GENDER
What is gender?
Gender: is the social relationship between male and female. Normally gender is the cultural dimesion which differ from one society to another.
Sex: is the biological differences between male and female.
GENDER ISSUES IN THE SOCIETY
Gender issues: These are issues which cause discussion because there is inequality between men and women in the society. Examples: bride prices, wife inheritance, Female genital mutilation (FGM), Sexual harassment etc.
Gender oppression: is the situation whereby a certain asexual category is treated harshly or oppressed simply because it belong to that category for example sticking, depriving of their important social needs.
Gender gap: is the inequality in job accessibility between two different sexes. Culturally some societies give men high priority to job opportunities than women. This situation is ground at both public and private sector in many developing countries like Tanzania where by most attractive and highly paying job are taken by men.
Gender inequality: is a situation whereby a certain kind of sex in the society is given more priority to many opportunities than another sex. Example in most African countries women is marginalized.
Gender discrimination: Is a situation where by one sex male or female is treated better or worse than the other. Or isthe situation whereby one kind of sex treated harsh or denied its right because of gender. Some traditions and customs discriminate women and favour men. Women and girls are discriminated right from the family level. For example in some societies girls are not allowed to go to school. This leads to difference in social economic and development activities.
Gender equity: This refers to the fairness distribution of resources and opportunities to the society to both men and women. For example: empowering more women ,special seat in the parliament or reculute more girls in science studies.
Gender equality: This is the equal access to opportunitiea in the society to both men and women. Example education for all. It focus on fairness and justice to all sexes without discrimination or sex preference male or female. It is based on the belief that all people are equal and should have equal access to opportunities and resources. It is practiced in giving equal rights and opportunities to men and women.
Gender analysis: This is systematic study, identifying and understanding gender inequalities and creating the gender balalance.
Gender stereo typing: is the situation whereby men dominate women in all aspect of life. This can be observed on attitudes such as gender division of labour example: to believe that boys are capable in science subject than girls.
Gender blindness: is the situation whereby the society does not understand the difference gender roles and reproductive roles.
Gender roles: Are duties and responsibilities that are performed either by men, women or both men and women in a given society.
Types of gender roles
There are two categories of gender roles and these are:-
1. Reproductive roles: These are activities that have no economic returns. However these roles are very important for social and family stability. For example a child bearing and domestic traits.
2. Productive roles: These are activities with economic gain that are performed by both men and women in a given society.
Gender balance: This refers to the situation where by there is equality in the society to both men and women.
Gender main streaming: This is the efforts of promoting gender balance in the society. Example making laws, policies and programmers. Example: making laws, policies and programs towards women empowerment.
Gender sensitive planning: is the planning that considers the need of men and women in a given society.
CUSTOMS THAT ENCOURAGES GENDER DISCRIMINATION
1. Patriarchal societies: these are societies that are organized and run by men. In these societies it is only men who are the decision maker and holder of the
power over the women and resources. Patriarchal system is common in many African societies including those of Tanzania. The system are now worldwide strongly discouraged because they favor males over females, and thus perpetuate gender discrimination.
2. Exclusion of women from decision making: In many patriarchal societies always women are denied and excluded from the right of decision making on important social economic and political issues. Normally this is conducted from the family level to national level. Therefore this encourages gender discrimination.
3. Payment of bride price: The practice of paying bride price to the parents of they married their girl is considered by men as the condition for buying that girl/women. Hence this situation encourages gender stereo typing.
4. Initiation ceremonies: This practice provides teaching to both young boys and young girls about their incoming future life. Young boys are taught how to dominate women; likewise young girls are taught how to obey their husbands. Normally this practice causes gender discrimination.
5. Food taboos: some society neglecting and prohibits women from eating some nutrition foods like chicken meat, eggs, liver etc. This is due to the fear that the child to be born will grow too big to born in abnormal way.
6. Inherence of widows: this practice encourages gender discrimination because the widow doesn't given right to inherit the properties left by her husband.
7. Forced marriages: this encourages gender discrimination because Young girls are forced to be married by men do not interested to them.
INSTITUTIONS THAT PERPETUATE GENDER DISCRIMINATION
1. The family: At the family level there is belief that boys will propagate line age and support the family while girls have to get married. Due to this belief many families preferred to educate boys more money on them at the expense of the girls when a choice has to be made between the two. As a result girls have been marginalized.
2. Religious institution: Some religious doctrine and leaders, reference to the bible or Qur'an on prohibit women from holding leadership position from religious institutions.
3. Learning institution: In these institutionalism common practice to find that boys are offered science subject and mathematics while girl are forced to study subject such as homes Thane economic subject and typing. More intelligent than while girls girl are not encourage to work hard.
4. Traditional initiation institutions: Play major role in perpetuating gender discrimination. Girls who have undergone initiation ceremonies become passive in school. This is because the traditional counselors and elders who initiate girls have always putmoreemphasisonsubsubmissivenessofwomentomen.Becauseofthatwomen arethereforedonotfullytakepartindecisionmakingathomeandinotherplaced.
5. Working places: The socialization process in the community has effects on the gender division of labour between men and women.
MAJOR EFFECTS OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION
1. Source of unequal distribution of powers: normally women are left beyond in holding power of different sectors.
2. Women continue to be left out items of development.
3. Increase of women harassment at home: women continue to face violence and aggression as they do not have any economic powerbase to support themselves.
4. It leads to the decline in number of enrollment to young girls in different learning institutions.
5. Women are badly affected by beliefs in witchcraft, poor nutrition, ignorance and poor health care.
6. It causes unequal distribution of resources between men and women in the society. Increase of oppression to women: this is through teaching initiations which prepare women to be undermined psychologically.
7. Increase of ignorance to young girls: Many women are ignorant of laws and procedure of claiming for their problems.
WAYS TO ERADICATE NEGATIVE CULTURAL PRACTICES
Therefore corrective measures should be taken jointly by the government community family non government organizations and individual citizens on the following aspects.
1. Empowerment of women: Women should be given a chance to make decisions and exercise their rights.
2. Mass education: People should be educated about the dangers of negative social cultural practices such early marriage, genital mutilation so as to make people aware of the harm caused by these practices.
3. Enhancing laws on women: the government should enhance these laws to encourage women to participate in the same social economic activities such as women should be able to own and inherit properties like land houses and businesses so as to have a strong economic base.
4. Uses of mass media: Radios, news papers and TVs can be used to educate and give people information regarding negative social practices and their effects on society.
5. Adjust the school curriculum: Students should understand the dangers of negative social cultural practices and should be taught the effects the of the practices on the society and a better way of doing things.
6. Special consideration: Women should be given special consideration in education and politics as they have been lagging behind for a long time. I.e. in politics women are given special seats in parliament and in education women are given special provisions for higher education especially in science subjects..
STRATEGIES FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
Women empowerment: refers to the process of improving women capability of having access to opportunities in various affairs like men.
1. To improves education opportunities to women. If education opportunities will improved to women, development will be achieved in the poor countries like Tanzania and the slogan that's “You educated a women you educated the whole society”.
2. To improves women access to resources such as right to own properties of production like land. This will help women to have right to inherit resource such as land.
3. To allow women to establish various social organizations. This will help them to have collective barraging power for their deprived rights. Through these organization women can ask for assistance from the government or donors in order to enable them to open various projects.
4. Prohibition of all negative cultural practices and customs that oppress women. such as female general mutilation forced and early marriages etc.
5. Good government support: The government has to ensure that women receive equal opportunities as men in all aspects social, political, and economic issues.
6. To establish special programs for improving women: This will improve life standard of the women's especially in rural areas.
7. To educate men to stop the idea that women they are created inferior compared to men.
8. To Improve rural technology: This will help to provide women with modern working facilities. For example the use of solar and biogas energy will break dependence on firewood which usually contribute to environment destruction the out of cutting tree.
Nice Study
Qn: Elaborates various customs that perpetuate gender discrimination in Tanzania. Six points.
