‘Integrating women has become a matter of right than design’

Why are today’s women clamouring for enhanced positioning? It is because times have changed. And there is dire need for enhanced growth.Development is more a matter of right than of design and I will argue that while the right to development persists, we need to adopt models that protect and advance women development. More specifically,  women’s […]

Why are today’s women clamouring for enhanced positioning?
 It is because times have changed. And there is dire need for enhanced growth.
Development is more a matter of right than of design and I will argue that while the right to development persists, we need to adopt models that protect and advance women development. More specifically,  women’s empowerment is a right as well as a matter of progressive design if humankind are to achieve progress.

Looking at world development, would you say there has not been any appreciable efforts at bolstering women?
I would say that there have been important successes in human development in the past half-century. There has been global progress in health, education, and civil and political rights.   Since 1960, global average infant mortality has halved; between 1970 and 2000 the global average ratio of female to male literacy improved from 59 to 80 per cent; the overwhelming majority of people now live in countries that have signed the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  African continent as a whole has seen a rise of more democratic and accountable governments.
 
What more can be done to well integrate and empower women?
In finding solutions we cannot do without the correct complementary policies in place. Economic growth may be even less able to meet the challenges of development than previously: in particular, because it has a very imperfect relationship to risk. In many cases, economic growth can entail increased risk to poor people….which is the case of Nigeria. Central to the response to its new challenges, studies suggest that there should be a real shift to battling inequality…the disease of most societies and particularly Africa.

But the gap between men and women’s development is no longer wide…
 The disparity of development outcomes between men and women is best described in terms of inequality and the resultant implications.  This involves inequality of income, and also of assets, both financial and human, such as education and good health; inequalities of opportunity and also a genuinely level playing-field for women; inequalities based on gender, and also on where in a country people live, on what ethnic group they are, and what they believe. Such inequalities are not only morally repugnant, but they are holding back people and particularly women from benefiting from the progress that has taken place in their countries.
 
So, you are insisting that the development is not balanced?
 My argument here is that we cannot be talking of balanced development and the integration of women’s empowerment without examining the pathways to our development. In Africa, we have experienced high levels of economic growth but why is change so slow?  In actual sense why is it so questionable? This many authorities have traced to other inequalities in society which further complicated the gap between men and women.

Is inclusive growth  the solution?
There are no simple prescriptions.  What we know is that countries have to examine existing options. As Michael Spence, Chair of the Commission on Growth and Development, has said, there is no recipe, only ingredients. But evidence, at least, suggests which of these ingredients …some appear to have been the most relevant to producing inclusive growth. There should be redistributive agenda , it may be added that such redistribution should target women through empowerment for better results.  Some examples include cash transfers, redistributive public expenditure on health, education, and agricultural services, and a progressive taxation system.
This package should serve to arm poor and marginalised people (mostly women) with the skills to allow them to participate in the benefits of economic growth, and limit their exposure to the downside risks of that growth.

Is there a need to institute a special government policy to integrate women?
 There is need for a policy environment which is conducive to pro-poor private investment and in particular, the domestically owned, labour-intensive private sector, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The eventual selection and balance of policies will need to be based on a close analysis of the specific circumstances of a particular country or region. And it is important to note that creating truly inclusive growth may require tough new policies that challenge established interests. Economic inclusion need not be painful or traumatic, but it certainly requires deliberate political action.

Why is gender equality essential?
Gender equality and women’s empowerment are essential for achieving sustainable and inclusive development. Promoting women’s education and training and their access to productive assets such as land and credit will certainly advance the empowerment which we allude to. The need for women’s empowerment points to the fact that, combined with the negative effects of non inclusive planning, we affect women in different ways from men, and have the potential to deepen and widen existing gender inequalities.

Has there been any positive steps taken so far towards advancing women’s equality?
 A review of the status of implementation of the Dakar and Beijing  Platforms of Action undertaken at the Seventh Africa Regional Conference on Women buttresses earlier remarks that we have made considerable progress in reducing the gender gap in several sectors, including education, access to health services, representation in parliament and decision-making positions, and ratification of the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). However, there remains much to be done, especially as recent strong growth of over 5% per annum has not impacted enough on poverty reduction, the achievement of the MDGs, gender equality or on overall social development. There is also clear evidence that policies, legislation and effective strategies aimed at promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment  have been adopted in many countries. Nevertheless, these various measures need to be more effectively implemented and enforced to make a meaningful difference. Important obstacles remain to women’s empowerment while violence against women and the violation of the human rights of women and girls continue to be of major concern. This vulnerable group continues to be marginalised in the labour markets and has limited access to assets and other means of production.
 
What do you think could be the consequence of marginalising women?
Considering that human beings are the most precious resource in development, marginalisation of women means that we are locking out more than half of Africa’s resources from the developmental process.   More directly, when addressing the structural causes of gender-based discrimination,  we have to support true transformation in gender relations.  This means an integrated approach that addresses three critical target areas of gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment. Freedom from violence against women and girls – Concrete actions to eliminate the debilitating fear and/or experience of violence must be a centrepiece of any future framework.

Which areas would you emphasise this equality?
Gender equality in the distribution of capabilities, including knowledge, good health, sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights of women and adolescent girls; and access to resources and opportunities, including land, decent work and equal pay to build women’s economic and social security. Gender equality in decision-making power in public and private institutions, in national parliaments and local councils, the media and civil society, in the management and governance of firms, and in families and communities.