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The Adolescent Girls and Young Women Africa (AGYWA) conference that kicked off in Harare yesterday with representatives drawn from 15 countries from East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa have come together to interrogate factors militating against girls and young women’s road to self-actualization.
One of the sessions focused on East Africa and a number of issues emerged from country situation analysis of challenges faced by young women and adolescents across the regions. The meeting mapped out issues affecting girls and young women and provide a platform for them to make demands to their respective governing bodies across the three regions.
The Convener, Ms. Nyaradzo Mashayamombe, quipped “Africa should provide a platform for young women to come to the decision-making table. This is in view of the fact that gains on empowering women have been eroded by Covid 19,” she said.
The gender champion urged girls to participate and urged them: “your story is important; share it!”
Anne Agar from Kenya quoted the UNICEF Survey which indicated that 17% of girls and young women in Kenya experienced violence during Covid 19.
“This happened when schools were closed and when girls and women were locked in with perpetrators. Vulnerable women and girls especially those with disabilities, those living in slums, and the not so aligned to gender were adversely affected by hostile environments, crime, drugs, poor sanitation, lack of recreation with limited SRHR outcomes,” Agar said.
Her key message was “ensure policy implementation, increase number of women in political and leadership spaces, commit to, identify and plug the gaps and biases we all have towards AGYW.”
In Uganda, one Daryl expressed concern over the 75% maternal mortality rate of young women giving birth as well as the limited access to antenatal care due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
Concern was also raised around climate change, SRHR, leadership limitations, limited AGYW participation, GBV, and HIV. An unimaginable 40% increase was recorded on female genital mutilation (FGM) on girls during the lockdown. FGM is a concerning plague that results in hard periods, labour pains, and loss of self-esteem.
The key messages were ‘make ARVs widely available, reduce global emissions to curb climate change, ensure adequate psychosocial support in schools.’ She urged leaders to invest in girls so that they achieve their dreams and emphasised that GBV free communities can not be achieved without involving the perpetrators.
In Rwanda, the Aspire Debate Rwanda –was presented as a best practice in policy revision, education, and SRHR, affirmative action, open doors for women to prosper, increase in women-led organisations, increase in women assuming decision making positions with a 62% occupancy rate in parliament, psychosocial support to mitigate GBV and responsive policy formulation.
Concern was however raised on increased teenage pregnancies, Covid 19, poverty, and limited information on SRHR. Law No 68 of 2018 on curbing GBV was applauded. Her major recommendations were around reducing nuclear footprints to make the world a safe place for girls and respond more to teenage pregnancies.
Representatives from Tanzania gave a projection of frightening numbers of girls affected by various issues. In a country with a population of 16 million, 12 million identify as youths and 4,8 million are girls and young women. She bemoaned the gains eroded by Covid 19, non-participation of women in the 2020 elections, poor health outcomes, poor laws and policies, limited decision making due to policies and practices that prejudice women such as the requirement of USD50 000 to be admitted as an aspiring candidate and age, social and cultural limitations. The economy can only become vibrant and useful to girls if the government ‘creates a space for them to get employed and skill them to be employed.”
On climate change, she recommends policies that make it easier for girls affected by climate change to recover and become emancipated.
In Ethiopia, there is no doubt that women are differently affected by economic constraints as opposed to their male counterparts. Sadly this includes less access to credit and limited market access.
The unmet potential of women in the workforce is intrinsically linked to a lack of opportunities for women in education, health, and human rights. Women are less literate, suffer from poorer health outcomes, and have fewer basic rights than men. These wide and pervasive gender gaps hinder not only female livelihoods, but also the potential for poverty alleviation and growth on a national level. The socio-economic situations of women “make the lives of AGYW harder as they ascend to adulthood. So access to education and information is crucial in creating a better generation of AGYW in Ethiopia.”