Gender justice reduces poverty
Gender justice is cheaper than gender injustice, argues Amanda Khozi Mukwashi, and now it the time to act.
"I credit Gender Justice Week for convincing me that I should start the Gender Justice Centre I have been threatening to start for the last 10 months. The centre will open its doors on the 1 Feb. It is unclear how I am going to fund it. The centre will have three main programs - legal services, test case programme and advocacy/education. Let's stay in touch and share experiences.”
Unity Dow
Reading the emails coming in from those who participated at the Gender Justice Week that was organised by Skillshare International in partnership with Freshfields, reminds me of what was at its very heart and what remains at stake in the discourse on gender justice. Listening to participants sharing their experiences, it was difficult not to feel a deep sense of frustration as well as a deep sense of admiration; admiration for their determination to succeed in the face of considerable social-economic, cultural and political challenges, and frustration because of the inability to really understand why countries world-wide still think that it is alright to allocate piecemeal resources to the fight against gender injustice.
Even more frustrating is the seeming inability to appreciate that as long as half the population of the world remains at the bottom of the social economic and political hierarchy, we are not going to achieve optimal productivity levels in all sectors.
Equality generates wealth
Our living standards, our health and indeed the education of different generations can only be addressed when we realise that not only is gender injustice a violation of human rights but that it also costs tax payers a lot of money. When women have equal access to education, for example, and go on to participate fully in business and economic decision-making, they are a key driving force against poverty, injustice and inequality. Their increased earning power raises household incomes, and by enhancing women’s control over decision-making in the household, gender equality also translates into better prospects and greater well-being of children, reducing poverty of future generations.
In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, "Where ... do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home -- so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere."
Financial support and commitment is needed
International and regional legal instruments have clarified obligations of States to prevent, eradicate and punish violence against women and girls.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) requires that countries party to the Convention take all appropriate steps to end violence. However, the continued prevalence of violence against women and girls demonstrates that this global pandemic of alarming proportions is yet to be tackled with all the necessary political commitment and resources. We need to move beyond agreements and policies and focus on the need for financial support and commitment at a level that is more than the bear minimum.
Civil society organisations should continue to activate for increased awareness, more education and empowerment, and increased participation in decision making. In particular, leaders of development organisations need to champion the issues of gender justice in a similar way that the issue of human rights is recognised as something that cuts across all development interventions. Without a critical mass of NGO leaders visibly supporting increased allocation of resources and addressing women’s rights as a human rights agenda, it will continue to be difficult to get governments and others to be agents of change on gender justice.
Transforming lives
There is a window of opportunity for civil society organisations, the private sector, government and other public sector bodies to evaluate the cost of gender based violence so that we can begin to understand that gender injustice costs much more than gender justice. Talking is not enough; we need to move from legislation to seeing transformation on the ground and changes in living standards, health and education.
In the words of Jane Serwanga, a Gender Justice Week participant, “I am now back in Kenya and bubbling with a renewed sense of energy. I am taking up the challenge to influence the Kenyan landscape on gender-based violence. I gathered a lot of information, knowledge and networks during the one week in London and it will be disheartening if I do not apply the same.”
Amanda Khozi Mukwashi is Head of Programmes at Skillshare.
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