To achieve sustainable development, girls and young women shouldn’t be left behind

By Koenraad Goekint

The importance of gender equality cannot be overstated when it comes to the whole agenda of sustainable development. Our development efforts will be worthwhile only if we step up the efforts for bringing about equality between women and men.

Gender equality plays a critical role of a fabric that is woven out of a thread joining together all our efforts for bringing about development to the human society. Sustainable Development Goal number 5 (SDG5) aims to achieve gender equality by ending all forms of discrimination, violence and any harmful practices against women and girls. It also calls for full participation of women and equal opportunities in all aspects of life.

Girls and young women have limited access to basic services hence they perform less in education, employment or entrepreneurship compared to boys and young men. In such communities, social norms tend to normalize men’s control over women, limiting their mobility and their decision-making power over their lives.

The sad story is that despite major strides recorded across the globe in bridging the gender gap, still millions of girls and young women in different parts of the world are subjected to oppressive environments that deny them development opportunities as compared to boys and men.

This is quite unhealthy and cannot in any way guarantee us of sustainable development that we all aim to achieve by 2030.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day today, with the theme ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality’, it is important to remind ourselves on the continued need to change our attitude towards girls and women’s roles in the society. Short of that, girls and young women will forever remain trailing behind boys and men in all spheres.

This theme is so apt. Digital technology is so critical to our lives as it contributes to development of youth across a wide range of areas. These include opportunity for online education and knowledge, access to information, finding of employment, career information, entrepreneurship opportunities and so forth.

However, the gender divide places girls at a disadvantageous position as they have lower levels of access to and use of digital technology than boys.

It is therefore important that we all strive to ensure equal access to quality basic services and social protection mechanisms, to provide sustainable business opportunities and decent jobs and to address discriminating practices and gender stereotypes that are detrimental to inclusion.

Through the rights-based approach, we should aim at strengthening the capacities of duty bearers and empowering girls and young women in such marginalizing situations against such barriers.

The empowerment of women means women gaining power and control over their own lives. It involves awareness-raising, building self-confidence, expansion of choices, increased access to and control over resources and actions to transform the structures and institutions which reinforce and perpetuate gender discrimination and inequality.

The process of empowerment is as important as the goal and it means that women must not only have equal capacity such as education and health and equal access to means and opportunities including land and employment. They must also be given the opportunity to use these rights, capacities, means and opportunities to make strategic choices and to make important decisions on their lives.

Empowerment comes from within; women empower themselves. Nevertheless, international development institutions like Enabel (Belgian Development Agency) and other partners can put in place to support processes that promote the empowerment of individuals and groups.

Youth in particular girls and young women are a key focus in our programmes and projects that we have been implementing in the country for over twenty (20) years in collaboration with other partners including the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania and the European Union, among others.

This is why even our Country Strategy for the Belgian Bilateral Cooperation Programme in Tanzania 2023-2027, aims to empower young people especially young women to thrive in a protective and gender-equal environment, to acquire education and skills, and to pursue decent work opportunities.

Dubbed ‘Wezesha Binti’, the intervention is built around three results areas namely; secondary education and training opportunities; skills and entrepreneurship; a protective and gender-equal environment.

The strategy, which aligns itself with the priorities by the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, centres around Sustainable Development Goals on quality education, gender equality and decent work and economic growth.

Digital technology and innovation are among the key cross cutting issues in our the ‘Wezesha Binti’ portfolio. We aim to use digital technology to promote gender equality by opening up opportunities for girls and young women for better jobs, entrepreneurship opportunities and improved incomes.

This way, we are contributing to the addressing of global challenges on social and economic inequality, through the promotion of entrepreneurship; and climate change with a focus on climate-smart and resilient agriculture, as well as green growth and eco-construction.

We believe with the right skills and education; girls and young women can get opportunities of decent and greener jobs and therefore improve their lives and their communities at the same time protect themselves against marginalisation and other forms of exploitation.

The author is the Resident Representative of Enabel-Belgian Development Agency in Tanzania