Overcoming Gender Disparities
Girls and boys face different sets of challenges
and pressures as they approach adulthood. Disparities in the way
girls and boys are raised and treated are at the root of many sexual
and reproductive health problems and development challenges. UNFPA
recognizes that the world is different for girls than it
is for boys, and programme approaches must reflect this.
For boys, adolescence can be a time for expanded
participation in community and public life. Girls, however, may
experience new restrictions, and find their freedom of movement
limited. In addition, socially constructed gender roles may give
girls little say about their own aspirations and hopes, and restrict
them to being wives and mothers. Boys face other kinds of societal
and peer pressures, as they may be encouraged to be risk-takers
and to demonstrate their manhood through aggressive behaviour.
Making the world safer for and more respectful
of the needs and rights of young women is a priority for UNFPA.
Sensitizing men to share responsibility for safe and healthy reproductive
and sexual behaviours, and to respect girls and women as equals,
is fundamental to many UNFPA programmes as well.
Gender norms and power dynamics often
limit young women's control over their sexual and reproductive
lives. Adolescent girls are especially vulnerable in the area of
sexual and reproductive health. Biologically, women's risk of acquiring
sexually transmitted infections during unprotected sexual relations
is two to four times that of men. Younger women are at greater
risk because their reproductive tracts are still maturing. In some
countries, adolescent girls are being infected with HIV at a rate
five or more times higher than boys. Each day, some 500,000 people,
mostly young women, are infected with a curable sexually transmitted
infection.
Social expectations often put pressure on girls
to marry and begin bearing children before they are ready. Despite
a shift toward later marriage in many parts of the world, 82 million
girls in developing countries who are now between the ages of 10
and 17 will be married before their 18th birthday. Early marriage
jeopardizes the health and limits the opportunities afforded to
women, usually disrupts their education and often violates their
human rights. Married adolescent girls often find it difficult
to access reproductive
health services.
Some 14 million women and girls between ages
15 and 19 — both married and unmarried — give birth
each year. For this age group, complications of pregnancy and childbirth
are a leading cause of death,
with unsafe abortion being a major factor. Early childbearing is
also linked to obstetric fistula,
a devastating and socially isolating condition that leaves women
incontinent.
Teenage mothers are more likely to have children with low birth
weight, inadequate nutrition and anaemia.
Adolescent girls are also exposed to various
forms of gender-based violence from
harmful traditional practices such as early marriage and female
genital cutting to
the growing problem of sexual
trafficking.
The first sexual experience for many adolescent girls is forced,
often by people they know, including family members. This can lead
to long-term physical and psychological damage. Dire poverty may
result in young girls being ‘sold' to traffickers or being
forced into commercial sex to survive.
Educating girls is a powerful lever for their
empowerment, as well as for reducing poverty. Girls who are educated
are likely to marry later and to have smaller, healthier families.
Education helps girls to know their rights and claim them, for
themselves and their families. Education can translate into economic
opportunities for women and their families.
The importance of education in reducing gender
inequities is highlighted in by its inclusion in the Millennium
Development Goals. The MDGs call for the elimination
of gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably
by 2005, and to all levels
of education no later than 2015. Although most young people have
access to some schooling, 57 million young men and 96 million young
women aged 15-24 in developing countries cannot read or write.
However, in all regions women are gaining access to literacy and
education, and at a faster rate than men. About 90 countries are
on track to meet global goals for ending gender inequality in primary
education by 2015. As a partner in the United Nations Girl's Education
Initiative.
UNFPA is actively working toward this goal.
Values and attitudes that perpetuate gender inequalities
are instilled in childhood. Adolescence may be one of the last
opportunities to offer alternatives. Negative gender-based norms
and practices can be gradually transformed through educational,
social, legal and other processes that promote equality of girls
and boys.
Without such action, unequal gender relations
and power imbalances are likely to persist throughout adult life.
UNFPA is committed to reducing gender inequities in the lives of
adolescents and young people, paying particular attention to the
vulnerabilities, pressures and risks faced by young women. To this
end, UNFPA:
- Promotes the human rights of girls, and advocates for their
equal access to education, health and developmental opportunities
- Supports girls and boys in their transition to adulthood
with opportunities to build self-esteem and develop life skills
- Advocates for policies and programmes that aim to redress
gender inequalities and discrimination against girls and young
women, including laws and practices to postpone early marriage
and forbid forced marriages
- Supports programmes for both unmarried and married young mothers
- Encourages the elimination and penalization of all forms of
abuse, including sexual abuse and incest, sexual exploitation,
human trafficking and prenatal sex selection
- Raises awareness of the ways in which gender inequalities
fuel the HIV/AIDS epidemic among young people
- Works with boys and young men to foster the idea of partnership
and mutually supportive relations with women, with special attention
on HIV prevention and responsible parenthood
- Reaches out to community leaders and policy-makers to garner
their commitment and active advocacy in eliminating discrimination
against girls and in providing gender-sensitive alternatives
and role models for boys
- Sensitizes programme planners and managers to gender issues
Read about specific
projects with a strong focus on gender.
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