Who Run The World? Gender and Development

by Suhuyini Shaharan

What is gender? 

 The term "gender" refers to the socially-constructed differences between men and women, as distinct from "sex", which refers to their biological differences. Throughout my research on gender in all societies, I found out that men and women play different roles, have different needs, and face different constraints. Gender roles differ from the biological roles of men and women, although they may overlap. For example, women's biological roles in child bearing may extend their gender roles to child rearing, food preparation, and household maintenance. Gender equality, also known as sex equality, gender egalitarianism, sexual equality or equality of the genders, is the view that both men and women should receive equal treatment and not be discriminated against based on their gender.

Gender in Ghana

Minister for Gender, Children & Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, working with officials from CAMFED to strengthen girls' rights.

The government of Ghana has rolled out national mechanisms for ensuring gender equality and the empowerment of women, as well as strategies for reducing poverty levels and social injustices between women and men. In an attempt to address the challenges posed by these inequalities, successive governments have made conscious efforts by promoting girl-child education, social development and protection initiative. For instance, on Tuesday 4^th May, 2016, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED), Ghana, to commit both parties to work at achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women. The signing of the MoU was, among other things, to facilitate Ghana’s achievement of its vision of fulfilling Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which seeks to achieve gender equality and empower women and girls. The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, noted that the government of Ghana was committed to gender equality and women’s empowerment: this resulted in the approval of the National Gender Policy in 2015. Even though all of this is great news, Ghana still has a long way to go on the path to gender equality.

Why does it matter to me? 

Here I am working at one of our soap-making training sessions: bringing sustainable livelihoods to the women we work with!  

As a young Ghanaian man raised by a single parent, I have a lot of experience when it comes to the vulnerability of women in our society, which is even worse in the rural communities in Ghana. One reason that I decided to become an in-country volunteer (GHV) with International Service was when I realised that International Service works in so many different fields, including the empowerment of women. The ultimate goal is - using young volunteers - to make a direct impact on poverty reduction. On the program, all volunteers were given an Active Citizen Pack, which also opened my eyes to so many issues, especially surrounding gender. This triggered me to research more on the subject and if possible make it part of my daily activities to ensure the gap is bridged. I knew the impact I could make with the rest of the team’s efforts to influence poverty reduction in rural communities, which is linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). International Citizen Service has certainly helped me develop my understanding of gender issues both in Ghana and the world and this will go a long way with me, since it has now made me more conscious of being an active global citizen. To me, being an active global citizen means being involved in raising awareness on the subject matter and other development issues, in order for more attention to be paid to them. With the interest I have developed on gender issues, I shall keep an eye on how Ghana is progressing with the five-year MOU signed with CAMFED which targets to fulfil Goal 5 of the SDGs.

So what can we do? 

Soap-making training session underway 

In line with this, International Service in collaboration with the Non Formal Education Division (NFED) is currently engaged with 180 women in six communities in the Savelugu/Nanton Municipal Assembly in the Northern Region of Ghana. As part of their activities they run Income Generating Groups (IGGs) to give them training and management skills to improve their livelihoods.

Volunteers from this cohort have carried out research on alternative income generating activities for the women that we work with, to provide them with opportunities to earn a living during the dry season. I'm optimistic that both soap making and batik production will one day be performed by our IGGs. The work that we are doing here in Savelugu has a direct impact upon the women from our IGGs, empowering them to improve their lives.

A call to action! 

Team Savelugu with lots of the IGG members that we work with, after celebrating their successes in becoming registered cooperatives - just another step in their empowerment. 

In conclusion, I want to call on governments, non-governmental organisations, philanthropists across globe, and even individuals who believe the SDGs must be achieved. We cannot leave the fight to only a few institutions, but together we need to come to the aid of the numerous rural communities who are face many development issues, with gender inequalities being one of the most critical subjects.

Sources; Ghanaweb, UN Gender chart 2014 and WHO