Promote gender equality and empower women

(CSD) In 2005, less than one-quarter of countries in sub-Saharan Africa met the MDG target for gender parity in primary and secondary school enrolment rates. Reducing gender gaps in both schooling and control of agricultural resources could have the potential to increase agricultural productivity by 10–20 percent. Oceania, sub-Saharan Africa and Western Asia have the largest gender gaps in primary enrolment.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the enrolment for tertiary education, calculated by UNESCO, for men is 6.8 percent, which is 1.5 times higher than that for women (4.5 percent). For every 100 male students enrolled in 2007, there are only 66 female students. The percentage of the population aged 15–24 years who can both read and write also shows a considerable difference between men (71,1 percent) and women (53,8 percent).

Domestic violence is common, particularly in polygamous families, and affects one-fifth of couples. In Nigeria, for example, women’s physical integrity is not sufficiently protected. Only one Nigerian state has a law in place to address violence against women, and the country’s Penal Code grants husbands permission to beat their wives, provided the violence does not result in serious injury. According to a 2003 demographic and health survey, 64.5 percent of Nigerian women consider it normal to be beaten by their husbands – even for infractions as minor as burning a meal or failing to have dinner ready on time. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is prohibited in several Nigerian states, but such laws are difficult to enforce. On a national scale, FGM is widely practised: one-fifth of women aged between 15-49 years have been subjected to it. The incidence of FGM differs considerably by region, and is twice as common in rural communities as in urban areas.

Also in Sudan women have a very low level of legal protection in relation to family matters. In accordance with the Islamic Sharia law, polygamy is legal as is repudiation. Divorce proceedings discriminate against women. They have the right to file for divorce but have a much more difficult time obtaining one. Women almost never exercise this right because initiating divorce is considered a dreadful disgrace for their families. By law, parental authority is granted solely to fathers. In the event of divorce, young children usually remain with their mothers, but custody automatically reverts to fathers when sons reach the age of 6 years and daughters reach 8 years.

Women have virtually no legal right to ownership. They are restricted from having access to land, even in the form of tenancy. The government recently reduced women’s freedom of movement even further by mandating that women and men must form two queues while waiting at public offices. On public buses, women must stand separately in the back. Public opinion generally condemns mothers who leave their children at home in order to work outside the home. Female genital mutilation is widespread in Sudan (about 90 percent of female have undergone FGM in its most severe form).

More in-depth on Gender Equality and Social Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa by Country Profiles is provided by the OECD Social Institutions and Gender Index.

(Sources: “The Global Gender Gap Report”, 2009, World Economic Forum; “The Millennium Development Goals Report”, 2008, UN; “Global Education Digest 2009”, UNESCO Institute for Statistics; “The Millennium Development Goals Report Indicators”, 2009, UN; “Gender Equality and Social Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa”, 2009, OECD).