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Begin New Search Topic Gender Issues Political Geography Africa Content Type Policy Brief

1. Protecting Women from Intimate Partner Homicide in Post-Conflict Societies: Policy Options for Rwanda

Author:
Clementine Kanazayire
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Social Science Research Council
Abstract:
This policy briefing note addresses the challenges and opportunities for identifying women victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) who are at an increased risk of being killed by their partners. It is based on the findings of an APN-supported research project and makes specific recommendations aimed at reducing the rate of intimate partner homicide (IPH) against women in Rwanda. During the genocide against Tutsis, rape was used as a weapon against Tutsi women to humiliate and destroy the targeted group.1 The 2003 Consti- tution of the Republic of Rwanda amended in 2015 marked the turning point for gender equality in the country by putting in place provisions, policies, and programs to increase women’s role in socioeconomic reconstruction. Among other actions, it reserved 24 out of 80 seats in parliament exclusively for women representatives. Rwanda is one of the African countries that domestically implemented UN Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS). Regarding this agenda’s call for the abolition of gender-based violence (GBV) in all its forms, the government of Rwanda ratified Law No. 59/2008 on Prevention and Punishment of Gender-Based Violence, which was reinforced by Law No. 68/2018 of 30/08/2018 on Determining Offences and Penalties in General, and the Organic Law No. 01/2012/OL of 02/05/2012, which instituted the penal code for marital rape, forced marriage, child defile- ment, and human trafficking. Subsequently, institutions and programs were established for preventing GBV and providing integrated medical, psychological, and legal services to victims of GBV. Over the past years, Rwanda has made important prog- ress toward gender equality and heightened awareness of GBV, which has resulted in an increase in the reporting of cases of GBV. However, given that IPV in some cases leads to homicide, it continues to pose a major challenge. This brief is based on an adaptation of the Danger Assessment Instrument (DA-20), which measures the risk of IPH in Rwanda for women who have already experienced intimate partner violence. After adaptation, a version of DA-25 has been developed for the Rwan- dan context and its predictive validity has been tested on a sample of 424 women living in the northern region of Rwanda who responded to two scales: Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAS-8 short scale), which assesses IPV, and DA-25.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Genocide, Women, Protected People, and Domestic Violence
Political Geography:
Africa and Rwanda

2. Women and COVID-19 in MENA

Author:
Amaney Jamal and Mary Clare Roche
Publication Date:
06-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Arab Barometer
Abstract:
Key Findings: Women more concerned about COVID-19 than men COVID-19 increased family stress Perceptions of gender based violence tended to decrease during the pandemic Structural barriers to work more pressing than cultural barriers
Topic:
Gender Issues, Women, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, North Africa, and MENA

3. Gains and Gaps: Perceptions and Experiences of Gender in Africa

Author:
Carmen Alpin Lardies, Dominique Dryding, and Carolyn Logan
Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
Key findings Africans share at least some of the SDG ambitions to create more equal societies. Across 34 countries, substantial majorities support women’s right to run for political office (71%) and to own and inherit land (72%). They are less committed, however, to full economic equality: A much slimmer majority (53%) favour equal access to paying jobs for women, compared to 42% who believe men should have preference. And even a woman’s fundamental right to physical safety has less-than-universal support: More than one in four Africans (28%) – including 24% of women – still see wife-beating as justifiable. In Gabon and Liberia, seven in 10 citizens share this view. While most Africans say girls and boys now have equal access to education, significant gender gaps in educational achievement remain. Even among the youngest cohort, more women than men have no formal education, and more men than women have post-primary schooling. Large majorities also say that women have achieved equal access to jobs. But women are less likely to participate in the labour market (55% vs. 67% of men), and among those who do, women are more likely to be unemployed (52% vs. 39%). About one in eight women (12%) say they experienced discrimination based on their gender during the past year. One in three (32%) Liberian women report this experience. Women lag behind men in ownership of assets and are substantially less likely to have decision-making power over household resources. Women also trail men on indicators of digital access and connection. And the gap may be widening: Although women’s Internet use has doubled over the past five years, the gender gap in regular Internet use has increased. Africans are divided on the question of whether women are making progress; 49% say equal opportunities and treatment for women are better than a few years ago, but almost as many say they are the same (31%) or worse (19%). Nonetheless, almost two-thirds (64%) give their governments positive marks on promoting equal rights. There is, in short, some disconnect between popular satisfaction with equality performance and significant – and sometimes growing – gaps in actual achievement.
Topic:
Education, Gender Issues, Poverty, Inequality, Sustainable Development Goals, and Feminism
Political Geography:
Africa

4. Removing Obstacles to Women’s Participation at the Peace Table and in Politics

Author:
Pearl Karuhanga Atuhaire and Grace Ndirangu
Publication Date:
03-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Women In International Security (WIIS)
Abstract:
Women who seek to participate in peace processes and political decision-making face many obstacles. To achieve sustainable peace and development, societies emerging from conflict must remove these obstacles. In so doing, they must recognize and prioritize that women are fully capable of active participation in all political processes. Women’s equal participation in leadership at every level and in every sector is imperative to eliminating gender-based violence, poverty and enabling sustainable peace. Across the globe, women are increasingly assuming political leadership. For example, Ethiopia elected a woman president in 2018, and half of the nation’s parliamentarians are women. In the Republic of Rwanda, women make up 78 percent of the representation in parliament.1 Leadership in politics and peacebuilding are linked. That is, women’s political leadership paves the way for women’s participation in peacebuilding processes and vice versa.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Gender Issues, International Cooperation, Peacekeeping, Women, and Negotiation
Political Geography:
Africa and Rwanda

5. Participation in Non-Farm Activities in Rural Sudan: Patterns and Determinants

Author:
Ebaidalla M. Ebaidalla
Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
Abstract:
Despite the importance of non-farm income in the livelihood of the rural population in Sudan, information available on its size and determinants is scant. This study examined the patterns and determinants of decisions to participate in non-farm activities in rural Sudan. It also investigates whether the determinants of participation in non-farm activities vary across agriculture sub-sectors and income groups as well as among males and females. The data for this study was sourced from the Sudanese National Baseline Household Survey (NBHS) conducted by Sudan’s Central Bureau of Statistics in 2009. The results show that non-farm income is a crucial source of livelihood, contributing about 43% to household income in rural Sudan. The results of multinomial logit and probit estimation methods indicate that educational level, mean of transportation, lack of land and lack of access to formal credit are the most significant factors that push rural farmers to participate in non-farm activities. Surprisingly, the effect of household income was positive and significant, implying that individuals from rich households have higher opportunity to engage in non-farm activities compared to their poor counterparts. Moreover, the analysis revealed some symptoms of gender and location disparities in the effect of factors that influence participation in non-farm activities. The study concluded with some recommendations that aim to enhance the engagement in non-farm activities as an important diversification strategy to complement the role of the agriculture sector in improving rural economy in Sudan.
Topic:
Agriculture, Economics, Gender Issues, Income Inequality, and Rural
Political Geography:
Africa and Sudan

6. Household Economic Well-Being and Child Health in The Democratic Republic of Congo

Author:
Janvier Mwisha-Kasiwa
Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
Abstract:
Health is both a direct component of human well-being and a form of human capital that increases an individual’s capabilities and opportunities to generate income and reduces vulnerability. It is argued that these two views are complementary, and both can be used to justify increased investment in health in developing countries. Therefore, investment in child health constitutes a potential mechanism to end the intergenerational transmission of poverty. This paper examines the empirical impact of household economic well-being on child health, and the gender differences in effects using the Demographic and Health Survey conducted in 2014. A series of econometric tools are used; the control function approach appears to be the most appropriate strategy as it simultaneously removes structural parameters from endogeneity, the sample selection and heterogeneity of the unobservable variables. Results suggest a significant positive effect of household economic well-being on child health. However, the magnitude of the effect varies by gender of household head; children from households headed by males appear healthier compared to those from female-headed households. In the context of DR Congo, female-headed households often have a single parent, therefore, the economic well-being effect on child health in the male sub-sample can be considered to include the unobserved contribution of women. These results have implications for public interventions that enable women to participate in paid labour market activities as a means of improving household economic well-being, which in turn could improve child health.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Gender Issues, Health, Health Care Policy, and Children
Political Geography:
Africa and Democratic Republic of Congo

7. Toward gender equity and women’s empowerment

Author:
Jean-Philippe Platteau
Publication Date:
10-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
There are three main channels of women’s empowerment: legal or policy reforms, outside economic opportunities, and collective action. Legal (or policy) reforms are generally based on statutory laws that enact rules to be followed or prohibit certain practices. External economic opportunities for women represent alternative activities and places of working and living. Collective action brings women together to advance their collective interests.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Women, Discrimination, Equality, and Empowerment
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Africa, China, Europe, Turkey, India, Asia, and Senegal

8. Drought, Displacement and Livelihoods in Somalia/Somaliland: Time for Gender-Sensitive and Protection-Focused Approaches

Author:
Emma Fanning
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Thousands of Somali families were displaced to urban centres by the 2017 drought. Research by a group of NGOs indicates that they do not intend to return home anytime soon. It also shows how precarious and limited are the livelihood opportunities for displaced people in Somalia; how far people’s options are affected by gender; and how changing gender dynamics present further protection threats to both men and women. Comparing the findings for Somaliland with those for the rest of the country, the research underscores the importance of local dynamics for people’s opportunities and protection. Gaps were highlighted in the provision of basic services for women particularly. Local, state and federal authorities, donors, and humanitarian and development actors need to improve displaced people’s immediate access to safe, gender-sensitive basic services – and to develop plans for more durable solutions to displacement. As floods in April to June 2018 have forced more people to leave their homes, an immediate step up in the response is essential.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Displacement, NGOs, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa and Somalia

9. Transitioning Toward Gender Justice: A Trend Analysis of 13 African cases

Author:
Maxine Rubin
Publication Date:
10-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
Gender justice sees equal power relations, privilege, dignity, and freedom for people of different genders as a necessary component for any “just” society and a prerequisite for development.1 Gender justice includes gender equality, meaning substantive freedom for all genders to have genuine choices about their lives. Mirroring a global pattern in peace and security practice and policy-making, transitional justice (TJ) practice has tended to reduce gender justice concerns to violence against women (VAW). This policy brief advocates for policy-makers to adopt a broader and more meaningful understanding of gender justice, and to incorporate it into their TJ policymaking.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Women, Gender Based Violence, Violence, Justice, and Reconciliation
Political Geography:
Africa, South Africa, Algeria, Mozambique, and Rwanda

10. Gender and Mediation in Guinea-Bissau

Author:
Adriana Erthal Abdenur
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Igarapé Institute
Abstract:
On July 10, 2017, the President of Guinea Bissau, José Mário Vaz, met politician Domingos Simões Pereira, who had served as Prime Minister from 2014 to August 2015. Although Pereira remained head of the country’s major political party, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cabo Verde (PAIGC), he had been dismissed (along with the entire cabinet) by the president in August 2015 during a power struggle between the two men. In a public statement, Vaz had justified the dismissal by referring to a “breach of trust. ” For two years following this event, Vaz and Pereira had refused to speak to each other over differences regarding the implementation of the Conakry Accord, which sought to address some of the root causes of the country’s recurring political instability. Given the personal acrimony involved, as well as political differences, the meeting between Vaz and Pereira came as something of a surprise to observers. Yet behind the scenes, a small group of women facilitators had worked intensely for months to bring the two men in the same room. The meeting resulted from their persistent yet discreet efforts to help lessen tensions around the impasse by promoting dialogue among the key actors. This policy brief addresses the origins and development of the Group of Women Facilitators (Grupo de Mulheres Facilitatoras – GMF), focusing on the period from May to November 2017. Although the brief does not offer a systematic evaluation of the initiative, the general impact of the GMF during these six months on the Conakry Agreement debates and, more broadly, on Guinea-Bissau’s political scene are assessed in light of the objectives the group set out for itself in May. The analysis draws on a combination of desk review of policy documents from the Guinea-Bissau government, major international organizations such as the UN and ECOWAS, and civil society entities in GuineaBissau, as well as semi-structured interviews with group members and other stakeholders carried out in Bissau in November 2017.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Gender Issues, Peacekeeping, Women, and Negotiation
Political Geography:
Africa and Guinea-Bissau