We promote gender equality and women's empowerment across sectors by focusing on improving women's health, increasing their participation in governance at all levels through increasing the political, social and economic rights of women . Across the world, so many women and girls still do not have . Women take on all these responsibilities throughout our nation and should not be denied equal pay or opportunities for work equivalent and in some cases superior to men. Sierra Leone is deeply rooted in traditional attitudes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men (CEDAW, 2014); where decision-making rests with the men (fathers, husbands, brothers), including related to the health, well-being and overall welfare of women (FAO, n.d.). The Sierra Leone Parliament is set to host the HeForShe National Secretariat and hosting further sensitization activities in the provinces. Gender-based violence in or around schools continues to be a serious and pressing problem in Sierra Leone that necessitates greater attention. The issue of gender inequity in Sierra Leone is changing and has been improved over the past few years, but it is still not the best it can be. For example in the healthcare system, drugs which were given as aid ended up in pharmacies to be sold for profit, rather than dispersed to those most in need for free, as organisations like UNICEF had intended. Achieving gender equity remains a challenge in Sierra Leone. Economic development, inequality, war, and state violence. Collier, P. (2000a). Aldershot: Avebury. Women in Sierra Leone are used just like weapons in war (Ben-Ari & Harsch). The state, violence and development: the political economy of war in Mozambique 19751992. The event was hosted by the Parliament, with a large number of Parliamentarians attending, as well as the First Lady Mrs. Sia Nyama Koroma, representatives of Government and the cabinet, including the Ministers of Internal Affairs, Fisheries and Marine Resources, Water Resources, Political and Public Affairs, and Tourism. 61% of women in the Sierra Leone will experience gender-based violence (GBV) in their lifetime. In urban contexts, women are carving paths to inclusion across . According to The global gender gap index 2021, Iceland has the highest gender equality, indexed at 0.89 whereas the United Arab Emirates has the worst gender equality Ranked at 22. We work with local non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations and other development agencies ensuring multi-level coordination to help strengthen the implementation of existing legislation pertaining to gender equality. However, justice is giving opportunity to those who are not privileged reach up to those who are privileged. The experiences of being a woman in Haitian culture often conflicts with that in of American culture. (Photo: Market women protesters in Freetown). He finally realizes that the life he was previously living is not the way he wants to live his life. The site is secure. Globally, some progress on womens rights has been achieved. It is unfair because their gender is given the majority, if not all, of the work to support the child. Our society thrives off of each person being unique from everyone else, but still being treated equally. Sierra Leone represents a unique case to assess the gendered impacts of COVID-19. America exploits woman, while still not considering us equal. You are entering the 2017-2020 Archive for the United States Agency for International Development web site. I think that, as a privileged woman, I need to help these women, but not by treating them like a child., Once this problem is out of the way, we must address Payals second point, which is that, education systems have a tendency toward stability rather than change, and tend to reproduce social hierarchy and inequality. There are multiple solutions to this problem. In Sierra Leone, UNFPA works to ensure that programmes at the community level are positioned within and supported by sustainable national level institutions. Equality, after struggling and fighting for his freedom, finally knows why he lives and what has been missing in his life. In 2022, global gender gap index for Sierra Leone was 0.67 index. . UN in Sierra Leone commemorates Human Rights Day with drama, music & statements. To others, injustice may appear judicially and politically; Ivan Henry and David Milgaard were both wrongfully convicted of sexual, Equality finally gets to escape his miserable society and all the institutions, practices, and officials that are a part of it. As a result the poorest rural communities reliant upon agriculture have been forced to forage for bush yam, which is usually regarded as a famine food, prior to the harvest of July, as early as April which is planting time, this is an example of the dire poverty continuing year on year. Sierra Leone faces several problems regarding various forms of sexual violence, including domestic violence, sexual assault, rape of adults and minors, marital rape, and school-related sexual abuse, as well as supposedly harmful practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM). "We are enormously optimistic about the Irish Government and the potential in Sierra Leone. She further explained that Sierra Leone has a low gender inequality index value of 0.64 ranking. Not all people have the same talents or weaknesses, therefore, true equality is near impossible without limiting other people 's freedoms. Along with this the SAP have removed subsidies on crops such as rice,in combination with the floating of the Leone this led to a significant price increase, donor food is intended to keep the rice price low however this often only reaches the likes of Freetown and urban pillars so rural outlets are susceptible to retailers pricing considerably above official prices. Women grow between 60% and 80% of the world's food but often they have reduced access to the materials they need and even the food they produce. In doing so, it has worked closely with communities andlocal agents of change, including religious leaders and faith-based organisations. In addition, many areas such as gender and poverty, physical and sexual harassment, womens access to assets (including land), and gender and the environment lack comparable methodologies for reguar monitoring. The first of such lessons is that nothing in life is equal or fair. Photo:UN Women/ Cecil Nelson. For every 1,000 girls in Sierra Leone, 112 will become mothers between ages 15 and 19. The Essay Writing ExpertsUK Essay Experts. There is also a very large amount of domestic violence towards women. USAID helps empower women in Sierra Leone through continuous sensitization, training in leadership skills, advocacy and planning and entrepreneurship. Sierra Leone 2015 Housing and Population Survey and other studies indicated that more women than men are unemployed, poor, illiterate and are sexually assaulted. Moreover, women of reproductive age (15-49 years) often face barriers with respect to their sexual and reproductive health and rights: in 2019, 53% of women had their need for family planning satisfied with modern methods. By Anjali Manivannan. Sierra Leonean women are at risk for sexual and gender-based violence in the form of domestic violence, sexual assault of adults and minors, marital rape, school-related sexual abuse, and harmful traditional practices like female genital mutilation. After finishing a few books, Equality says that he wept in deliverance and in pity for all mankind (98). Not only will it empower women, but it will positively impact each family, community, and country. Gender inequality is a pervasive problem in many parts of the world, including Africa. This refers to the unequal treatment and lack of equal opportunities for individuals based on their gender, with women and girls often facing discrimination and disadvantage. This book investigates gender equality and women's empowerment in Sierra Leone, focusing in particular on women's interactions with the state and its development partners. that early marriage and teenage pregnancy can have on the lives of girls and their families. Equality, it is the state or quality of being equal, everyone in every nations deserves the right to be equal. . The interests of the government in gaining political power over the best national economic interests meant practices such as rent-seeking were prioritised, another opportunity for rife corruption. In Burkina Faso the female literacy is 82%, in Sierra Leone it is 79%, and in . Intersectionality explains why gender cannot be in isolation from other inequalities in the social world. The third one of these goals is to promote gender equality and empower women (MDGs Sierra Leone). 29.6% of women aged 2024 years old who were married or in a union before age 18. As a result those disparities between rural and urban fostered during colonialism have continued. The term intersectionality as stated by Susanne Hochreiter offers a way to understand the multiple grounds of identity when considering how the social world is constructed. Believers in equal rights for women are celebrating Sierra Leone's just-passed Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GEWE) Act, which mandates equal pay for equal work, maternity leave, financial inclusion, and a 30% quota of women in government appointments and private institutions with more than 25 employees (AYV News, 2022). The civil war and the Ebola crisis changed gender norms in favour of emancipation of women. School-related gender-based violence is part of a complex, multi-faceted social issue. Awareness raising on relevant legislation involving gender based violence, support to access free legal counselling/representation, and access to medical care for the victims and survivors of gender-based violence are among the key activities. In the rural labor force, women provide more than 60% of farm labor for food production, but this forms part of a larger power dynamic problem as men still possessed greater access to ownership and control of the production, reducing women to a marginal position. Addressing gender inequalities and promoting women's and girls' empowerment to build an equal future for all children COVID-19: a crisis for women and girls . All of the goals for the MDG are trying to be reached by 2015 (MDGs). Nevertheless, gender inequality and denial of women's rights are still prevalent at all . The idea of Gender Equality does not require that girls and boys, or women and men, be the same, or that they be treated exactly alike. Power, moral authority, social privileges, control over land and property has mainly been in the hands of men. Rape and sexual violence and abuse are no doubt one of the most obvious societal factors. Vice President Victor Bockarie Foh Signing the HeForShe Board. Traditionally in Haitian culture women are the head of the household but still place their husbands authority above them. The Gender Inequality Index is a composite measure reflecting inequality between women and men in three different dimensions: reproductive health (maternal . As Riddell (2005) states, citizens were actively ripped off through colonialism and independent governments to date. Under analysis by the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (World Bank 2005) it was found that 70% of Sierra Leoneans live in poverty. The legacy of general liberal education under colonialism, whereby positions such as clerks needed to be filled by a literate individual perpetuates in the universal primary education of today where those rural unprivileged will maintain their place in poverty. No plagiarism, guaranteed! (2002). Women in all parts of the world suffer violence and discrimination and remain under-represented in decision-making processes. by Megan Borishansky Historical Background Colonized by the British as a territory for liberated slaves known as Creoles or "Krios", Sierra Leone's history is one of class divisions and gender inequality, compounded by the civil war of 1992-2002 and struggles over natural resources. Women and men are not treated the same way in education and arent equal in the literacy rate. As of 2012, women embodied 24.1% of the National Assembly of Sudan. This cycle of life has been around since . What surprised me the most were the cultural norms that accepted this unfair decision of females not being able to attend schools because of their gender. The primary concerns are: reproductive health, empowerment, and economic activity. Ismail is now an eager volunteer to take the message to his home in the provinces of Sierra Leone. Gender equality is globally the most common form of inequality and remains a major obstacle to the eradication of poverty. Despite the . The current Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa has infected 27,237 peoplealmost exclusively in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leoneof whom 11,158 died. And while forced conscription was mainly used against males, these crimes were committed almost always to women (Ben-Ari & Harsch). She further stated that the transformation of the Act into reality is important owing to the fact that 87 percent of women in the country are more active in the workforce compared to the 75 percent men. The world has to do a petition to the Sierra Leone government to abolish this law. No one is exactly like another human on this planet. The slavery issue in the West and the gender inequality in the East both brought unimaginable damage for not only the groups of people who were mistreated, but also the society which is supposed to be peaceful, fair and justice. Inequality is state of being unequal, particularly in rights, status and opportunities (UN 2015) this could mean in living standards, gender and many other metrics. So, with all of the good steps being taken, Sierra Leone may be able to really turn the problem of gender inequity around. Women in Sierra Leone have always made vital contributions to the economy and have often played a substantial role in the subsistence of their families. In Sierra Leone, a gender gap in education persists, particularly from secondary school onwards where lower levels of female participation are recorded, due in part to forms of violence and discrimination directed against girls. The third one of these goals is to promote gender equality and empower women (MDGs Sierra Leone). The world citizens held different viewpoints. Their leaders are the Council of Vocations enforced those rules, and the people that over-rule them are the World Council. 140 years ago, imagine being in bondage, oppressed, maybe even tortured; to have to go about your life constantly under the watch of someone else; to be bruised and beaten and brokenall because of the color of your skin. Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Regional Director for West and Central Africa, African Girls Can Code Initiative (AGCCI), Special Representative to the AU and UNECA, In focus: 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence 2022, Gender equality matters in COVID-19 response, 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, Assistant UN Secretary-General & UN Women Deputy Executive Director, Asa Regner and UN Women Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Oulimata Sarr to visit Sierra Leone, UN Women and Sierra Leone UNCT organize a panel discussion on the theme Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow, His Excellency, President Julius Maada Bio joins world leaders as a HeForShe Champion with bold and groundbreaking commitments to achieve Gender Equality. The situation in Sierra Leone is one problem that needs the worlds attention and so, the affluent world and the UN should be able to look at problems such as this to create an equal opportunity and do justice for these girls. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. The dominance of ruling class families meant chiefs received little competition and their guaranteed role for life meant they were at liberty to act despotically (Jackson and Rosberg 1982:17-19). Despite the significant strides made, many women continue to suffer marginalisation and discrimination, particularly in the areas of education, employment, political participation, and social justice. Sierra Leone: 153 (0.644) 0.643 177 137 0.662 125 0.756 Mauritania: 150 (0.620) 0.643 Republic of Sierra Leone: Education sector analysis: assessing the enabling environment for gender equality Corporate author : UNESCO IIEP Dakar. "Sierra Leone has worst gender inequality in the world---UN. Many times people are not given the same opportunities as they are not treated equally. The Government is doing a lot, donor co-ordination is strong, including a close group of 4 EU . We see stereotypes, which are also known as judgements of people who you have no prior knowledge, of many times in our lifetime, for example, Islamic women terrorized by Americans for begin terrorists, or African Americans begin portrayed as dangerous criminals. Sierra Leone is also a part of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (MDGs). We specifically focus on gender equality as a means to significantly reduce inequalities and empower people living in extreme poverty to improve their lives. The divided country economically was also enhanced by the political structure of separate administrative systems during colonialism, which left rural areas with a very limited political voice. Young Haitian girls must learn many things before they are considered young women in their society. Some of these challenges include lack of economic independence, high illiteracy and entrenched customs and traditions, political violence and reprisals, the absence of progressive laws that protect and promote participation for women, and the lack of confidence to vie for public positions. The $40 million estimated tax lost to Sierra Leone from 2009-2016 with Sierra Rutile company is enough to cover the health care of over 67,000 Sierra Leonean women and children for one year under the country's Free Health Care Initiative. Similar levels appear on the other mid-Asian countries too. According to the report from The Global Gender Gap in 2015, Yemen and Pakistan ranked bottom of the list of gender gap which means the distances in economic and politic between men and women in those two areas was the furthest (International Rankings). Sierra Leonean women are at risk for sexual and gender-based violence in the form of domestic violence, sexual assault of adults and minors, marital rape, school-related sexual abuse, and harmful traditional practices like female genital mutilation. This cycle of life has been around since ancient times and because of different factors, things have not changed in some countries or some part of the world. Gender-Based Violence. Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Sierra Leone 2 Executive summary From July 4th-14th 2006, International Alert conducted a mapping of the incidence of GBV and the programmes that are being implemented to address it in Sierra Leone on behalf of Irish Aid. Women account for 52 percent of the total population in Sierra Leone yet occupy less than 20 percent of elected positions. All work is written to order. Study for free with our range of university lectures! This International Women's Day, we celebrate the icons who blazed the trail towards gender equality. It becomes clear to him how much the government was taking from him. The moral purpose of a mans life is the achievement of his own happiness. (The Ethics of. Stewart, F. (1998). . As a result, the cores of the economy continued where they were most familiar, in the urban politically powerful centres of Freetown, Bo and Kenema (). Women enjoy limited access to decision-making power, and access to and control over resources. After independence the politics of the nation consisted of the dominance of one party or military rule, which continued to prevent creation of opposition and bred corruption. In Sierra Leone, progress has been made in expanding opportunities for women and girls to promote gender equality and empowerment of women. Copyright 2022 IPL.org All rights reserved. For most girls gender roles start being brainwashed into us from when we are born. USAID is engaging a broad range of stakeholders to identify the various drivers of sexual and gender-based violence across different segments of the population around the country and will support local organizations in developing and piloting interventions designed to reduce its prevalence while maintaining cultural and social integrity. For the individual woman, poverty and gender inequality are key factors affecting demand for healthcare services. It is very important that every female in developing countries is offered an education because it enables them to branch out of the ongoing cycle of women rights negation and gives them equal opportunity for autonomy., Women are being oppressed when they are prevented from accessing these services. Gender discrimination and poverty. The death of a young woman in Sierra Leone, almost immediately after undergoing female genital mutilation, has sparked outrage and revived calls to end the practice.. Many countries, including Sierra Leone, face a crisis in providing quality . The roles women are expected to play are general expectations such as cooking, cleaning, and staying at home with the children, leaving women in Sierra Leone with very . This clearly determines the behavior of a man or woman in the society. Presenting the Bill to MPs, the Minister Awareness raising on relevant legislation involving gender based violence, support to access free legal counselling/representation, and access to medical care for the victims and survivors of gender-based violence are among the key activities. The Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPS) consisted of loans and later introduced Poverty Reduction Papers, which paralleled closely to the well-known Millennium Development Goals. The history witnesses how people mistreated the others and how other people fought for freedom. Almost 50% of Sierra Leonean females endure "sexual or physical violence during their lifetime." . In some areas, however, progress toward gender equality has been limitedeven in developed countries. In Sierra Leone, roles, responsibilities and opportunities are apportioned on the basis that an individual is a male or female. . Sierra Leone is the first African nation to fully transition from a paper-based reporting system to an electronic system for weekly aggregate disease reporting at the health facility level. The women of Sierra Leone have faced and still face grave inequalities, but this issue has started to have some solid improvement. Women enjoy limited access to decision-making power, and access to and control over resources. Keywords: Sierra Leone, gender, artisanal mining, governance, genre, exploitation minire artisanale, gouvernance. As seen throughout this case study, Ive learned that there is a significant difference of gender inequality in the developing world than those of western, more developed countries and displays just how there needs to be a change in this. UNFPA works with the Ministry of Gender and Childrens Affairs by providing capacity building through financial and technical assistance. Gender Inequality In Sierra Leone. According to the minister, the bill which is now a government document will be gazetted and laid in the well of parliament. However, work still needs to be done in Sierra Leone to achieve gender equality. The era that Equality is in is after the Great Rebirth. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Education is very important in order to explore the potentials that will drive every person to their future pathways of success. However, the issue of gender inequality and its effects on educational opportunities still needs to be addressed. Photo:UN Women/Cecil Nelson. It seemed like a very strict world to be living in at that time. Although many lawmakers, Being a woman in America I was never aware of the terrible conditions that migrant workers faced. "Sierra Leone war crimes: Women speak out, Kargbo, Fatmata. During the launch, the United Nations Residence Coordinator Sunil Saigal emphasized that the launch of the HeForShe Campaign is an important milestone on the journey towards the eradication all forms of discrimination, and gender-based violence, against women and girls. The country was rated 153 out of 162 in the 2018 index, clearly exposing the gender inequality gap. Finally, it is obvious that the long-run solution to reduce income inequality in Sierra Leone (much in the spirit of Piketty's r>g notion) is through improving both the supply and quality of graduates coming through the schooling and higher education system. William Goldman, the author of The Princess Bride once rhetorically questioned, Who says life is fair, where is [this statement] written?, which summarizes the outcomes of life itself. Since 2004, we have shifted our program towards a more development-orientated approach working in both urban and rural areas. Enduring Disorder and Persistent Poverty: A Review of the Linkages between War and Chronic Poverty , Peet, Richard. In Sierra Leone, progress has been made in expanding opportunities for women and girls to promote gender equality and empowerment of women. Prohibiting women from going to school means prohibiting them from accomplishing their goals and becoming independent. In the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand, they have created a society with total equality, and total unhappiness . She added that, gender inequality is a global concern and Sierra Leone is not an exception. Imagine being someone who was free, but oppressed in other ways; to be unable to work the same way that a man was no matter how smart you were, to be forced into doing what ladies do; to be stepped over and disregardedall because of the gender you were born as. This year, Sierra Leone has been elevated to a partner country for Irish Aid, with funding for malnutrition and gender inequality including sexual violence. Governments need to support these young women and fulfill their dreams. He also called on Sierra Leonean men to treat girls as their daughters instead of wives. Promoting Gender Equality is key to the implementation of UNDP's programs and its operationalisation in Sierra Leone. Looking for a flexible role? Photo:UN Women/ Cecil Nelson. Also, new workshops are being put on to support womens rights (Kandeh). Women make up much of the farming workforce, says Yeanoh. World Development, 30(2), 153163. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. These two characters saw the issues in the equality of the government. Only 93 percent of urban resident women, and 94 percent of urban resident men have active economic jobs that are paid (MDGs Sierra Leone). Poverty is a complex term that includes social, economic and political elements (Sabates, R. 2008). Also, after schooling the number of women in the workforce has gone from 51.3 percent to 53 percent from 1996 to 2004 (MDGs Sierra Leone). USAID helps empower women in Sierra Leone through continuous sensitization, training in leadership skills, advocacy and planning and entrepreneurship. In fact, in Sierra Leone, rape is extremely common and is considered a "societal norm" (US Department of . On the legal basis for the GEWE Policy, the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone provides the foundation for the principles of gender equality. The Opening of a Ten Day Training for Officers on Gender by the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces Gender Unit. The Gender Inequality Index (GII) is an index for measurement of gender disparity that was introduced in the 2010 Human Development Report 20th anniversary edition by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Sierra Leone parliament has passed a long-awaited Gender Empowerment Act which establishes a minimum gender quota for female parliamentarians. Overall, 10 million women and children are expected to benefit.7 Box1. Disclaimer: This is an example of a student written essay.Click here for sample essays written by our professional writers. Here you can choose which regional hub you wish to view, providing you with the most relevant information we have for your specific region. Make a general inquiry or suggest an improvement. He reads about societies where the people are able to express their own thoughts and feelings. It is impossible to discuss gender and the influences it has on one livelihood without acknowledging the other aspects of ones identity. She noted that after the launching, Sierra Leone will be one of the countries with high interest in women economic empowerment and gender equality but calls on the people of Sierra Leone to increase the total number of female parliamentarians, Ministers and women in leadership positions. This means household or farming essentials eg. However once an individual passes the tender age of five it is time to begin learning the lessons of the world. Learn how you can get involved and lend a hand. The representations of how mothers are the caretakers of a home affect the younger generations perspective about gender roles because they base ideas and beliefs, With these policies implemented, females will be more represented and schools and narrow the gender gap between males and females and increase the enrollment rate of females in schools. Freedom House gave Sudan the lowest possible ranking among repressive regimes during 2012. These aspects have not completely disappeared in the modern day; they are just not as blunt as before. All of the groups fighting in the civil war that happened between 1991 and 2002 were charged with human rights violations (Ben-Ari & Harsch).