Picture credit: Bible Society / Andrew Boyd
‘Closing the gender gap would set Africa on track for double-digit growth’
Africa is being held back by the inequality of women, which is a drag on social and economic development, argued ABLI Forum speaker, Rev Mfanaleni Mkhatshwa.
He said gender inequality cost sub-Saharan Africa some US$105 billion in 2014. It was time, he said, for women to be valued and empowered.
In African patriarchal societies, women were seen as second-class citizens, said Rev Mkhatshwa. Privilege and authority were reserved for men in family and society.
Excluded
According to the World Bank, ‘Africa has embraced attitudes and customs that [mean] men and women cannot participate equally in society and the economy.’
Unless women are empowered and educated, the UN believes Africa’s development goals will remain an aspiration and not a reality.
For those goals to be achievable, women would have to be recognised and valued, said Rev Mkhatshwa.
Setting Africa on track
‘Gender equality is essential to economic development,’ he said. ‘Closing the gender gap would set Africa on track for double-digit economic growth. And it would significantly contribute to meeting Africa’s development goals.’
He challenged both men and women at ABLI ‘to affirm our commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women.’ And he called for inequality and the unfair distribution of opportunity to be eradicated.
‘We must understand and appreciate that every individual – regardless of gender, skin colour or social status – is made in the image of God,’ he said. ‘Each one has a special place in God’s heart and a special role to play in our society.’
ENDS
Andrew Boyd
