It is part of our apartheid legacy and determined by the inequalities in power sharing which control the distribution of social, political and economic resources. Patriarchy is embodied in the military, and it can be argued that patriarchy is not only a system of violence but a system of war. Militarism is rooted in sexism, “the distilled embodiment of patriarchy”, “an extension of the machismo… So unless this base is pulled down, attempts to contain militarism can have only a marginal effect” (Moolakkattu, 2006). Patriarchy, one of the strongest ideologies worldwide, is entrenched in both Eurocentric and Afrocentric cultures in South Africa, and on the wider African continent. As cited by the South African Commission on Gender Equality (1998) (Coetzee 2001), “to challenge patriarchy, to dispute the idea that men should be dominant figures in the family and society, is to be seen not as fighting male privilege, but as attempting to destroy African tradition, or to subvert Afrikaner [Dutch] ideals or undermine civilised British values …Patriarchy brutalises men and neutralises women across the colour line.” Patriarchy has never been challenged and interrogated to the same degree that race has in South Africa and on the African continent. The reasons for this are multifaceted and enmeshed in the fight against apartheid in South Africa which put “struggle politics” above “gender politics” (Moffett, 2014). Gender equality is up against a powerful enemy in societies with strong patriarchal traditions where women have been oppressed, exploited and kept in positions of subservience for generations. In South Africa, where sexism and racism intersect, black women as a group have suffered the major brunt of this discrimination. Deeply-rooted historical patriarchal attitudes remain as intractable problems in the current political climate, which demonstrates that the patriarchal model of humiliation and domination is resilient and is able to adapt to changed social and political circumstances (Malesevic, 2010). A gendered perspective broadens our understanding of violence so that we are not only concerned with direct, physical violence, but also the indirect, structural violence implicit in institutionalized racism, sexism and human rights abuses which erode human values. Structural violence is an integral manifestation of unjust, repressive and oppressive social, political and economic structures in society as existed under apartheid in South Africa. A key factor in this perspective is the suppression of the

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“feminine” values of caring, compassion and nurturing which is perpetuated by hegemonic patriarchal practices in society. South African women have been in the frontline of the resistance against apartheid. One of their finest hours was the mass protest in 1956 when women of all races marched on Pretoria, which was then the seat of the regime’s administrative power, to present a petition against the carrying of passes, to the then Prime Minister, J.G. Strijdom. The Pass Laws Act of 1952 required black South Africans over the age of 16 to carry a pass book, known as a dompas, everywhere and at all times. Within the pages of an individual’s dompas were their fingerprints, photograph, personal details of employment, permission from the government to be in a particular part of the country, qualifications to work or seek work in the area, and an employer’s reports on performance. Forgetting to carry the dompas, misplacing it, or having it stolen rendered one liable to arrest and imprisonment. Each year, over 250,000 black people were arrested for technical offenses under the Pass Laws. Women’s ability to mobilize and oppose the apartheid regime during the dark days of increasing state repression between the 1950s and 1980s is impressive. The role of the ANC Women’s League and the Black Sash were two platforms which vigorously opposed apartheid and established women as a force to be reckoned with. It was during the 1990s that women’s organizations achieved a remarkable level of organizational cohesion. In September 1991, the African National Congress Women’s League (ANCWL) brought together women from different spheres of communities and political parties, advocacy groups and women’s organizations, grassroots and trade union movements to plan for a national structure that would transcend racial and ideological divisions. The Women’s National Coalition (WNC) was established in April 1992, which encompassed women from across the racial, political, religious economic and ethnic spectrum, representing 70 women’s organizations and eight regional coalitions. The formation of the WNC was pivotal in giving women a voice in the making of South Africa’s new constitution and ensuring that women’s rights and freedoms were enshrined in this document (SAHO, 2015). Barriers from the home, and the ways women are perceived, culturally and historically, are also regarded as barriers to women’s advancement (Moorosi, 2007). In the African tradition in which males are favored over females in various ways—politically, economically and socially— traditional practices tend to frustrate progress in the implementation of policies on gender equality. This is also having its effects in the rural municipalities of South Africa where the chiefs who are perceived to be

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the custodians of culture play a role in leadership at the local government sphere. The implementation of gender-equality policies will succeed if those implementing them understand that discriminatory practices, whether cultural or otherwise, may have a negative impact on human rights. Hence it is important for policy implementers to be sensitive to issues of gender discrimination and to be able to identify such issues when implementing policy.

Policy Framework for Gender Empowerment The 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa mandate relating to the empowerment of women is espoused through various sections of the Constitution (Republic of South Africa Constitution, 1996) including the following: x Section 1(c) of Chapter 1, which states that the Republic of South Africa is one, sovereign, democratic state which is founded on the values of non-racialism and non-sexism; x Section 3(2) (a) of Chapter 1, which states that all South African citizens are equally entitled to the rights, privileges and benefits of citizenship; and x The Bill of Rights in Chapter 2 of the Constitution, which includes a clause on equality in Section 9(3) stating that the State may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, color, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth. Furthermore, the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa mandate relating to women’s empowerment is reinforced through the institution of the Commission for Gender as one of the State Institutions Supporting Constitutional Democracy. In terms of section 187 of the Constitution, the Constitution mandates the state to establish a Commission for Gender whose functions include: x Promoting respect for gender equality and the protection, development and attainment of gender equality; and x Monitoring, investigating; undertaking research, education, lobbying, as well as advising and reporting on issues concerning gender equality.

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Various pieces of legislation relating to women’s empowerment include the following: 1. Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (Act 4 of 2000); 2. Basic Conditions of Employment Act (Act 75 of 1997); 3. Employment Equity Act (Act 55 of 1998); 4. Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (Act 5 of 2000); and 5. Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act (Act 53 of 2003).

Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (Act 4 of 2000) Section 8 of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (Act 4 of 2000) prohibits unfair discrimination on the grounds of gender through: (a) Gender-based violence; (b) Female genital mutilation; (c) The system of preventing women from inheriting a family property; (d) Any practice, including traditional, customary, or religious practice, which impairs the dignity of women and undermines equality between women and men, including the undermining of the dignity and well-being of the girl child; (e) Any policy or conduct that unfairly limits access of women to land rights, finance and other resources; (f) Discrimination on the ground of pregnancy; (g) Limiting women’s access to social services or benefits such as health, education and social security; (h) The denial of access to opportunities, such as access to services or contractual opportunities for rendering services for consideration, or failing to take steps to reasonably accommodate the needs of such persons; and (i) Systematic inequality of access to opportunities by women as a result of the sexual division of labor.

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Basic Conditions of Employment Act (Act 75 of 1997) Under Section 25 (1) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (Act No 75 of 1997), an employee is entitled to at least four consecutive months’ maternity leave. Furthermore, Section 26 of this Act requires employers to provide protection to employees before and after the birth of their children. For instance, Section 26(1) of this Act states that “No employer may require or permit a pregnant employee or an employee who is nursing her child to perform work that is hazardous to her health or the health of her child”.

Employment Equity Act (Act 55 of 1998) The Employment Equity Act, 1998 is also intended to prohibit unfair discrimination. Under Section 6(1) of this Act, “No person may unfairly discriminate, directly or indirectly, against any employee in any employment policy or practice, on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, family responsibility, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, HIV status, conscience, belief, political opinion, culture, language and birth”. Section 6(2) of this Act clarifies that it is not unfair to: (a) Take affirmative action measures consistent with the purpose of this Act; or (b) Distinguish, exclude or prefer any person on the basis of an inherent requirement of the job.

Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (Act 5 of 2000) Under Section 217(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, national legislation may implement procurement policy providing for categories of preference in the allocation of contracts, and the protection and advancement of persons, or categories of persons, disadvantaged by unfair discrimination. Furthermore, Section 217(3) of the Constitution mandates the government to prescribe a framework within which such legislation may be implemented. This is the Constitutional basis of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (Act 5 of 2000). The Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (Act 5 of 2000) is one of the pieces of legislation which have been proclaimed in order to reverse the legacy of apartheid. It creates opportunities for empowering

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the Historically Disadvantaged Individuals in the procurement processes. Under Section 1(h) (2) of the schedule of this Act, a South African citizen who is a female is defined as a Historically Disadvantaged Individual. Section 2(d) (1.) of this Act states that an organ of state must determine its preferential policy and implement it within a framework whose specific goals may include contracting with persons, or category of persons, historically disadvantaged by unfair discrimination on the basis of race, gender and disability.

Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act (Act 53 of 2003) Under Section 2(d) of this Act, the objectives of the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act (Act 53 of 2003) (Republic of South Africa, 2000) are to facilitate broad-based black economic empowerment by, among others, increasing the extent to which black women own and manage existing and new enterprises, and increasing their access to economic activities, infrastructure and skills training.

Implementation of Equity Legislation Getting women out of inequality will involve full implementation of Affirmative Action across Africa, constitutional reform to enlarge the chances for women, novel reorientation on discriminatory cultural practices, and the reinvention of governance with novel participatory roles for women (Amadi, & Amadi, 2015). Participation in productive economic activities will therefore enable women to attain financial independence, to reduce poverty, and to enhance gender equity and equality (Steyn & Parsalo, 2014). In South Africa, the Employment Equity Act (No. 55 of 1998) is designed to facilitate the implementation of the process of Affirmative Action. The Act is a piece of legislation which forms part of the policy framework intended to address the plight of historically disadvantaged people. This Act has put measures in place for facilitating the process of Affirmative Action—a process which includes the promotion of gender equality by empowering women. For instance, Section 20(1) requires designated employers to respectively prepare and implement their respective employment equity plans which will achieve reasonable progress towards employment equity in their workforce. Subsequent to the implementation of such plans, the designated employers are required, in terms of Section 21 of the Act, to submit annual reports in which they indicate in the first report the initial development of and consultation

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around an employment equity plan, and detail the progress made in implementing the employment equity plan in subsequent reports.

Strides for Gender Equality in South Africa The matter of gender equality is a common feature in the annual State of the Nation Addresses which normally take place at the beginning of each year, as well as in speeches by leaders in government. The prominence given to this issue indicates that gender equality is at the core of the government’s agenda but continues to be a challenge, though much progress has been achieved in integrating women in key decision-making roles in government and to a limited extent, in the private sector (Pencelian, 2014). For instance, the target of 50 per cent men and 50 per cent women for senior managers in government has been set, and South Africa has already had its first female deputy president during former President Mbeki’s term of office. Furthermore, the findings of the Business Women’s Association 2009 census on women leaders showed that in 2009 the South African government was ahead of other institutions as far as the pursuit of gender equality in the workplace is concerned (Pencelian, 2014). In government, acts such as the 1998 Employment Equity Act, have resulted in about 44 per cent women’s representation in the legislature, 43 per cent in the Cabinet, and women also make up 40 per cent of local elected positions. In 2009, the representation of women at senior levels of the public services increased to an average of 36.1 per cent, and women made up 26 per cent of the higher courts and 40 per cent of the lower courts. This indicates that the participation and representation of women in political, administrative and judicial sectors has increased in the recent past. There are indications that this has also been the case in the Higher Education sector. For instance, Civil servants in the nation’s government acknowledged that the status and representation of women in the workplace appeared to have improved in the previous 50 years. There are also indications of some progress regarding the pursuit of gender equality in the private sector. For instance, the South African Mining Act, introduced in 2002, made a 10 per cent target for women participation in mining by 2009, to address the inequality in this sector. The target has been reached, and as at October 2011 there were approximately 600,000 women miners in South Africa. South Africa has made some remarkable progress on women’s empowerment, although it is clear that much more needs to be done. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and

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Development (in Millennium Development Goals Country Report: 2013) South Africa has made good strides in pursuing gender equality, and this is evident through the fact that it was ranked fourth out of 48 countries in this regard in the 2012 index, and was ranked the top country in Africa. However, in spite of this good performance, gender equality and the empowerment of women remain goals to be pursued because of the slow pace of the implementation of policies on gender equality in South Africa. Wide-ranging gender reforms and powerful gender machinery in the emerging democracy have translated into significant gains for women, especially in the public sector, since 1996. Female representation in the South African Parliament increased from 27 per cent in 1994 to 43.3 per cent in 2009, placing South Africa among the leading countries in terms of women’s representation and leadership positions in government. By mid2014, out of 400 seats in the National Assembly, women’s representation stood at 40.8 per cent in the Lower House and 35 per cent, in the Upper House, ranking South Africa third in the world in terms of representation in Parliament (Africa Institute of South Africa, 2012). The South African Parliament recently passed the Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equity Bill which strongly advocates for equal participation of women in the economy and in decision-making structures in both the private and public sectors (Obers 2014). South Africa’s overall “gender” performance on indices such as the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where in 2012 it ranked 4th out of 87 countries, and was the top-ranked country in Africa (OECD Development Centre 2012), is impressive. South Africa ranked second on the 2012 Southern African Development Community (SADC) Gender and Development Index, just slightly lower than the Seychelles, which was first (The Status of Women in South Africa, 2011). The South African government has taken the lead in providing the gender machinery to secure these pleasing regional and international rankings. These indices, however, mask differences which relate to population groups and location; differences which make South Africa one of the most unequal societies in the world. In addition, indicators based on legislation generally do not reveal how this translates into actual implementation and enforcement in terms of the law. The incidence of gender-based violence, where South Africa ranks as one of the highest in the world, is not well-captured by these indices.

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Challenges of Women’s Empowerment in South Africa The lack of a deep gender-transformation in South Africa is attributed to many factors which include, inter alia, the legacy of apartheid, poverty, stagnant economic growth, the high rate of unemployment, and low levels of education. Some of these factors are discussed below.

Pro-Poor Policy Provisions The South African government, after twenty years of democratic rule, has failed to address the widening poverty gap, which makes South Africa one of the most unequal societies in the world. Statistics South Africa (Gender Statistics Report, July 2013) reports that majority of the South African population who live below the poverty line are female—less than R305 per individual per month. Though the average life expectancy of women is better than men, female deaths peak earlier at between 30 and 34 years. In addition, when a woman dies, often nobody registers the death: “There is nothing to inherit from a woman and a lot to inherit from a man” as explained in the Statistics South Africa Report (Daily Maverick, 2013). The failure of basic services delivery to disadvantaged and marginalized communities resulted in sporadic outbreaks of violent service delivery strikes throughout the country during 2013 and 2014 (Sepa, 2014). As pointed out by the Human Rights Commission (Shereem, 2009), a lack of private toilets and a lack of adequate lighting in various communities puts women’s safety and security at risk. Acknowledging the intersection of social conditions (poverty) and violence against women is important in the analysis of gender-based violence. Scholars assert that when agency is constrained, as it is in the case of marginalized black women, to the extent that basic human needs cannot be attained, structural violence becomes a structural violation of human rights (Ho, 2007). The natural expectation of poor black women was that, having been denied access to state benefits and resources under apartheid, in an emerging non-racial democracy the ANC-led government would provide for the most vulnerable liberally and unconditionally (African Center for Citizenship and Democracy 2012). Government pro-poor policy provisions raised expectations in terms of housing, education and welfare subsidies, especially for women-headed households. These expectations have not been fully realized with the state’s “neo-liberal development of self-help”, where the responsibility is devolved to the poor to demonstrate their financial eligibility, and the responsibility is divested by state.

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South Africa, despite its neo-liberal development agenda, has one of the largest social welfare systems for a developing country. Without any overarching strategy for poverty alleviation in the country, this may be the best stopgap it has for the growing needs gap (Marais, 2011). Social grants have been significant in assisting women without which many femaleheaded households would not be viable. In 1994 there were an estimated 2.6 million recipients of social grants, which rose to 5.83 million in 2003 and totaled almost 16 million in 2011. By 2007, this constituted more than 12 per cent of the total income of African households with female-headed households especially reliant on them (Marais, 2011). About one-third of adult women were on the grants register in 2007, which has increased annually. Careful analysis of poverty trends shows that expanding eligibility and greater take-up of grants, especially the child-support grant, have had a significant impact upon the decline in poverty levels since 2000 (African Center for Citizenship and Democracy 2012). The social grant system has stimulated much debate about nurturing “dependency” and whether the burgeoning system is sustainable for the country. What is evident is that without a clear anti-poverty strategy, and unemployment figures at 35 per cent and a legacy of poverty the grant system may be the only tool available in assisting the “poorest of the poor” who are often single women with dependents. This impressive array of national gender machinery belies the harsh realities that many women face in the current dispensation which still deny them access to fundamental freedoms and keeps them living in poverty. The lack of deep gender transformation in South Africa is attributed to many factors which include, inter alia, the legacy of apartheid, structural violence, patriarchy, poverty, stagnant economic growth, the high rate of unemployment, and low levels of education.

Employment and Economic Resources An obvious and important obstacle to the achievement of gender equality in South Africa is the high level of unemployment which has been caused by historical factors such as economic stagnation during the time of apartheid, and years of racial and gender discrimination as well as recent factors such as the global economic downturn in 2008. The structural unemployment situation has particularly affected women, with two out of three South African women reported as being discouraged (Marais, 2011). Another major problem is the skills shortage in a number of key industries such as mining, healthcare and education, as well as the inflexibilities and inefficiencies in the labor market. Although resource-exploitation

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contributes to economic growth, it is not gender-sensitive. This means that women are unable to benefit from some of the positive aspects of resource-extraction such as job-creation and the opportunity to participate in the economy (Business Women Association of South Africa 2013). On average, women still earn less than men in South Africa, a trend which is reflected all over the world (Daily Maverick, 2013). Women are mostly employed in the informal sector, clerical work, catering and retail fields where they have very minimal influence on decision-making, and are restricted to care giving and domestic labor, rather than being economically productive, gainfully employed, and adequately engaged with the broader economy. Black women especially are the most likely to be unemployed or mostly employed in low-paying jobs such as domestic work. The slow pace of progress in pursuing gender equality is also highlighted by the findings of Statistics South Africa (Gender Statistics of South Africa, 2011) with regard to the number of established businesses owned by women. The First National Bank (FNB) White Paper on Female Entrepreneurship (2011) has revealed that only 38 per cent of established businesses within South Africa are women owned (Business Women Association of South Africa 2013). There is a significant lag in terms of the appointment of South African women managers and professionals, with women mostly concentrated in low-paying occupations. The 2012 Women in Leadership Census found that women account for just 3.6 per cent of CEO positions, 5.5 per cent of chairperson’s positions, 17.1 of directorships and 21.4 per cent of executive management positions. The Census revealed that there are more white women than black women in executive-managerial positions (Women Leadership Census 2012). As stated by Kunyalala Maphisa, the President of the Businesswomen’s Association of South Africa (BWA): “[W]e have a long way to go to achieve more equality in the upper levels of the workplace. The advancement of women in South Africa is no longer an option, it is an urgent requirement.” Interestingly, while improvement is needed, South Africa does not do badly when benchmarked against the rest of the world. In Australia, women account for less than 9 per cent of executive management and director positions; in Canada they account for 17.7 per cent, and 14.5 per cent of director positions, and in the US women account for 14.1 per cent and 16.1 per cent, respectively, while in Israel, women hold 30 per cent of executive management positions. Again, as with other indices, the differences in terms of population groups, access to education and geography are masked. Under apartheid, a large part of the black population did not receive any formal schooling, and gender differences were pronounced, with black

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women doubly disadvantaged in terms of race and gender. Education is now widely available in post-apartheid South Africa but for many, the quality of education is poor and the range of skills taught not improved. This has not assisted poor South African women in gaining access to skills development and employment opportunities. “Despite significant changes, class and race inequality, inflected by gender continue to give shape to the contours of educational institutions, experiences and life-chances in South Africa” (Chisholm, 2006).

Policy Recommendations The effective and efficient functioning of the National Gender Machinery, coupled with gender mainstreaming, are critical towards enhancing the implementation of gender equality in South Africa. Hence, it is recommended that this is a critical factor to be taken into account from a policy making and implementation perspective.

National Gender Machinery The extensive “gender machinery”, which was put in place to address gender equity has not translated into real gains for the majority of South African women who are poor and black. The legal mechanisms and policy framework exist on “paper”, but actual implementation has been slow and under-resourced. The dominant discourse has been around quotas (numbers) in terms of representation of women in Parliament, which is impressive when benchmarked globally, but this again has not translated into the implementation of innovative policies to address gender equity. This may be seen as a failing of women in power to address structural gender imbalances, but is also a failing of diluted women’s movements in the post-apartheid era which have not held them accountable for their actions and who do not have a coherent strategy in terms of addressing the needs of poor black women (Hassin, 2009). Benchmarking gender-equity progress in terms of South Africa’s pleasing national and international rankings on various indices masks the actual realities of population and geographic differences—disadvantages in terms of access to education, resources and employment—which must be interrogated. Government, civil society and business need to engage fully with these debates and mobilize an effective inter-sector funding model which brings all stakeholders together to coordinate a consolidated, national and targeted response to gender issues.

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Gender Mainstreaming In line with progressive global trends, gender mainstreaming is a key strategy adopted by the South African government, but its implementation has not been well managed. Severe skills shortages in the both the public and private sectors, leadership challenges, lack of planning, and rampant corruption in the public sector have been detrimental. In order to successfully implement gender mainstreaming, which is a top-down process, it requires top-level leadership (both men and women), budgeting strategies which support proper planning, procedures of accountability, in addition to the monitoring and evaluation of programmes. It is argued that the state strips women’s movements of their radical potential by mainstreaming gender and making them receptive to “state feminism”. This must be addressed by restructuring the architecture of the existing “women sensitive laws” so that interventions ensure substantive progress towards equity and meaningful change to ordinary women’s lives. This can be accomplished by targeted support for certain groups within the broad category of women based on race (with particular emphasis on previously disadvantaged women), age, disability, location (i.e. rural, urban former townships), levels of education and the informal and formal business sectors. Another key issue is that gender mainstreaming is incorrectly perceived as targeted “affirmative action” for women and thus marginalizes men. Research conducted globally reveals that men are threatened by the perceived empowerment of women and this provokes a “backlash”. As evidenced by research, South African men perceive the allocation of state resources to address gender imbalances as “coming at their expense”. South African men (and some women) conceptualize power as a zero-sum game which means that mainstreaming gender to primarily target and empowerment women will continue to provoke resistance. The empowerment discourse must be widened to fully include both men and women (gender) in South Africa so that both sexes understand the symbiotic nature of gender relationships and the power differentials embedded therein. Strategies must be devised to bring the debates into the public domain through a process of education involving social media and other open access learning platforms.

Sustaining policies on gender equality Gender equality is one of the critical issues on the South African government’s agenda. This is indicated by the Constitutional Mandate.

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The policy framework adopted since 1994 demonstrates that the South African democratic government is committed towards ensuring that all forms of discrimination against women which have the potential to perpetuate or promote gender inequality in the workplace and society in general are eliminated. It promotes the advancement and empowerment of women as a means of redressing the historical injustices which have led to the current reality of gender inequality which is characterized by, among other things, limited access to opportunities and resources by women. It is intended to enhance the status of women and eradicate gender inequalities. There are some notable milestones which have been achieved by the South African government in the process of gender equality. For instance, the apartheid legislation which provided scope for gender discrimination has been replaced by democratic and progressive legislation which is in favor of gender equality. The government has created institutions and mechanisms for enforcing legislation on gender equality. These include the establishment of the Commission for Gender Equality and the Ministry of Women, Children and People living with Disabilities as well as the annual equity reports on the progress made on the implementation of equity legislation required from designated employers. Furthermore, the government has committed itself towards addressing the matter of gender equality from a national and international perspective. The national legislation, speeches by ministers, and in particular, the State of the Nation Addresses highlight the national perspective, while the United Nation’s Declaration on Millennium Development Goals highlights the matter from an international perspective. Although some progress has been made pertaining to gender equality in South Africa, it is clear that much more needs to be done. For instance, there are notable improvements regarding the advancement and empowerment of women. This is more prominent in government than in other sectors: women are acceding to positions of power in government and in the higher education sector. The aforementioned indicates that gender equality remains a crucial goal to be pursued by the South African government. However, there are indications that the country is moving in the right direction. Government, the entire labor market, and society in general should continue to improve and support initiatives designed for pursuing gender equality. This includes, among other things, supporting the enforcement of legislation on gender equality rather than implementing gender legislation as a compliance exercise as well as providing support to institutions and mechanisms established to promote gender equality. On the other hand, the debate about the qualitative and quantitative approach remains an

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important factor disadvantages.

since

both

approaches

have

advantages

and

Conclusion This chapter has explored the socio-political, legal and judicial challenges in women’s empowerment in South Africa since 1994. It will further argue that the advancement of women’s rights will not be sustainable if extensive discrimination in the various forms of endemic violence in South African society is not addressed. South Africa’s overall “gender” performance on indices such as the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Gender and Development Index is impressive. The South African government has taken the lead in providing the gender machinery to secure these pleasing regional and international rankings. These indices, however, mask the reality—the differences and disadvantages relating to population groups and geography which make South Africa one of the most unequal societies in the world. In addition, indicators based on legislation generally do not reveal how this translates into actual implementation, monitoring and evaluation as has been the case in South Africa. South Africa, again, has an impressive record in terms of women’s representation in all spheres of government (local, provincial and national government) which is among the highest in the world, but the number of women in Parliament has not translated into the implementation of progressive gender-equality policies as expected. Structural transformation has not translated into “real” gains for ordinary South African women. In the past two years, the lived realities of the majority of women, especially black women, are still intractable poverty and violence. The majority of the South African population living below the poverty line are women— less than R305 per individual per month. Though the average lifeexpectancy of women is better than men, female deaths peak earlier at between 30–34 years. The causes are complex, multi-faceted and attributed to many interrelated factors which include, inter alia, the legacy of apartheid, poverty, patriarchy, structural violence, stagnated economic growth, and the high rate of unemployment and low levels of education. It is evident that gender issues have not been prioritized as much, which has delayed “real” progress towards measurable equity outcomes. It appears that the setting up of legal structures, drawing up policy documents and attention focused on representative equality in (gender quotas) has

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dominated the South Africa discourse. The “real” work of gender equity, which involves the challenges of gender mainstreaming, policy implementation, strategic resource allocation, program monitoring and evaluation, has been neglected in South Africa. While the policies of quotas and political inclusion have promoted an elite group of women to the fore in the political arena, there is a disconnect between these powerful women and ordinary South African women who face daily hardship and economic exclusion. In order to build on the successes which have placed gender equity, and specifically women’s issues, at the core of the government’s development agenda this disconnect needs to be addressed. It requires that women’s movements hold these women leaders accountable for their actions and develop a coherent strategy to address the basic needs of poor women. Progress towards gender equity will require a multiplicity of interventions which include the implementation of tighter legal instruments, law enforcement, education, moral leadership, political will and the mobilization of civil society. Government, civil society and businesses need to mobilize an effective inter-sector funding model which brings all stakeholders together to coordinate a consolidated, national and targeted response to gender issues.

References African Centre for Citizenship & Democracy (2012). Gendered Subjects, Gendered Citizens. Working Paper 10. ACCEDE: University of Western Cape. Africa Institute of South Africa (2012). Women’s role in the transformation of South Africa. Http:// polity .org.za/article /womensrole –in –the – transformation=of the south-africa- November 2012. Accessed 14 February 2015. Amadi, L. & Amadi, C. (2015). “Towards Institutionalizing Gender Equality in Africa: How Effective Are the Global Gender Summits and Convention? A Critique.” African Journal of Political Science and International Relations, 9(1): 12–26. Business Women’s Association of South Africa (2013). Women’s Contribution to the Economy. http://www.bwasa. co.za . Accessed on March 17, 2015. Coetzee, D. (2001). South African Education and the Ideology of Patriarchy. South African Journal of Education, 21 (4), pp. 23-41.

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Daily Maverick (2013). Analysis: Gender-based Violence in South Africa. http://www.dailymaverick.co.za?aricle/2013-08-22. Accessed February 14, 2015. Gender Statistics in South Africa (2011). Statistics South Africa. www. stassa.gov.za. Accessed February 14, 2015. George-Williams, D.O. (2005). “Changing Gender Roles in Conflict and Post-Conflict Situations in Africa,” In D. Rodriguez and Edith Natukunda Togboa, Gender and Peace building in Africa, Costa Rica: University for Peace Press, pp. 59–72. Hassin S. (2009). “Democracies Shadows: Sexual Rights and Gender Politics in the Rape Trial of Jacob Juma.” African Studies, 68 (1), pp. 57–77. Ho, Kathleen (2007). “Structural Violence as a Human Rights Violation.” Essex Human Rights Review vol. 4 no. 2 September 2007. Jeong, H. (2010). “Gendered Perspective on Post Conflict Reconstruction.” In Snodgrass, L. (ed.) African Women in Peace building. Africa Insight vol. 40 (2), pp. 75–80. Ingrid S. (2009). “Gender Mainstreaming: A Valuable Tool in Building Sustainable Peace,” In Dennis J. D. Sandole et al. (eds), Handbook of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, New York: Routledge, p. 227. Malesevic, S. (2010). The Sociology of War and Violence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Moffett, H. (2014). “Feminism and the South African Polity – A Failed Marriage.” In Vale, P., Hamilton, Lawrence and Prinsloo, E. Intellectual Traditions in South Africa: Ideas, Individuals and Institutions. Scottsville, South Africa: UKZN Press. Marais, H. (2011). South Africa Pushed to the Limit: The Political Economy of Change. London: Zed Books. pp. 338–345. Moser, C. 2005. “Has Gender Mainstreaming Failed? A Comment on International Development Agency Experiences in the South,” International Feminist Journal of Politics, vol. 7, no. 4, p. 575. Moolakkatt, S.J. (2006). “Feminism and Peace Studies: Taking Stock of a Quarter Century.” Indian Journal of Gender Studies, vol. 13, no. 2, p. 148. Moorosi, P. (2007). Creating Linkages Between Private and Public: Challenges Facing Women Principals in South Africa.” South Africa Journal of Education, 27 (3), pp.507-521. Obers, N. (20140. “Career Success for Women Academics in Higher Education: Choices and Challenges.” South African Journal of Higher Education, 28(3):1107–1122.

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Omotayo, B.O. (2006). “Women and Conflict in the New Information Age,” IFLA Journal, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 325–326. Also available http://ifl.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract /32/4/325 Accessed January 7, 2010. South African History Online (SAHO). The History of Women’s Struggle. http://sahistory.org.za/womens-struggle-1900-1996/women-newdemocracy. Accessed February 14, 2015. Snyder, A. (2009). “Gender Relations and Conflict Transformation Among Refugee Women,” In Dennis J. D. Sandole et al. (eds), Handbook of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, New York: Routledge, p. 46. Snodgrass, L. (2010). “A Gendered Perspective on Post Conflict Reconstruction: African Women in Peace” building. Africa Insight vol. 40 (2), September. Shefer, T., Crawford M., Strebel A., Simbayi Leickness C., DwadwaHenda N., Cloete A., Kaufmann M., and Kalichman (2008). “Gender, Power and Resistance to Change Among Two Communities in the Western Cape, South Africa.” Feminism and Psychology, 18(157). pp. 157–182. United Nations (2009). Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/conceptsanddefinitions.htm, Accessed December 14, 2009. Republic of South Africa (1996). The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Pretoria: Government Printers. —. (2000). Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (No. 4 of 2000). Pretoria: Government Printers. —. (2003). Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act (Act 53 of 2003). Pretoria: Government Printers. —. (1998). Employment Equity Act (No. 55 of 1998). Pretoria: Government Printers. Pencelian, Y. (2014). Gender Mainstreaming with Special Reference to Senior Management in Local Government. Journal of Public Administration, 46 (1.1): 868–879. The Status of Women in South Africa (2011). Joining forces for gender equality and inclusive development. http://www.iwfsa.co.za Accessed March 17, 2015. Sapa (2014). President Jacob Zuma condemned the violent service delivery protests the country has seen since he took office five years ago. http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2014/04/08/zuma-addressesviolent- service-delivery-protests /. Accessed 3 September 2014.

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT IN ETHIOPIA ROBERT DIBIE AND HELEN TSEGAYE

Introduction Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa; its population is approximately 79 million (United Nations Human Development Index, 2014). About 50 per cent of the population are women (African Development Bank Report 2013). The country is regarded as the only African nation that was never colonized by Western industrialized imperialists. The capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, is also the headquarters of the African Union. The nation has a federal government and 10 regional states: Afa, Amhara, Tigray, Oromia, Gambella, Somalia Benishagul-Gumuz, Southern Nations Nationalist and Peoples region and Harare, and the two administrative states are Addis Ababa City administration and Dire Dawa Council. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Report (2014) indicated that Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world with a per capita GNP of about US$100. The Human Development Index (UNHDI) pointed out that the severity of poverty is largely found in the Tigray, Amhara and Afar regions, which are among the three most densely populated and rural states in Ethiopia. To compound the poverty further, these rural regions do not have access to health, education, production resources and sanitation facilities (Arieff, 2009). The rural agricultural households are more vulnerable to poverty and suffer from low levels of agricultural technology, limited diversity in agriculture production, underdeveloped rural infrastructure and weak access to input, as well as inadequate irrigation systems (African Development Bank Report, 2004). Ethiopia remains one of the world’s poorest countries. Among its population of approximately 79 million, 78 per cent live on less than US$2 per day (United Nations Human Development Report 2014). Further, about 18 per cent of the poor rural households are female-headed, which

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are often more vulnerable as they traditionally have less direct access to land and other productive resources. In Addis Ababa, the national headquarters, women-headed households account for 38 per cent and about 53 per cent of these fall into the low-income category (African Development Bank Report, 2004). The World Bank (2013) report pointed out that Ethiopia faces many historical, cultural, social and political obstacles that have restricted progress in education for many centuries. The report also indicated that the primary constraint to women’s development in the country is the high levels of illiteracy. Girls in Ethiopia have the highest dropout rate due to factors such as sexual harassment by male teachers, inflexible school schedules that prevent them from completing their household chores, and inadequate funds to purchase their school supplies due to poverty (OCED, 2014). Violence against girls discourages them from attending school. Sexual or physical violence on the way to and from school or at home reduces girls’ ability to concentrate in class. Instead of attending to the lesson, they are thinking about the violence they have experienced or worrying about future violence to come. Abuse reduces girls’ participation in class even further than normal, and reduces their ability to complete homework. Abused girls are more likely to have low attainment, more grade repetition and a higher dropout rate than non-abused girls (Boyden et al 2013; Arrieff 2009). The problem of high illiteracy and dropout rates has also spilled over to greater gender inequality in the professional and formal employment sector (World Bank 2013; OECD 2014). According to OECD (2014) reviews, most people in Ethiopia feel that work is more important than education, so they start at a very early age with little to no education. Children in rural areas are less likely to go to school than children in urban areas (World Bank, 2013). Though gradually improving, most rural families cannot afford to send their children to school because parents believe that while their children are in school they cannot contribute to household chores or income. Social awareness that education is important is something that Ethiopia lacks, but this view has improved gradually (OCED, 2014). A large number of Ethiopia’s women struggle with poverty and slow educational standards. The condition faced by poor women, especially in rural regions, is inextricably tied to the nation’s history of conflict, recurrent drought, and environmental degradation. This situation is further complicated by deep traditional social and economic patterns that place powerful constraints on the rights of women and their opportunities to direct their own lives or participate in, and contribute to, community and

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national development (Arieff, 2009). Arieff (2009) argues that the majority of Ethiopian women, especially those in rural areas, live in a state of poverty and dependence, and they rarely benefit directly from empowerment policy initiatives implemented by the government of the country. Ethiopia remains one of Africa’s most tradition-bound societies. Women in Ethiopia constantly suffer from violence and culturallybased abuses, including wife beating and spousal rape. Despite the opportunity to seek legal redress, an estimated 88 per cent of rural women and 69 per cent of urban women believe their husbands have the right to beat them. Evidence also suggests that there has been no cause for concern regarding missing women in Ethiopia. The research conducted for this chapter identifies two main factors that work against women’s legal rights in the country; legal rights to control land and lack of ownership of oxen for women in rural areas. Women in the country also have only limited access to bank loans. The 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia stipulates that women and men in the country have equal rights in every sphere. This legal document also emphasizes an affirmative action policy in order to correct past discrimination and inequalities that women in Ethiopia had suffered (Constitution of the Federal Public of Ethiopia, 1995). Unlike the constitution of several other countries in Africa, the Constitution of Ethiopia also mandated the rights of women to own and administer property as well as access to reproductive health services. The Constitution grants women of the country the right to sustain their pension benefits. Thus the pension benefits of female civil servants could be given to their survivors; maternity leave was also extended from 45 days to 3 months (Constitution of the Federal Public of Ethiopia, 1995). As a result, the previous family law of Ethiopia was changed in 1995. Further, the legal age of consent for a girl has been raised to 18 years. Another impressive provision of the constitution is that the contract of marriage is defined as between the husband and wife, and not between the families as previously practiced (Pitamber, 2004). While the provisions of the Constitution guarantee equality of treatment for women and men in Ethiopia, the government and private sector still practice disparities among gender. The federal and regional governments have severely failed to effectively implement the genderequity policies of the country (African Development Bank Report, 2004). Poverty and lack of education has made it difficult for women to be aware of information about their legal rights. The inadequacy of some community leaders in Ethiopia has also resulted in the extensive use of customary practices in dealing with certain ownership and constitutional

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rights issues. One other social and cultural problem in Ethiopia is that customary practices themselves differ widely from one region to another (World Bank 2013; Arieff, 2009). It is interesting to note that social and economic disparity between men and women have been galvanized by a high level of cultural and unethical practices in the country. In spite of enacting new gender policies and penal codes designed to serve women’s interests, the nation has not done much to educate citizens in the rural areas of the country. It could be argued that the Constitution of Ethiopia, Christianity and Islam seem to have been a mixed blessing for women in the country (Arieff, 2009). On the one hand, the civil code recognizes marriages conducted under customary law but does not permit bigamy (Haregewoin and Mulugeta, 2003; OECD 2010). At the same time, the 1995 Constitution recognizes marriages conducted under systems of religious or cultural laws. Muslims who practice sharia law recognize marriages of more than one wife. On the other hand, in other communities, including Christian groups that customarily practice polygamy, the second wife is in a very vulnerable legal situation because second or subsequent marriages are not valid either under the civil code or under customary laws. Therefore, while the government of Ethiopia has abolished polygamy by sanctions outlined in its Penal Code, the same government allows citizens practicing sharia law to have more one wife (OECD, 2010). A vast majority of Ethiopian women, particularly in rural areas, live in a state of poverty and dependence, and they rarely benefit from development initiatives. Thus, according to Ethiopia’s traditional sociocultural installations and practices, women in the country are considered to be subordinated to men. This chapter examines how women and girls in Ethiopia have been discriminated against and underestimated over the years due to cultural, religious and political practice in the country, and explores why women’s empowerment has become a hot issue in Ethiopia. It suggests that empowerment could be a new solution to the ancient problems of treating women as second-class citizens in Ethiopia. Treating men and women as equals, as well as protecting girls and their mothers’ rights, will be critical for the nation to achieve sustainable development. A compelling finding is that a number of factors—e.g. poverty, lack of constitutional rights, good education, unemployment, discrimination, culture, and religion—are responsible for inadequate women’s representation in key social, economic and administrative positions in Ethiopia. Appropriate women’s empowerment policies will also help to control the population growth since it could enhance their ability to be more focused on professional jobs than just household activities. In addition, empowerment could be a

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solution for economic sustainability if women in the country were equitably included in the economic, political, social and technological transformation process in Ethiopia. The chapter provides some policy recommendations that the government of Ethiopia could adopt in order to better utilize the talents of the women and girls of the country for a sustainable future.

Dynamics of Discrimination and Women’s Empowerment Many of the macroeconomic mechanisms, such as fiscal and monetary policies in Ethiopia, tend to deal with economic aggregates rather than women and men or people. As a result, the nation’s policies are characterized as gender-neutral. However, several studies have clearly shown that the government of Ethiopia’s expenditures and revenues have a different impact on men and women: this is because they have different positions in society (African Development Bank 2002; Budlender 2003; Sharp 1999; Bulender and Sharp 1998; Ahmed et al. 2001). Cultural feminism theory attempts to revalidate what cultural feminists consider to be the undervalued female attributes. It is also a theory that commends the difference of women from men (Alcof 2006; Kramarae and Spender 2000). The theory presents the argument that either by biology, or by socialization, or a combination of both, women and men have developed different sets of values. This is the reason why women put a premium on creating and maintaining intense, intimate, and caring relationships with others, while men are more interested in asserting their individuality and controlling their own and others’ destinies (Kourany et al. 1999). Gilligan (1999) contends that for a variety of cultural reasons women in some societies tend to espouse an ethics of care that stresses relationships and responsibility, while men tend to espouse an ethics of justice that stresses rules and rights. Cultural feminists tend to advocate or transform competitive institutional relations based on furthering each individual’s interests into cooperative institutional relations based on achieving a common goal (Kourany et al. 1999, Echols 1994). It is interesting to note that cultural feminists admit that within a patriarchal society such as Ethiopia’s, women’s caring posture can mutate into masochistic posture. As a result, women who are convinced that their interests are not as important as men’s or even children’s interests may end up trading self-respect for servility (Echols 1989). This theory is relevant to Ethiopian culture because men’s ethics in the country tend to separation and autonomy about taking a stand for women. Men in Ethiopia constantly refuse to grant privileges to feminine ethics over masculine authority.

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In Ethiopia, women continue to face countless problems from region to region and from one society to another as a result of traditions and culture in the country (Anushree and Latigo, 2003). The traditional culture has become the norm, and the new generation has been socialized by their parents to accept these values. Unfortunately, the nation’s culture promotes discrimination against women as a norm without regard to the provision of the Constitution of Ethiopia that grants men and women equal rights (Haregewoin and Mulugeta, 2003; Pitamber 2004). The analysis of moral values on how women and men should be treated often revolves around the nature of goodness, but theories of moral obligation change the question to “What makes an action right or obligatory?” According to Ferrel et al. (2015), goodness theories typically focus on the end result of actions and the goodness or happiness created by them. Further, obligation theories focus on the means and motives by which actions are justified (Frankena, 1963). Thus, obligation theories are divided into the categories of deontology and teleology. The central premise of deontology theory is that equal respect must be given to all people—women and men. The theory postulates that people should adhere to their obligations and duties when analyzing an ethical dilemma (Kant, 1797 & 1999). It focuses on the rights of individuals and intentions associated with a particular behavior, rather than its consequences. The deontologist holds that actions are the proper basis for judging morality or ethicalness. The theory requires a person to use fairness, equity, and impartiality when making and enforcing decisions. The deontological theories do not define the notion of right action in terms of the promotion of good consequences. The rightness of an action is not determined by the goal it achieves, and this makes it non teleological as a moral theory. This means that a person should follow his or her obligations to another individual or society because upholding one’s duty is what is considered ethically correct (Ferrell et al. 2015). In other words, because it is the right thing to do! The act of doing something the right way is what it basically boils down to, and when it comes to African governments, this can be very important. Generally, the government of any country depends on the public to survive, and so doing things the right way is crucial for both men and women. However, deontological theory also states that you must do things the right way regardless of the consequences. This is where troubles can come into play and blur things at times and make things difficult. It is fine to want to do things the right way because the act itself is the correct thing to do, but what if that act has consequences that can

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harm other individuals or groups? There is no real logical basis for doing what this theory says: just do it, because it is considered ethically correct. According to teleological theory, an act is considered morally right or accepted if it produces some desired result such as pleasure, knowledge, career-growth, the realization of self-interest, utility, wealth or even fame. The theory defines and explains right actions in terms of the bringing about some good state of affairs for everyone in a society or country (Geuras and Garofalo, 2012). Teleological theory often assesses the moral worth of a behavior by looking at its consequences (Singer and Albert, 1993). The utilitarian theory of Jeremy Bentham and Stuart Mill can be used to explain how women in Ethiopia could be vindicated from their present predicaments. This is a very interesting theory as it says that the choice that yields the greatest benefit to the most people is the choice that is ethically correct (Moellendorf 2002; Nussbaum 2000). According to utilitarian theory, an action or policy may be moral or immoral only in terms of its capacity to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people (Mill, 1979), in this case, women in Ethiopia. So in other words, if you believe in this theory, you follow an act that will achieve the best outcome for the most women and men and any country, regardless of how it may affect the personal feelings of people or groups and what society thinks of it. According to Ferrel et al. (2015) and Sen (2009), classical utilitarianism is called a teleological moral theory because it defines right action in terms of the promotion of pleasure. In this respect, pleasure is the good. The right action is the one which beings about the most overall pleasure for everyone concerned. This means women and men in African countries deserve to equally have pleasure or the good life where there will be no discrimination (Dibie and Dibie 2012; Andrew et al. 2013). However, a flaw in this theory is that an individual’s rights may be infringed upon in order to benefit the greater population (Nussbaum, 2000). In other words, utilitarianism is not always concerned with justice or autonomy for an individual if oppressing the individual leads to the solution that benefits a majority of people (Moellendorf, 2002). This can be a very slippery slope, as you are basically deciding what is good for the whole without taking into account people as actual individuals.

Analysis of Women’s Inequality and Empowerment Issues Ethiopia is one of the developing countries in Africa, which is located in the eastern part. As a matter of fact, Ethiopia is the second largest country

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in the African continent (World Bank 2014; The Women’s Affairs Office Addis Ababa, 1998). The citizens are still engulfed in traditional culture and orthodox religious doctrines in rural parts of the country. Even though the country has a beautiful and diversified culture, the abilities of women have been suppressed by early marriage, circumcision, by censuring them from freely expressing their ideas, and hiding their knowledge and burying themselves under the perception of society. Discriminating and underestimating of women has resulted in poverty and increasing of population size in developing countries. Early marriage prevents women from going to school and forces them to look after their children throughout their lives. Prohibition of women from going to school leads to lack of knowledge and makes them dependent in everything on their husband. As a result, they will be economically and idea dependent. The United Nations Human Development (2014) report estimated that the Ethiopian economy must grow in real terms by 5.7 per cent per annum until 2017 to reduce poverty by half from its current level. In addition, according to the UNDP 2002 Millennium Development Goal progresstracking report, Ethiopia is either far behind or has slipped back in its progress towards achieving most of the MDGs by 2017. The Human Development report (UNDP) (2014) indicated that Ethiopia has a gender inequality index value of 0.547, ranking it as 120th out of 149 countries in the 2013 index. In Ethiopia, 25.5 per cent of parliamentary seats are held by women and 7.8 per cent of adult women have reached at least secondary level of education, compared to 18.2 per cent of their male counterparts. The UNDP (2014) report also pointed out that out of 100,000 live births per year, 350 women die from pregnancy-related causes. In addition, female participation in the labor market is 78.2 per cent compared to 89.4 per cent for men. The United Nations Human Development Index (2014) measures gender inequalities in achievement in three basic dimensions of human development. The areas are education—measured by female and male expected years of schooling for children and mean ages for adults aged 25 years and older. Health is measured by female and male life expectancy at birth, while command over economic resources is measured by female and male estimated GNI per capita. The 2013 female Human Development Index for Ethiopia is 0.41 in contrast to 0.470 for males, resulting in a GDI value of 0.853. In comparison, the GDI values for Rwanda and Uganda are 0.950 and 0.896 respectively (UNDP, 2014). Table 14-1 shows Ethiopia’s gender inequality index in comparison with South Africa, Rwanda, and Uganda.

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The birth of girls in Ethiopian families constitutes a burden of a second-class citizen. From the day of birth, an Ethiopian female in most families is socialized into a lower status and commands little respect relative to her brothers and male counterparts. As soon as she is able, she starts caring for younger siblings, helps in food preparation, and spends long hours hauling water and fetching firewood. As she grows older, she is valued for the role she will play in establishing kinship bonds through marriage to another family, thereby strengthening the community status of her family. She is taught to be subservient, as a disobedient daughter is an embarrassment to her family. Low status characterizes virtually every aspect of girls’ and women’s lives. Given the heavy workload imposed on girls at an early age, early marriage without choice, and a subservient role to both husband and mother-in-law, girls and women are left with few opportunities to make and act on their own decisions.

Source: UNDP. (2014). Human Development Report. New York: Oxford University Press

Table 14-1: Ethiopia’s Gender Inequality Index for 2013 Compared to Selected African Nations Name of Gender Gender Maternal Female Seats Population with Labor Force Country Inequality Inequality Mortality in some Secondary Participation Rate Parliament Education % Rate % Index Index Rank Female Male Female Male Ethiopia 0.547 120 350.0 25.5 7.8 18.2 78.2 89.4 Rwanda 0..410 79 340.0 51.9 7.4 8.0 86.5 85.5 Uganda 0.529 115 310.0 35.0 22.9 33.5 75.9 79.3 Sub0.575 474.0 21.7 24.2 32.6 63.6 76.4 Saharan Africa Low HDI 0.586 427.0 20 15.2 29.1 55.7 78.4

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60.5

58.2

8.3

9.8

3.1

5.1

Source: UNDP. (2014). Human Development Report. New York: Oxford University Press

Low HDI

2,011

3,789

0.446

0.535

Table 17-2: Ethiopia’s Gender Inequality Index and Its Components Relative to Selected Countries Name of Life Expectancy Expected years Mean years of GNI per Capita Human Country at birth of Schooling Schooling Development Index Value Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Ethiopia 65.3 62.0 8.0 9.0 1.4 3.6 1,090 1,515 0.401 0.470 Rwanda 65.7 62.4 10.3 10.2 3.1 3.6 1,263 1,550 0.463 0487 Uganda 60.4 54.0 10.6 10.9 4..3 6.4 1,1671 1,502 0.456 0.509 Sub58.0 55.6 8.8 10.1 3.7 5.4 2,492 3,812 0.460 0.531 Saharan Africa

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The United Nations Human Development (2014) report indicated that in seven regions of Ethiopia, women 15–49 had never been to school. In addition, about 74.5 per cent of women in urban areas, and 30.9 per cent in rural areas, have never been to school. Seventy-six percent of girls aged 15 to 19 were more likely to have attended school than older women, aged 40 to 49. Women aged 40–49 constitute about 16.6 per cent of the nation’s population. The main reason for girls not attending school was family disapproval and this was more prevalent in rural areas (54.1 per cent) than in urban (45.5 per cent) areas. Marriage as the reason for non-attendance was given by 23.3 per cent in rural areas, and by 16 per cent in urban areas. Marriage as the reason for leaving school was given by 38.6 per cent in rural areas, and by 21 per cent in urban areas. Most women (71 per cent) were, or had been, married. The median age for marriage was 19.1 for urban women and 16.9 for rural women (Erulkar et al. 2010). Table 143 shows selected gender economic and social growth in Ethiopia. Table 14-3: Selected Gender Indicators for Ethiopia Gender factors Indicators Gender-related Development Index 142nd out of 157 countries (GDI): Gender Empowerment Measure 84th out of 108 countries (GEM): Maternal mortality: 673 deaths per 100,000 live births (2005) Violence against women (including Affects 73% of women and girls FGM): Early marriage: 75% of girls marry before age 17 Combined gross primary, secondary 76.4% (2004) and tertiary enrolment ratio as % of male: Girls’ secondary attendance: 23% (2000–2007) Average adult literacy:

women 34%; men 49% (notably worse in rural and remote areas)

Political Representation - Members of parliament: Regional councils: Woreda councils:

42 (8%) 13% 7%

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14% Generally underfunded and lacking support from men

Source: Source: UNDP. (2013). Human Development Report. New York: Oxford University Press;

Article 35 of the Constitution of the Federal Government of Ethiopia grants women equal rights with their male counterparts, but men still dominate the affairs of the government and domestic life. Other legal codes and laws include the revised Family Code, the National Policy on Women, and the National Action Plan for Gender Equality, linked to Pillar 4 of the Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP): “unleashing the potential of Ethiopia’s women.” Further, the Ethiopian government is also signatory to various international mandates or policies. On paper, the nation has a very positive presentation of human rights and gender equality. Unfortunately, despite these national laws and policies on gender equality in Ethiopia, in practice, there are huge challenges in the areas of adequate and effective implementation of these policies in order to lead to effective change for most women in the country (Watson 2010). According to Yibekal (2012), what happened to Hanna is inhuman, and was the result of a deep-rooted societal problem within Ethiopia. Hanna Lalango was a 16-year-old Ethiopian girl, who died after being kidnapped and gang-raped in Addis Ababa. Violence against women in Ethiopia manifests itself in different ways including physically, emotionally, sexually and economically. Domestic violence, sexual violence (including rape) and sexual harassment are the most common forms of violence against women. Other forms of violence against women around the world also include sexual exploitation, acid burning, female genital mutilation, abuse based on perceived sexuality, parental sex selection, economic abuse, and dowry-related violence (Yibekal 2012; Watson 2010). According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (OECD report (2010)), nearly 8 per cent of currently married women were abducted and forced into marriage, a custom prohibited by law but not enforced until recently, that vividly illustrates the enormity of male dominance in Ethiopian tradition. Women in Ethiopia have a very low level of protection for their physical integrity. As a result, violence against women is widespread and culturally-based abuses, including wife beating and spousal rape, are pervasive social problems (UNICEF 2009; Catley et al. 2008). The World Bank (2009) study reveals that an estimated 89 per cent of rural women and 70 per cent

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of urban women believe that their husbands have the right to beat them. To compound this major problem, the strong society norms, culture and lack of access to relevant infrastructure often prevent many Ethiopian women from seeking legal redress (OECD, 2010). Rape is common, and too often its threat drives parents to keep their girls home, out of harm’s way, but also out of school. Domestic violence is so accepted that 81 per cent of women interviewed believed there are justifiable reasons for a husband to beat his wife (WomenWatch 2014). The practice of marrying one’s sister-in-law (without her consent) upon the death of her husband is widespread, and particularly pervasive in certain areas in the south of the country (Patterson, 2007). Currently, this practice is feeding the HIV/AIDS epidemic, when widows lose their husbands to the virus and carry it to the next marriage (UNDP, 2014). The United Nations Development Programme (2014), Yibekal (2012), and Watson (2010) pointed out that violence against Ethiopian women is not a recent phenomenon: the practice has been there for centuries. Violence against women in the country is rooted in the male-dominated culture of discrimination against women. This male-dominated culture has legitimized women’s objectification in the nation. A World Health Organization (WHO) (2013) multi-country study found 59 per cent of women in Ethiopia experience sexual abuse by their partners. Despite the fact that discrimination and violence against Ethiopian are women are very common, the crimes do not attract proper attention or outrage from the public. When sexual attacks, for example, occur on girls and women, the abuse victims are left helpless and humiliated (and sometimes dead, in Hanna’s case) while the perpetrators of the crime often walk free (Yibekal 2012). The OECD (2010) report indicated that lack of education and understanding of what constitutes criminal sexual assault is also one reason that rape victims fail to report the crime. Some victims wouldn’t even speak a word to police, thinking that no one would believe them, that the police wouldn’t take them seriously and wouldn’t investigate the rape. Fear of retribution from the perpetrators and the culture of victim blaming also prevent rape victims from speaking up. Another major tradition that continues to encourage rape, as well as preventing victims from reporting perpetrators, is that the culture of blaming and stigmatizing victims of rape starts with close family members, followed by the larger community, and is subtly endorsed by the media (Watson 2010). The frustrating point of this nature of inhuman crime is that men who commit rape continue to get away with it, which gives others the motivation and the reinforcement to commit more rape without fear (Pitamber 2004; World Bank 2009). The lack of law

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enforcement that stands for the victims of rape, mishandling of sexual assault trials and lack of coherent evidence collection create loopholes for rapists to walk free and to prey on other victims (OCED 2010; Yibekal 2012). In Ethiopia, more than 85 per cent of people live in rural areas. In the Amhara Region, 48 per cent of women are married before the age of 15, the highest early marriage rate in the country. Young motherhood is considered one of the main causes for Ethiopia’s high levels of maternal mortality (OECD, 2014). The average Ethiopian woman bears four or five children during her lifetime. Girls who marry very young are likely to bear more than five children (Women Watch 2014). Traditional practices endure in conservative societies because they go unquestioned. In rural Ethiopia, individual status is closely linked to family strength and success (Pastoralist Forum Ethiopia 2008). Daughters bring pride and status to their parents by being successfully married and establishing strategic kinship links with another family. Great shame is brought onto parents whose daughter never marries. Girls who never get married are regarded by their parents and society as failure (Watson, 2010). A pregnancy out of wedlock, whether consensual or by rape, is deeply shameful to the entire family (Sadler et al. 2009). This is one of the reasons why parents choose to allow their daughters to get married at a younger age in order to protect their girls from sexual advances and an unwanted pregnancy (CEDAW 2002; Coppock et al. 2007). Women in Ethiopia are subject to a variety of inhuman treatments that qualify as serious abuse and crimes against humanity. More than 74 per cent of Ethiopian women of all ages have been subjected to female genital cutting (FGM or circumcision), a practice which is many centuries old. Health risks associated with FGM are considerable (OECD, 2010). According to the United Nations Development Programme report (2013), circumcised women are up to 70 per cent more vulnerable to potentially fatal bleeding after delivery. According to a World Health Organization study (2013), women who have undergone the procedure are also more likely to need Caesareans, and the infant mortality rate among their babies is as much as 50 per cent higher. Despite the fact that the Ethiopian Penal Code vehemently punishes female genital mutilation by imprisonment, it is estimated that over 80 per cent of women in the country are still subject to the practice (OCED, 2010). The aftermath of this female genital mutilation is often a lifetime of pain and suffering by affected women. It is very interesting to note that the National Committee for Traditional Practices in Ethiopia identified 120 Harmful Traditional Practices (HTPs), including female genital cutting (FGC), early and forced

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marriage, rape, and wife inheritance (CEDAW, 2002). However, their findings have not changed the situation for women in the country. Meanwhile, Ethiopian society continues to focus on educating young girls about safety while boys aren’t taught about rape and why it’s wrong. Unfortunately, Ethiopian society tends to blame the rape victim, which is why it ironically plays a major role in the process, by justifying the rapist’s action. The question the authors of this chapter wish to ask at this point is: How long will Ethiopian culture continue to dehumanize women? The affected women are their mothers, daughters, aunts and sisters.

Government Action to Address Traditional Practices Women’s status, including family and community roles, profoundly influences their ability to make decisions about their own health care and childbearing, which, in turn, affects their vulnerability to illness and HIV/AIDS. Community-Based Reproductive Health Agents (CBRHA) are the front line of social change, bringing new messages into communities through voices the people know and trust (Sadler et al. 2009; OECD 2010). For thousands of mothers and fathers, especially in remote areas, the CBRHAs are the first to explain the connection between health problems and early marriage, youthful childbearing, female circumcision, poor diet and hygiene, and other common practices (Holden, 2008). While introducing a woman to contraceptive options, the agent can also explain the medical dangers of having her daughter circumcised and discuss other reasons to break with tradition (WHO 2013; OECD, 2010). Further, the CBRHA can point to a young woman who was allowed to stay in school, rather than marrying, attained a good job, and now contributes financial support to her family. Similarly, the CBRHA can be the first to reveal the causal connection between fistula and the mother’s physical development. Though the 1960 Ethiopian Penal Code explicitly prohibited removal of body parts, little effort was ever made to invoke the law as protection from circumcision. The recently adopted Ethiopian Criminal Code has made a number of harmful traditional practices, such as FGM (Female Genital Mutilation), early marriage, widow inheritance, and forced marriage, punishable under the law. As with many other harmful traditional practices, FGM continues to have severe negative effects on women in Ethiopia. Sound medical arguments against FGM, shared with women and men by respected members of their communities, have proven effective in changing attitudes and behaviors (Holden, 2008; OCED, 2010; UNDP 2014).

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Before 2009, there were several non-governmental organizations that assisted in creating awareness of the injustices that Ethiopian women faced. These NGOs also helped to promote human rights for men, women and children in the country. The 2009 Ethiopian Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSP) imposed excessive restrictions on the work of human rights non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This 2009 law also applied to organizations registered as Ethiopian charities or societies, Ethiopian resident charities or societies or foreign charities. According to the United Nations Development Programme (2013) report, as a result of the funding restrictions of the (CSP) law, at least 17 organizations, including some of Ethiopia’s leading human rights organizations, have changed their mandate to no longer work on human rights. The CSP law also explicitly prohibits Ethiopian Charities or Societies who may work on human rights from receiving more than 10 per cent of their funding from foreign sources. Violation of the CSP law can lead to heavy fines or terms of imprisonment for NGO staff (OCED 2010; Yibekal 2012). According to the UNDP (2013), the impact of the CSP law on human rights organizations is not only fear and uncertainty but also loss of institutional capacity. For example, two of the country’s prominent human rights organizations, the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA)—the only major NGO focusing on women’s rights advocacy at the national level—and the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (HRCO), have been greatly impacted by the CSP (OCED, 2014). EWLA conducted indispensable work in the field of women and justice, advancing draft legislation to improve protection of women’s rights, providing free legal aid for women and researching and publishing on issues of law and gender. For example, in 2008, EWLA provided free legal aid to 17,357 women (OECD 2014; CEDAW, 2011). Since the CSP became law, EWLA has cut 70 per cent of its staff and in 2010–2011 it had effectively ceased to function, with the exception of volunteers providing a small amount of free legal aid to women (OCED 2010; Yibekal 2012). As a result of the CSP law, the declining number of NGOs that focus on human rights leaves the Ministry of Women or the Ministry of Children and Ministry of Youth to perform advocacy for gender equality and gender education. Further, since 2009, UNDP, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International have criticized the CSP law. However, the Ethiopian government has defended its policies regularly (United Nations Human Development Index 2014). The federal government of Ethiopia also enacted the 2001 Family Code. This policy stipulates the minimum age for marriage as 18 years (CEDAW, 2009). The 2001 Family Code, Articles 49 and 50, granted

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equal rights to parents (World Bank, 2013). The Family Code also stipulated that in the case of divorce, custody of the child should be generally granted to the mother, and the father is obliged to make financial payment to the mother until the child or children are 18 (CEDAW, 2011, p.21). Further, according to the Family Code of 2001 of Ethiopia, there are no legal limitations on women (married or single) as heads of household. In addition, Articles 49 and 50 require both parents to share responsibility for the financial well-being of the household (World Bank, 2013). One of the latest pieces of good news reported by CEDAW is that all regions in Ethiopia now have Family Codes that guarantee women’s equality and family relations (OCED, 2014). According to the 2011 CEDAW report, Ethiopia has now enacted a national policy to combat violence against women and children: the nation’s Criminal Code recognizes domestic violence as a crime. Articles 555–60 of the Criminal Code stated that by inflicting violence on a marriage partner, a person is cohabitating in an irregular union, thereby causing grave or common injury to his or her physical mental health (CEDAW, 2011). At the time of writing this chapter, it is still unclear what the punishments are for offenders, or how this public policy is being implemented in Ethiopia (OCED, 2017). Although the Ethiopian 2005 Penal Code establishes penalties for rape to be five to twenty years’ imprisonment, it also stipulates that men could avoid this punishment if they marry the victim. Initially, spousal rape was not considered a crime in Ethiopia. However, the federal government is considering amending the Criminal Code to include the concept of spousal rape. It is not clear, however, when the concept of spousal rape will be official enacted as a public policy in the country. The government of Ethiopia is also considering new sexual harassment laws in the country. Currently, sexual harassment is to a crime under Labor Code of the country (CEDAW, 2011). The World Bank (2013) report and the OCED report 2014 identify two major problems associated with women’s ability to own property. The legal right to control land and the lack of ownership of oxen are still issues against women’s legal rights. The nation’s Civil Code grants husbands control of common property and allows them to make all decisions related to such property (OCED, 2011). The World Bank (2013) report reveals that, by contrast, Ethiopian women have only limited access to bank loans. On the one hand, the normal practice in the country requires married women who wish to obtain loans to seek permission from their husbands. On the other hand, public financing for women may be granted to female heads of household who own land (OCED, 2010).

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According to an International Labour Organization (ILO) report (2011), under the Labor Proclamation of 2003, Section 88 employed women in Ethiopia are entitled to 90 days of paid maternity leave. This law requires employers to cover the entire cost of their benefits, which are 100 per cent of their wages. In addition, workers not covered under the Labour proclamation may be entitled to limited leave under section 2566 of the 1960 Civil Code (ILO, 2011). It has been reported, however, that women in Ethiopia are nearly three times as likely as their men counterparts to be unpaid for their work (OCED, 2010). It could therefore be assumed that the number of women who receive maternity benefits as specified by the Labour Proclamation of 2003 is very low in the private sector when compared with government ministries and agencies. The federal government of Ethiopia has done pretty well in granting civil liberties to women, as with their male counterparts, with respect to freedom of movement. Women’s freedom of movement is not subject to any legal limitation. In addition, women do not face any restrictions with respect to their freedom to dress in any way they choose. The United Nations Development Programme (2014) report that the Constitution of Ethiopia also grants freedom of religion to all citizens (Constitution of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia, 1995). Although citizens practicing Islam are about 47 per cent of the population, the freedom of dress law does not contain any provisions regarding the wearing of veils by Muslim women. This Ethiopian policy is remarkable because it is different from those of several African countries where Islam is also practiced. Ethiopian society is highly structured, and great deference is paid to religious, political and civil leaders, teachers, and other prominent community members. The relationship between the federal government of Ethiopia and those of the regions’ governments are very cordial, and over the years, both levels of governments have developed trusting relationships with political and traditional leaders (Boyden et al., 2013). Woreda Advisory Committee (WAC) members include government and religious leaders, members of the Women’s Association, youth organizations, educators, and many others who act in concert to pave the way for public acceptance of family planning and changed traditions (Arieff, 2009). Religious leaders—both Orthodox Christian and Muslim— hold great influence over public opinion. In workshops, the Bible and Koran are closely analyzed to prove that neither document forbids family planning or demands circumcision (OECD, 2014). As with early marriage, great success has been achieved by teaching religious leaders about the medical and psychological consequences of FGM. Accurate knowledge of the details and implications of the practice

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is limited among men. After learning of the enormous danger, pain, and suffering caused by FGM, religious leaders generally become outspoken opponents and carry this message to their congregations. Despite the laws restricting their activities in Ethiopia, several civil society organizations have played leading roles in support of the Ethiopian Women Lawyer’s Association, the Federal Ministry of Justice, and religious and other civic groups seeking to introduce new laws to protect the rights of women (OECD, 2014). In addition, FGM, abduction, and rape have been explicitly criminalized (World Bank, 2013). Since law enforcement continues to lag far behind the written code, there must be training for judges, police officers, and prosecutors to recognize the many forms of gender-based violence and how to implement the new laws (OECD, 2014). Issues relating to women’s reproductive health and rights are included in the training. With new understanding of the reasoning behind women’s rights, law enforcement personnel are now responding to requests for protection under the law. This strengthened enforcement not only provides assistance to individual girls and women, but indirectly promotes respect for the rule of law across the country (UNDP, 2014). With the law on their side, as well as CBRHAs, teachers, local women, and religious leaders, many Ethiopian girls are standing up for their rights. Many communities have established a requirement that the WACs must approve all marriages, which forces parents to prove a daughter’s eligibility (Boyden et al. 2013). Though some parents resist, many are now listening—moved by new insight into the high risk of fistulae or shocked by the high divorce rate among marriages between young girls and older men. According to the Economic Council of Africa report (2009), Ethiopian parents are also now witness to examples of girls who have completed their education, contributing to their family’s income and leading very successful and satisfying lives. Women, as well as their husbands, accept the view that under some circumstances, a man is justified in beating his wife. Refusal to have sex is a serious domestic offense and weighs heavily against women who try to negotiate condom use with a husband who might be HIV-positive (Economic Council of Africa, 2009).

Appropriate Public Policy Recommendations Non-governmental organizations play a multitude of important roles throughout Ethiopia’s societies. Though organizational missions, objectives, or activities vary widely throughout the civil society sector, the importance of strong humanitarian services to women, men and children

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are consistently common traits critical to the success of their activities in the country. There are many traits that can be described under the categories of ethical behavior and humanitarian services. As a result of the common good, ethical, and humanitarian services that non-governmental organizations provide to Ethiopian, there is the immediate need for the Federal Republic Government of Ethiopia to repeal the 2009 Ethiopian Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSP) in order to remove the imposed restrictions on the work of NGOs in Ethiopia. The problem of inadequate implementation of various gender equality laws could be traced to a lack of qualified manpower such as trained professional women and men. Capacity-building interventions need to focus on the federal and sub-regional government levels, and should include training women in public management, policy analysis and implementation of gender-sensitive development strategies. Further, the federal and regional governments in Ethiopia should introduce capacitybuilding laws that could compel women and men to pursue university education in specific disciplines to enhance the future of the country. There is also the need for female university students to be trained in assertiveness, life skills and reproductive health issues. Such training could increase the ability to say no to all forms of sexual harassment. The government and leadership of universities in Ethiopia should enforce laws that could make campus living become easier, since female students sometimes walk alone to the dining room, study areas and around campus, as well as decreasing the number of abortions on campus. Gender consciousness should also be raised throughout the country in order to help female students protect themselves from HIV/AIDS (Dibie and Dibie, 2012). Government scholarships or free tuition programs for university should be provided for needy female students in order to prevent withdrawal from university for to economic reasons. All new female students should be required to have a mandated orientation program for university life, and high-achieving female students should be given additional awards and commendations by the university president and senior government officials. All university staff in Ethiopia and officials in the Ministry of Education must be trained to help provide a national public relations gender awareness program. Both federal and regional governments and staff throughout all Ethiopian universities should collaborate to develop and enforce an anti-sexual harassment and gender misconduct policy. From a practical standpoint, transparency and accountability in all gendersensitive issues in Ethiopia should involve open and timely sharing of financial, governance, and program information and being responsive and

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timely in providing this information to citizens, government ministries and higher education institutions. As a result of the broad definition of the concept of empowerment, the Federal Republic of Ethiopia should adopt a transparent definition such as a process of expanding women’s ability to make strategic life choices, particularly in contexts in which this ability had been denied to female citizens. Thus, targeting women means empowering them for their economic independence and enhancement of their participation in social and economic development of their communities (Andrew et al. 2013). Even though women play a significant role in agricultural productivity, carrying out an estimated 40–60 per cent of all agricultural labor (World Bank 2008a), they suffer from unequal access to resources and capacitybuilding opportunities on a number of levels. With no regular updates about new farming practices and few opportunities to develop their skills base, they have to rely on information being passed on to them from their husbands, other men, or ideas gleaned through their informal networks, which marginalizes them. Apart from producing evidence-based gender materials, such as gender idea-sheets and commodity factsheets to raise the awareness of development practitioners, the evidence-based materials recognized women’s achievements through various events in order to change people’s mind-set about the potential of women farmers. According to Erulkar et al. (2010) and Watson (2010), most teachers (79 per cent), students (69 per cent) and some parents (55 per cent) were aware of rules to stop violence against girls. Students knew major forms of violence could, be punished but there were difficulties in implementing the rules. Traditional structures of elders and religious leaders need to be involved since they were preventing implementation. All concerned organizations and stakeholders need to work towards reducing violence against girls Women are not only the major source of labor in the agricultural sector and contributors to community-related activities but they are also responsible for vital household tasks such as caring for children, cooking, fetching water and wood and cleaning the house as part of their household responsibilities (Erulkar and Muthengi, 2009). The gender baseline survey revealed also that women are responsible for many tasks and they work for 10–12 hours per day both in the wet and dry seasons. So it is very important to consider their daily calendar to identify the most convenient time and place while organizing appropriate skills training for women (World Bank, 2013). It is often assumed that there is a trickle-down of information, ideas, skills and knowledge from husbands to wives. This leads to women,

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particularly the married ones, not being invited to trainings, meetings and other similar fora. Considering this problem, the appropriate skilled people adopted an innovative training approach called “couples’ training”. “Couples’ training” is an approach where both husbands and wives are trained together (African Development Bank Report, 2004). It widens opportunities for women to get the necessary information, skills and knowledge for the production and marketing of agricultural commodities. Partners also understand, assist and appreciate each other technically so that they gradually build up their knowledge together, thereby overcoming the weakness of relying on husbands to pass information to their wives after training (OCED, 2014). It helps women strengthen their role in decision making in the household regarding which technologies to use and which marketable commodities to produce. The lack of women lawyers or arbitrators poses a severe dilemma for women especially the poor and uneducated ones in Ethiopia. Ensuring access to common property, land, and financial loans to women without depending on their men or husbands is crucial to the sustainable development of Ethiopia. It very important for the Women’s Ministry to be empowered to fulfill their mandate as articulated in the women’s policy. The Federal Republic of Ethiopia should authorize the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in the country to act as coordinators and watchdogs to ensure that through a network of horizontal and vertical networks or linkages, all development plans and processes are gender sensitive (Dibie and Dibie, 2012). The Federal government, regional governments, and donors should make every effort to provide poor women with technical, human and capital resources to establish their own micro-entrepreneurship ventures. Women should be well informed where they could get such assistance to propel the establishment of their own businesses. Women who have gained ownership of land or other properties should also be supportive of efficient use of funds, bookkeeping, cost-benefit analysis, and program evaluation. Finally, enhancing the participation of women in all aspects of development in Ethiopia is crucial for the nation to achieve its sustainable development goals.

Conclusion This chapter has examined the disparity between women and men in Ethiopia, despite the nation’s Constitutional, Family Code and Penal Code provisions that prohibit such high levels of discrimination against female citizens. It argues that women’s empowerment and capacity-building

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could be a new solution to the ancient problems of treating women as second-class citizens in Ethiopia. The roles played by men and women in a society, the rights of women to make decisions and act independently, and their treatment by the men around them all have an immediate influence on the ability of Ethiopia to achieve its sustainable development goals. Ethiopia will never become a developed country if women continue to be treated as second-class citizens. Ethiopia has failed to increase the participation of women in political and development activities. The majority of the nation’s women in the rural and regional areas are poor and uneducated. Social awareness that education is important is something that Ethiopia lacks, but has gradually improved in the past few years. There is a need to change the importance of education in the country’s social structure, and children should be encouraged and required to attend school and become educated. The government should provide scholarships to children from poor families, and girls, to increase their enrollment in higher education. Most Ethiopian girls and women have been reported to experience all types of violence from childhood onwards, but most sexual violence is experienced in high school and in the first year of university (OCED 2014; World Bank 2014; CEDAW 2011; UNDP 2014; WHO 2013). These predicaments contribute to low achievement, dismissal and dropping out of schools and jobs. Feelings of powerlessness force girls and women to be dependent on others such as male students. It is interesting to note that the viability of applying criminal sanctions to the problem of domestic violence is open to question. This is because women who have been the victims of abuse often have ambivalent feelings about prosecuting their assailants, who may be at the same time their husband or boyfriend. Castration or prison terms are viewed as punitive, not rehabilitation institutions. Our research reveals that women victims are afraid that the men will return and beat them more severely after a short jail sentence. Most women victims say that they feel that the men need help, not confinement which might make them worse. Thus, several of the women interviewed wanted some sort of legal right of relief but not necessarily prosecution of their spouse. The Federal Republic of Ethiopia Government needs to develop an effective plan to raise awareness of gender issues in staff throughout the public sector, university, and private sector, as well as develop an anti-sexual harassment and misconduct policy all over the country. Demand for quality care must and will come from women, but resources are only as good as women’s rights to use them (WHO 2013; Boyden et al. 2013). Gender-responsive programs should recognize that

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practices such as FGM, early marriage, abduction, rape, lack of access to, and control over, resources, and the absence of decision-making and negotiation power all negatively affect women’s reproductive health and rights. Because many women have limited control over their sexual lives and contraceptive use, integrating gender issues into reproductive health and HIV/AIDS program interventions becomes critical (WHO, 2013). Active male involvement in reproductive and family care-giving enhances responsible parenthood and reduces gender-based violence that affects women’s reproductive health and rights. More work has to be done to provide women and girls with access to education and information. Women and girls continue to need economic support, as poverty exacerbates their isolation, and earning power enhances their community and family status (Boyden et al. 2013; CEDAW 2011; OCED 2014). Progress also demands that entire communities take individual and collective measures against gender-based violence and harmful traditional practices. The federal and regional governments of Ethiopia need to develop widespread communications, and harnessing innovative media techniques, when linked to scaling up these interventions, will enable the government to reach even more women and girls across the country.

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN ANALYSIS OF WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT IN AFRICA ROBERT DIBIE AND JOSEPHINE DIBIE

Introduction In the twenty-first century, the vision of gender equality in the sustainable development process across the African continent has not been women- or girl-friendly. A serious transition towards social and economic sustainability has often neglected proactive policies on women’s empowerment and paradigm shifts. The tendency to integrate economic sustainability and women’s empowerment has still not been corrected in several African countries. The capture of over two hundred girls in Nigeria by the extremist religious group Boko Haram, and the tepid response by the national government, conveys the low status of women in some parts of the African continent. Interestingly, the kidnapping of these girls happened in Nigeria, a country that is said to be Africa’s largest economy, and which substantiates the gender equality problems. These Islamic extremists also outlawed Western education for women and girls, closed educational institutions, and prevented women from teaching in Northeastern Nigeria. Western education is sinful (the name Boko Haram means “Western education is forbidden”), and as a result must be abolished from Nigeria. Western education is sinful but the Western weapons that they use to kill people, as well Western cellphones, YouTube and Facebook are okay. In August 1995, five Nuba young women in Sudan were sentenced to death for converting from Islam to Christianity a crime called apostasy (Sudan Democratic Gazette, 1996). The only schools that girls and women can attend were required to teach the Quran, the holy book for Muslims (Trager, 2016). In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood political party that was removed from power by the nation’s military junta was exclusively men (Trager, 2016). In 2014, the government of Kenya enacted a national policy that allows men to marry more than one wife in the country. The new policy not only legalized polygamy, it allows

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men to marry as many partners as they wish without consulting other spouses. Further, it stipulates that women in the country should be entitled to 50% of property acquired during marriage (BBC, 2014). In most African countries women constantly suffer doubly from public abuse and misogynistic practices. Women are most vulnerable to charges of loose morals, indiscipline, neglect of their children and delinquency. There are also cases where wives of political leaders and public administrators were held responsible for their husband’s corrupt practices (Ako-Nai 2013; Burn 2005). Many factors tend to drive these discriminatory practices against women. According to Dibie and Dibie (2012), bad government, religion, culture, and human factors such as greed and ego, as well as poverty and unemployment, are some of the factors contributing to the discrimination of women and to their exclusion from the capacity-building process of sustainable development. For instance, harassment of single women was endorsed by some African regional governments, which resulted in rushed marriages of convenience throughout the region (Trager 2016); Ako-Nai 2013). Hundreds of unmarried women were evicted by landlords who feared repercussions if they continued to house them. According to Ako-Nai (2013) and Usua & Ouagwu (2010), while women in some Islamic African countries were regularly charged with immorality and severely punished, the men who had affairs with them were often allowed to go free. As in most developed countries, social movements in Africa have been reluctant to integrate gender equality struggles into their agendas, let alone implement them in their structure. A number of scholars have presented the argument that the social, economic, political and cultural position and status of African women in the twenty-first century is very alarming (Ako-Nai 2013; Usua & Osuagwu 2010; Ezeilo 2006; Adeleke 2004). They describe African women as subjugated and subordinated to their male counterparts. Other scholars claim that women in sub-Saharan Africa constitute the largest labor forces in the world without clarifying the fact that most women in the region are illiterate and engaged in subsistence agriculture. As Dibie and Atibil (2012) put it, “the majority of women in sub-Saharan Africa are in a subordinate position relative to their male counterparts. It is no surprise that gender stratification generally results in gender inequality, inequality in prestige, inequality in decision-making power and inequality in access to resources.” In a recent study by Sam-Okere (2013) and Hausmann (2010), it was argued that “women in Africa are consciously, deliberately, and perpetually considered as subordinate to their male counterparts as a matter of tradition and culture.”

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In addition, the contribution of African women to sustainable development is further negatively affected by the harsh Sharia laws that govern women’s lives in localities where Sharia is a legalized practice. Other examples of discriminatory practices against women include the “trokosi” system, in which young girls in the Volta Region of Ghana are given to fetish priests to atone for their parents’ transgressions (Dibie & Atibil, 2013), or torturous widowhood rites and female circumcision in many African cultures. There are also many examples of inheritance traditions that dispossess women of their property on the death of their husbands. Therefore, in some societies where women have no right to own property, they are subjected to domestic violence without any recourse to legal redress, have unequal access to education and health care services, and are marginalized within the informal economic sector of their countries. Put differently, the factors underlying the subordinate position of many women in sub-Saharan Africa are: (1) religious; (2) cultural; (3) political; and (4) economic (Dibie & Atibil, 2012). Some have argued that the issue of African women’s subordination is more complex than is usually acknowledged in the African culture and some religious practices in the continent. Others argue that women’s issues should not be treated separately, but understood as an integral part of the sustainable development process. Another strand of the gender literature argues that those who portray African women as a marginalized group across the board are simply transposing Western ideas of social organization into an African context, where “complementarity” instead of “equality” is the organizing principle of gender equality and relations (Oyewumi 2002; Kalu 1996; Ezeilo 2006). Oyewumi (2002), for example, contends that theories that use gender to explain African women’s subordination are based on Western family structures which are ill-suited to the African context. This observation calls for a more nuanced analysis of gender relations in African societies, women’s status and empowerment and their role in development (Tripta & Sudershan 2009; Bose and Kim 2009). The purpose of this chapter is to investigate the challenges and prospects of gender equality and women’s empowerment for sustainability in Africa. This chapter explores different types of discrimination that women face. It argues that if women are underrepresented in African countries because of open or indirect mechanisms of exclusion and discrimination, then educating women and girls is not enough to achieve sustainable development. Equality of women, girls, men and boys is the only way to attain sustainable development on the African continent. Gender equality will only take place if the public and private sector institutions are galvanized by gender equity

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policies. The study concludes by recommending policies that may encourage African nations to empower their women to be more involved in sustainable development issues such as capacity-building, politics, giving women senior administrative appointments, ecological modernization, training women in traditional male-dominated disciplines and designing job schedules that do not affect women negatively. Given the central roles religious beliefs and practices play in African societies, and the increasing visibility and resurgence of religion in the social, cultural and political arena of contemporary Africa, it is both timely and incumbent upon scholars of various fields to come together and pause in order to reflect on the current direction of religious movements in Africa. There is a need for practical intervention that will shed more light between gender equality and the concept of human development in general, and the interface between equality and women’s empowerment all over the African continent.

Empowerment and Capacity-Building Framework Sustainable development is often an over-used term, but it goes to the heart of tackling a number of interrelated African issues such as poverty, inequality among men and women, hunger and environmental degradation. In theory, it means that development that is sustainable and not damaging to the African continent or the rest of the world is very possible. Sustainable development involves conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas, land and marine resources for economic and sustainable development (Wright & Boorse, 2014). It promotes peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, as well as providing access to justice for all (women and men), and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels (Lehne 2013; Payne & Nassar 2006). However, there are a lot of politics and challenges involved, as discussed throughout this chapter. Concerns about the apparent inability of female enterprises to reach the levels of achievement seen in male-owned businesses, with regard to sales turnover and employment, have sparked some debate regarding the scale, causes—and indeed the very existence of—female underachievement in Africa (Malik 2013; Lehne 2013). This assumption distorts the image of women as deficient. The tendency in the literature is articulated through the claim that female-owned businesses “under-perform” (Marlow, 2009). The World Bank (2012) described capacity building as a process of sustainable development change and the systematic management of transformation human skills and infrastructure capabilities. In addition,

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capacity building involves the process of transforming women’s and men’s skills, institutional infrastructure or equipment, and society’s capabilities (Lehne 2013). Capacity building, according to Chambers (2005), requires commitment, vision of leadership, viable institution and respective organizations, material, financial and skilled human resources. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) defined capacity building to cover human resources development and the strengthening of managerial systems, institutional development that involves men and women, in community participation (UNDP, 2003). Capacity building constitutes the creation of an enabling environment for everybody (women and men) in a society or nation. Capacity building in the context of development implies a dynamic process which enables women, men and agencies to develop the critical social and technical capacities to identify and analyze problems as well as provide solutions to them (Theron, 2008). Azikiwe (2006) contends that capacity building entails the process by which an individual, irrespective of sex, is equipped with skills and knowledge they need to perform effectively and efficiently in their various endeavors. According to Olivier de Surdan (2005) and Theron (2008), capacity-development takes place on three different levels: (a) the women’s and men’s individual level; (b) the organizational level; and (c) the societal level. These three levels are interlinked and interdependent. An investment in capacity-development must design and account for impact at these multiple levels. However, women’s demands for equality in the capacity-building process in many African countries are rarely attended to. Part of the problem is that some societal norms and customs complicate women’s struggle for gender equality in politics. This is because the opponents of the gender agenda tend to be in the most dominant institutions of power in most African countries (Dibie & Dibie, 2012). A nation’s focus on what development policies and investments work best to strengthen the abilities, networks, skills and knowledge base cannot be that of intervention. The bone of contention is that capacity building is about capable and transformational states, which enable capable and resilient societies to achieve their own development objectives over time (Lehne, 2013; Sun 2011). Ideally, the transfer of knowledge should be in both directions, whereby a mutually beneficial and empowering social learning process, and a partnership in planning through which the change agent acts as a mediator between types of knowledge system (Conway, 2010). The challenge of capacity building is to see what responsible wellbeing might mean for all people, in their relation with themselves, with others, and with the environment. According to Dibie (2014), the major

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principles on which capacity building may create a positive impact on people are in the areas of sustainability and equity. Capacity development is about by who and how and where the decisions are made, management takes place, services delivered and results monitored and evaluated (Cloete & de Conning, 2011). This is because the overarching ends are human well-being supported by capability and livelihood. Sustainability principles promote equity as well as advocate high quality of livelihood, security, and well-being for people (Dibie, 2014). Figure 15-1 shows the reflection of women and men’s capacity-building impact. Figure 15-1: Reflection of Women and Men’s Capacity Building Impact

Responsible Well-being

Society

Capacity Building

Organization

Equality

Sustainability

Livelihood Security

Individual

Men Women

Adopted from Chambers (2005)

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McGovern & Wallimann (2012), Sam-Okere (2013), Ako-Nai (2013), and Dibie & Atibil (2013) argue that the majority of developing countries do not have adequate capacity building and women’s empowerment policies, and that this is prevalent because a series of mechanisms contribute to a lack of implementation. These scholars suggest that impeding variables include lack of resources, underfunding, lack of change in cultural and religious practices, lack of political will, and prevailing ideologies of economic neoliberalism. These factors have been identified in this research. It is timely and urgent that action be taken in the African continent to ensure that women effectively contribute to sustainable development processes on the continent, just like their male counterparts. The lack of political support, absence of policy implementation, and lack of oversight and accountability strongly suggest that there is a disregard for women’s empowerment and their fundamental right to a healthy economic and political environment. It also leans towards an inescapable conclusion that there is a deviation from the original constitutional intent to secure the welfare and rights of all citizens. The United Nations (2013) data shows that there is a negative relationship between gender policies, and women’s access to education, employment, property rights and political engagement. Although myths do not have any specific or logical worth or value, over time, they have been employed to rationalize the denigration of women in the African continent. Since society is dynamic, Marxist theory advocates a “reconstructing of society by reconstructing gender myths. It is by so doing that the much talked about women’s empowerment and stable society for the realization of humanity’s potentials (including women) can be achieved” (Kolawole, 1988). The reason for adopting this literature review is because the underlying point is that without both men and women, human society will be incomplete. Therefore, women should not be seen as appendages to men; rather, they should be seen as the complementary and ultimate factor in societal equilibrium (Okpeh & Angya 2007; Sha 2007). Women, therefore, like men, need to be empowered in order to find meaning and fulfillment in life. This will eventually pay society back by way of sustainable development and the well-being of both men and women. There are so many concepts that have been propounded by scholars in different spheres of academic works that can be applied when studying issues concerning women’s empowerment. One of the major concerns that is not addressed by the literature previously discussed is that they did not put into consideration the fact that

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different cultures differ in their perception of human rights. The omission is obvious when discussing women’s issues from a myopic point of view. According to Dibie and Atibil (2012) and Mahmond (2004), the difference in culture and perception brings up the question of whether the same theory could apply to societies with different cultures and religions. On the one hand, in some Western industrialized countries, for example, Islam encourages the submission of women to men. On the other hand, in the Arab countries, such submission is perceived as men protecting their wives. The present clash in civilization and unending acts of terror attest to this view. Further, in Africa, the nature of religion observed still determines the marriage system, and polygamy is still widely practiced. Islam accepts polygamy and traditional religion also upholds it. In addition, it will be interesting to note that some Christian sects still practice and accept polygamy (Ako-Nai, 2013). In some regions of Africa, matrilineal culture also gives women both reproductive and productive responsibilities. For example, the Ashanti (Akan) women, along with the Queen mothers, were powerful in pre-colonial Ghana (Dibie and Atibil, 2012). Before the British government colonized Ghana, the female leaders among the Akan people of Ghana were very powerful. The colonial administration in Ghana almost destroyed the culture as a result of their imposition of the British value system. Getting a handle on the real factors undermining African women’s social and economic empowerment is important because the effectiveness of policies and programs to promote women’s empowerment depends on an accurate identification of the problem. Future women’s empowerment policies will also depend on effective implementation.

Reasons for Women’s Low Economic Contribution African feminist scholars point out that in most African cultures, women fulfill different roles in their capacity as daughters, mothers, wives, and even as chiefs and title-holders. These roles come with different levels of social status, sometimes putting women in a higher social status than men. Indeed, as Kalu (1996:283) points out, it is the Judeo-Christian “creation myth” that places women at the periphery, with man “created in the image and likeness of the Creator, whereas woman is created from a little piece of man.” Conversely, most African myths and legends place woman at the center of, or at least as essential to, the existence of things. For example, among the Igbo of Nigeria, the Earth, the source of all life, Ala (ana or ali), is female (Kalu 1996; Green 1999). Among the Akans of Ghana, the Earth, Asaase Yaa, is also female (Ako-Nai 2013; Dibie & Atibil 2012).

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According to these scholars, African women lost their place within African definitions of order, existence and experience partly as a result of the introduction of foreign religions, Islam and Christianity, and colonialism. Like many African feminists, Kalu (1996) and Payne & Naasar (2006) affirm that the African woman’s marginalization and subordination in the new dispensation is in contradiction to African ways of knowing. Tegegn Gebeyaw and Tesfaye Chofana (2012) contend that millions of Ethiopians, especially the young girls and women, are unemployed, underemployed or are in the swelling ranks of the working poor. The 2010 urban employment survey by the Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency (2012) reported that 4,790,958 out of the 5,907,470 labor force were employed, with the remaining 1,116,512 people unemployed. This means that the urban population unemployment rate is about 18.9 per cent. The corresponding female unemployment rate is reported to be 27.4 per cent, while the male unemployment rate is 11 per cent (Ethiopian Central Statistics Agency, 2011). In addition, the lack of employment opportunities has given rise to other economic and social problems in the society, such as increased crimes, suicides, poverty, alcoholism and prostitution (Rafik et al., 2010; Eita et al., 2010). There has also been a causal relationship between high unemployment rates and the spread of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia (Haile, 2003). In most African countries, girls and women constitute about 55 per cent of the population. The simple idea here is that females represent untapped resources in many countries in the continent of Africa. There have been dramatic gains in reducing the disparity of school attainment by girls (UNESCO 2005; World Bank 2013). It could therefore be argued that the gains between men and women and boys and girls have not been uniform across the continent. The disparity among boys and girls is also reflected in some inconsequential cognitive-skills differences. In West, East and Southern Africa girls are found to read better, but boys do better at math. Despite the differences, gender issues appears to net out zero when it comes to economic purposes. Thus, the effect of education quality and access is larger in African countries among girls and boys. The gender gap in education is also reflected in the contribution of women in employment, politics and other sustainable development process in Africa. The African male concerns about the apparent inability of female enterprises to reach the levels of achievement seen in their male counterpart businesses, with regard to sales turnover and employment, have sparked some debates regarding the scale, causes and indeed the very existence of female underachievement in some industries. This assumption

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fuels the image of women in Africa as deficient. The tendency in the literature is articulated through the claim that female-owned businesses “under-perform” (Dibie and Atibil 2012; Marlow 2009). According to Dibie and Dibie (2008), when female-owned businesses are capitalized in the same way as male-owned businesses in Africa, few performance differences are found. In fact, women-owned businesses performed slightly better (Sam-Okere, 2013). For many decades, the struggle for women’s empowerment in West and Eastern Africa has not been well articulated due to the inappropriateness of Western concepts that tends to unify cultures, values, religion, time and experiences. Many African countries are mostly patriarchal societies; as a result, it is greatly different from some of the universal approaches that were previously written about feminists’ struggle in the world. The nature of gender roles and inequality has varied considerably in different regions and tribes in Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. Discrimination against women and other forms of physical and psychological abuse were considered to be private matters, best kept silent and in the family. As a result, the pursuit of happiness by women and girls has been hampered by prejudices and customs that conflict with Africa’s commitment to human dignity, freedom, and democracy (Dibie and Atibil, 2012). The right of women to develop their capacities has not been fully protected in many African countries. Efforts to support major actions to protect women and girls from rape, domestic violence, and all forms of sex discrimination have not been equitably implemented across the continent (Dibie and Atbil 20012; Adeleke 2004). According to Ako-Nai (2013), the nature of oppression and victimization of women in many African countries differs from society to society, or from tribe to tribe, or from culture to culture, even within the same region. Although the various systems are exploitative and oppressive, they differ in many ways. She contends that as a result of the global nature of gender inequality, women’s issues in Africa tend to be addressed through similar paradigms without adequate reference to the individual nature of the various entities or societies. Cultural, religious, social, economic, political and even colonial legacies play dominant roles in shaping the participation of women in every aspect of human endeavor in African societies (Payne & Nassar 2006; Usua and Osuagwu, 2010). As a result, there is a rigid division between male and female roles, with the males being encouraged to participate in the more aggressive, competitive and independent ventures. The overall effect is that males in many African countries are properly

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positioned to benefit maximally from social opportunities for government facilities and infrastructures (Hausmann 2010; Adeleke, 2004). Gender inequality in African countries involves many common concepts, e.g. inequality in prestige, social inequality, inequality in power—political inequality and inequality regarding access to or control over resources—or economic inequality (Okojie, 1995). As Okojie says, men and women are unequal in many social, economic and political dimensions in Africa. While every society uses biological sex as a starting point for describing gender, no two cultures would agree completely on what distinguishes one gender from another. It is, however, very important to note that gender determines the different life expectations that human beings will be exposed to such as resources, work, education, freedom of speech, food, mobility, relationships and the human ability to make decisions (Tripta & Sudershan, 2009).

Methodology The goal of this chapter is to examine the role that women’s empowerment can play in the acceleration of the sustainable development process in Africa. The analysis utilized data derived from primary and secondary sources all over Africa. Most of the primary data and information were derived from interviews and focus group discussions. The open-ended, in-depth and interactive interview approach gave the respondents the opportunity to discuss gender and capacity building issues in Africa between 2013 and 2015. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were useful for capturing the respondents’ voices, experiences, and interpretations of their experiences. The sub-Sahara African continent was divided into four regions: (1) North Africa; (2) West Africa; (3) East Africa; and (4) South Africa. The researchers selected three countries from each region. Focus group meetings were held in each of the four regions, and 50 women participated, respectively; thus, 200 women participated in total. The women who participated in the interviews and focus group meetings respectively included career public servants, business executives, doctors, lawyers, law enforcement officers, teachers, housewives, traders, farmers, nurses and. private administrators in nongovernmental organizations. These women were selected from a list of registered voters and professional women provided by both the Ministry of Women and the Election Commission Board of respective participating countries. The study used a community-engaged participatory-action approach involving Technical Boards (TB) and Workers Organization Boards (WOB). The Technical Boards were responsible for recruiting and facilitating the focus

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group meetings. They consisted of administrators and senior staff in various public and private organizations. The Workers Boards consisted of representatives from women-related NGOs and community-based organizations. Interviews were conducted in the North, West, East and Southern regions. Three hundred interviews were conducted in each of the regions within three countries (100 per country). A total of 1,200 one-onone interviews were conducted. The central research questions were: (1) What is the nature of discriminatory practices against women and girlchildren in African countries? (2) In what ways have women been empowered to have equal rights like their male counterparts in African countries? (3) What are the various African governments doing to enhance equality between men and women? (4) Are there appropriate gender equality policies in most African countries, and if so, are these policies effectively implemented or enforced? The interview and focus group discussions were supplemented by a review of existing literature. In addition, some of the secondary data were derived through content analysis of government policy documents, annual reports produced by international agencies such as the International Labor Organization (ILO), United Nation Economic Commission for Africa, United Nations Human Development Index and the World Bank. Other data sources included staff of government agencies, Ministries, departments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) were interviewed to substantiate the cases in point. The findings support some the arguments presented in the literature review. The limitation of the study is that not all countries in Africa were covered.

Analysis of Gender Inequality and Development When we discuss equity from an ethical perspective, there are often two main considerations: (1) equity of opportunity; and (2) equity of outcome. Equity of opportunity means that all eligible women and men have an equal chance to apply for a desire goods or services. Equity of outcomes means that each woman and man received the same amount of goods or services. What is important to know, however, is that human capacitybuilding includes skills-acquisition, knowledge and creativity for all citizens (including men and women). The available occupational and vocational data imply that the level of employment and professional skills acquisition by women are lower when compared to their male counterparts in various African countries. Table 15-1 shows the inequality of employment by natural and economic activities in some African countries. The gender gap in

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education and the labor force is consistent across most of the African countries. While the female labor force participation in Africa ranges from 16–81 per cent, the average for males was between 71–91 per cent in 2013. This data is an improvement on 2011, when men had an average of 87 per cent and women 61.3 per cent. Similarly, the gender gap in education has been consistent and appears in every sub-sector of education. In the past few years the net enrollment ratio at the secondary school level has been 53 per cent boys and 47 per cent girls. Table 15-1 also shows the gender disparity in the African countries where Islam is the predominant religion. The imbalanced access to education is attributed to the cultural factors and socialization patterns in various African countries. Among various communities, especially in the nomadic and rural areas, where over 47 per cent of the population lives, men are still regarded as the owners and controllers of resources as well as the breadwinners, while women are seem as homemakers. Thus, the gender gap is even wider in North Africa where incidence of poverty is high and cultural-religious factors work against the schooling of girls. Our research finding shows that only about 36 per cent of the respondents who are women were professionals with university degrees and had career jobs that have empowered them to succeed.

Gabon Egypt Botswana Namibia South Africa Morocco Ghana Congo Kenya Angola Cameroon Madagascar Senegal Nigeria Uganda Togo Zambia Rwanda

Algeria 78% 83% 72% 63% 78% 72% 72% 78% 77% 90% 90% 63% 80% 86%

62% 64% 66% 85% 67% 48% 77%

74%

75%

25% 75% 61% 47% 26% 68%

16% 56.3 23.7 71.7 58.6 61.3 26.2 66.9 68.4 61.5 62.9 64.2 83.4 66.1 47.9 76.0 80.4 73.2 86.4

15.0 69.0 74.3 81.6 69.9 79.7 74.7 71.8 72.9 71.8 77.1 77.4 88.7 88.4 63.3 79.5 81.4 85.6 85.4

71.9 34.7 59.3 77.5 34.0 72.2 36.3 61.8 48.7 52.3 34.9 11.0 23.9 45.1 44.2 8.0

21.1 4.6 23.0 15.3 25.7 7.4

27.3

53.8 43.4 73.6 33.0 68.9 20.1 45.7 43.8 25.3

20.9

2%

3%

5% 4% 14% 4% 10% 12% 15%

15% 15%

13% 9% 3% 3% 11% 4% 6% 9% 4%

7% 8%

26%

8% 10%

38%

Table 15-1: Gender Inequality Distribution by Employment and Education in Africa 2013 Country Labor force Labor Force Population Enrollment in Participation Participation Secondary Tertiary GGG 2013 % HDI 2011 % Education % Education % Female Male Female Male Female Male Fem. Male

Analysis of Women’s Empowerment in Africa

40

48 47 45 53 52 42 44

62 48 53 48 63 50

63

39

47 44 45 51 50 42 41

59 49 52 47 61 49

62

Life Expectancy Health % Fem. Male

417

79% 82% 80% 91% 71% 83% 80% 91%

69%

52% 85%

81% 38%

87%

65% 80%

67.4 72.4 30.9 51.8 84.8 83.0 78.4 36.8 57.9 86.0 66.3 72.5 64.4 77.5 70.2

78.2 83.1 76.5 81.2 81.3 88.5 89.8 70.0 64.4 82.9 69.1 85.1 80.2 90.4 72.5 0.9 10.7

11.3 15.7 1.5 9.5 10.3

11.2 16.9 12.8 13.7 10.4 48.8

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3.2 36.2

9.2 39.2 6.0 20.4 26.2

25.6 31.4 18.2 29.9 20.4 62.0

1% 3%

5% 4%

6% 1%

6%

4% 5%

11% 8%

11% 1%

15%

40 43

51 43

48 44

40 42

49 41

45 43

Source: Labor Force participation GGG and life expectancy-World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gab 2013 data Source for labor force participation HD1 is Human Development Index 2014

Benin Gambia Sudan Cote d’Ivoire Malawi Zimbabwe Ethiopia Mali Liberia Mozambique Sierra Leone Central African Rep. Chad Burkina Faso Congo Dem. Rep

418

Analysis of Women’s Empowerment in Africa

419

Table 15-2 shows that women are underrepresented in political the arena all over the African continent. While there are two women that have been elected president, among the 55 African countries, the remaining 53 have only elected male presidents. Similarly, an average of 27 per cent of women are elected into national parliaments, while an average 73 per cent of men serve in the same political institutions. As a result, power as a relationship between state and the citizens, as well as among citizens themselves, needs to be redefined and negotiated between women and men. The more the gender dimension asserts itself on the political scene, as indicated in Table 15-2, the more it is possible to see a different horizon for identity formation. The differences in the identity horizon may go beyond traditional frameworks based on ethnicity, religion, age, caste or class (Dibie & Dibie 2012; Busken & Webb 2009). Currently, African women remain an underprivileged segment of the population, in terms of politics. Many scholars have elaborated on this point, arguing that the male-centered patriarchal state reflected the larger value of the African society; as such, men will continue to influence and implement the dominant norms (Tripta & Sudershan 2009; McGovern & Wallimann 2012; Green 1999; Zuhur 2006). Women who join political parties in Africa are largely concentrated in the women’s wings of the party. Respondents in parliaments indicated that there is generally no fair policy debate on women’s rights or equality in the legislative institutions. Men in the political parties and legislative institutions made no attempt to hide their scorn and disdain for women’s rights. The extent to which the gender equality principle is tackled by women and recognized as a social condition for achieving sustainable development is crucial. However, as indicated by McGovern (2012), cultural attributes such as independence, aggressiveness and competitiveness are still rewarded in men, while values of dependence, passivity and compliance are rewarded in women. Therefore, recognizing gender equality as an organizing principle is fundamental to achieving ways in which Africans could be socialized, educated, and interacts with each other in all sphere of life (Tripta & Sudershan 2009). This principle is essential to the ways in which public and private lives are shaped and organized in the African continent.

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Figure 15-2 Gender Literacy Gap in Some African Countries

Figure 15-3 Comparing Men and Women in the Labor Force

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Figure 15-4: Comparing Men and Women in Presidential Position in Africa

Table 15-2 also shows that of those holding ministerial positions on the African continent, an average of 21 per cent are women while 79 per cent are men. Our research findings indicate that women are underrepresented in senior government and private corporate positions. According to Abagi et al. (2006), whenever they are represented they are typically in stereotypical roles. Further, women’s roles the development process in Africa is shaped to a large extent by how they are received in the societies and around their nation of residence. Respondents indicated that their national traditions tend to limit them to specific occupations. It was interesting to note that 100 per cent of the respondents stated that they were the bread-winners of their family. This is because they engage in business transactions, gather fuel, water, raise animals and manage local markets in their respective economy. It could therefore be argued that economic necessity has also contributed to the participation of the growing number of women in Africa in the labor force. Our research findings show that the most important reasons for the sharp rise in women’s employment in Africa are globalization and the erosion of traditional values that rigidly defined the role of women in society.

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Gabon Egypt Botswana Namibia South Africa Morocco Ghana Congo Kenya Angola Cameroon Madagascar Senegal Nigeria Uganda Togo Zambia Rwanda 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 48 50 50 50

0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 2 0 0

0

9.5% 25.6% 44.8% 17.0% 10.9% 7.4% 19.1% 36.8% 31.1% 23.1% 43.3% 6.7% 35.0% 17.6% 10.8% 63.8%

15.0% 90.5% 74.4% 55.2% 83% 89.1% 92.6% 80.9% 63.2% 68.9% 76.9% 56.7% 93.3% 65.0% 82.4% 89.2% 36.2%

85.0%

12%

19% 34% 14% 18% 43% 7% 35%

2% 8% 23% 40% 17% 11%

89%

81% 66% 86% 83% 57% 93% 65%

98% 92% 77% 60% 83% 89%

Table 15-2: Women in Political and Elected Positions in Africa 2012–2013 Country President Women in Women in % Lower or single Parliament house % % Female Male Female Male Female Male Algeria 0 50 31.6% 68.4% 32% 68%

422

12%

15% 29% 14% 26% 25% 28% 32%

23% 40% 3% 18%

0%

88%

85% 71% 86% 74% 75% 72% 68%

77% 60% 97% 82%

50%

Women Ministers % Fem. Male 3% 97%

52

67 59 65 62 39 41 65

66 86 78 92 58 65

72

78 83 78 67 62 61 83

82 85 74 94 76 78

Literacy Rate 2011–2013 % Fem. Male 64 81

50

49 50 50 44 50 50

0

1

0 0

6

0 0

8.4% 9.4% 24.3% 9.4% 22.3% 31.5% 27.8% 9.5% 11.0% 39.2% 12.1% 14.9% 18.9% 7.4%

91.6% 90.6% 75.7% 90.6% 77.7% 68.5% 72.2% 90.5% 89% 60.8% 87.9% 85.1% 81.1% 92.6% 15% 16%

39% 85% 84%

61%

72% 90%

90% 78%

10% 22% 28% 10%

92%

8%

12% 12%

28%

28% 14%

14% 21%

31%

Source of Legislators—: World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gab 2013 data Source of Professional data —: World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gab 2013 data Source for Seats in Parliament: United Nation Human Development Report, 2013–2014. New York

Benin Gambia Sudan Cote d’Ivoire Malawi Zimbabwe Ethiopia Mali Liberia Mozambique Sierra Leone Chad Burkina Faso Congo Dem. Rep.

Analysis of Women’s Empowerment in Africa

88% 88%

72%

72% 86%

86% 79%

69%

25 22

36

29 25

48 51

18

46 37

67

49 43

66 72

41

423

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During the focus group meetings, the respondents revealed a number of factors and characteristics that they connect to their desire to contribute to the sustainable development process in their respective countries as well as their sense of empowerment. As a result of the above understanding of individual empowerment, our respondents were able to transform their practice, perceptions and thinking of the role of women in their respective countries. Table 3 shows how they were able to break gender stereotyping regarding participation in the sustainable development process, as well as what the roles of women and men in a nation or society should be. The comments of the women respondents also indicate that they were ready to venture into male-dominated careers if they were empowered by laws. They also indicated that if laws that support the principle of equality between men and women were enacted as a constitutional provision in their respective countries, women would be more empowered to seek their professional dreams. Table 15-3 Number of Statements Made by Focus Group Respondents Women’s Empowerment Vote to Vote to Issues Change Retain Constitutional Issues Equality 198 2 Human Rights 151 49 Civil Rights 170 30 Political Rights 130 70 Violence and Exploitation Pornography Rape Prostitution Other Forms of Violence Family Relations Marriage Divorce Child Custody and Guardianship Reproduction Economic Issues

Question Total 200 200 200 200

25 200 188 200

175 0 12 0

200 200 200 200

2 200 200

198 0 0

200 200 200

102

98

200

Analysis of Women’s Empowerment in Africa

Opportunity for Career Advancement Credit Ownership & Control of Property Inheritance Breaking the Glass Ceiling Health Abortion Birth Control Health Entitlements Labor Issues Maternity Benefit Opportunities for Employment Protective Legislation Social Entitlements Wages Working Conditions

425

198

2

200

180 200

20 0

200 200

200 200

0 0

200 200

100 137 200

100 63 0

200 200 200

200 198

0 2

200 200

200 200 200 200

0 0 0 0

200 200 200 200

Source: Derived from Focus Group Meeting 2012–2015

The changed social and economic environment would also help them to be more focused and follow their dreams to have the right skills, confidence, and commitment to work and to succeed. The empowerment of women under the circumstances discussed above would enable them to compete for career space as a right. Thus, empowering women in Africa would help them to be more hard-working, take professional risks as well as see gender not as a barrier but as an opportunity. Constitutional empowerment in Africa countries would also help them to seek more knowledge and skills as well as motivating them not to become bogged down with marriage at the expense of building a career and breaking the glass ceiling. The following section provides a detailed discussion of the 1,336 statements made during the focus group discussions, the findings of which show the gaps in knowledge about gender consciousness and discrimination against women in Africa. This study has some refreshing revelations related to domestic abuse, sexual harassment, and lack of appropriate gender policies in countries all over the African continent. The study provides a clear profile of the correlation between culture and

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religion and domestic abuse of women in Africa. It also reveals the relationship between government policies and poor enforcement for domestic abuse crime, sexual harassment, and male hostile domination. Respondents in the focus group meeting contend that the barriers to women’s empowerment and social consciousness are tied to selfeffacement, lack of self-esteem, lack of public trust, lack of appropriate policies, disrespectful treatment of women by some cultures, the affected women’s inability to leave a marriage due to children and finance, fear of the unknown, lack of knowledge; fear of losing custody of children, lack of the ability to pay a divorce lawyer, and inability to seek professional help. Some women in the focus group meeting indicated that: Our tradition and religion has deprived us from engaging in certain types of occupation. In our society, it is the role of women to take care of children. Therefore whenever a married woman engages in public and political activism, such a woman gets more blame than their husband. Other women and men blamed them because of their gender. In addition, other women and men will blame them because the activist women are not spending enough time with their children, and such women are not there when their children need their help. Unfortunately, such activist women would get more pressure as well as threats for her activist work. The irony is that women in their society will never blame the husbands of such activist women because they strongly believe that it is only the woman or mother that should take care of the children (Statement derives from focusgroup meeting 2014).

If women are to become fully integrated into the economic and social life of Africa, a certain amount of acculturation must occur. Women in Africa need to start to think of themselves as public figures as well as private individuals. In addition, women’s search for justice must be closely linked to labor’s struggle for equality (Adeleke 2004; Ezeilo 2006; Dibie & Offiong). The labor laws of any society are the most pertinent area of the laws for working women. It is essential that women in Africa lobby and struggle for changes in labor legislation which will protect their interests, as well as those of the larger working class. The focus group discussion reveals that domestic violence and abuse can happen to anyone, regardless of size, gender, or strength, yet the problem is often overlooked, excused, or denied. This is especially true when the abuse is psychological, rather than physical. Emotional abuse is often minimized, yet it can leave deep and lasting scars. The respondents indicated that noticing and acknowledging the warning signs and symptoms of domestic violence and abuse is the first step to ending it. No one should live in fear of the person they love. If you recognize yourself or

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someone you know exhibiting warning signs and descriptions of abuse, don’t hesitate to reach out. Respondents also acknowledge that domestic abuse, or spousal abuse, occurs when one person in an intimate relationship or marriage tries to dominate and control the other person. Domestic abuse that includes physical violence is called domestic violence. Domestic violence and abuse are used for one purpose and one purpose only: to gain and maintain total control over a woman in most cases, though in a few cases men are dominated by their wives. An abuser doesn’t “play fair.” Abusers use fear, guilt, shame, and intimidation to wear you down and keep you under his or her thumb. Your abuser may also threaten you, hurt you, or hurt those around you. In addition, while women are more commonly victimized, men are also abused—especially verbally and emotionally, although sometimes even physically as well. The bottom line is that abusive behavior is never acceptable, whether it’s coming from a man, a woman, a teenager, or an older adult. Every woman or wife deserves to feel valued, respected, and safe. During the focus-group discussions, the issues of gender discrimination were brought up by a large number of respondents. These participants reported that it is more difficult for women than men to get promoted in some professions. This is largely because some professions are dominated by men and a few women who are there in non-professional career positions. Furthermore, some senior managers or directors have very little regard for women, and that makes it difficult to be promoted. The respondents contend that since the sociocultural environment is highly male-dominated and discriminatory, if a woman does not build her own confidence and competence, and does not demand her rights, she might be forced out of her position. Thus, a constitutional gender-equality provision would enable women to be focused and fight discrimination. The findings of this study show that there is a pattern of legally sanctioned, and in some cases, constitutionally guaranteed policies and practices that lead to the subordination of women in a number of African countries. Although gender equality and women’s empowerment has improved a lot in Rwanda, South Africa and Kenya, subordination is manifested in many other African countries. In particular, labor law, panel law, and civil law which govern legal capacity, rights and obligations of women are very weak, and in some countries are not effectively implemented (Schuler 1986; Ako-Nai, 2013). In some African countries, women’s rights and obligations in marriage, guardianship, inheritance, income, land rights and participation in public affairs are still very limited. Our findings in most countries in the northern region of Africa are that

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women’s inferior status is formally legislated. Some countries in East and West Africa enact polices that are enforced and maintained through prejudicial social practices as well as through ignorance of the law by its intended beneficiaries, who are consequently unable to exercise their constitutional rights or the rights the law provided for citizens. It is interesting to note that, regardless of the operative legal system or cultural context, laws touching female discrimination have been modernized. This practice, on the one hand, has brought into the limelight a modern way of thinking. On the other hand, however, family and personal laws in the private sphere have been left unimplemented by the national governments, despite the fact that they reinforce the oppression of women. Thus, we could present an argument that law and public policy in almost all the countries in Africa play a critical role in marinating sexual stratification and in shaping the inferior social and economic position of women in society. This is the reason why women are not properly positioned to participate in the sustainable development process in the African continent.

Gender Equality Policy Recommendations The national and regional governments in Africa must commit to making gender equality and women’s empowerment a priority beyond the creation of women’s ministries and nominal gender mainstreaming. The governments have a duty to provide the needed infrastructure and create incentives for the private institutions and NGOs to deliver programs that enhance women’s lives in the following major areas: (1) education; (2) economic participation; (3) environmental conservation; (4) health; (5) political participation; and (6) social and cultural change. In some African countries, the last decade has brought about the creation of a wide variety of women’s organizations working towards the realization of women’s rights. It is anticipated that in the next decade African women will build upon what they have achieved by broadening these strategies of education, service, and reform, making them tools for empowerment for all women in the continent. The upcoming goal of women’s empowerment in Africa must popularize the key gender-equality laws, and a uniform code on family relations which would articulate and protect fundamental rights for women as well as their position in the family. New family laws that foster equity on issues of divorce, property ownership, maintenance, land ownership, a widow’s rights to her deceased husband’s property, and child custody need, to be enacted. Governments need to also use the mass media and

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other strategies to demystify the laws and make them more accessible to the people. It is recommended that governments, the private sector and NGOs should form partnerships for women to have access to credit. Having credit will help women to break the circle of poverty. It could be further argued that women’s equal access to financial resources will also assist the sustainable development process in several ways: (1) more money in the hands of women also means greater consumption, which could stimulate more economic growth; (2) women are able to contribute more to household expenditures and increase value of their assets; (3) as women’s financial status improves, many other aspects of their lives are likely to change; and (4) women who work outside the home are likely to have lower fertility rates, greater access to better nutrition, healthcare, and increased self-efficacy (Dibie & Atibil 2012; Payne & Nassar 2006; Zuhur 2006). There is the need for a legal education strategy that would involve the popularization of the issue of women’s rights by using booklets in different local languages. It will also require the training of paralegals to work in communities and educate women about their rights. Governments will also need to work with mass media such as television and radio to provide education programs regarding the new gender-equality laws. In addition, national and regional governments of African countries need to work with labor unions and community organizations to incorporate women’s rights into their books (Schuler 1986; Sam-Okere 2013). It is also recommended that after such laws have been enacted lawyers and female activists should on a regular basis visit remote villages and barrios to provide advice regarding possible courses of action. The paper recommends that women’s empowerment could be achieved through social and economic intervention. This intervention involves improved competence, self-reliance and self-esteem. If women are able to successfully achieve these, they could be in a better position to attain improved mental health as well as improved physical health. Further, the politics of disengagement could help women to manipulate the formal or alternative sources of power to achieve equal rights with their male counterparts in the country. The various national governments in Africa should give grants to NGOs to set up gender-responsive guidance and counseling programs to teach matters related to sexuality, as it would help in the rehabilitation of teen mothers. Education also reduces the desire for more children and checks population growth. Meanwhile, research shows that tertiary education, not elementary education, is what provides the greatest benefit

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to women (Tagoe, 1999). With the huge gaps between men and women in the area of educational attainment in several African countries, especially at the secondary and tertiary levels, the government needs to not just step up programs to increase girls’ enrollment in elementary schools, but also their retention in school to ensure that the majority of them attain at least secondary education (McGovern & Wallimann, 2012). In addition, NGOs should focus on education (adult literacy, children’s and especially women’s education) and be encouraged through enhanced tax deductions and tax credits for donations made to those NGOs. The national and regional governments ought to look into encouraging corporate social responsibility. Private companies operating in the African continent should be given special incentives to contribute towards the education of girls and women in public as well as private schools.

Conclusion The chapter has examined the issue of women’s empowerment and sustainability on the African continent. It shed light on how policy and the establishment of a Women’s Ministry were alone insufficient to protect women from discrimination in the African society. Additional instruments to achieve successful outcomes include constitutional human-rights provisions, strong government commitment, leaders, good governance, progressive vision regarding social protection, accountability, shared governance, and strong collective representation. A common theme that we observed in our research is that women often bear the brunt of economic and political disadvantage in the development process in most African countries. In addition, the enacted public policies play a critical role in the inequality between men and women. According to Schuler (1986), Green (1999), and Dibie & Atibil (2012), the problem of the inferior legal status of women centers around three main predicaments: (1) women tend to be unaware of their own legal status, or the rights they do possess of the effect laws have on them, or that they are the objects of injustice; (2) the laws themselves are often unjust or discretionary, limiting the rights of women; and (3) the application of the law, even when adequate, is often arbitrary or prejudicial towards women. The lack of appropriate policies, feminism progress and achievement in several African countries has important implications for national development. Women and girls’ fundamental right to engage in employment that does not adversely affect their welfare and well-being must be universally guaranteed in the African continent. The fact remains, however, that women in Africa remain the largest marginalized group on the continent.

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However, despite continuing problems, women in some African countries are making progress. In addition, the study adds to the body of literature and knowledge on women’s empowerment in Africa. It provides current information for the formulation of future public policy on gender and how to reverse the discrimination against women in Africa. The chapter has addressed complex ways on how to effectively mobilize women to equally contribute to the sustainable development processes in Africa. The findings of this study will help to guide the future generation on the type of family to rear. It will be of immense advantage to educational planners in designing school programs that are attentive to the family background of students. Teachers and counselors will be able to use the results to predict the performances of certain students based on the influence on their type of home background; it will thus enable them to help students improve their performances. One of the best strategies to address the marginalization predicament that women face all over the African continent is the enactment of laws on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and girls. Such new laws should create a new family code, an equal-rights clause in the constitution, or provisions in the current constitution favoring women or to change entrenched attitudes towards women by the court or police. The issue is clear, that the nature of women’s struggle in the African continent is linked to the larger political and economic issues that characterize both the national government and the law. It is also clear that what needs to be done to protect women and girls, and to militate against negative societal impacts, cannot be just a technical “policy implementation” discussion, but must be incorporate wider constitutional provisions. It is timely, now, after several decades of reengaging women’s empowerment issues. It is prudent and urgent that a concerted effort at appropriate girls’ and women’s policies-implementation be initiated, and that essential tools, resources, strategic direction and executive oversight are provided to ensure sustenance and success of this important change to enable women’s access to national management process and sustainable development. Program outcomes are essential in analyzing the effectiveness of what the governments of African countries are doing to enhance women’s capacity–building, as well as their contribution to sustainable development on the continent.

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT AND SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS ROBERT DIBIE

Introduction The application of social justice with respect to gender equality on the African continent calls for a more holistic approach to gender policy in order to tackle the interconnected causes and socio-economic predicaments between women, men, boys, and girls (Falola & Amponsah 2012; Palmary et al. 2009; OECD 2010). In a number African countries the marginalization of women occurs in all areas of life such as work, sexuality, property rights, financial ownership, culture, religion, politics and governance. As previously discussed in other chapters in this book, women across Africa often face discrimination and persistent gender inequalities, with some women experiencing multiple types of discrimination, sexual harassment, domestic abuse and exclusion because of factors such as ethnicity, low literacy-rate, caste or poverty (OECD, 2011). One point is clear, women’s participation and empowerment are fundamental to strengthening women’s rights and enabling women to have control over their lives and exert influence in societies in Africa (Sweden Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2010; OECD 2011). Women’s economic empowerment is about creating just and equitable societies in Africa. The African continent needs to be transformed into a place where men and women are treated with dignity and respect. Diversity management and leadership focuses on the role that leaders, especially the president and members of the national assembly, and those in executive positions in government and businesses, play in fostering diversity in both the public and private sectors. Lussier and Achua (2016) contend that most strong leaders often enforce diversity initiatives that are shallow and ineffective. Other scholars argue that there is an ethical and moral imperative to pursue a policy of inclusion rather than exclusion in both the private and

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public sectors of any country. These scholars also contend that, from a purely humanistic perspective, diversity among men and women is a matter of fairness and an inclusion policy could signal a government or organization’s commitment to uphold the dignity of every person regardless of their circumstances and gender (Griffin et al. 2017; Holzer & Schwester 2016; Lussier & Achua 2016). Dibie and Dibie et al. (2015) argue that women’s voices and perspectives are needed on government executive and corporate boards to ensure that decisions and policies affecting them are both responsible and sensitive to their needs, communities, and the attainment of sustainable development in a country. Unfortunately, diversity in most African countries is limited to quota system, religion, and ethnicity. Diversity is a critical part of the changing environment of government and business. The environment of the private and public sectors in Africa is changing at an unprecedented rate (Ako-Nai, 2013). In addition, the forces of change faced by all organizations in Africa are related to globalization, technology, ethics, diversity and corporate governance (Bell 2012; Blewitt 2015). For any dominant group, some disparities persist, and in some cases, have worsened in the past 30 years in various African countries (Falola & Ampogsah, 2012). Sexual harassment, discrimination, and segregation continue to be severe and pervasive problems for working women (OCED 2010; World Bank 2013). As a result of the lack of laws or the lack of the implementation of gender equity laws, women who experience discrimination in many African countries do not sue (OECD, 2009). Further, although other motivations for fair treatment, non-discrimination, diversity and inclusion remained important and have also been promised to citizens, most governments have not yet developed the political will to effectively enforce the constitutional rights of their female citizens and minority groups. The limitation of the definition of diversity in the constitution of several African countries is another major discrimination problem on the continent. Some constitutions refer to diversity as the observable and unobservable similarities and differences among men and women (Griffin et al. 2017; OECD 2010). While differences such as race, gender, age, and disability are the first to come to mind, the fact that diversity is much more than demographics, and reflects a combination of other characteristics than a single attribute, is often ignored. Many countries in Africa also face severe poverty and a shortage of talent, which has resulted in another set of diversity problems (World Bank, 2013). This condition warrants Griffin et al. (2017) and Blewitt (2015) to argue that promoting diversity can allow governments and businesses in Africa to attract and retain scarce talent as well as well reach other sustainable development goals. Therefore, there is still much work to be done, but there is still progress amid retrenchment and there is still

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hope for a better, fairer, more just future for the African continent if genuine political will is adopted to promote gender equity and alleviate poverty among women. The kidnapping of over two hundred girls in Nigeria by the extremist religious group Boko Haram, and the tepid response by the national government, conveys the low status of women in some parts of Africa. Interestingly, the fact that the kidnapping of these girls happened in Nigeria—a country that is said to be Africa’s largest economy—has not been able to effectively address gender inequality problems. These Islamic extremists also outlawed Western education for women and girls, closed educational institutions, and prevented women from teaching in Northeastern Nigeria. The extremists also claim that Western education is sinful and as a result must be abolished from Nigeria. It is ironic to note, however, that Western education is sinful but Western weapons that they used to kill people as well cellphones, YouTube and Facebook are OK. Recently in Sudan, a lady was sentenced to death for converting from Islam to Christianity (BBC News, 2015). According to the Boko Haram extremists, the only schools that girls and women are allowed to attend are required to teach only Quran, the holy book for Muslims (Trager, 2016). In Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood political party that was removed from power by the nation’s military junta was exclusively men (Trager, 2016). In 2015, the government of Kenya enacted a national policy that men are allowed to marry more than one wife in the country (British Broadcasting Corporation News, 2015). The contributions of this chapter can be summarized from two perspectives. First, from the academic position, this study will expand existing knowledge about women’s empowerment and sustainable development policies in Africa. Second, from a public management perspective, it will help practitioners in the public and private sectors to identify capabilities that are critical for the successful implementation of diversity management. A lack of knowledge about these conditions could adversely affect African governments’ ability to achieve sustainable development. This is the concluding chapter of this book. It provides a discussion of the nature and challenges of women’s empowerment and sustainability solutions. It argues that, just as environmental issues are becoming a dominant political force in nations all over the world, lack of women’s empowerment in Africa should be equally regarded as a major problem. In the African countries covered in this book, women’s discrimination issues have manifested into major policy dilemmas. The chapter also presents an argument that governments all over Africa are still not politically,

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religiously or socio-culturally willing to resolve many of the short and long-term discrimination problems that they face. This is why constitutional and institutional reforms and new leadership methods are critical to successfully achieving sustainable development in several African countries in the near future. The chapter examines obstacles and leadership challenges that countries in Africa could face as they create new approaches to equal opportunity for women and men, as well as efficiently managed public resources. Promoting sustainability at local and national levels will require paying attention to many factors such as economic development, transportation, social justice, women’s empowerment, land, the use of environmental planning, and housing. It concludes by describing sustainable development as equitable, and male and female capacity-building that is ecologically sustainable. The chapter suggests that through appropriate planning, African governments can achieve both increased women’s participation in the development process and general capacity building for all citizens participating in the restoration of the economy. Additional recommendations are provided with respect to facilitating broader participation and solidarity in the definition of the standards reflecting women’s empowerment all over the African continent.

Movement towards Gender Empowerment Rural and urban women, and leadership, in many African countries have, in recent years, come to be the focus of development initiatives in many countries. To date, however, much of the writing on this topic has focused heavily on obstacles rather than empowerment and capacity-building initiatives to enhance women’s attainment of leadership positions. Citing examples from a case study in Northern Ireland, this book gives voice to the many vital, positive elements in rural and urban women’s leadership development. The bone of contention in a number of African countries is that the basic principles of impact drivers are missing in the implementation of gender constitutional mandates and policies that have been enacted to treat women and men equally. As a basic principle, if impact drivers are not present, the approach to empowering women in Africa is unlikely to produce positive results. These negative results have further prevented women’s empowerment initiatives of public and private institutions from achieving sustainable goals. There is a widespread acceptance of the critical role played by women and public institutions in the development process (Dibie & Atibil 2012; OECD 2011; Oxaal 1996; Disch 2006; Okpeh and Angya 2007; United

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Nations 2012). Women act as major actors in the transformation process, whether in terms of their direct involvement in the economy or their more tempered role as catalyst, facilitator and regulator of economic activity (World Bank, 2012). At the same time, there has been a growing concern with the representation of women and the management of diversity within Africa’s public sector (United Nations 2014; Akinboye 2004; Kuye 2003). The concern of unequal representation of women in leadership positions in the nonprofit, private and public sectors has affected reform efforts that stress human resources management issues such as capacity-building, participatory management styles, cross-gender mentor-protégé relationships, constant innovation, entrepreneurial initiative, teamwork, strategic thinking and planning as crucial. As True (2010), Bose & Kim (2009), Dahlerup (2005) and Disch (2006) have pointed out, ethnic politics largely ignores public administration or socioeconomic development, in much the same way that the literature on economic development overlooks ethnic loyalties. Yet in many societies across African, ethnicity and gender stereotyping plays such a pervasive role in the development process (United Nations 2014; Kuye 2003; Ako Nai 2013). This is why Payne & Nassar (2006), Briskin (2006), McGovern & Wallimann (2009) and Golgan & Ledwith (2000) describe gender and ethnic politics as “an important dimension in public affairs, pervading the environment in which public administration functions in sub-Saharan Africa.” According to Wright and Boorse (2014), to achieve sustainable development will require a special level of dedication and commitment to care for the natural world and acting with justice and equity towards one another. In countries in Africa this will require constitutional mandated justice for all women, girls and men and boys, to build effective, accountable, transparent and inclusive institutions. The literature on public policy and women provide an overview of the laws and judicial interpretations which have affected the position of women. As a matter of fact, public policy on motherhood has failed to address the underlying need of mothers for a variety of work options (Bose & Kim 2009; OCED 2011). It could be argued that, while the bearing and rearing of children disrupt a woman’s working life, work options adapted to women’s roles as mothers rarely exist in most African countries (Dibie & Atibil, 2012). This challenge often forces women to adapt their roles as mothers to their roles as professional workers. These laws and judicial interpretations amply illustrate the way in which women’s family status formed the basis of their social status. There is also a plethora of government statutes, common law precedents, and judicial interpretations which define the status of women rather explicitly (Palmary & Nnez 2009;

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OCED 2011). According to these laws, a woman’s position in society, her rights and responsibilities, opportunities and obligations were essentially determined by their position in the family, for example, her role as wife and mother (Bose & Kim 2009). It is clear from history that protecting women from some of the working conditions that men face once seemed like a generally good idea. In the long run, however, this has only served to hinder women’s progress. Not only did such policies encourage gender segregation of jobs, but they also discouraged even those employers who might have been willing, or pressured, to put women in occasionally more strenuous, but always better paying, jobs (United Nations 2014; McGovern & Wallimann 2009; Waylen 1996; Scot 1995). Therefore, the importance of revising public policies in African countries to focus on the individual rather than the family as the basic economic unit, deliberately eradicating the gender division of work in both the family and the labor market is positive economic development, capacity building, and dignity and respect for all citizens. It is paramount that African governments establish equal participation in the labor force as a right as well as an obligation, and institutionalizing the support services necessary to achieve the major changes will be the best form of empowerment that would be felt not only by women but also men. Such policy changes would reverberate throughout the African economic and social structure as well as reinvigorating the goal of achieving sustainable economic growth and development (Dibe, 2017). According to Lussier and Achua (2016), diversity is the inclusion of all groups (women and men) at all levels in an organization. As a result, diversity could be argued to encompass all forms of difference among individuals, including surface differences such as gender, national origin, age, and race, and deep differences such as personality, religion, social status, and sexual orientation (Nelson & Quick, 2013). The intention of creating diversity is to make the workplace multiculturally diverse. Diversity is rooted in racial, cultural, and individual differences. It also emphasizes basic human similarities and global connection. Hellrielgel & Slocum (2011) and Nelson and Quick (2013) argued that diversity is not about age, gender, and race alone, it encompasses both similarities and differences. As a result, leaders in both the public and private sectors must make every effort to effectively manage both similarities and differences among employees. The bone of contention about diversity management is, however, that various personality dimensions, such as openness, consciousness, self-esteem, and locus of control, contribute to each person’s unique personality. Globalization of the public and business sectors is not the only force for promoting cultural and ethnic diversity in

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the workplace. Changing domestic demographics also affect government and the private sector’s cultural diversity. Leaders in Africa therefore need to learn how to deal not only with these dimensions, but also with a person’s attitude, cultural values and the like. It has also been argued that the legacy of exclusion, exploitation, poverty, humiliation, oppression, and marginalization that are mechanisms of neo-liberal globalization are the cause of women’s call for social justice and equality in the twenty-first century. Dibie and Dibie (2008) contend that history and culture are not static values, they could be modified incrementally as civilization and modernization is improved all over the world due to the process of globalization. An effective tool for women’s resistance to neo-liberal globalization can only come in the context of a women’s movement oriented towards the basic social problems affecting ladies. The bone of contention is the economic dependency trap, educational disadvantages, and other obstacles to empowerment such as the birth of a child and lack of day-care facilities for urban workers. To improve women’s social and economic security, marital customs must be challenged, and new civil laws are needed to offer additional protection to married and divorced women concerning child custody, rights in marital property, and financial support, going beyond the present provisions of common law, Islamic and customary laws in several African nations (Dibie & Sam-Okere 2015; Gruenbuum, 1997). Therefore, the empowerment of women on the African continent through education, technical skills, enhanced self-worth, and economic independence will lead to equality and a more inclusive society and way of life. Training in personal and family hygiene, knowledge about healthy food production and preparation would help to alleviate the living standards of women in several African nations. Policies that could promote women’s freedom from harmful activities as well as giving ladies choice in sexual and reproductive matters, including the right to have safe sex, will help to empower women in the African continent to be the custodians of their body and health. While the passive approach emphasizes the sociological or demographic representatives of women in the public and private sectors of Africa, the active approach places the blame on the cultural, religious and political determination of discrimination against women (Waylen 1996; Dahlerup 2005; Reiman 2006). From this perspective arise policies such as equal opportunity and other ethnic-conscious instruments designed to benefit the marginalized groups. Equality of opportunity is predicated on the idea of fair competition on the basis of merit, and the role of public

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policy is to ensure that all qualified individuals (men and women) may enter the competition and be judged according to the same criteria. Recognition of the need to improve the status of women and to promote their potential roles in development is no longer seen as an issue of human rights or social justice; it is also a prerequisite for sustainable development. While the pursuit of gender equity remains strongly embedded within the framework of fundamental human rights and gender justice, investments in women are also now recognized as crucial to achieving sustainable development. Economic analyses recognize that low levels of education and training, poor health and nutritional status, and limited access to resources not only depress women’s quality of life, but also limit productivity and hinder economic efficiency and growth (Dibie & Sam-Okere 2015; OECD 2011). Hence, promoting and improving the status of women needs to be pursued, for reasons of equity and social justice and also because it makes economic sense and is good development practice. The recognition that women’s rights are human rights, and that women experience injustices solely because of their gender should be one of the first steps for African countries to consider in establishing appropriate gender-sensitive policies to affectively address discrimination against women. The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) laid out the idea of the universality of rights, but failed to take into account women’s needs and interests. Its focus was on formal political and civil rights, hence conceiving rights to be relevant to the “public” rather than the “private” sphere. As such, violations of women’s bodily integrity, which occurred in the private sphere, were not part of the human rights discourse (Palmary et al. 2009). Sustainable development and the idea of empowering women and men to equally participate in the process led to another concept called mainstream. The mainstream advocates bringing gender issues into the mainstream of society (Zebracki 2014; Falola & Amponsah). The concept was clearly established as a global strategy for promoting gender equality in the Platform for Action adopted at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing (China) in 1995. It highlighted the necessity of ensuring that gender equality is a primary goal in all area(s) of social and economic development in the world (Booth and Bennett 2002; True 2010). The United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC) (1997) defined the concept of gender mainstreaming as follows: “Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including

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legislation, policies or programs, in any area and at all levels. It is a strategy for making the concerns and experiences of women as well as of men an integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs in all political, economic and societal spheres, so that women and men benefit equally, and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal of mainstreaming is to achieve gender equality” (UNECOSOC, 1997). Figure 17-1 shows the theory of change for gender empowerment.

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Figure 16-1 Theory of Change for Gender Empowerment

Source: Adopted from Dibie, R. and Sam-Okere, J. (2015). “Government and NGOs Performance with Respect to Women Empowerment in Nigeria.” Africa’s Public Service Delivery & Performance Review, vol. 3 (1): pp. 92–136. Zebracki, M. (2014) “Sex in the City: Gender Mainstreaming Urban Governance in Europe. The Case of Sweden and Italy,” Fennia International Journal of Geography 192 (1): 54–64.

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According to this UNECOSOC (1997) definition, mainstreaming includes gender-specific activities and affirmative action, whenever women or men are in a particularly disadvantageous position. Genderspecific interventions can target women exclusively, men and women together, or only men, to enable them to participate in and benefit equally from development efforts (Zebracki 2014; Falola & Amponsah 2012; Palmary 2009). These are necessary temporary measures designed to combat the direct and indirect consequences of past discrimination (UNECOSOC, 2012). It should be noted, however, that mainstreaming is not about adding a “woman’s component” or even a “gender-equality component” into an existing activity. It goes beyond increasing women’s participation; it means bringing the experience, knowledge, and interests of women and men to bear on the development agenda (Palmary et al., 2009). In addition, mainstreaming also involves identifying the need for changes in that agenda. It may require changes in goals, strategies, and actions so that both women and men can influence, participate in, and benefit from development processes (Falola & Amponsah 2012; Stratigaki, 2005). The goal of mainstreaming gender-equality is thus the transformation of unequal social and institutional structures into equal and just structures for both men and women (UNECOSOC, 2012). One of the reasons why gender policies are not effectively implemented in several countries in Africa is that there is no political will and effective strategy in place for the male-dominated public administration and National Assemblies or Congress to implement related gender policies and laws (Dibie & Dibie 2012). Therefore, in order to effectively accomplish the goals of the concept in the future, responsibility for implementing the mainstreaming strategy should be system-wide, and rests at the highest levels within government ministries, agencies, and departments. Thus, the strategy and process must include: 1. A clear political will and allocation of adequate resources for mainstreaming, including additional financial and human resources if necessary, are important for translation of the concept into practice; 2. The initial identification of issues and problems across all area(s) of activity should be such that gender differences and disparities can be diagnosed; 3. Adequate accountability mechanisms for monitoring progress need to be established;

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4. Assumptions that issues or problems are neutral from a genderequality perspective should never be made; 5. Gender analysis should always be carried out 6. Gender mainstreaming requires that efforts be made to broaden women’s equitable participation at all levels of decision-making; and 7. Mainstreaming does not replace the need for targeted, womenspecific policies and programs, and positive legislation; nor does it do away with the need for gender units or focal points (UNECOSOC, 2012). One other method for involving women in the mainstream for sustainable development in Africa is the concept of gender balancing. This concept was recommended by the United Nations General Assembly and the Commission on the Status of Women (Zebracki 2014; True 2010). In order to accomplish this goal in the General Assembly, the institution requested the Commission on the Status of Women be regularly provided with statistics on the number and percentage of women at all levels throughout the whole United Nations system. The Council reaffirms the goal of a 50/50 gender distribution by the year 2020 within the United Nations system, especially at the D-1 level and above, with full respect for the principle of equitable geographical distribution, in conformity with Article 101 of the Charter of the United Nations, also taking into account the lack of representation or the under-representation of certain countries (True, 2010). Therefore, if African countries are serious about accomplishing capacity-building that will lead to sustainable development, they should seek and require the collection of, as well as sharing of, best practices and lessons from the United Nations system and at the national level, including successful national initiatives. African governments should: 1. Develop a standardized format for documenting and assessing gender-mainstreaming experiences in all areas of work, such as social and economic development, macroeconomic questions, operational activities for development, poverty eradication, human rights, humanitarian assistance, budgeting, disarmament, peace and security, and legal and political matters, including training and capacity-building; 2. Collaborate with other treaty-monitoring bodies, and should serve as a good example of the mainstreaming of a gender perspective throughout the United Nations system;

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3. Should develop and share memoranda of understanding on gender equality goals in program development and project implementation; and 4. Should play an especially active role in generating new ideas, proposing practical suggestions and promoting constructive implementation of gender mainstreaming (Zebracki 2014; Stratigaki 2005; Palmary et al. 2009; UNECOSOC 2012). As already discussed in Chapter One, it is very important to note that capacity-building for women further requires good accountability structures. Gender mainstreaming in African countries needs to be introduced or strengthened through institutional mechanisms and management culture. Accountability for gender equality at the program level continues to be strengthened by the use of tools such as the Ministry of Women’s Affairs scorecard, the gender audit and the gender marker to track resources applied towards gender equality results (Dibie and Dibie 2012; Booth and Bennett 2002; True 2010; Falola & Amponsah 2012). According the United Nations (2014), the highlights to promote the understanding of the importance of gender in respective areas of work should include the following factors, which are also crucial for African governments to achieve both their gender capacity-building and sustainable development goals. 1. Make efforts to interact with, and support, those gender-specific concerns of host governments and the civil society at regional and national level; 2. Respond to Member and Observer States in meeting their requests for gender-specific activities; 3. Ensure that beneficiaries are consulted in all phases of program design and implementation, as appropriate; 4. Interact regularly with other organizations and relevant agencies to share information on current and planned activities vis-à-vis migrant women, men, girls and boys; 5. Mainstream the gender specific needs of migrant women, men, girls and boys in national, regional and international meetings organized on the subject of migration; 6. Participate in meetings, working groups and international, national and regional networks of gender focal points to exchange ideas and ensure that migrant women’s, men’s, girls’ and boys’ issues are integrated in national, regional, and international programs (UNECOSOC, 1997);

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7. Ensure that the specific needs of migrant women, men, girls and boys are mainstreamed into all relevant key documents including project proposals put forward at the international, regional and national levels; and 8. Invite gender coordinators from other organizations to make presentations and explore co-organizing topical discussions related to migrant women, men, girls and boys (United Nations, 2014). No doubt women are the pillars of the African family. Generally, men acknowledge that the physical, psychological and mental health of each member of their family depends on the woman in the family (Dibie & Sam-Okere 2015). This assumption leads us to argue that the promotion of a woman’s well-being is the solution to the ills of society in Africa. Thus, empowerment of women in the continent with education, technical skills, enhanced self-worth and economic independence will lead towards equality and full participation in life. Training in personal and family hygiene, knowledge about safe food preparation and the inclusion of vitamins and micro-nutrients in food, freedom from harmful activities including smoking and drug use, and allowing sexual and reproductive choice, including the right to have safe sex, will help to empower women in Africa to be the primary care giver and health providers for their family (Eyben 2008; OECD 2011; McGovern & Walliman 2009). It has also been argued that the legacy of exclusion, exploitation, poverty, humiliation, oppression, and marginalization that are mechanisms of neo-liberal globalization, are the cause of women’s call for social justice and equality in the twenty-first century (Brems 1997; Oxaal, and Baden 1996). Dibie & Dibie (2012) contend that history and culture are not static values; they could be modified incrementally as civilization and modernization are improved all over the world due to the process of globalization. An effective tool for women’s resistance to neo-liberal globalization can only come in the context of a women’s movement oriented towards the basic social problems affecting ladies (McGovern & Walliman, 2009). The bone of contention is the economic dependency trap, educational disadvantages, and other obstacles to empowerment such as birth of child and lack of day care facilities for urban workers. To improve women’s social and economic security, marital customs must be challenged, and new civil laws are needed to offer additional protection to married and divorced women concerning child custody, rights in marital property, and financial support, going beyond the present provisions of common law, Islamic and customary laws in several African nations (Gruenbuum 1997; OECD 2011 & 2010).

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All over the African continent, there are two types of culture that must be put into consideration when addressing women’s empowerment initiatives. The first culture is masculinity. A masculine culture is a tradition that values achievement, money-making, assertiveness, and competition (Noe et al. 2009). In countries with masculine orientation, women empowerment initiatives should focus on helping female citizens to achieve status by demonstrating technical skills, managerial expertise, technological and human resources acumen. Society could therefore look to their women to assign tasks and have the capabilities to resolve technical, administrative and political problems within their respective nations. These masculine principles could help the government to design the type of training needs that their female citizens ought to pursue. On the other hand, a feminine culture is one that places a high value on relationships, service, care for the weak, and preserving the environment (Sylvia 1994; Harrington & Carter 2015). The feminine principle promotes respect for past traditions, and for fulfilling social obligations in the present for women and men equitably. A feminine culture does not necessarily rule out a particular women’s empowerment program, but it should be a consideration in deciding how to carry out capacity building initiatives for the uplifting of the status of women in any African country that practices such values. Consequently, public administrators in African countries should be required to be directly involved in giving and sharing information to show that these feminine cultural values were in place in keeping with the traditional chain of building the capacity of women at all levels (Porter-O’Grady & Malloch, 2015). Policies that could promote women’s freedom to make suggestions, grow and mature as well become sensitized to themselves and others are what it may take to make Africa great again. It is paramount that Africa’s women should be empowered to become expert leaders who can learn to use their knowledge, experience, and intuition to anticipate crises, risks, and vulnerabilities that may affect the economic growth of their respective countries. It is interesting to note that, on the one hand, the passive approach emphasizes the sociological or demographic representatives of women in the public and private sectors of Africa. On the other hand, though, the active approach places the blame on the cultural, religious and political determination of discrimination against women (Waylen 1996; Dahlerup 2005; Reiman 2006). From this perspective arise policies such as equal opportunity and other ethnic-conscious instruments designed to benefit marginalized groups. Equality of opportunity is predicated on the idea of fair competition on the basis of merit, and the role of public policy is to ensure that all qualified individuals (men and women) may enter the

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competition and be judged according to the same criteria. Thus, the respective African governments must act to: (1) ensure that the competition is equal; and (2) equalize starting points where necessary (Lovenduski 1989: 8; Steinman 1991; Weisner 1997). The principles of good governance and gender equality have been at the cutting edge of development debates over the last decade (Zebracki, 2014). Empirical evidence shows that both are central to the development of any country in Africa (Dibie and Dibie 2012). But the relationship between the two has only just begun to be explored, albeit in the context of a deeper understanding of both these two issues (Oxaal and Baden 1996). In addition to good governance, it could be argued that transparency and accountability is paramount to achieving human rights, capacity building and economic development. The interests of individuals, communities and societies all over the nations in the Africa continent should be guaranteed social justice. Further, the management of the ecosystem to ensure the nurturing of all living species and natural resources in accordance with the precepts of sustainable development is very essential for the well-being of the African continent (Zebracki 2014). For example, the rising figures for poverty and disparity among various women, men and children caused by increasing numbers of female and vulnerable groups being marginalized from the development processes and sliding downwards in the human development index in most African countries are clear indicators that good governance is lacking in managing the interests of nature and people (Palmary et al., 2009). The Beijing Platform for Action, 1995, called for the mobilization of women to claim their rights, and is essential in order to press for reforms, and for the implementation and enforcement of human rights and national legal instruments. The platform also mandated the need to establish strategies of capacity-building in terms of literacy, legal knowledge, and political participation. The need to create gender-sensitive awareness training programs for the judiciary and the police, in addition to strengthening women’s participation in these fields, is also crucial in almost all African countries. As a result, without the active participation of women and the incorporation of women’s perspectives at all levels of decision-making, the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved either in Africa or in other continents (United Nations Beijing Platform for Action, 1995). It is also very important to note that in the era of globalization, the education and skill levels of women and men of a country affects the extent to which transnational companies want to operate there. According to Daniels et al. (2011), in countries with a poorly educated population, multinational companies will limit their

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activities to low-skill, low-wages jobs. As a result of the above example, the economic system and culture are likely to be closely tied, providing many of the incentives or disincentives for developing the values of empowering women for the labor force. Table 16.1 shows a framework of how women’s empowerment can be achieved in Africa. Table 16-1: Policies for Women’s Empowerment Policy Variable

Description

1. Equal Credit Opportunity Policy: To prohibit discrimination in credit on the basis of sex or marital status. 2. Pregnancy Discrimination Policy: To prohibit discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. 3. Civil Rights Policy: To provide monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination against women all over the country. 4. Equal Employment Opportunities: Equal opportunity and other ethnic-conscious instruments designed to benefit the marginalized girls and middle-aged women. 5. Law against Women’s Abuse: Take action to prosecute men who engage in domestic violence or physically abuse their wives. 6. National Sexual Harassment Policy: Prosecute men, especially senior administrators, who use their position in the workplace to intimidate junior female employees or demand sex as a condition for continuous employment or promotion. 7. Law against Gender Discrimination: Take action to stop gender discrimination in the hiring and promotion process. 8. Inter-State Succession Law or Law of Divorce: Enact divorce laws that will grant wives the right to equitably share property with their ex-husband as well custody rights to children from the marriage. 9. Public Education Campaign to change the Stereotype of Women’s Status: Introduce a civil society campaign to educate traditional, social, cultural, and religious rural and urban communities that the time is right for the stereotype of women as subordinate to men to change: it is an outdated view, and the spotlight on women and as leaders of economic development values should be the new song of liberation. 10. 10. Pay Equity Policy: Equal pay for equal work and qualification. Public policy to reverse pay inequality in favor of women and men.

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11. Alternative Work Patterns for Women: Introduce policies that could allow women to be innovative in work patterns as flexi-time, staggered hours, compact work week, job sharing, and flexi-year. 12. Child Day-Care Assistance: Public and private institutions should be encouraged to provide child day-care facilities around their location. 13. Women’s Participation in Politics: Create an environment that will encourage women to participate in politics and occupy key positions in political parties. 14. Diversity in Women’s Education: (a) Girls and middle-aged women should be encouraged to complete at least a high school diploma; (b) Women should be encouraged to be scientists, engineers, pilots, computer experts and doctors. 15. Law on Women’s Control over their reproductive decisions: Establish laws to ensure sexual equality, and guarantee women’s control over their own reproductive decisions. 16. Women’s Co-operative Societies and NGOs: Encourage the consolidation of women’s economic power through co-operative societies and NGOs around the nation. Source: Dibie, R. (2009). “Globalization and Women Empowerment in Africa,” in Globalization and Third World Women, Ligaya Lindio-McGovern and Isidor Wallimann, edited. Aldershot, England: Ashgate

Several African nations are beginning to enact policies to stimulate economic, political and social participation of women in both the public and private sectors. Some of the policies include: x Married women who were transferred from the city where their husbands worked are now entitled to be provided secured government housing; x There is gender equality with respect to annual vacations, transportation allowances and bonus pay; x Children’s allowance for female officers working abroad; x Free medical treatment; and x Equal pay for equal qualifications and work (OCED 2011; UNECOSOC 2012).

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Reforms in Culture, Tradition, and Religion There are over one thousand ethnic groups and languages in Africa. Nigeria, for example, has nearly 250 different languages and ethnic groups, while Tanzania has more than 100; and Kenya alone has more than 40 ethnic groups and languages (Khapoya 1998; Dibie & Dibie 2012). The interesting thing about the different ethnic groups is that they all have distinct or specific cultures and traditions. In various parts of Africa, the values of culture and tradition are both dynamic and affected by changing legal, economic and political forces (Khapoya, 1998). In some cases, these African cultures could serve as impediments to human rights and development in the context of the twenty-first century. It is therefore paramount for African governments and NGOs to work together for the elimination of those cultural and religious values that infringe upon women’s rights. They should also strengthen the existing positive cultural values that promote gender equality and human dignity. The strengthening of positive cultural practices could be done through reinforcement of human rights education and law reform. Traditional methods of dealing with sexual and life-skills education need to be reevaluated. There is also the need for partnership among all stakeholders to work toward the realization of the rights of vulnerable groups, especially women and young girls who are affected by parochial traditional practices such as female genital mutilation, child marriages and discriminatory obnoxious initiation, as well as widowhood rites. National governments should introduce reforms in customary laws, constitutional and judicial laws pertaining to marriage, land inheritance rights and family life.

Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Management How could a nation deliberately discriminate against its female citizens to attain higher education and then turn around to complain about lower level of human capacity-building skills? Equal employment opportunity is one aspect of the controversy not limited to the workplace in many African countries. Equality of educational opportunity is therefore the underlying factor in determining whether equal employment exists in occupations that require specialized training as a prerequisite to entry (Menzel 2017; Sylvia 1994). In many African counties, without exception, men and women of ambition are thrown into the lion’s den of getting ahead in wealth, prestige, extraordinary leadership positions and properties. The dilemma of equal employment opportunity in many African countries is that ethical blind spots often arise for yet another reason—the “want” side of male executives overpowers the “should” side. According to Griffin et al. (2016) one explanation for ethical

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blind spot or gap between equal employment opportunities for women and men is that there are no equal education opportunities to achieve capacitybuilding and training in the first place. This illiteracy gap also creates another set of problems. What African governments should do, and actually do, is to reinvigorate the education and capacity-building opportunities for women. Although many educators believe that if people can learn how to engage in the reasoning process it will be more likely to result in right behavior or decision-making this argument may not necessarily be true to situations in most countries in Africa. This assumption is an oxymoron. There is more to education than ethical reasoning (Dibie, 2014). Government ministries, departments and agencies in Africa are often assumed to be the places where human beings carry out their duties with pride and respect for others. Yet an organizational environment dominated by male executives may not necessarily address the needs of all women. And nor are female executives alone, owing to past discriminatory practices, equally capable of addressing gender inequality problems in any society. Nelson and Quick (2013) and Griffin et al. (2017) contend that without a strong infusion of a combination of capable men and women of ethical and leadership values in the ministries and agencies of African organizations, proactive governance is not likely to exist. Another missing component of equal employment opportunities and diversity management in many countries in Africa is that government officials and elected political leaders have not been able to effectively do everything within their power and imagination to build and sustain ethical organizations that could promote the values of equal opportunity for both women and men. Diversity ought to be an end in itself, and not a means to achieving some less noble, politically-motivated objectives (Eyben 2008; Harvey & Allard 2002; Palash 2012). Second, if equal opportunity is intended to serve as compensation for past injustices, then it is flawed as a form of redress, since there is seldom anything that links past victims and present beneficiaries. What it does, in effect, is to seriously devalue (or certainly undervalue) the qualifications of those whose forebears stand accused of discriminating against previous generations of the new “in-group.” This is surely tantamount to replacing one system of injustice with another (Dibie, cited in McGovern & Wallimann, 2012). In order to alleviate the status of women in African countries public administrators and political leaders must learn to lead with integrity, although it is not only a matter of enacting gender policies. In addition, new women’s cooperative societies must be galvanized to fight for women’s rights that are also human rights. Other individuals must also aspire to lead a virtuous life rooted in honesty, benevolence, compassion, and fairness.

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Reforms in Political Leadership The area where most African political leaders have woefully failed is greed, illegally acquiring wealth that they enjoy at the expense of their suffering citizens and dilapidated infrastructure. Menzel (2017) contends that a sense of ethical superiority is a potential trapdoor through which one can plummet in the quest to lead with integrity. African governments need to prosecute those who violate human rights laws. They must also enforce laws that have to do with rape, gender-based violence, murder and torture. No African nation should condone discrimination against women or any form of sexual abuse. According to Harrington & Carter, 2017), prevention is the best tool for the elimination of sexual harassment. Governments must, therefore, take all steps necessary to prevent sexual harassment from occurring, such as affirmatively raising the subject, expressing strong disapproval, developing appropriate sanctions and informing employees of their rights under the national law to raise the issue of harassment (Harrington & Carter, 2017). Although the accountability link between the public and African bureaucrats appears too remote, it is nonetheless very important that the government, the private sector and nongovernmental organizations operating on the African continent elevate the priority for women in development plans. In the twenty-first century, development should not focus only on power plants, good roads, health care, technology, dams, and defense; rather, governments need to put people and families first (Dibie, 2009). It is therefore paramount for NGOs, the public and private sectors to ensure that women’ empowerment and capacity-building are their number-one priority in achieving sustainable development in Africa. There is also the crucial need to increase transparency of the law-making process through the use of courts in order to render administrative agencies more authority to enforce the enacted policies and due process (Dibie 2014; Porter-OGrady & Malloch 2015).

Protection of Women from Disease Many African countries are currently facing devastating challenges to development. One such problem is the HIV/AIDS epidemic (Martin, 2012). This disease has taken a heavy toll on the lives and parents of children. There have been several reports about the staggering costs in terms of social upheaval and human suffering. It is also unfortunate that AIDS has drastically cut down workers in their prime years of productivity. In the past two decades, female workers’ deaths and illnesses

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have taken a financial and emotional toll on businesses operating in Africa (Jette, 2003). It is therefore essential that governments, nongovernmental organizations, and the for-profit private sector unite to form a sexual and reproductive health movement on seeking solutions to address the HIV/AIDS disease in the continent. NGOs should collaborate with local health departments and family planning agencies and clinics on the front lines in preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (Dibie cited in McGovern and Wallimann 2012). There is the immediate need for African governments to enact clear policies on how to effectively address the spread of this dangerous disease, as well as strategies to treat those already infected. It is paramount for African governments to jointly contribute money toward combating the HIV and AIDS problem in their respective countries. As a matter of fact, there is no excuse for them not to do so, because if a government can spend US$500 million on guns and ammunition, I do not see why they could not do the same to save lives (Jette, 2003). Apart from government providing avenues for education, training teachers to talk about AIDS prevention can be an effective precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the disease. Another possible solution is giving people access to treatment. It is reported that more than 6.2 million people have access to treatment, and they live on average more than 30 years; however much needs to be done to help affected women and their children (Martin 2012). Furthermore, workplace programs and policies should be enacted in collaboration with stakeholders—e.g. African governments, nongovernment organizations, trade union, and employee representatives—to ensure employee safety and support ((Dibie & Dibie 2012; Terrazas, 1999). There is also the need for the manufacturing of female condoms. These condoms should be made affordable and acceptable, and might simultaneously prevent unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and the AIDS virus itself. Access to health services by vulnerable groups, especially women in the rural areas, must be ensured (Dibie & Dibie 2012; Martin 2012). Thus, the fundamental right of every person to be treated in a manner that reflects the inherent value of human beings is the guiding principle of all human relationships.

Equity and Women’s Citizenship In any nation, men and women contribute to the development process. As in most Western industrial countries, African nations must recognize equity, equality and women’s empowerment as the necessary pre-requisites for women’s ability to enjoy the right to the highest attainable standard of sexual and reproductive health. In most Western industrialized countries, women are

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encouraged to be equal partners with men. This practice should be encouraged in Africa, in order to transform gender relations and achieve sustained equity and social justice. African nations should therefore introduce groundbreaking public policies that would encourage progressive measures to ensure the fulfillment of women’s rights. NGOs and government institutions should promote popular education campaigns on gender rights, gendersensitive issues and the socialization of children. In addition, African governments and NGOs should promote women’s sexual rights, including their rights to bodily integrity, their freedom to determine their sexual lives, and their freedom from sexual violence, coercion, discrimination and ostracism. The current practice of entrenched, structural, gendered inequities and inequalities is manifested in economic powerlessness, and in inadequate legal protection from violations such as gender-based violence. These current practices in a number of African nations have resulted in women and girls not being accorded their equal rights and citizenship. Passing public policy that allocates quotas of seats for women, and engaging in electoral politics, are the leading models for reaching the goals of achieving women’s citizenship across Africa.

Community Home Economics Program The formal instrument for women’s development in various African nations is the Ministry or Department of Social Development, Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. Broad policies and guidelines on women’s development emanate from these ministries. Prominent among such development programs is the Community Home Economics that include day care center management. This is designed to enlighten women in rural areas on modern methods of home-keeping and child-care. Another women’s development program is the Community Development Training Center. The center undertakes the training of rural women, teachers, and front-line women leaders to enable them to motivate their citizens towards undertaking self-help projects and to handle the various day care centers (Palmary et al. 2009; Buchanan 1993, Kuye 2003). Although women dominated the teaching and nursing professions in several African nations, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs should do a better job in communicating their roles in the women’s empowerment process to both women and men.

Reforms in Adult Education Program with Women issues Focus The Adult Education program of the Ministry or Department of Education, though not an exclusive women’s policy affair, has also presented policy

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instruments for enhancing women’s development. Women are largely illiterate in comparison with their male folks, and would therefore benefit from adult education programs of the national and various regional governments. It is pertinent to note that most African nations have set up a National Education Agency and consequently, several regional governments have been directed to set aside some of their capital budget on education for the agency (Ibe 1994; McGovern & Wallimann 2009). Some African governments have started operating a scholarship scheme for interested female candidates who do exceptionally well in science, technology, mathematics and other science-related subjects. Some technical colleges have been devoted to the enhancement of women’s development in a number of African countries (Buchanan, 1993). Also, indicative of government policy is the use of mass media to promote women’s education. In this vein, both the national education ministry and state governments seek to encourage parents to send their female children to school. In most rural regions, the official position is to prosecute parents who either withdraw their daughters from school for marriage, or encourage their daughters to trade on the streets or farms. Several African governments have also established a Commission for Women’s Affairs to enhance the social and economical status of women. In addition, NGOs and a number of African governments have issued decrees abolishing abuses against women, improving their health status by discouraging such practices as early marriage and female circumcision. The former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, announced the establishment of a new Ministry for Women’s Affairs in his 2000 budget speech. This is a continuation of General Sani Abacha’s legacy of 1995. The rationale for the establishment of a women’s ministry is that it will encourage women to enter the labor force and supply a wide range of talents and services that are required for sustainable development in Nigeria. This will in turn improve the productivity and economic growth of the continent. In the management of businesses and industries, however, women are conspicuously absent. The governments and NGOs in Africa should establish an atmosphere where women will be seen as transformational managers and innovative entrepreneurs. It is not the technical, but the sociological aspects of industrial and business management that militate against success for women in professional occupations.

Pressure from Civil Society Groups Further political pressure from NGOs, multinational corporations, civil society groups, governments, lenders and international donors, and by men and women dedicated to sexual equality, will be vital to ensure that women’s

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interests are not neglected. These groups range from rural co-operative societies to professional occupational associations, to urban business enterprises, to social welfare, church, and entertainment groups. Although they may not have originated as such, many of these groups have developed an expressly political focus. Through the use of these NGOs or civil society groups, women’s protest has assumed widely divergent forms. Some civil society organizations are seeking to politicize the private domain in certain contexts. Nonsexist education and training for women and men, as well as equal access to jobs, property, and leadership positions, must be provided. African nations will not achieve their development goals if women’s full humanity and citizenship is not acknowledged and vigorously protected. Even if legal reforms make the economic situation of wives more secure, African men must be educated on other ways to boost their ego, redirect their anger and curb their chauvinism. Beating one’s wife is surely not an option. The media should be used to educate the people of Africa that cultural values that encourage family abuse are no longer valid in the twenty-first century. African women should realize that the degree of success they will experience in curtailing any opposition from men and in averting gender stereotyping in their nation is dependent on their ability to enlist men as allies. The extent to which this would be possible in Africa hinges on women’s ability to convince men that their new social space and new gender identities are non-threatening, mutually benefiting, and greater than a zero-sum game. African nations in the twenty-first century should change the notion of women as specialized homemakers and men as providers. There should be a mutual understanding that both women and men have an obligation to participate in the labor market regardless of gender and domestic responsibilities. The lack of cooperation between various government services—such as police, courts, social welfare, and health—only exacerbates women’s problems. Abused women need many services that cannot be provided by only one agency. The lack of collaboration between agencies results in increased inaccessibility, although some African nations are beginning address this problem by fostering collaboration between NGOs, the private sector, and governmental agencies for abused women. More efforts and resources need to be deployed to help women faced with this dilemma in most African nations. Finally, African nations would be able to strive towards achieving sustainable development if they could anchor the effective mobilization of women in politics and governance. African women should endeavor to be entrepreneurs. This is because entrepreneurship is especially important for persons such as women and minority groups who face glass ceilings and who

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have been marginalized in the wider society. The fact of the matter is that placing women in business or political positions and leadership in governance is only a fraction of what is representative democracy. Politics and governance are not just about governments, states and elections. Politics encompass the broader questions of voices, identities, parity, justice and social change that women can benefit from across Africa. In addition, the gender dimension of infrastructure and road building programs are often ignored by African governments. Government infrastructure programs should be designed to maximize women’s and men’s access to the benefits of businesses, roads, telecommunications, energy and water. Infrastructure that could help women to carry out everyday chores more efficiently, such as piped water, and could also free up time for educational opportunities (OCED; 2010). The long-term outcome is that government investment in infrastructure could bring returns in the form of increased women’s engagement in market-based activities, entrepreneurship, and greater productivity and thus economic growth and sustainable development (OCED 2011; Dibie 2014).

Conclusion This chapter has examined the persistence of gender-inequality issues in Africa. It argues that because inequalities directly result in poor economic and social human development outcomes, gender equality and empowered women are paramount for achieving sustainable development in Africa. It is therefore crucial for African countries to invest in gender equality in order to yield the highest returns of all development investment (Falola & Amponsah 2012; OCED 2011; Palash 2012). According to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC) (2012), higher women’s empowerment and bargaining power translates into investment in children’s education, health and nutrition, which leads to economic growth and sustainable development. The share of women in waged and salary work grew from 42 per cent in 1997 to 46 per cent in 2007. In addition, agricultural output in Africa could increase up to 20 per cent if women’s access to agricultural input was equal to men’s (Palmary et al. 2009; OECD 2011). Further, the number of female-owned businesses in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America is growing rapidly and with that growth come direct impacts on job creation and poverty reduction (UKDID, 2010). Thus, there should be a general understanding and appreciation that if things are going to be better in Africa, women must play a vital role (Palash 2012).

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Despite several decades of social, economic and political discrimination against women across Africa, women often invest a higher proportion of their earnings in families and communities than men (Palmary et al. 2009; OCED 2011). Therefore, increasing the role of women in the economy is part of the solution to the financial and economic crisis, and also critical to sustainable development (OCED, 2011). Improving the conditions and quality of jobs to ensure that women are able to maximize their productivity, earn a decent salary and have access to benefits such as maternity leave, sick pay, and other forms of social protection can potentially contribute significantly to poverty reduction and provide safety nets that could sustain communities in their respective African countries (Dibie & Sam-Okere 2015). It would not be an overstatement to argue, therefore, that investing in women and girls in Africa would have a multiplier effect on productivity, efficiency and sustainable development. Therefore, African men, women, and governments should learn from William Golding 1911-1993 words. Golding contends that: I think women are foolish to pretend they are equal to men. They are far superior and always have been. Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she will give you a baby. If you give her a house, she will give you a home. If you give her groceries, she will give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she will give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit! (Golding, 1911-1993)

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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Ligaya Lindio-McGovern, Ph.D. is a Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at Indiana University Kokomo USA. She is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago, USA. Dr. McGovern is the former director of Women’s Studies at Indiana University Kokomo. She has authored several books on gender related issues such as: Globalization and Third World Women published by Ashgate Press; Filipino Peasant Women: Exploration and Resistance by University of Pennsylvania Press. Dr. McGovern has also published several articles in various journals and edited books. She has conducted field research on gender issues in various sites such as England, Columbia, Canada, Taiwan, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Netherland, Spain, the Philippines, several cities in the United States and many Third World countries. She has also held elected positions in professional organizations, such as the Society for the Study of Social Problems and the Midwest Sociological Society, USA. Reuben Sebenzile. Masango, Ph.D. is a Professor and Director of the School of Government and Social Sciences at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University at Port Elizabeth in South Africa. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of South Africa. He also holds a Secondary Teachers Diploma. His field of specialization is Public Administration and Diversity Management. His main area of interest is public participation, shared governance, diversity management and civil society. He is the author of the following books: Public Participation in Policy-Making and Implementation: A South African Perspective with Reference to the Port Elizabeth Municipality published by Lambert Academic Publishing Press, South Africa; Enhancing the Efficacy of Public Participation in PolicyMaking and Implementation through Civic Education: A South African Perspective published by The Learner Collection, South Africa. Professor Masango has also published several articles in South African national journals. Saliwe Kawewe, Ph.D. is a Professor and Acting Director of the School of Social Work at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She was the former Graduate Program Director in the same institution where she has

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been working since 1996. She obtained a Ph.D. from Saint Louis University in 1985, an MSW from George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in Saint Louis in 1979, and a BSW from the University of Zambia in 1974. She has a diverse background experience entailing administration and social work practice in Zambia, and Zimbabwe in Africa, as well as child welfare in the United States. Dr. Kawewe has a commendable record of scholarship and has been recognized with over 15 academic awards and honors for teaching effectiveness including community and professional service. In addition to publishing over 37 refereed articles including book chapters and conference proceedings, she has attended over 40 conferences making over 40 national and international professional presentations in the U.S., the Caribbean Islands, Asia, Europe, and Africa. She is consulting editor for Social Development Issues; on the editorial board of Journal of African Policy Studies; Journal of Women and Language; Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Services and has served on the editorial boards of National Women Studies Journal: NWSA and manuscript and abstract reviewer for various conferences Lyn Snodgrass, Ph.D. is a Professor of Conflict Resolution and Gender Studies. She is also the Chair of the Department of Political Science and Conflict Studies at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University at Port Elizabeth, Summerstrand Campus in South Africa. Professor Snodgrass has published several peer-reviewed journal articles in topics such as gender, justice, human rights and peace. Her research interests are in the areas of gender empowerment, women in the transformation processes, conflict resolution, negotiation, mediation and facilitation. Mariam Konaté, Ph.D is an Associate Professor in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at Western Michigan University. Her work examines the lives of women of African descent in the West as well as in Africa. Her newest research project explores the relevance of father absence to African-American women’s heterosexual dating experiences. The changing roles of African women who, through the interplay of gender, economics and power, are redefining themselves in America and in postcolonial African societies are central to Dr. Konaté’s research and teaching. Her book, Heroism and the Supernatural in the African Epic (Routledge, 2010) underscores the crucial role women play in the hero’s life and rise to power as well as in his initiation to supernatural powers. Women’s empowerment through self-determination is ubiquitous in the

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writings of many contemporary African and African-American women writers whose works Konaté teaches in her courses. Josephine Dibie, DBA is a Lecturer in Management and Accounting at Indiana University Kokomo. She has conducted several field researches in Africa. Dr. Dibie is the author and co-author of more than a dozen articles and book chapters. She has published extensively in NGOs and women empowerment in Africa. Her publications have appeared in the International Journal of Politics and Development, Journal of Asian and African Studies, and the Journal of African Policy Studies. Her research interests are in the areas of corporate executive compensation, political economy of leadership in Africa, NGOs, women capacity building and empowerment, sustainable development, economic growth in Africa and corporate social responsibility in Africa. She holds a Doctorate in Business Administration. She also earned a Master of Public Administration from Indiana State University; an M.B.A. from the University of Benin; a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Ibadan; and a Bachelor of Science in Statistics from the University of Nigeria, Nnsuka. Leonard Gadzekpo, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Africana Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Dr. Gadzekpo was born in Cote d'Ivoire and grew up in Ghana. He got his first degree from the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, and taught in Ghana and Nigeria. He spent four years in Germany as an artist working on religious art pieces for the St. Stepanus Katholische Gemeinde in Oldenburg and studied at Universitaet Oldenburg and Salzburg Universitaet, Austria. From 1990 to 1997 he did graduate studies at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio and earned a M. A. in German, a M. F. A. in Painting and a Ph. D. in American Cultural Studies. Dr. Gazekpo’s writing and research interests are in the areas of gender studies, women empowerment for sustainable development in Africa and comparative study of Africana history and culture. He has also presented his research papers in many national and international conferences. Dr. Gadzekpo is also presently working on a series of paintings dealing with the Africana experience in the world. Federica De Sisto, Ph.D. holds a Ph.D. in Peace Studies from Trinity College Ireland. She is a former visiting fellow at the Arthur Mauro Center for Peace and Justice at the University of Manitoba, Canada and at the

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Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. Dr. De Sisto is currently involved in a European Union reconciliation project between Muslim and Christian communities in Northern Nigeria. Her research and teaching interests include gender empowerment and development, conflict transformation and peace building, diversity in governance, minorities' rights, migration, and refugee studies. Helen Tsegaye Ph.D. is a lecturer at the University of South Africa Pretoria. She has conducted several field researches in Ethiopia and South Africa. She used to be a woman activist in Ethiopia. Her research interests are in women empowerment, food nutrition, and sustainable development. She is the co-author of several papers on gender issues in Africa. After completing her Ph.D., she decided to teach courses relating to gender and sustainable development. She has also presented her research papers in national and international conferences in South Africa, Ethiopia, and United States. Josephine Dawuni, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Howard University Washington D.C. An attorney by training, she has worked in her native Ghana as a barrister at law and in the banking industry in Manchester, United Kingdom. Dawuni has a certificate in women's studies and much of her research focuses on issues of gender and the judiciary, gender and development, and international human rights law. Dawuni has attended and presented at many professional conferences in the USA, Canada and South Africa. She is a reviewer for publication for the African Journal of Political Science and International Relations, Jenda: A Journal of Culture and African Women's Studies, and Sage Journals Online. Desmond Brown, Ph.D. is Chair of the Department of Hospitality and Tourism and Professor at Bethune-Cookman University, Daytona Beach, Florida USA. He received his Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg. He has served as director of graduate studies; program director, and coordinator of internship in the Department of Nutrition & Food Science at the University of Kentucky. His research papers have appeared in the Journal of the Hospitality & Tourism Research; Journal of Vacation Marketing; Journal of Applied Hospitality Management; Development Policy Management Bulletin; International Journal of Hospitality Management. He has also conducted several field

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researches relating to gender issues in Kenya, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Nigeria and several other countries. Fredah Mainah Ph.D. is an organization and business psychologist who supports personal and organizational lifelong learning and well-being through holistic and outcomes-based self-reflective approaches. She has many years of international teaching and coaching experience gained from working in various countries. Presently, she is a lecturer of management practice, globalization and women studies at Western Michigan University. She is also a visiting lecturer of foreign languages at Kalamazoo College in Michigan where she facilitates study abroad program in foreign language, culture acquisition and gender empowerment. Fredah is a strong advocate of collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to problem solving. She has conducted many field researches in Kenya and other African countries. Several of her research papers have been presented at national and international conferences. Her research and teaching interests include leadership, equity, women empowerment and social change. Justina Sam Okere, Ph.D. is lecturer in Political Science at Babcock University, Nigeria. She received her Ph.D. degree from the same institution with specialty in women empowerment policy. Her research papers have been presented in international conferences in Nigeria, Jamaica, Ghana, and United States. Her research interests are in the areas gender policy, NGOs and Sustainable Development in Africa, women performance in the workplace, women capacity building and education policy; African culture, religion and women socialization. Her recent research work has appeared in the Journal of International politics and Development; African Public Service Delivery and Performance review. Maryam Omolara Quadri, Ph.D. is a Senior lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Lagos, Nigeria; where she has taught since 2000. She has supervised several post-graduate students’ research thesis. Dr. Quadri received her Ph. D from the University of Lagos. She was a visiting scholar at Kennesaw State University, Atlanta in the United States in 2011. She was also a recipient of the commonwealth professional fellowship at the University of Roehamton, London, United Kingdom in 2012 as well as the American Political Science Association Africa Workshop Award, Maputo, Mozambique in 2014. Dr. Quadri has published more than twenty-one peer reviewed journal articles; covering topics in urbanization; the role of the state in development, public policy;

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Feminization of Poverty; Poverty and Stable Economy, Administration to Management, Africa’s Health Burden, and the Nature of Behavior in Organizations. Her publications have appeared in the Africa’s Journal of Institutions and Development, The Journal of Pan African Studies, Journal of Society, Development and Public Health, International Review of Politics and Development, Nigerian Journal of Policy and Strategy and so on. She has also conducted consultancy services for a variety of government departments and NGOs in Africa. Dr. Quadri research interests are in public policy, development administration, sustainable development, and political economy. Robert Dibie, Ph.D. is Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, Public Management and Environmental Studies at Indiana University Kokomo’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA). He has been dean and senior higher education administrator for many years. Previously, Professor Dibie served as the director of graduate programs in public administration at Western Kentucky University. Professor Dibie is the author of several books, book chapters, and more than 90 research articles in peer-refereed journals. His latest books are: Comparative Perspectives on Environmental Policy and Issues by Routledge Press; Public Administration: Analysis, Theories and Application by Babcock University Press. His research articles have appeared in the International Journal of Public Administration; Journal of African Policy Studies, Journal of Developing Societies, Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare; Journal of Social Justice, Journal of African and Asian Studies; Politics Administration and Change Journal and so on. He has presented more than 120 academic papers in national and international conferences, focusing on issues of sustainable development, public management, public policy, women empowerment, environmental policies, development administration, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). As a nationally recognized leader in higher education, Professor Dibie has presented many seminars, workshops and lectures in the areas of Higher Education Leadership, Public Policy, Environmental Policy, Gender Empowerment and Sustainable Development in many universities around the world. He is a member of several professional academic organizations and currently serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of many scholarly journals. He has also consulted for several NGOs and universities in the United States, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean Islands.