Our development agenda should shape the role of community-building in a gender-inclusive manner. Our aim should be to push beyond the hand-me-down types of projects for women to developing businesses that have the potential to scale up.
There is so much happening all over the world. Global development events appear to have taken on a particular type of dynamism or disruption, with changes emerging rapidly on many fronts. It has become pertinent to build scenarios of possible outcomes in anticipation of the kind of dominant governance structures or trade agreements that may soon evolve. The reality shows occurring on the world stage, which include the ‘new relationship’ between North Korea and the USA, South Korea and North Korea (with China in the mix), are entertaining and intriguing. We must not forget Russia and the new love story between the American President and Japan (momentarily?). Last but not the least is the exchange of words that ensued at the G7 meeting between Trudeau and Trump. Some of us also continue to watch with horror how disruptors are challenging the rule of law in countries traditionally known to uphold the law above all else. There are disruptions taking place in interactions between nationalism and traditional capitalist collective bargaining, with a heightened threat of trade wars amongst the superpowers.
Back home in Nigeria, the race for the 2019 elections begins in earnest. Some do not think it’s a race. It is perceived in certain quarters that the polls at the federal level are pretty much cast in stone. In all of this, I am particularly burdened by the quest for us to have better female representation in the next administration since many seem to think we have fizzled into irrelevance in the last couple of years. The predatory and often archaic narratives surrounding women’s involvement in politics and the workplace continue to pervade private discourse and patriarchal mindsets.
The 2017 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) progress report states that “women still face considerable structural disadvantages in escaping poverty”. The report highlights many issues which continue to impact negatively on women’s rights. It states that “all over the world, women continue to be largely underrepresented in parliaments and senior management positions, with less than one-third representation in either domain in most regions of the world”.
Women are pivotal to the success of the development agenda. It is, therefore, essential that socio-economic development at all levels, inclusive of the bottom of the pyramid, takes cognizance of the role women play in nation-building and economic development. This role is in no way stereotypical or a pattern of generalization because every woman is an individual who makes choices and decisions that are suited to them. In an entirely progressive manner, the role which every individual plays within communities is essential. The functions men, children, and women or the elderly play should all be accorded due recognition and dignity that are expected. The narratives for women should, therefore, not be one of indignity and subordination. The massive cry that we heard across the world in the last couple of months, about teenage girls being raped and murdered in India and another put on death row in Sudan for an act of self-defence, is in order as these acts are in themselves medieval and grievous acts of cruelty. Child marriage and rape are acts against humanity which will have devasting effects on our sustainable future.
Our development agenda should shape the role of community-building in a gender-inclusive manner. Our aim should be to push beyond the hand-me-down types of projects for women to developing businesses that have the potential to scale up. This means that we have to recognize the possibilities, understand the objectives and articulate the outcomes that we want to see. Women bring a lot to the table; they help transform our communities, build active social values and economic advancement to our homes if supported. The practical framework for intervention must, therefore, include bold plans to scale women-led businesses with clear sustainability plans.
The intensity of abuse that women experience must stop; it is antithetical to any form of development agenda. We must all, therefore, aggressively and decisively stamp it out. State actors must be a driving force for change with dynamic reorientation carried out within enforcement agencies which are most complicit in not enforcing laws meant to protect the vulnerable in our midst. An initiative like the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team is a typical example of state-owned machinery which is aggressively trying to right the wrong of many ills meted against women. We need to push beyond old cultural and religious beliefs which draw strength from faulty architectural designs to more humane and equitable interactions between the male and female gender.
