Podcast entry

Gender inequality in Africa is a prominent problem that affects women's access to education, employment, and economic opportunities. Cultural and religious beliefs often marginalize and discriminate against women, leading to limited access to education and low-paid jobs. Some African countries, such as Ivory Coast and Gabon, are making progress in enhancing women's rights and access to employment and finance. Rwanda has achieved a majority female government, but the benefits have been mostly seen by urban elite women, while rural women have not experienced the same improvements. Gender inequality also contributes to the HIV epidemic in Africa, with women being more susceptible to infection due to factors like limited education, poverty, and sexual violence. African countries need to develop better strategies to address these issues and prioritize gender equality in all aspects of society. Hi, my name is Lisa Adair and my name is Aimee Elliott. Our podcast today is on gender inequality in Africa. In our podcast, we will discuss the effects of gender inequality within different countries in Africa and the progress that certain countries have made to tackle these problems. Gender inequality is a prominent problem within Africa. African countries need to address structural barriers that discriminate against women accessing education, employment and income, as well as cultural and religious restrictions. We know for a fact that women play an important role in development, but their status in Africa does not reflect their contributions. Enhancing women's status would also help women's economic growth and development. The World Bank report states that failure to include women in all aspects of life is responsible for the continued underdevelopment of countries in sub-Saharan Africa as it is associated with poverty, slower economic growth, weaker governance and lower quality of life with gender disparities. Gender inequalities vary in different African countries because they each have different laws and legislations. Some countries suffer greater than others. Nigerian women, for example, suffer from discrimination, marginalisation and exploitation by men, which are all due to their cultural and religious beliefs that place men on pedestals in their culture. Women, sadly, are seen as second-class citizens. We will now discuss a bit of background information on gender inequality in Africa. From what we know, the form that gender inequality takes in Africa reflects indigenous, pre-colonial and European influences. The European expansion into Africa during the colonial period both undermined sources of status and autonomy that women had and strengthened elements of indigenous male dominance. Although many advances have taken place, gender inequality still persists in Africa and it is an ongoing problem. And what would you say are the main areas in which women suffer from gender inequality? Well, it is infecting women in various forms of life, such as economic constraint, low political participation, insufficient access to education, cultural and religious restrictions and a high burden of family responsibilities. Also, throughout history, African education systems have prioritised male giving them access to education while females took on domestic roles. And have African women gained more access to education? Strides have taken for women to access education but many barriers still remain such as cultural norms, early marriage and teenage pregnancy due to a lack of access to contraception. And isn't it true as well that due to cultural norms, many young girls are sadly still expected to prioritise their household chores over getting an education and that they are also led to believe that their duties lie within the household rather than pursuing their own careers? Unfortunately, yes, it is true. Young marriage also plays a big part in lack of education. For example, a study has shown that in West Africa, 44% of women aged 20 to 24 were married before the age of 15. In Gambia, Guinea and Senegal, it is reported that 2 out of 3 girls were married to men at least 10 years older. These child marriages then result in young girls not receiving a proper education. And since women are receiving a lack of education, what does that mean for their working life? Women are disproportionately located in the informal economy and are in low paid roles, often with harsh working conditions. And why are the women limited to the informal economy? Well, women often struggle to gain access to credit and financial services for their businesses due to legal barriers such as male consent and collateral. Although gender inequality in Africa still remains a major problem, there are many countries that are making remarkable strides towards achieving legal gender equality, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Would you be able to give an example of some of these countries and elaborate more? Well, the Ivory Coast and Gabon are both enacting multiple reforms that enhance women's access to employment and finance. These reforms include the elimination of restrictions on women's employment and a new legislation protecting women from gender-based discrimination in financial services and also domestic violence. Has research shown you that these reforms have been successful? Yes, well, both of these countries also got over a score of 90 on the World Bank's Women's Business and Law Index, which measures the equality of economic opportunity. These advances are important as it allows women to pursue new employment opportunities. To add to this, I have also noticed that other countries that have seen changes, for example, Togo has also made strides since November 2022. They enacted some legal changes. These changes were prohibiting gender-based discrimination in access to credit, enacting new legislation to address domestic violence, the protection of pregnant women against dismissal and equalising rights related to marriage. These changes are important as they empower women to access employment and financial services and they also protect women from violence and discrimination. Do you believe that the changes that are being made are enough? Although there are changes being made currently, more is still required to prioritise gender equality. Governments, civil society organisations and individuals need to create environments for women to contribute to all aspects of society. Women in Africa have historically had low political participation and this is why we find Rwanda particularly interesting. Rwanda is seen as an African success story as it was the first ever majority female government since 2008. The use of gender quotas were used to heighten the numbers of women in politics. The large number of women in government has improved women's career and economic opportunities. It has also overturned the colonial and post-colonial patriarchal gender paradigm which was husbands were working and their wives stayed at home being domestic servants, remaining financially dependent on men. But unfortunately, not all Rwandan women have seen the same success from the majority female government. How do you think it has affected different classes of women? Urban elite women have mostly reaped the benefits of the majority female government as they have had more access to salaried jobs and good positions in national legislature and ministries but rural women in local government have not seen as many benefits and they have definitely seen their workload increased. As a majority female government, has Rwanda seen many changes in relation to women's rights? Yes, Rwanda has definitely extended many additional rights to women such as rape and sexual torture are now classified amongst the most serious crimes and it is now in the genocide statute. More rights are available for pregnant and breastfeeding women in the workplace and they have seen additional children's rights. It is necessary for women to be included in at least 30% of decision-making bodies and they also have extended new gender-based violence laws. Do you think this has benefitted Rwandan women specifically? Yes, I think it has definitely benefitted Rwandan women greatly as they can feel more safe within their workplaces and also crimes are taken more seriously as it is commonly known that gender-based violence is a serious problem within Africa. A recent study that I found has shown that 38% of women in Eastern Africa have reported experienced physical or sexual abuse from intimate partners and I believe that the unreported numbers would increase the percentage a lot. Also, in your opinion, since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, do you think the gender roles have dramatically changed? Yes, I think Rwandan women suddenly found themselves ahead of their household. This is due to their husbands either being dead, in exile, in prison or in the military service. Women now had to adapt to their new roles as the primary economic responsibility within their household which they previously were not allowed within their society as it was prohibited by Rwandan law. How do you think that this would have affected these women? Although the absence of men within the households led women to be able to pursue career and economic opportunities, I believe that it has also led to increased poverty and increased workload for women. Another issue which we will now discuss that is rampant in Africa is the HIV epidemic and evidence suggests that gender inequality contributes to this. Women account for nearly half of 40 million people living with HIV worldwide. How do you think that this HIV problem relates to Africa specifically? For example, a study shows in sub-Saharan Africa that 57% of adults with HIV are women and young women aged 15 to 24 are more than three times as likely to be infected than young men. Tragically, every minute one young woman is infected with HIV. What are African countries doing to try to help this problem? Prevention messages are given to African women to either abstain from sex or use condoms but these messages fail to reflect on the realities of these women's lives. There are many factors which contribute to women's susceptibility to HIV. What would you say are the main factors involved there? Due to limited education and economic opportunities, women often turn to prostitution and sex work due to the pressures of poverty. High numbers of sexual violence also leads women to be vulnerable to HIV. Little education and early marriage is also a contributing factor. African women also face many challenges in accessing healthcare. What do you think needs to be done to help this situation? I think that African countries need to develop better strategies to tackle the HIV problem. Kenya, for example, has had an intervention that provided female sex workers with education on fertility and HIV and AIDS alongside business training and start-up funds and this has led to reductions in the numbers of sexual partners and an increase in condom use. Yes, I absolutely agree with all that you said there. I also believe other countries need to come up with strategies like this and need to spread awareness and educate young women properly to help this ongoing problem. I also think that easier access to healthcare needs to be provided. As we finish today's podcast, it is clear that gender inequality is still a problem within Africa. It affects women in all areas of life such as education, healthcare, employment, and political participation. Although there is progress being made in some countries such as Rwanda, it is clear that much more needs to be done to eliminate gender inequalities. Organizations such as UNICEF are currently still taking action to reduce gender inequality and to support girls to have access to equal rights. UNICEF believes that the completion of school to get a full education, the prevention of child marriages, and providing care to adolescent mothers are all the steps needed to address this issue. Thank you for listening to our podcast.