Great Expectations for African Women’s Educational Empowerment through the Protocol

The right to education is an integral part of the new African Protocol on Women’s Rights, argues Roselynn Musa. Gender inequalities in education translate into larger socio-economic disparities, and affect not only individuals, but the social and economic development of communities and nations. The Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa offers a powerful tool for remedying these disparities, and addresses not only the grassroots level of the classroom, but also the political processes that grant women access to decision-making.

Everyone has a right to education states the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR, 1948), but today more than half a century after this historic text was adopted, the right to education remains an empty promise for millions of people all over the world, especially women and girls. During the last decade there have been improvements in basic education for women in many countries. A number of countries recorded increased growth in the number of enrolment of both girls and boys. At the same time many African countries have made progress in reducing illiteracy levels, particularly among women and girls. However, despite these improvements only 58% of children of school age are actually enrolled in school (World Conference on Education for All, UNESO, Paris, 2000). With few exceptions educational statistics show large gender disparities. Female-male school enrolment, retention and completion favour boys in a majority of countries. Moreover, African women have the highest illiteracy rate in the world, which in some countries is rising. In addition gender disparities in schooling undermine national efforts for human capital development, thereby slowing down the pace of social and economic development.

The right to education is a human right having major implications for both individuals as well as for social and economic development. Education of women in Africa is imperative given the inverse relationship between female education and other aspects of development.

The educational system in Africa generally reflects gender inequalities. Gender refers not just to women, but also to both men and women, and to the interaction between them. It is important to understand the differences between men and women that are externally influenced, as well as the conditions imposed on them that are based on naturally given biological differences. Gender analysis therefore has to do with both sexes in relation to each other, not in isolation. Furthermore, an understanding of gender does not imply that all women are alike. Race, ethnicity, class, nationality, age, etc, are other factors that may cause significant differences among women themselves and among men as well.

The purpose of looking at gender is not to divide men and women, causing conflict between them, rather it draws our attention to those issues that have brought about unequal relations, and allows us to address these issues with appropriate measures that will help reduce rather than perpetuate inequality. Thus the concept of gender helps focus on growth in terms of equitable distribution of benefits between women and men, equality and power relations between them and, most of all, partnership between them in all fields of development.

Gender equality is based on the premise that all human beings, women and men are free to develop their personal abilities and make choices without the limitations set by stereotypes, rigid gender roles and prejudices. Gender equality means that the different behaviour, aspirations and needs of women and men are considered, valued and favoured equally. It does not mean that women and men have become the same, but rather their rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they were born male or female.

The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa will come into force in November 2005. Article thirty-two of the protocol covers a broad range of human rights issues and advances the human rights for African women through creative, substantive and detailed language. Article 12 addresses the right to education and training.

One of the challenges to women’s educational empowerment in Africa is that decisions on what is to be learnt, at what level and by who are male dominated thus perpetuating gender-based stereotypes. This renders the curriculum inappropriate for the promotion and protection of women’s human rights. While the level of women’s participation is on the increase, certain socio-cultural constraints impede women’s access to vocational, scientific and technical education.

The Protocol obligates state parties to take positive actions to promote women’s education at all levels and in all disciplines. One of the measures that could be useful in addressing gender imbalances in education and training, is for countries to institute and strengthen affirmative action measures including scholarships at all levels for female students, distance and non-formal education and literacy programmes for women, innovative and aggressive strategies to redress the under-representation of women and girls in sciences, mathematics and technology-related disciplines and careers, including the promotion of science among children in general and young girls in particular. Women’s access to professional training should be strengthened.

Women need broad humanistic and scientific education for the same reasons men do, so they can understand and appreciate life, give intellectual and political leadership and make the greatest contribution of which they are capable. In addition to this, the main financial partners of Africa’s educational systems should show their firm commitment to the female population in their interventionist policies.

We must find ways to preserve what remains of our customs while at the same time refuse to accept those aspects of tradition that treat women and children as less than human. For example, the belief that investing in girls’ education is a waste of time and money. This has had and will continue to have devastating consequences on women unless something urgent is done.

Because most programmes for women’s economic development, educational and political equality bow to patriarchal culture and societal imposed stereotypes they are replete with fundamental conceptual flaws.

Approaches that focus on the law while ignoring culture are not likely to turn women’s situation around. We should strive for a condition in which women and men are equal both in laws and facts. If that happens to be the case then our problems will only be solved in fractions, even when we have fifty per cent female representation in positions of power, because these same women are the wives, sisters, daughters, etc of the men out there who the patriarchal system has placed above and therefore superior to women. This approach will be flawed because it refuses to address the cultural factors that impede women’s progress. Because of the current situation of inequality, gender equality cannot be achieved without the empowerment of women especially in the field of education.

Human rights education goes beyond cognitive learning and includes the social and emotional development of all those involved in the educational process. It should aim at developing a culture in which human rights are taught, practised and lived within the school community and spread through interaction with the wider community. Introducing human rights education therefore implies that the school becomes a model of human rights learning and practice. Teachers, as the main depositories of the curriculum, play a key role in reaching this goal.

Some of the factors militating against women’s educational empowerment include, but are not limited to: poverty; sexual abuse/ harassment and rape, which prevent some parents from sending their female children to school; child prostitution; insufficient infrastructure; gender-unfriendly school environment and curricula; gender stereotypes and preference in sending boys to school than girls; workload of the girl child; early marriages/pregnancies; high rate of drop out among girls, especially at secondary and tertiary institutions and lack of gender parity; and lack of policy and monitoring mechanisms. In consideration of some of these the protocol addresses the issue of sexual harassment and the need to introduce human rights education in schools and at the same time make counseling available to students.

The attacks or assaults on female education are manifestations of the same desire to mute the voice of women. The field of science and technology remains almost solely a man’s domain and the very few women that have ‘dared’ to venture there and have done well are seen as the exception rather than the rule. Gone are the days when women and girls are only trained in cooking, embroidery, home economics, etc

An educational system that is designed to subordinate and invalidate women’s experiences vis-à-vis the terrible illiteracy in which so many of our sisters are kept is not just the consequences of poverty, over- work and discrimination within the family, and by extension, the society, but it is also a social mechanism designed to ensure female acquiescence and deny women a public voice, or even a private one for that matter. Education is a powerful tool for empowerment and non-conformity, but ironically, the economic and social development of countries around the world is hampered by shortages of skilled men and women and confounded by widespread ignorance and indifference. If the capacity of people to shape and improve their own lives is the measure of development then educational empowerment of women is a necessary condition as well as a human right.

Achieving gender equality requires specific measures that go beyond the equal treatment of women and men. Such measures must address the politics, laws, procedures, norms, beliefs, practices and attitudes that maintain gender equality. Women must have the capacity to make informed choices about their lives. Efforts to achieve equality between women and men that use a ‘one size fits all’ approach may not take into account the discrimination existing in the past. Fathers, husbands and even brothers may also suppress the potentials of their daughters, wives and sisters because they do not wish them to have an independent identity. It will also be necessary to involve gender-sensitive men in the campaign in order to make a good headway.

Though there has been a great breakthrough in the matter of gender equality, a lot still needs to be done. Discrimination against women continues and practices subordinating women to men and considering girls lower to boys remain in force. The domestication of international, regional and national instruments on women and girls’ rights and the enforcement of existing legislation remain low. Women and girls’ access to justice systems is limited by legal illiteracy, lack of resources and gender insensitivity and bias of law enforcement agents. Violence against women and girls, including rape and domestic violence is rampant, particularly in conflict zones. Some traditional and cultural practices continue to inhibit progress in promoting women and girls’ human rights. In some countries, women are denied equal rights to inherit property, while in others several sources of laws continue to govern their lives and restrict the enjoyment of their rights.

The question to ask is, where are we going and how do we get there? It is an enormous task because when we zero in on women we are confronted by a plight so grim it can break our hearts. We should not be bought over by the gullibility of the larger society that thinks that if the government can just pass the right laws then women will become equal. It is not enough that the government passes a law that says all forms of discrimination against women should be eliminated [Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, Article 12(1a.)] and then women and men are automatically equal. It is naïve to think that just the passing of laws will help women. It has to be backed by action.

Deep and sustainable transformations require a strategic and political vision to the highest level and that is why the protocol has resolved to achieve necessary cultural and institutional transformation in the educational system. One of the initiatives to be taken on the part of the states is the introduction of human rights education in the educational curricula as stated in the protocol.

One of the measures that could be taken to address gender imbalances in education is for countries to institute and strengthen affirmative action measures including scholarships at all levels for female students, distance and non-formal education and literacy programmes for women and girls especially in the sciences and technically oriented disciplines.

Successful strategies for improving girls’ access to and retention in education should be scaled up. The content and culture of schooling should not discriminate against women and girls. One way to bring this about is curriculum reform, gender training for teachers and other people working in the field of curriculum development and for girls and boys generally. This should also include gender-focussed programmes for girls and boys.

A web does not move if you pull only one strand; that way all you do is break it. There is a need to adopt a participatory and multi-disciplinary approach to policy development by involving NGOs, teachers associations and unions, professional and research bodies, and other stakeholders in the preparation of educational policy texts, promoting a human rights based approach to school, governance, management, discipline procedures and other regulations and practices affecting the school culture and access to education.

Human rights education implies changes in the whole educational system. Policy statements and verbal commitments alone are not enough to ensure educational changes. Implementation of the policy should therefore not lie with the Ministries of Education alone, but should involve other stakeholders. There is a political will by government to get girls into schools and bursaries for girls, but more needs to be done in this direction.

In conclusion, some schools already have human rights based clubs; this should be encouraged, while schools that don’t have them should be encouraged to introduce them. In addition, increasing campaigns for girls’ enrolment for science based subjects, reviewing of the school curricular and text books to portray gender sensitive issues and language, providing adult education to older women, increasing the budget for education by government – these are all actions that would take things in the right direction. Human rights education should start at childhood.

* Roselynn Musa works for The African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) in Kenya and has been involved with the Solidarity on African Women’s Rights, a coalition of women’s organizations working to ratify and domesticate the Protocol on African Women’s Rights.

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