Picture

Sierra Leone: Gender Inequity

http://org.newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/faculty/hjelmgren/africa09proj3lev.html

Picture
 Ariel  Berger

5/17/09

 World History p. 2

Gender inequity is a large issue being faced in Sierra Leone.  Women and men are not treated the same way in education and aren’t equal in the literacy rate.  There is also a very large amount of domestic violence towards women.  All of these issues have not just started today, but have been going on for a while.   This is because many indigenous groups and their practices still support the belief that men are superior to men (Sierra Leone).  Colonization in the country really left the beliefs on gender equality the same, and they have really remained the same since. The issue of gender inequity in Sierra Leone is changing and has been improved over the past few years, but it is still not the best it can be. 

           In Sierra Leone, schooling and literacy are something not all women are able to experience and accomplish.  On average, a girl can expect to receive only six years of schooling (Kargbo).  But, the country is starting to turn around.  The female literacy rate has gone from 16.7 percent in 1996 to 23 percent in 2004 (MDGs Sierra Leone).  Also, after schooling the number of women in the workforce has gone from 51.3 percent to 53 percent from 1996 to 2004 (MDGs Sierra Leone). Once the women are in the work force though, neither them nor men always paid.  Only 93 percent of urban resident women, and 94 percent of urban resident men have active economic jobs that are paid (MDGs Sierra Leone). One of the largest reasons all of these efforts are being made is because of the Millennium Development Goals, or MDGs.  The third one of these goals is to promote gender equality and empower women (MDGs Sierra Leone).

            Women in Sierra Leone are used just like weapons in war (Ben-Ari & Harsch).  All of the groups fighting in the civil war that happened between 1991 and 2002 were charged with human rights violations (Ben-Ari & Harsch).  These charges included killing, rape, sexual violence, sexual slavery, slave labor, abduction, forced pregnancy and many other horrific things (Ben-Ari & Harsch).  And while forced conscription was mainly used against males, these crimes were committed almost always to women (Ben-Ari & Harsch).  But now, new laws, like the three known as the Gender Bills (passed June 14, 2007), are being passed to put an end to domestic violence (Saunders).  Also, new workshops are being put on to support women’s rights (Kandeh).  The country will also be forming gender forums and support groups for women in abusive relationships and to encouraging women to speak out (Kandeh).

            Gender inequity in Sierra Leone is still a huge problem but many efforts are happening and its status is improving.  All of the goals for the MDG are trying to be reached by 2015 (MDGs).  Sierra Leone is also a part of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (MDGs).  This is trying to help eliminate gender discrimination in many countries, including Sierra Leone (MDGs).  So, with all of the good steps being taken, Sierra Leone may be able to really turn the problem of gender inequity around.

Annotated Bibliography

 

Ben- Ari, Nirit , and Ernest Harsch. "Sierra Leone war crimes: Women speak out                against sexual violence."Welcome to the United Nations: It's Your World.              <http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol18no4/184sierraleone.htm

           This website gave me a lot of information about the horrible things that happened               to women during the long civil war, and now.

Kargbo, Fatmata. "Sierra Leone has worst gender inequality in the world---UN."                    Cotton Tree News - Fondation Hirondelle - Freetown - Sierra Leone.                <http://www.cottontreenews.org/content/view/785/2/>

         This website gave me some insight on how Sierra Leone’s status of gender inequity             was compared to other countries.

Kandeh, Mariama. "Sierra Leone: Local Government Crucial to Putting an End to                Domestic Violence." All Africa.com. 2 July 2008.              <http://allafrica.com/stories/200807020600.html>.

          This website gave me information on some of the efforts being taken now to                 promote women’s rights and put an end to domestic violence.

"MDGs Sierra Leone Goal 3 - Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women."                UNDP Sierra Leone Country Office. 18 May 2009              <http://www.sl.undp.org/Goal3.htm>.

             This website gave me a lot of good information on the schooling and literacy of                  the country and the improvements it has recently made.

Saunders, Adelia. "MediaGlobal: Bold womens rights legislation in Sierra Leone                puts women's votes in the spotlight." MediaGlobal: Homepage.               <http://www.mediaglobal.org/article/2007-07-06/bold-womens-rights-legislation-in-sierra-        leone-puts-womens-votes-in-the-spotlight>.

             This website gave me a lot of information on the laws being made and steps                      taken to end women’s violence and promote gender equality.

"Sierra Leone: Fighting Gender Bias Ahead of Elections." IRIN. 23 Apr. 2007.                    <http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70348>.

              This website gave me information on how the indigenous groups were with gender               inequity and what they believed.  

http://org.newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/faculty/hjelmgren/africa09proj3lev.html


Last updated on May 22, 2009 by Ariel Berger