Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but an essential foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. Providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making processes ultimately benefits societies and humanity at large. While the world has achieved progress towards gender equality and women's empowerment under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), women and girls continue to suffer discrimination and violence in every part of the world. The Commonwealth publication 'Advancing Gender Equality: Case Studies from Across the Commonwealth' shows optimism and challenges in advancing gender equality across the Commonwealth countries during the last ten years (2005-15).
The case studies are based on submissions and interviews with government representatives, gender specialists and other stakeholders, including civil society organisations, community and business leaders, from 20 countries representing all regions of the Commonwealth. They bring into sharp focus instances of genuine progress - sometimes significant, sometimes incremental - balanced against existing socio-cultural and institutional barriers.
This compilation of case studies is divided into six sections. The first section examines women's political participation in two Commonwealth countries: Pakistan and Nigeria. Pakistan has increasingly recognised the historical exclusion of women from political structures and actively committed to address gender imbalance in politics. It has adopted international policies for gender equality and women's empowerment, and vowed to increase the political participation of women, both by encouraging women to contest elections and hold office, as well as fighting socio-cultural barriers that confine women to domestic life. Since the cessation of military rule in Nigeria in 1999, the state has made a steady and remarkable transition to democracy. However, there are major and continuing constraints against women's participation in political processes at all levels, stemming from resource limitations, traditional gender roles and associated cultural norms. Nonetheless, in recent years there has been a small, but significant, increase in the number of appointments of women to leadership positions at the national and local levels. Whereas in 1999 women represented only 1.2 per cent of the officials occupying seats in local government councils, in 2007 women accounted for 9.4 per cent of local councils and held 4.6 per cent of the positions of council chairperson.
Section II focuses on women's corporate leadership and gender equality in the workplace. Australia has seen significant progress in eliminating gender-based discrimination in recent decades. As of June 2014, there were 105,700 more females than males residing in Australia, with 11.7 million males and 11.8 million females. New Zealand has a long and vibrant history of promoting gender equality. As the first country where women won the right to vote, it has since championed the participation of women across all levels of society and has been rated one of the best places to work as a woman. Over the last several decades, the United Kingdom has seen steady progress in the situation of women in economic activities. Women hold key positions as both workers and consumers, and there are currently more women in the workforce than ever before having an increase by 771,000 to a high of 14.4 million since 2010.
The next section 'Women's Enterprise and Economic Empowerment' presents case studies from Cameroon, India, Malaysia, Kenya, Mauritius and Uganda. Women in Cameroon make up 75 per cent of the agricultural workforce and produce 80 per cent of the country's food. However, due to restrictions within customary law, women face difficulties in terms of rights to land ownership, which results in increased difficulty accessing credit. In the mid-1980s and 1990s, India's GDP growth rate was consistently above 5 per cent, although women face specific gendered risks and vulnerabilities: they receive up to 30 per cent lower wages than men in casual labour. Malaysian women and girls have enjoyed equal opportunities with men and boys in terms of access to basic social services since the country's independence in 1957. However, Malaysian women lag behind men in labour participation (46.1 per cent of women were part of the workforce in 2010, compared with 78.7 per cent for men). The Government of Uganda recognises both the significant role that women play in combating poverty and contributing to economic growth. It also understands the systematic barriers they face in terms of access to economic opportunities such as public and private sector employment, and to resources such as land, credit or skills training.
The fourth section 'Combating Violence against Women and Gender-Based Violence' illustrates case studies from Bangladesh, Canada, Grenada, Namibia and Trinidad and Tobago. Bangladesh, like many other countries, has deep-rooted patriarchal structures that include the manifestation of various forms of violence against women and girls. Nearly two out of every three women in the country have "experienced violence during their lifetime". The Constitution of Bangladesh guarantees every woman and man 'equal rights in all spheres of the state and public life'. However many experts, including the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, noted that the personal status laws treat women and men differently, and perpetuate discrimination against women. Despite Canada's position as a developed country with abundant resources, it still faces challenges in preventing violence, exploitation and abuse for some of its most vulnerable populations, including women and girls. One of the most flagrant forms of this abuse is human trafficking. Although men, women, girls and boys can all be affected, the majority of trafficking cases in Canada are related to women and girls. Domestic violence, sexual abuse and sexual harassment are realities for about 55,000 women and girls living in Grenada. Gender-based violence is a pervasive issue in Namibia and one that the government has taken very seriously since gaining its independence from South Africa in 1990. The status of women in Trinidad and Tobago compares favourably with many middle-income developing nations. The country has achieved universal primary education and gender parity in primary and secondary education.
Section-5 titled 'Working with Men for Gender Equality' presents case studies from Botswana, Pacific Islands and United Republic of Tanzania. Botswana has the second highest HIV prevalence in the world, at 25.4 per cent of its population aged between 15 and 49 years. According to the 2012 Gender-Based Violence Indicator Study, more than two-thirds of females in Botswana have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime, and 62 per cent reported being victims of intimate partner violence. The Pacific region is made up of Pacific Island Countries, which are widely dispersed over the South Pacific Ocean and vary in size, geographical conditions, resources, populations and cultures. Gender inequalities have remained deep and persistent in the region. Women make up just 4 per cent of parliamentarians in the Pacific (the lowest rate in the world), compared to the global average of around 20 per cent. Across the region, there is a large gap between male and female participation in economic activity. Men outnumber women in paid employment outside the agricultural sector by approximately two to one.
The final section titled 'Key Factors for Success' brings together the main lessons that run through the case studies. There is a strong demonstration of positive results from governmental and civil society interventions to find innovative ways to address the structural and cultural barriers that prevent women from participating equally in society.
The writer is an independent researcher.
smrayhanulislam@hotmail.com