1.6 Gender Equality Priorities and Actions

1.6 Gender Equality Priorities and Actions By Yuzki Wang

In the design proposal, the approach to gender equality is devised through four essential needs: Education, Water, Identity, and Protection.

Water: In Senegal, women and young girls are the main role-players in accessing water resources and carrying water back home. Such domestic duty is time-consuming and arduous, which often restricted them from gaining income from working or attending school. Women and girls are also extremely vulnerable and often exposed to attack and assault while traveling to and using toilet facilities (UN Water, n.d.). Securing water resources in rural areas for women and girls are also very important yet difficult to practice. Not to mention that women and girls have special sanitation needs during menstruation, pregnancy and child carrying, water is the most critical need for the female community at Baghere. And without access to safe potable water, competent sanitation practice and adequate hygiene facilities, it is unjustifiably challenging to provide a safe, healthy, constructive future for women and girls. According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) (2017), gender equality and women’s empowerment should be achieved from three dimensions: economic empowerment by enabling women to benefit from water, improved well-being by enhancing sanitation and female hygiene practice, and participation in decision-making by engaging women in decision-making in water management. Therefore, by allowing better water resources accessibility, and improving water treatment practices through the Women’s House, the female community at Baghere will have the opportunities and a better chance to reassure their self-acknowledgement and empowerment.

Identity: In traditional Senegal society, women are often identified as dependents on men. Their roles and duties are well-defined by society, and often their contribution to the household economic development is not recognized. Women’s rural activities in Senegal is mainly from agricultural

production, food providing, and craft-making (Gardio and Rakowski, 1999). A very significant phenomenon is that women are financially submissive to men due to local politics and social expectations since the French colonial. During the colonial period, women who legitimately participated and contributed to the economy would be punished and attacked for being financially independent (Bawa and Ogunyankin, 2018). The practice of controlling the female community from being financially independent did not ease in postcolonial societies. Land ownership is also a significant issue when it comes to female identities. Senegal is a country that depends on agriculture, and therefore accessibility and ownership to land become critical in rural areas. At Baghere, the rural land allocation to households is authorised by the “brorm ker”, usually the eldest male and authority (Bawa and Ogunyankin, 2018). Although according to law, women have the right to inherit the land, rural areas authority still practises marginalization by customary rule (Rubin, 2010). However, female disparity does not only happen from male society members, but female members also tended to gender discrimination against those who try to be independent. In Senegal, older women often disapprove of younger women for their independence and absence of submissiveness to male authority (Rubin, 2010). Rural areas are inadequate female empowerment and gender equality education, which broaden the gender gap and inequality. Accordingly, the Women’s House plans to engage the local female community during the construction and operation process to help them reidentify their status and roles in society. The centre adopts agriculture as both a social and economic resource, which enables the local female community to obtain new skills and knowledge, as well as self-sufficient financial income. The centre also offers weekly workshops and focus groups discussing culture and political topics to inspire local women to earn their rights within the society.

Protection: Although domestic violence has been criminalised in Senegal since 1999, domestic abuse is still socially common in rural areas. Due to lack of education and reliance on customary practice, most women are unaware that such violent behaviour is against human rights and only a few perpetrators have been brought to trail (IDRC, 2019). A Study in 2020 on domestic violence in Senegal argues that because only marriage is acceptable as a type of couple life in Senegal, forced marriages remain in today’s practice and is the key risk factor for domestic violence (Soumah and Diop, 2020). The study indicates more than half of the victims experiencing domestic violence have not completed primary school education. Besides, due to traditional societal norms, women experiencing domestic violence would not seek help from public authorities and organisations because they consider them as “culturally inappropriate”. Especially under the current Covid 19 Pandemic, there is an alarming global surge of domestic violence towards women and girls (Ndour, 2020). And so, security for the female community must be prioritized to reduce social marginalization and protect female health and mental development. Hence, the Baghere Women’s House aims to be inclusive and establish solid advocacy and recognition to enforce education and procedures which project the local female community from increased violence towards women and girls.

Education: Fulfilling water, identity and protection needs require participation in education. According to the Global Gender Gap Index (2020), Senegal scored under the global average on educational attainment and ranked 135 out of 153 countries. The reality is, although Senegal has reached gender parity in primary school enrolment, less than half of Senegalese females are literate (Global Gender Gap Index, 2020). The majority of Senegalese families could only afford to send only one child to high school, and they will be most likely to choose their male children (UNICEF, 2005). In rural areas, the issue is the most critical. Culture benchmarks, customary practices, and widespread poverty greatly restrict rural Senegalese females from completing essential education (Quelle, 2018).

In Baghere, cultural norms such as early marriage and forced marriage still occur in present. Parents would force the girls to finish school early to arrange them into a marriage. Especially at the hand of

poverty and the underprivileged, young girls have to give up their education to help their families instead (Look, 2010). It is critical yet difficult for the community to acknowledge that women education can greatly improve the health, nutrition, and quality of life of all members of the society (Browne and Barrett, 2006). Education enables women to gain independence and learn new skills to allow them to work with better productivity. Besides, women must develop skills and abilities to protect themselves from sexual diseases and violence. Women with sufficient education are also more likely to develop active roles in decision-making within their families and communities (UNICEF, 2005). Succinctly, female education is the key to create a positive cycle to improve female development and empowerment in Baghere. For this reason, the Women’s House offers basic education on human rights, sanitation, water treatment and upskilling workshops on construction and agriculture. These are the essential knowledge and skill for the Baghere female community to hold up in both human and economic spheres.

According, this report proposes a strategic set of priorities and actions of the Women’s House design in approaching Gender Equality outcomes at the Village of Baghere.

Table 11 Gender Equality Issues at Baghere and action plans proposed at the Women’s House Issues exist in Baghere Gender equality approach and action plans

WATER

IDENTITY - No potable water treatment - No proper Toilet facilities - Poor wastewater treatment - Lack of potable water education - Lack of wastewater education - Provides additional water resources for the local community - Provides competent and private toilet facilities - Free collection of potable water for the local community - Weekly female sanitation workshop - Weekly distil water workshop - Weekly potable water education

- Lack of appreciation on female contribution towards domestic development - Early marriage/force marriage - Land ownership issues - Elder female community criticized the younger female community for being independent - Lack of gender equality and human right education - Elder female community criticized younger female community from being independent - Lack of gender equality and human right education - Adopt bamboo doors and windows panels hand-woven by the local female community to support female production - Adopt colourful fabric made by local women at undercover walkway as the roofing material - Engage the female community in the construction and building operation process to reassure their community identity - Collaboration with men on labour work to reassure selfacknowledgement and empowerment - Offer a gathering space to encourage both genders to communicate and collaborate - Weekly focus groups on culture and politic topics - Weekly Agriculture workshops to introduce sustainable and profitable development - Farmers market to allow additional household income - Weekly gender equality workshop to raise awareness

PROTECTION - Domestic violence phenomenon - Victims unaware of they are experiencing domestic violence - Slut calling, body shaming - Outdated culture norms - Women consider it “culturally inappropriate” to seek help - Reliance on customary practice - Inadequate education on women protection

EDUCATION - Less than half of women are literate - Girls cannot complete essential education - Culture norms such as early / force marriage restricts girls from attending school - Customary practice such as choosing boys over girls for proper education - Poverty results in girls quitting school and help their family

Created by Y.Wang, (2021).

Figure 24 Baghere Women’s House weekly Schedule

Created by Y.Wang, (2021).

- Semi-enclose building design to provide a secure space for the local female community - Individual building blocks with courtyard design to inspire the local female community to raise their voice in a safe environment. - Engagement of local female community in construction and operation to secure land ownership - Weekly domestic violence workshop to raise awareness - Centre offers flexible morning/afternoon classes for local female members to join according to their schedules - Centre provides basic human rights education, including potable water, sanitation, gender equality, domestic violence and others - Centre provides upskill education, including agriculture, potable water treatment, wastewater treatment, renewable energy and others to improve women productivity at home - Centre provides demonstration farms and offers farmers market activates on the weekend to allow female members to gain independent income allow female members to gain independent income