Shadows of Inequality : The Gender Gap in Mali’s Labor Force:
In Africa, the disparity in employment between genders is a significant issue, and this is particularly severe in Mali. Mali holds the record for the lowest average percentage of female employment globally, at just 0.235%.
Hidden Horrors: The Stark Truth of Mali’s Gender Employment Divide:
The problem evidence according to the visualizations are:
In the year 2000, Mali showed a modest but promising 13% employment rate for women. However, as of 2021, this rate has distressingly declined to 10% due to political instability in addition to restrictive cultural and political norms.
In the year 2021 the proportion of employed males to females is (9:1) meaning for each 9 males employed one female is employed which is the lowest in Africa and in the world.
The above can be further highlighted by the ongoing political and social crises have exacerbated these inequalities, impacting women’s ability to secure stable and equitable employment. The lack of access to justice and societal pressures further limit their economic opportunities. The political, social, and security crises since 2012, including military coups and internal armed conflicts, have further worsened the situation, leading to significant displacement and increased vulnerabilities for women and girls, particularly in terms of access to equal gender employment.
A Ray in the Dark: Confronting Mali’s Gender employment Disparities
Potential Solutions:
Initiatives by UN Women and partners designed to enhance women’s economic empowerment in Mali.
Key focus areas of these initiatives include entrepreneurship development, promotion of climate-smart agriculture practices, and increasing women’s participation in the workforce.
A dual approach focusing on changing societal norms about female employment and improving equal opportunity access for females.
Such efforts are essential for dismantling the barriers to employment that women encounter.
Ensuring gender equality in the labor market is a critical objective of these initiatives.
Navigating the Storm: Striving for Gender employment Justice in Mali
Solution Details:
Implement a comprehensive strategy to tackle the challenges of gender employment disparity in Mali.
Advocate for policy reforms to guarantee equal employment opportunities and equitable treatment for women in the workplace.
Initiate capacity building programs to empower women with necessary skills and resources for various job sectors.
Focus on gender-responsive planning and budgeting to establish sustainable economic opportunities for women, especially in underrepresented sectors.
Support women’s entrepreneurship and promote their integration into urban and rural economies.
Measuring Shadows: Gauging the Impact of Gender employment Inequality Interventions
Measure success in addressing gender inequality in employment by tracking the increase in women’s workforce participation.
Use wage parity as an indicator of progress towards gender equality in employment.
Monitor the representation of women in leadership roles across different sectors as a benchmark for success.
Emerging from Darkness: Urgent Steps Towards Gender employment Parity in Mali
Advocate for policy reforms to establish equal employment opportunities for women, including laws for equal pay and anti-discrimination during hiring.
Increase funding and support for women’s vocational training and entrepreneurship programs.
Research emphasize the importance of changing social perceptions and beliefs about women’s equal employment in Mali.
Build partnerships with both local and international organizations to implement and support gender equality initiatives.
Engage community leaders, businesses, and men to shift societal attitudes toward gender equality in the workforce.
Promote the participation of women in decision-making roles within organizations to foster a balanced and inclusive work environment.
Crisis Unveiled: The Stark Reality of Gender Literacy Disparity in Chad
Across Africa, gender literacy disparity is a significant issue, but in Chad, this gap is particularly alarming. The country has one of the highest gender literacy gaps globally, with a drastic difference in literacy rates between men and women.
Alarming Evidence: The Bleak Figures of Gender Inequality
According to the visualizations, the problem evidence is:
The proportion of literate young males to females is 2:1 (Gender Literacy Disparity Ratio of 0.4985) which is the worst in Africa, and the world.
Despite progress leading up to 2003 due to the Millenium Development Goals, Chad’s political tensions, including tensions due to political rebel groups, have hindered female youth literacy, which is now fluctuating due to post-conflict tension relief and Covid-19 impact, however, still is yet to go above the 2003 High.
Less than one in three young females are literate in 2021.
This disparity is further highlighted by the socio-economic and political challenges unique to Chad. Women’s literacy is severely impacted by their involvement in vulnerable employment, increased domestic responsibilities, and societal norms that prioritize early marriage over education. These factors contribute to a widening gender literacy gap, particularly during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ray of Hope: Envisioning a Path to Literacy Equality
Potential Solution
Cultural and Educational Reform to Enhance Female Literacy in Chad
A dual approach focusing on changing societal norms about female education and improving educational access and quality for young females.
Programs to shift perceptions about female education at the community level, while also improving educational facilities and content.
Turning the Tide: Innovative Solutions in the Shadow of Despair
Solution Details:
Community Sensitization Programs: Launching programs aimed at changing societal attitudes towards female education. These should involve community dialogues, awareness campaigns, and involvement of influential community figures to advocate for the importance of educating girls.
Policy Advocacy for Gender Equality in Education: Working with government and local authorities to push for policies that prioritize and protect girls’ education rights, including mandatory education laws that are gender-neutral.
Female-Focused Educational Infrastructure: Developing schools that cater specifically to girls, with facilities and environments that respect cultural norms while providing a safe space for girls to learn.
Curriculum that Challenges Gender Stereotypes: Designing educational content that challenges traditional gender roles and promotes gender equality, helping to shift perceptions from a young age
Triumph Amidst Turmoil: Validating the Beacon of Change
To validate these solutions:
Community Feedback and Participation: Collecting feedback from community members to ensure initiatives align with cultural sensitivities and actual needs.
Measuring Shift in Perceptions: Conducting surveys to assess changes in community attitudes towards female education over time.
Monitoring Educational Outcomes: Tracking enrollment, literacy rates, and retention of girls in schools to evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented solutions.
Urgent Call to Action: Recommendations to Break the Chains of Illiteracy
Findings/Recommendations:
Critical Need for Cultural Change: Research highlights the need to alter societal norms and attitudes towards female education in Chad.
Integrated Approach for Meaningful Progress: Combining educational reform with cultural transformation is essential for improving female literacy.
Long-Term Commitment and Strategy: Addressing deep-rooted societal beliefs requires long-term, strategic planning with sustained effort from all involved parties.
Collaboration is Key: Emphasizing the importance of cooperation between local communities, government, and international partners to drive change.
Empowerment Through Education: Recognizing that educating girls extends beyond literacy; it empowers them to become active, equal participants in society.
In Chad, the gender literacy gap is alarmingly high, with young women facing significant educational disadvantages due to socio-economic and cultural barriers, including political instability. Addressing this requires a multifaceted approach involving community sensitization to shift attitudes towards female education, policy advocacy for gender equality, the establishment of female-focused schools, and curriculum reforms challenging traditional gender roles. Success hinges on collaborative, long-term strategies and monitoring educational outcomes to empower women as equal participants in society.
SDG Goals Involved:
SDG 4 (Quality Education): Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
SDG 4.5: Eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, and children in vulnerable situations.
SDG 4.5.1: Measures the proportion of students in primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary education who have access to education without discrimination based on gender, disability, or other factors.
SDG 4.5.2: Focuses on the elimination of disparities in participation rates in organized learning (one year before the official primary entry age), by gender and other demographic factors.
SDG 4.5.3: Addresses disparities in tertiary education, measuring the participation rate by sex, socioeconomic status, and other factors.
SDG 5 (Gender Equality): Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
SDG 5.6: Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights.
SDG 5.6.1: Tracks the proportion of women aged 15-49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use, and reproductive health care.
SDG 5.6.2: Measures the number of countries with laws and regulations that guarantee women aged 15-49 years access to sexual and reproductive health care, information, and education.
SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities): Reduce inequality within and among countries.
SDG 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including through eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices.
SDG 10.3.1: Focuses on the proportion of the population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed within the last 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law.
SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals): Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.
SDG 17.18: Enhance capacity-building support to developing countries to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely, and reliable data.
SDG 17.18.1: Tracks the number of countries that have national statistical legislation that complies with the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.
Access to electricity significantly drives societal progress by enhancing healthcare, education, and economic growth. However, Africa faces a considerable disparity with notably lower rates of electricity accessibility compared to other regions globally. Addressing this disparity is imperative to empower African communities, enabling opportunities for development, innovation, and an improved standard of living for millions.
The issue of electricity access, particularly in Africa, is directly related to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7), which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030. SDG 7 is an integral part of the global development agenda, emphasizing the importance of energy in achieving several other sustainable development goals.
Let’s list the issues of electricity access in Africa with some details:
– Access to Electricity (Energy Poverty): SDG 7 aims to provide electricity for all, but many in Africa still lack modern energy services. Enhancing electricity access is essential to reduce energy poverty, improve livelihoods, and drive socio-economic development.
– Promotion of Renewable Energy: SDG 7 promotes renewable energy, and many African nations are turning to solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal power. These sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels provide clean energy and expand electricity access.
– Efficiency and Infrastructure Development: SDG 7 calls for better energy efficiency and infrastructure in Africa. Modernizing energy infrastructure and overcoming transmission and distribution challenges are vital to expand electricity access.
– Addressing Energy Inequality: SDG 7 seeks to bridge the energy gap, ensuring marginalized and rural communities have equal access to energy services. In Africa, rural populations often lack basic electricity, making energy poverty a pressing issue. Targeting these communities is essential to achieving SDG 7.
– Sustainable Economic Growth: Electricity fuels economic growth by enabling businesses, industries, healthcare, education, and overall productivity. Achieving SDG 7 in Africa can drive sustainable economic prosperity across the continent.
– Partnerships and Investments: SDG 7 highlights the need for partnerships, collaborations, and investments in the energy sector. African countries require significant domestic and international investments, as well as partnerships between governments, private entities, and international organizations, to achieve SDG 7 and improve energy access and infrastructure.
In summary, tackling energy access challenges in Africa aligns with SDG 7’s goals and indicators. Access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy is crucial for Africa’s development and achieving other Sustainable Development Goals.
Imagine the little Smurf village we all grew up with, the precious community of tiny blue creatures, each distinguished by a special trait. Some of these traits are arguably better than others. Indeed, the village could maybe do without Brainy Smurf’s long lectures, and some Smurfs may find affinity in being spared of some of Jokey Smurf’s exploding presents. These collective peculiarities however have always been directed at the best interest of the village, all under the fatherly supervision of our beloved Papa Smurf. That being said, an entity lying deep inside the forest constantly threatens our friendly family, and even though Gargamel is only one person, his size and abilities pose a serious concern to the village as a whole.
Now imagine a group of little countries united for the best interest of their people, constantly working on nullifying their negative impact on nature by investing into renewable energies in an effort to ditch such polluting sources as combustible fuels. Their effort is met with success, however the quest for power seems to be a bigger concern for an entity lying thousands of miles away. An entity whose size exceeds that of all our little countries combined: Enter the conflict of power and sustainability between the EU and China.
Since my mother’s middle school years, otherwise known as the early 80s, the EU, represented by France and Belgium witnessed a considerable increase in alternative and nuclear energy use, offset by a similarly acute decline in fossil fuel energy consumption. One can hardly say the same about China.
To put it into perspective, instead of listing numbers, we will ask for the help of another icon, Mr Pac man, at the bottom of the dashboard. Watch how he increasingly consumes our little Smurfs as years go by (applicable from 1990 to 2020), soon enough, his mouth will have closed entirely and our tiny blue friends will be a thing of the past.
What to do then? Surely we cannot let this happen! Well, the best way to stop this direction of development is to make its products worthless. How so? Here are a a few options:
Impose tariffs on Chinese goods to offset their traditionally lower prices and drive them out of the market
Incentivize multinational companies through subsidies to bring operations outsourced to China back to countries compliant with SDG goals
Raise awareness about the issue through media campaigns highlighting the harm caused by China’s quest for power to the international community
Such measures coupled with other sanctions have been successful in putting enough pressure on various entities to induce them into making a change, with plenty of examples to refer to.
We call upon the governments who have the longer term in mind to come together along with their people and recommend that they apply the measures above so that our Smurfs can be saved from the fearsome grip of Gargamel the evil wizard.
Unveiling some of many risks of early marriage, and the significance of a call for action.
Picture yourself at the tender age of 15, and your parents decided to deprive you from one of your most basic rights: education. And why? so that you could marry some boy you barely know from your village and who might be at least 7 to 8 years older than you. Envision the scenario where instead of classrooms and friends and books, having an arranged marriage with a stranger.
Now imagine the challenges of becoming a mother at the age of 16, the physical abuse this will put you through, and zero financial independence to break the cycle of mental and physical violence this put you in. Such narrative may seem from the past, in our great grandparents’ era maybe, but do you know this still happens? In many regions in the world, it will make you frustrated. Do you care to delve into the risks of those girls?
We might not be living them, and most probably do not know anyone that is, but this is a call to sympathy and awareness, so even if we are shielded and blessed, countless girls out there aren’t.
Let’s dive into those risks.
Problem:
Around the world, child marriage is a widespread and deeply ingrained social issue that impacts millions of children, especially girls. When one or both partners are under the age of 18, it refers to an informal union. Even while we have made great strides in many areas of human growth, these unsettling realities still exist in some parts of the world, especially in less developed nations and regions like Africa and some Arab regions.
The health problems that young brides confront are among the most urgent; early pregnancies raise the risk of maternal death and difficulties after childbirth. Girls forced into early marriages sometimes find themselves taken away from school, which harms their educational goals and leads to increased literacy. Additionally, early marriages come with a higher rate of domestic abuse.
Beyond physical health, there is a significant psychological cost. Mental health conditions like depression and anxiety can be factual consequences. Little girls have little to no financial independence which keeps them stuck in this loop. Hovering over the countries, we can see that most of those in darker shade of blue are African countries, and other less developed countries including Bangladesh, Chad, Niger, Mali, and others. The treemap serves to highlight some of these countries where this is highly prevalent.
Poverty, is one of the root causes of Early Marriage which is shown below, that poverty is relatively high in the countries mentioned in this study. Parents in less developed countries think of their daughters as financial burdens which is why they take them out of school and force them into marrying young. Limited living resources force families to believe that marriage is a way of surviving. In the same countries we put into study, we can see that the Poverty Headcount is large in most of them.
Problem Evidence:
According to UNICEF, 21% of young women (aged 20 to 24) were married as children. Before turning eighteen, one in five females gets married. That figure doubles in the least developed nations, where 12% of girls get married before turning 15 and 40% of girls get married before turning 18. This is 28 girl every minute. The below visuals show that the countries in study are mainly located in Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa as well as Asia, have their women justify being beaten by their husbands and still normalize it, have young girls out of school, and have higher risks of maternal death, meaning that early marriage may cause all the below. These are just some amongst many consequences.
Countries including Bangladesh, Senegal, Niger, Uganda, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Guinea, and many more, seemed to always have these issues combined.
Can you believe that 17.48% of women in Bangladesh justify being beaten? Followed by 11.63% in Mali, 10.80% in Ethiopia, ranking the top 3 among many other countries.
Additionally, 18.41%, followed by 13.19% and 9.19% in Niger, Guinea, and Mozambique respectively.
The Bubble Chart serves to highlight countries where Maternal Death Risk is most prevalent as well. Is it a coincidence that the same countries that have high early marriage rates, almost rank high in all three risks?
Potential Solution:
It is imperative to save young girls from forced marriage, give them the right education they deserve, decrease their risk of dying while giving birth, mitigate the physical and mental abuse, and give them the right to just be little girls.
Collectively, we can combat early marriage and create an atmosphere where girls feel empowered to continue their education and make educated decisions about their futures, to mitigate the risks.
It can include educational awareness, health awareness, social awareness against violence and domestic abuse, free training, and educational programs, etc.
Details of the solution:
Promoting access to quality education especially for girls by making it free especially in the less developed countries where parents would rather not spend any money on their girls and see them as financial burdens.
Conducting awareness campaigns on the potential side effects of child marriages.
Create economic opportunities for girls through skill development and training to enhance their financial independence.
Promotion of Gender Equality.
Engaging parents in these campaigns on the importance of financial stability and independence before marriage.
The solution may also include legal consequences.
Leveraging social media to raise awareness!
Findings and Recommendations:
The recommendations are centered around the efforts that should be made to enforce the laws setting a minimum age for marriage, additionally to challenging the cultural norms and conducting awareness activities, setting a legal age for marriage, support and healthcare systems, educational and training initiatives and provide girls with the circumstances that allow them to make their own decisions.
Can you imagine our amazing Lebanese moderate climate that we have all loved turning into an exceptionally scorching or freezing weather condition?
Climate change has become a global concern, with impacts felt across all nations and regions. It messes up countries’ economies and comes with big costs now and in the future, affecting people, communities, and nations deeply.
This change is directly related to human actions and interventions. Only 5 countries represent the global major emitters and are mainly contributing to this effect through Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
It’s important to highlight that what’s even more concerning is the lack of substantial strategies and significant efforts by these nations to diminish their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and, in turn, global warming. China, in particular, demonstrates a noticeable upward trajectory in GHG emissions.
Can we control and minimize these green house gas emissions ? Can we prevent our climate change and have a more sustainable environment ?
CO2 , CH4 and N2O are major gases contributing to Global Warming as per below chart:
Hence, investigating the sources of these gases and identifying the most influential source contributor will unveil the underlying issue, offering a solid foundation from which to initiate efforts aimed at reducing their presence and subsequent impact
Data reveals that bad agricultural practices are major source of NO2 emissions in major emitters whereas Energy generation is the major source of Methane in this group except for India and Japan.
A central concept is that fuel usage stands as the primary driver of CO2 emissions. To delve deeper, we will analyze the predominant form of fuel consumption in each country by examining the average percentage distribution across various sources. Solid Fuel is major source in China and India, Liquid Fuel is major source in Japan and USA whereas Gaseous Fuel is major source in Russia.
Where is the fuel mainly used?
Powering the World : Exposing the insatiable hunger for energy in the captivating domains of electricity and heat production.
Potential Solution
Hence, the solution lies squarely in human actions and interventions. Opting for organic farming, free from chemical inputs, can significantly reduce harmful gas emissions. Additionally, a shift to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind will substantially decrease greenhouse gas emissions, contributing further to a sustainable future and climate protection. As an example, Brazil that generates around 46 % of its energy from renewable sources generates GHG emissions that constitute just 5 % of China’s and 7 % of USA emissions.
It is not fair that only around 25 % of the globe area is the major source of GHG emissions, climate change and environmental degradation. We must transition towards more sustainable actions and behaviors to ensure a more resilient future for our planet.
Recommendation
The urgent need for a global sustainability committee is evident, and the starting point is the creation of the “Major Emitters” group. This committee aims to be a central force guiding worldwide sustainable initiatives, encouraging collaboration among nations to address environmental challenges and cultivate a resilient global ecosystem. The Major Emitters entity is positioned to lead this effort, uniting influential contributors and paving the way for collective action in the pursuit of a sustainable future.
