Economic independence would help free many African women from human rights abuses. Across the continent, many women are forced into horrific situations that most in developed nations can scarcely fathom. In 2004, Amnesty International released a report entitled Rape as a Weapon of War in Darfur in which more than 100 refugees were interviewed about their experiences in the conflict in that nation. Today, rape of women and girls is still being used as a method of humiliation and intimidation Darfur. For African women in other countries, the choices that they have to make in order to survive make them prime targets for use and abuse. If these women were given greater control over their financial situations and the ability to make money, the threat of abuse would not disappear, but it would subside. Economic independence would chiefly give them the ability to avoid making choices that could expose them to HIV/AIDS. It would also give them a hand at the bartering table for goods and services that many of them have never had before.
Over the past three decades, many studies have been conducted to get a gauge on whether economic independence would have a positive effect on the plight of African women. One such recent study does even more to determine the benefits of empowering African women. Conducted by Physicians for Human Rights, the study focused on the alarming female HIV/AIDS rate in Swaziland and Botswana. Many women in Africa engage in prostitution and other sexual practices to get the basic necessities and it is leading to horrific consequences. In Botswana, approximately 44 percent of women and 36 percent of men aged 30 to 35 are estimated to be HIV positive (Rights, 2007). It is estimated that 23.9 percent of adults aged 15-49 are living with HIV/AIDS in the nation. In Swaziland, that number climbs to 26.1 percent (UNAIDS, 2008) and it is estimated that 54.5 percent of those are women (Rights, 2007).
Researchers in the Physicians for Human Rights study concluded that the drastic number of females living with HIV/AIDS in both Swaziland and Botswana were due to gender inequalities that tie directly to their economic dependence on the men in their lives. Karen Leitner, the study’s chief author, had this to say in a statement released at the same time the report was made available to the public:
Over the past three decades, many studies have been conducted to get a gauge on whether economic independence would have a positive effect on the plight of African women. One such recent study does even more to determine the benefits of empowering African women. Conducted by Physicians for Human Rights, the study focused on the alarming female HIV/AIDS rate in Swaziland and Botswana. Many women in Africa engage in prostitution and other sexual practices to get the basic necessities and it is leading to horrific consequences. In Botswana, approximately 44 percent of women and 36 percent of men aged 30 to 35 are estimated to be HIV positive (Rights, 2007). It is estimated that 23.9 percent of adults aged 15-49 are living with HIV/AIDS in the nation. In Swaziland, that number climbs to 26.1 percent (UNAIDS, 2008) and it is estimated that 54.5 percent of those are women (Rights, 2007).
Researchers in the Physicians for Human Rights study concluded that the drastic number of females living with HIV/AIDS in both Swaziland and Botswana were due to gender inequalities that tie directly to their economic dependence on the men in their lives. Karen Leitner, the study’s chief author, had this to say in a statement released at the same time the report was made available to the public:
"If we are to reduce the continuing, extraordinary HIV prevalence in Botswana
and Swaziland, particularly among women, the countries' leaders need to enforce
women's legal rights, and offer them sufficient food and economic opportunities
to gain agency in their own lives. Men and women must be educated and supported
to acknowledge women's equal status with men and abandon these prejudices and
risky sexual practices. The impact of women's lack of power should
not be underestimated."
The PHR study concluded that one of the primary reasons for the high HIV/AIDS rate among women in the two countries is the failure of their governments to “promote the equality, autonomy and economic independence of women.”
The continuing lack of gender equality across many parts of Africa is the primary reason why women continue to be used as property and given little regard for having the desire to gain independence. In South Africa, after suffering decades of oppression under Apartheid, black women with a desire to become business owners have been labeled as “empowerment Spice Girls”, facilitators of wealth accumulation by captains of industry and beneficiaries of patriarchal institutions (Iheduru, 2003). Never mind that many of these women are just as well-educated as their male counterparts.
The deeply held belief that women have to maintain strong familial, gender-based roles continues to lend to a disrespect of their accomplishments in the business industry. In an article for the Journal of Developing Societies, Okechukwu Iheduru wonders whether the growing number of women entering the business world is simply a mirage or an indication of the opening up of political spaces, or of a narrowing of gender inequality (Iheduru, 2003). The constant ridicule of the decision by these women to gain some sense of autonomy points to the reality that the success of their efforts would put them in a place of power—a place that many of the men in those nations would rather not see them in.
Iheduru notes that post-Apartheid, South African black women knew early on that their real freedom and autonomy lay in carving out their own niche in the business world. He writes that they responded by mobilizing professional, urban, and rural women for business entrepreneurship as an arena for challenging an apparent emerging alliance between patriarchy and capitalism (Iheduru, 2003). Later in the report he writes, “Women’s corporate entrepreneurship, therefore, has a symbolic importance that explicitly questions popular conceptions of the position of women in society.” It is this notion of a woman’s “place in society” that continues to dog many women in Africa and across the globe still today.
A January, 2009 Business Week article asks, “Where Are the Women” at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Morice Mendoza writes, “A glance at the attendance list shows that women are not being allowed to take their rightful place in attacking 21st century economic problems (Mendoza, 2009).” Of the 81 business leaders in attendance at this year’s event, only four were women. If more women are not at the table during events like the World Economic Forum, the ability of African women to become empowered economically will continue to be a seemingly impossible proposition.
In light of the current global financial crisis, the United Nations and World Bank are hoping to make countries see that empowering women is “smart economics”. In a statement released shortly after the 53rd meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women, Mayra Buvinic, Senior Spokesperson on Gender Equality and Development of the World Bank notes, “The role of women in pulling countries out of economic peril was vital, she said, noting that countries worldwide had coped with previous crises by putting more women into the workplace. That was true, for example, during the Great Depression in the United States and the Latin American crisis of the 1990s.”
If more African nations decide to hedge their bets on women helping them through the economic crisis, it will be a bittersweet moment of advancement. Yes, the women would be assisting their countries in avoiding further peril as they make their own money, but they will in essence be being used yet again. Prior to this crisis, most of them were regarded as not having any value. Also, who is to say how this movement into the workplace will be regulated? Will the women merely be working for slave wages as the countries reap huge benefits? How would this be monitored? The intent of the World Bank seems genuine, but the possibility for further abuse is very high.
Considering the global economic crisis, it is absolutely imperative that world leaders do more to help women in African nations break free from human rights abuses. During the 53rd meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women, it was noted that “the crisis, if not addressed effectively, could increase poverty levels and jeopardize future development” (Women, 2009) in various nations. It is for this very reason that now more than ever, the human rights abuses of women in Africa must be given a fresh examination. This must be accompanied by new efforts to increase economic empowerment of women on the continent. If this does not happen, by the time the dust settles on the global economic crisis, even the smallest advances that have been made in the struggle to help African women gain equality will have been completely eradicated.
The continuing lack of gender equality across many parts of Africa is the primary reason why women continue to be used as property and given little regard for having the desire to gain independence. In South Africa, after suffering decades of oppression under Apartheid, black women with a desire to become business owners have been labeled as “empowerment Spice Girls”, facilitators of wealth accumulation by captains of industry and beneficiaries of patriarchal institutions (Iheduru, 2003). Never mind that many of these women are just as well-educated as their male counterparts.
The deeply held belief that women have to maintain strong familial, gender-based roles continues to lend to a disrespect of their accomplishments in the business industry. In an article for the Journal of Developing Societies, Okechukwu Iheduru wonders whether the growing number of women entering the business world is simply a mirage or an indication of the opening up of political spaces, or of a narrowing of gender inequality (Iheduru, 2003). The constant ridicule of the decision by these women to gain some sense of autonomy points to the reality that the success of their efforts would put them in a place of power—a place that many of the men in those nations would rather not see them in.
Iheduru notes that post-Apartheid, South African black women knew early on that their real freedom and autonomy lay in carving out their own niche in the business world. He writes that they responded by mobilizing professional, urban, and rural women for business entrepreneurship as an arena for challenging an apparent emerging alliance between patriarchy and capitalism (Iheduru, 2003). Later in the report he writes, “Women’s corporate entrepreneurship, therefore, has a symbolic importance that explicitly questions popular conceptions of the position of women in society.” It is this notion of a woman’s “place in society” that continues to dog many women in Africa and across the globe still today.
A January, 2009 Business Week article asks, “Where Are the Women” at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Morice Mendoza writes, “A glance at the attendance list shows that women are not being allowed to take their rightful place in attacking 21st century economic problems (Mendoza, 2009).” Of the 81 business leaders in attendance at this year’s event, only four were women. If more women are not at the table during events like the World Economic Forum, the ability of African women to become empowered economically will continue to be a seemingly impossible proposition.
In light of the current global financial crisis, the United Nations and World Bank are hoping to make countries see that empowering women is “smart economics”. In a statement released shortly after the 53rd meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women, Mayra Buvinic, Senior Spokesperson on Gender Equality and Development of the World Bank notes, “The role of women in pulling countries out of economic peril was vital, she said, noting that countries worldwide had coped with previous crises by putting more women into the workplace. That was true, for example, during the Great Depression in the United States and the Latin American crisis of the 1990s.”
If more African nations decide to hedge their bets on women helping them through the economic crisis, it will be a bittersweet moment of advancement. Yes, the women would be assisting their countries in avoiding further peril as they make their own money, but they will in essence be being used yet again. Prior to this crisis, most of them were regarded as not having any value. Also, who is to say how this movement into the workplace will be regulated? Will the women merely be working for slave wages as the countries reap huge benefits? How would this be monitored? The intent of the World Bank seems genuine, but the possibility for further abuse is very high.
Considering the global economic crisis, it is absolutely imperative that world leaders do more to help women in African nations break free from human rights abuses. During the 53rd meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women, it was noted that “the crisis, if not addressed effectively, could increase poverty levels and jeopardize future development” (Women, 2009) in various nations. It is for this very reason that now more than ever, the human rights abuses of women in Africa must be given a fresh examination. This must be accompanied by new efforts to increase economic empowerment of women on the continent. If this does not happen, by the time the dust settles on the global economic crisis, even the smallest advances that have been made in the struggle to help African women gain equality will have been completely eradicated.
References
Iheduru, O. C. (2003). Corporate Amazons or Empowerment Spice Girls?: Elite Black Businesswomen and Transformation in South Africa. Journal of Developing Societies , 473-508.
Mendoza, M. (2009, January 26). Davos 2009: Where Are the Women? Retrieved July 17, 2009, from Business Week Online: http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jan2009/gb20090126_612317.htm
Rights, P. f. (2007). Epidemic of Inequality: Women's Rights and HIV/AIDS in Botswana &Swaziland. Cambridge: Physicians for Human Rights.
UNAIDS. (2008). 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic. Geneva: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
Women, C. o. (2009). 53rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women: Moderator's Report. New York: Commission on the Status of Women.
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