This issue affects me because I feel the need to check my privilege. At the end of the programme, award-winning Sierra Leonean actor and HeForShe champion Desmond Finney presented awards to individuals who have made important contributions to gender equality in the country. What intrigued me the most was how females werent seen as priority enough to receive even the basic education level and were taught to be housewives from a very young age. This is trying to help eliminate gender discrimination in many countries, including Sierra Leone (MDGs). The curriculum focused on learning English (Fyle 1986) rather than skill based learning which would benefit rural children more practically gaining employability opportunities, generate income and alleviate their families from poverty. It seemed like a very strict world to be living in at that time. The Gender Inequality Index is a composite measure reflecting inequality between women and men in three different dimensions: reproductive health (maternal . Ben- Ari, Nirit , and Ernest Harsch. 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. In Ayn Rands novella Anthem, we are introduced to this society that has fallen back into the times of the Great Rebirth. Giving birth to a child should not drastically change the status of females. Almost 58% of girls get married before they turn 18 years old. 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. This will give justice to these girls and equality and civil rights will not be. In M. Berdal & D. Malone (Eds. 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. The women of Sierra Leone have faced and still face grave inequalities, but this issue has started to have some solid improvement. After these problems are addressed, it is easy to see how more education can provide a better world for the, Too often remarks such as selfish, self-centered, lacking in responsibility or cold were associated with childfree women (McQuillan et al., 2012). Our academic experts are ready and waiting to assist with any writing project you may have. Boulder, CO: Lynne Reinner. The moral purpose of a mans life is the achievement of his own happiness. (The Ethics of. Gender equality is also a precondition for advancing development and reducing poverty. Schools in Sierra Leone reopened in April 2015 after the world's worst recorded Ebola outbreak. In the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand, they have created a society with total equality, and total unhappiness . ", Kandeh, Mariama. Women enjoy limited access to decision-making power, and access to and control over resources. 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. 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. For example transfer of state resources to the elite. The state, violence and development: the political economy of war in Mozambique 19751992. Freetown was established as a British colony where the slave trade was suppressed and Creoles dominated . Property and titles are inherited by male lineage, and men dominate in political leadership. External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views contained therein. I have seen Latina maids and European nannies, but I never thought about how those women could have been mistreated. 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. Another solution would be to have teachers from other countries, such as America and Britain, come and teach the students. Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: Stats SL and ICF. The description is composed by our digital data assistant. http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wess/wess_dev_issues/dsp_policy_01.pdf, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X03000093. 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. All of the groups fighting in the civil war that happened between 1991 and 2002 were charged with human rights violations (Ben-Ari & Harsch). 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. As of February 2021, only 12.3% of seats in parliament were held by women. Since 2004, we have shifted our program towards a more development-orientated approach working in both urban and rural areas. . Women in Sierra Leone are used just like weapons in war (Ben-Ari & Harsch). Representatives of the Diplomatic Corps, the private sector and civil society were also in attendance. Equality is able to experience a free society through the characters he is reading about. The economic system within Sierra Leone alike the education system, preserves the problems of poverty and inequality within the population, particularly in the rural areas. However like many other countries, Sierra Leon is known for not providing these opportunities for girls. According to the Gender Inequality Index (GII), Denmark was the most gender equal country in the world in 2021. The political system established during colonialism was made of a system of Paramount Chiefs who were elected by local Notables. USAID helps empower women in Sierra Leone through continuous sensitization, training in leadership skills, advocacy and planning and entrepreneurship. Oxfam started operations in Sierra Leone in 1998, with relief work focused on emergency water, sanitation and hygiene provision in the context of the civil war that was ongoing at the time. ), Greed and grievance. In fact, in Sierra Leone, rape is extremely common and is considered a "societal norm" (US Department of . 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. World Development, 30(2), 153163. Ismail Kamara is a Mass Communications student at Fourah Bay College University of Sierra Leone who attended the launch event. (3) Percentage of women aged 20 to 24 years who were first married or in union before age 18. For this score, we use the 72 gender-specific SDG indicators in the Women Count Data Hubs SDG Dashboard for the 193 UN Member States. This International Women's Day, we celebrate the icons who blazed the trail towards gender equality. In many ways then Goal 8 and Goal 10 are inextricably linked. UNDP Residence Coordinator, Sunil Saigal signs the HeForShe board. There have been multiple attempts to create a more equal society and reduce the overwhelming amount of poverty in Sierra Leone, these have been sourced from institutions such as the World Bank, however it is debatable how true their impact has really been with their strong neoliberal bias. Go to the current USAID.gov website for up-to-date information, Archive - U.S. Agency for International Development, The Journey to Self-Reliance: Sierra Leone Roadmap, USAID Administrator Mark Green's Meeting with the Honourable Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, Ph.D., Vice President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, USAID Administrator Green Announces PMI Launch and Expansion in West and Central Africa. She added that, gender inequality is a global concern and Sierra Leone is not an exception. The history witnesses how people mistreated the others and how other people fought for freedom. This situation is in turn perpetuating a vicious cycle of poverty and gender inequality from generation to generation. On this International Womens Day, we celebrate all women, and particularly those leading the charge for equality. The disregard of rural areas means their potential in natural resources such as diamond have not been exploited thoroughly. Many traditional cultures, including America, teach that men should lead in families, business, and government, but does that still hold true today? These charges included killing, rape, sexual violence, sexual slavery, slave labor, abduction, forced pregnancy and many other horrific things (Ben-Ari & Harsch). 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 . The voices of Sierra Leonean women are ignored in the debate about their own sexual and reproductive health. Rape and sexual violence and abuse are no doubt one of the most obvious societal factors. Rat traps can become too expensive thus reducing crop yield and profit. This again makes goods unaffordable for rural communities and forces them further into poverty and widens the gap in inequality between urban and rural areas. UN Women Representative to Ethiopia, Africa Union and Economic Commission for Africa; Letty Chiwara commended the Government and people of Sierra Leone for their relentless effort in ensuring that women realize their full potentials. An official website of the United States government. Women account for 52 percent of the total population in Sierra Leone yet occupy less than 20 . Collier, P. (2000a). I was never aware of the terrible conditions that migrant workers faced. Gender inequality coupled with staunchly held, restrictive gender norms manifest itself in high levels of gender-based violence (GBV), which due to the weakened social structures . Sierra Leone is a deeply gendered society, where the socio-cultural norms that govern attitudes, behaviours, practices and expectations results in gender inequality. The third one of these goals is to promote gender equality and empower women (MDGs Sierra Leone). Equality among people justifies the development of human civilization. Yet gender inequalities remain deeply entrenched across most societies. 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. Also, new workshops are being put on to support womens rights (Kandeh). Although the colonial legacy had profound social, economic and political effects illustrated in this essay which still exist today, other historical reasons since independence such as the civil war from 1991 to 2002 along with a multitude of disease, including the Ebola Outbreak of 2014 have added to the difficulty to break the cycle of poverty and inequality. Sierra Leone represents a unique case to assess the gendered impacts of COVID-19. It is impossible to discuss gender and the influences it has on one livelihood without acknowledging the other aspects of ones identity. The lack of related curriculum also explains why the highest drop out rates and therefore highest illiteracy rates are in the rural areas, which is actually where the majority of the population live. Equality started a family with his beloved, The Golden One and lived happily ever after (Rand, n.pag.). Access to quality education, retention and completion of school remain challenges for children in Sierra Leone. Note: Content in this archive site is NOT UPDATED, and external links may not function. Sierra Leone 2015 Housing and Population Survey and other studies indicated that more women than men are unemployed, poor, illiterate and are sexually assaulted. 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. *You can also browse our support articles here >. 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. All of the goals for the MDG are trying to be reached by 2015 (MDGs). 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. An economic perspective. To accomplish this, the . 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. Registered office: Creative Tower, Fujairah, PO Box 4422, UAE. Through the Protection of Women through Empowerment and Response (POWER) project, USAID is working to support up to 1,000 women and girls in rural communities within the eastern Kenema district. Their voices are being drowned out by the resistance of conservative religious groups and reluctant government officials. Women now make up over 40 percent of the global labour force. Instead, they focused upon areas such as Freetown for investment which they would prosper the most, simply widening the gap between rural rich and urban poor. 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 (). Sierra Leone has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world - for every 100 000 live births, 890 women die during childbirth. Childfree women felt like their value and identity were centered and focused on maternal status rather than the struggle they made for independence and the experience attained. Source: Statistics Sierra Leone (Stats SL) and ICF. Celebrate women leaders on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response and beyond, I am Generation Equality: Working together to achieve a gender-equal world, UNFPA Executive Director on International Womens Day. Gender equality is a term that is commonly misunderstood by many. This landmark achievement increases efficiency in reporting, decreases data transmission turnaround time, and helps organize data for use in outbreak . If your specific country is not listed, please select the UK version of the site, as this is best suited to international visitors. The implementation of such neoliberal policies is a reason for the continuing existence of poverty and inequality, these generalised policies failed to adapt to the uniqueness of each nations economy and the dictation of an outside nation can be simply considered as a modern practice of colonialism. 61% of women in the Sierra Leone will experience gender-based violence (GBV) in their lifetime. 33% of men in Sierra Leone have reached at least a secondary education; only 20.1% of women will do the same. Despite the . Sierra Leone among the worst in the world. Information released online before January, 2021. These girls have dreams and hopes of becoming someone and the only way to achieve their dream is by going to school and so, they shouldnt be held accountable for a rape they did not want and their education should not be compromised. These aspects have not completely disappeared in the modern day; they are just not as blunt as before. The root causes of conflict: evidence and policy implications. Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone pledged free access to health care. Gender equality is globally the most common form of inequality and remains a major obstacle to the eradication of poverty. Sierra Leone: Gender Inequalityby Chris Crane. Gender Inequality In Sierra Leone. Women and men are not treated the same way in education and arent equal in the literacy rate. Almost 50% of Sierra Leonean females endure "sexual or physical violence during their lifetime." . Sudanese women account for a larger percentage of the national . Sierra Leone is furthermore experiencing many challenges to gender equality unrelated to the outbreak of the Ebola virus. The world has to do a petition to the Sierra Leone government to abolish this law. A strong emphasis on the human rights, including reproductive rights, of individual women and men underpins all of UNFPA's work. America exploits woman, while still not considering us equal. 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