Promoting Gender Equality Essay

For centuries wowork force were not treated equal to men in many a(prenominal) an(prenominal) ways. They were not allowed to own property, they did not consume a Sh are in the property of their parents, they had no voting rights, they had no freedom to choose their work or job and so on. Now that we have come out of those dark days of oppression of women there is a need for strong movement to skirmish 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. The present seminar has been planned with a view to discuss the various issues related to the Empowerment of Women and to suggest measures for achieving this end.The body of enquiry on womens empowerment has conceptualized and defined this construct in many ways and used different terms, oftentimes interchangeably, including autonomy,status, and agency (Lee-Rife and Edmeades 2011 Malhotra et al. 2002 Upadhyay and Hindin 2005).see moreexamples of sexual activity equalityA review of the literature also shows different measures for the resembling conceptualization. For example, studies often measure womens autonomy with an index that valuatees their participation in decision-making in various household issues. This index represents womens degree of control all over their environment. Some researchers include both major and minordecisions, while others include only major decisions, excluding day-to-day household decisions and those that are tralatitiously within the womans domain. Womens empowerment encompasses many dimensions, including economic, socio- pagan, familial/interpersonal, legal, political, and psychological (Malhotra et al. 2002), which contributes to the wide variation in conceptualizations of womens empowerment. Given this variation in conceptualization, it is ticklish to measure womens empowerment consistently. Kabeer (2001), whose definition is widely accepted, defines empowerment as the expansion of p eoples ability to make strategic life choices in a context where this ability was previously denied to them.Two central components of empowerment are agency and resources needed to exercise life choices (Kabeer 2001 Malhotra et al. 2002). Even with a clear definition, these constructs are difficult to quantify in a stock(a)ized way.Additionally, to measure empowerment at an individual level, researchers must translate the amorphous constructs into a set of specific questions that population- animald surveys flush toilet ask of individual respondents (Kishor and Subaiya 2008). Another challenge is the variation in cultural contexts that affect the measurement of womens empowerment. It is desirable to use standardized questions that enable cross-cultural comparisons of empowerment.Yet a measure that captures empowerment in one context may have limited relevance in another, as is the case with measures that assess mobility in a community where womens free movement is the norm. Whi le many existing measures of empowerment were originally conceptualized and developed for the context of Asia, and for South Asiatic countries in particular (Dyson and Moore 1983 Mason 1987), measures that are universally applicable regardless of the grammatical gender equity environment, such as those used in Demographic and wellness Surveys (DHS), are most useful for cross-national comparisons.Using the available standardized measures of womens empowerment among several population-based samples from sub-Saharan Africa will allow us to make comparisons and punter understand whether the available measures adequately capture empowerment in these settings. It is still unknown whether the kindred dimensions of empowerment that were developed elsewhere are relevant in sub-Saharan Africa, where the gender environment is completely different than in other regions. In Africa, empowerment is likely to look different than elsewhere because of such differences as more working women who hav e control over their earnings, more polygamy, more nuclear families (as opposed to extended families), and larger ideal family size, and because womens status is often tied to their fertility.EMPOWERMENT AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHA broad body of research exists on womens empowerment and reproductive outcomes. Substantial research, primarily rivet on Asia, demonstratesthat womens empowerment is associated with contraceptive use (Gwako 1997 Morgan and Niraula 1995 Schuler et al. 1997 Woldemicael 2009), lower fertility (Balk 1994 Dyson and Moore 1983 Hindin 2000), and longer birth intervals (Upadhyay and Hindin 2005). Some researchers have suggested that womens empowerment is a pick out pathway through which education influences fertility (Jejeebhoy 1995 Mason 1987). To operationalize womens empowerment, much of the research literature uses the previously mentioned index of participation in house holddecision-making.The standard DHS questionnaire includes a set of questions about househ old decision-making. Other approaches include assessing womens acceptance of reasons that a husband is justified for beating his wife, and also reasons that a wife is justified in refusing sex with her husband (Ethiopian Society of Population Studies 2008). The DHS includes questions about these issues. such(prenominal) gender-role attitudes measure the extent of womens acceptance of norms that justify mens control over women. As expected, they are associated with lower levels of power over household decision-making among women (Dhaher et al. 2010 Hindin 2003 Linos et al. 2010).MAJOR OBSTACLES TO THE PROMOTION OF GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWERMENTNotwithstanding the far-flung commitment shown through the ratification of international and regional gender equality frameworks, normative gains are not but abundanty reflected in substantial changes in womens lives, as shown in the preceding section. Large gaps remain between policy and practice and it is the aim of this section to discus s some of the major challenges that have been experienced. Continued presence of strong cultural and traditional practices constraining age in achieving gender parity The continued presence of long standing cultural and traditional practices that discriminate against women and girls have constrained the progress towards achieving gender equality. Discriminatory practices and public attitudes towards the advancement of women and gender equality have not changed at the same pace as policy, legal and institutional frameworks. deprivation of ratification of the instruments that promote gender equality Previous sections have identified the status with respect to a number of regional instruments, particularly the African Womens Protocol. Some countries are yet to sign this instrument, while a considerable number are yet to ratify it. Ineffective institutional and policy implementation mechanisms Thirteen years after the adoption of the BPFA by the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 , the greatest challenge face up countries and regional institutions is the effective implementation of the adopted commitments. Good policies that do not have well formulated implementation plans and resources offer the policies ineffective. In some countries, the capacity of gender machineries has also contributed to the slow pace.Some policies are not effectively implemented because they were not developed in a participatory way inclusive of both men and women. drop of targets with well defined time-frames are also some of the factors that have hampered effective implementation of policies. Lack of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms also plays a significant role in the lack of implementation. Moreover, some policies tend to focus on the symptoms rather than addressing the persistent vestigial causes of gender inequality. African women, especially those living in rural communities and those with disabilities, still face exclusion from participating in development processes t hat can empower them and remediate gender equality. It is crucial to undertake inclusive participatory approaches in policy development that involve women as equal partners.Lack of adequate resourcesLack of humans and financial resources severely limits gender mainstreaming to achieve gender equality and womens empowerment. Even in situations where a comprehensive plan of action for gender mainstreaming has been developed, countries may not have adequate resources to implement the plan. In particular National gender Machineries (NGMs) experience limited financial and other material resource base to enhance the implementation of gender equality mandates, roles and responsibilities. In addition, there are gaps in human capacity, there is generally a challenge with respect to gender competence skills of officers in the NGMs to influence the engendering of macro-economic and sector policy frameworks. There is high staff turn over of experts, and low staff retention, most countries ar e facing difficulties of retaining and sustaining staff with the necessary expertise.Continued presence of strong cultural and traditional practices constraining progress in achieving gender parity in education In taking decisions with respect to the education of their children, some families continue to have preference for educating boys rather than girls. As noted female-to-male school enrolment, retention and completion favor boys in a majority of countries. Very few countries have female to male enrolment rates that favor girls over boys and these countries have been making progress to restitution the situation. Continued presence of strong cultural and traditional practices constraining progress in achieving gender parity in health Some cultural and traditional practices continue to inhibit progress in the area of sexual and reproductive rights. Women and girls continue to risk death from maternal mortality.There is need to provide convenient sexual and reproductive healthcar e services and education to reduce maternal mortality. Such interventions need to address the roles of both men and women. The rate of HIV contagion is much higher among women than men and in this regard, governments must establish and monitor strict legal frameworks to address the vulnerability of women and girls. Furthermore, access to anti-retroviral treatment should be ensured. Lack of enforcement of laws that promote gender equality and lack of knowledge of laws In some countries laws that promote gender equality are in place, however lack of enforcement of such laws leads to the perpetuation of gender inequalities and violence against women. In some countries, laws are in place, but interpretation of these laws is lacking and as such, they are not enforced.Lack of full involvement of men and boysChanging cultural and traditional beliefs including patriarchy requires the involvement of men, and boys in the promotion of gender equality through innovative rights-based, culturally exquisite programmes and continued education and sensitization.Continued lack of recognition of womens unpaid workThe continued lack of recognition of unpaid work (domestic, reproductive, care and support) performed by women hampers the development of policies that can effectively promote gender equality. There is therefore need for such work to be given due recognition in the computation of national income.Limited role of the mediaThe media can play a major role in promoting gender equality beyond what it is currently doing. In particular in creating awareness, sensitization and education campaigns to change patriarchal attitudes. As noted before establishing new laws unaccompanied is not enough existing gendered societal relations and cultural norms may quickly shape these laws. There is need for measures to counter preexisting social forces through education and training of both men and women. The media can make a major contribution towards promoting these gender equality mes sages.Lack of sex disaggregated and gender responsive entropySex-disaggregated data and information from gender-sensitive indicators are often not collected, lost in aggregation of published data, or not used. Gender responsive data would help in tracking the progress made towards achievement of gender equality.SUGGESTED RECOMMENDATIONSTranslation of commitments and policies promoting gender equality and womens empowerment into action on the ground remains a major challenge in Africa. Based on the findings of this study, this section highlights some recommendations that can help countries successfully implement the commitments and policies aimed at promoting gender equality and womens empowerment. Improved research and collection of gender responsive statistical data It is important to systematically collect accurate sex and gender disaggregated data and conduct research that is substantial for monitoring and evaluating progress towards achievement of gender equality and womens em powerment.More efforts are needed to build capacity of national experts to collect gender disaggregated data in order to enhance integration of gender perspectives in the development process. Strengthen documentation and dissemination of information on promoting gender equality and womens empowerment Sharing of information is important within countries, between countries and internationally and is critical to the success of achieving gender equality and womens empowerment. There is need to enhance documentation of experiences with successful and unsuccessful practices and widely disseminate this information. It is important for member States, development partners and international and regional bodies to identify information exchange systems that can facilitate wide exchange of this information in the region.CONCLUSIONThe Empowerment of women has become one of the most important Concerns of 21st century not only at national level but also at the international level. Efforts by the Govt. are on to ensure Gender equality but Government initiatives alone would not be sufficient to achieve this goal. Society must take initiative to create a climate in which there is no gender discrimination and Women have full opportunities of Self decision making and participating in the Social, Political and Economic life of the Country with a sense of equality.As countries around the world work to promote gender equality and empower women as part of achieving the Millennium cultivation Goals, it can be expected that essential for smaller families will follow. Additionally, family planning programs can address womens empowerment as part of their mission to help women and couples have only the number of children they want. Such programs are likely to generate interest in family planning services, create demand for smaller families, and also reduce unwanted fertility.REFRENCES_Abadian, S. 1996. Womens Autonomy and Its involve on foulness. World Development 24(12)1793-1809._Gw ako, E.L. 1997. 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