Gender Equality : Goal 5

INTRODUCTION

Goal 5 is regarded as one of the most difficult global issue, you asked me why? But first I will answer you back with a question, how many female presidents do you know? How many female CEOs have you met? …

Nigeria as a case study, we have the highest number of children out of schools, most of which are girl child, the last red chambers has 8 females out of 109 senators, in the 8th assembly right now we have only 7 female senators. The saying is true when we said, “When you educate a girl child, you educate a whole nation”. Do you know that 45% of our agricultural products are produced by women?
It’s not just a Nigerian issue but a global issue. Only 22% of UN parliaments are women,
( visit : http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation/facts-and-figures).


DEFINITIONS

GENDER: behaviour that is expected from men, women, boys and girls by their community or society.

SEX: the physical and biological features that differentiates a male or female.

GENDER ROLES: Attitudes, beliefs and behaviours accepted by a society for men, women, boys and girls.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER ON

When you see a scenario when a man beats up woman, what do you say about the man?

When a woman beats up her husband what do you say about the woman?

When a man backs a baby, when you see a male hair braider, a male that said he was raped? What do you think?

What if you come across a female mechanics, a female transporter, a female barber. What will be your reaction?

This is to clear your mind that gender issue is not only about the female but about both sexes.

Now let look at GBV

GENDER BASED VIOLENCE: any violence whether physical, sexual or emotional that is done against a person because of who the person is and/or how the person appears.


FORMS OF GBV

· PHYSICAL: includes beating, killing.

· SEXUAL: includes rape, having sex with child or children. This type of violence is common and could easily lead to HIV infection.

· PSYCHOSOCIAL: includes irritating complaints, verbal abuse and insults, threats, locking up in a room/restriction of movement.

CONSEQUENCES OF GBV
· Low self esteem
· Injury on the body, loss of pregnancy and mental harm
· Likely contraction of STIs and HIV due to rape/ defilement and death.


EFFECTS OF GENDER INEQUALITIES ON MALES

· Better education
· Better job opportunities
· Policy making powers
· High esteem
· Control of resources
· Shorter lifespan
· Vulnerability to STIs and HIV

 EFFECTS OF GENDER INEQUALITIES ON FEMALES

· Low education opportunities
· Less lucrative job opportunities
· Low self esteem
· Longer life span
· Higher vulnerabilities to STIs and HIV
· No leisure


CALL TO ACTION

Thanks to the OWG (Open Work Group) for the initiative of the Global goals, the immediate response to the
above gender issue by adopting the targets for goal 5 as work plan.
· 5.1 end all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
· 5.2 eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation
· 5.3 eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilations
· 5.4 recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies, and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate
· 5.5 ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life
· 5.6 ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the ICPD and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences
· 5.a undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance, and natural resources in accordance with national laws
· 5.b enhance the use of enabling technologies, in particular ICT, to promote women’s empowerment
· 5.c adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels.

From the above targets, we start to  implementing projects that can improve gender equality.

Sheriff Gbadamosi
Coordinator,
SDGsACT Lagos.