Is Gender Equality Still Possible?
Decades
of progress toward gender equality have been reversed by the pandemic, with the
most vulnerable populations—such as displaced women and girls—being struck the
hardest. While young women and girls continue to struggle for their rights,
they are unable to do it on their own due to the strong forces that are
fighting against them.
Alaa
Salah, a Sudanese activist, rose to fame after singing to her fellow
demonstrators while perched atop a moving vehicle in Dakar. Vanessa Nakate, a
climate justice activist from Uganda, went from protesting by herself at the
entrance of her nation's parliament to pressing world leaders for action at the
UN. Oumou, a Senegalese activist, has used technology to open up previously taboo
topics like sexuality, personal health, contraception, and period poverty.
These
young women are not alone in their quest for better lives for themselves, their
communities, and the entire planet. Numerous young women and girls from Africa
and other parts of the world are working to alter the power structures that
support injustice and restrict the exercise of fundamental rights by
underprivileged populations. To spark dramatic change, they are giving
speeches, founding NGOs and community initiatives, and marching. This is great
news for everyone because numerous studies have proven that empowering women
and girls benefits entire communities.
However,
strenuous progress toward gender equality is now in danger. Years of gains in
reducing poverty have been undone by the COVID-19 epidemic, which has also
caused a dramatic rise in inequality with disproportionate effects on girls and
women.
According
to studies, families are more inclined to marry off their young daughters when
times are tough economically, denying girls the freedom to decide who they want
to spend the rest of their life with and when and how many children they want
to have. According to UNICEF, COVID-19 will put ten million girls at risk of
being married off as children worldwide during the following ten years.
Additionally, a trend that has been confirmed during the epidemic is that girls
and women are more likely to experience sexual and gender-based violence during
times of crisis.
Lockdowns,
restrictions on movement, and the redirection of funding to pandemic-related
programmes made matters worse by jeopardising access to sexual- and
reproductive-health services, ranging from information on menstruation and
fertility to contraception, as noted by UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to
Health Tlaleng Mofokeng. Many people lost access to specialised services for
victims of gender-based abuse.
All
of this has led to a sharp increase in unintended and early pregnancies and
significantly decreased the likelihood that girls will resume their studies once
the schools reopen. After COVID-19, more than 11 million girls might never go
back to school, according to UNICEF.
Simply
put, decades of progress toward gender equality have been reversed by the
pandemic, with the most vulnerable populations, such as displaced women and
girls, suffering the most. To be sure, young women and girls are persevering
despite such significant obstacles. However, they are unable to defeat the
strong forces pitted against them on their own.
Men's
meaningful participation is essential in this. Initiatives in Senegal like the club’s
des pères (father's clubs) or écoles de maris (husband schools) can
significantly alter the situation. The objective is to promote healthy (rather
than toxic) masculinity, encourage men to shoulder more of the responsibility
of unpaid caregiving, and advance maternal and child health.
Engagement
with local, national, and international leaders in the fields of health,
religion, and women's rights is also crucial. Elevating the platforms of older
women leaders and activists, like "super grandma" Aminata and midwife
Madame Badji, might improve younger women's ambition and impact given the
established ability of female role models to inspire younger generations.
Similarly,
raising the voices of young leaders can energise and motivate their fellow
students. When Ubah Ali, a Somaliland activist, observed other girls in
leadership roles, she became convinced that she could also lead, "raise
her voice," and "be an agent of change." She is currently
fighting to end female genital mutilation in all of Somaliland and supporting
those who have been affected by the practice.
Protecting
and upholding their rights, particularly their sexual and reproductive rights,
may, however, do more to ensure that young women and girls may realise their
potential as agents of change. Although everyone has a part to play,
governments are the ones who should be doing this in the first place.
The
epidemic is only the start. The stakes are as high as the obstacles to progress
on gender equality, which are expected to disproportionately harm women and
girls due to climate change and increased food insecurity. Recognizing the
difficulties girls and women face and highlighting the difficult and crucial
work they are doing are the first steps towards addressing them.
It
would be better for everyone if girls and young women everywhere had equal
power. Therefore, everyone has a stake in seeing that they succeed.