Gender inequality
The CIA
World Fact Book online reports globally, South Africa has the highest death rates. The leading cause of death in South Africa is HIV/AIDS.
In reference to the chart (right), the author
contributes this high statistics to a concept she refers to as the
“feminization of poverty” which is the understanding that the communities with
high HIV rates in young women are in direct correlation with the highest levels
of female poverty.
I wanted to
further my research and ask why these numbers are so off balance and learned
there are a plethora of contributing factors. To briefly touch upon a few:
violence against women publically and domestically, poverty, biology and
education. This presentation will touch upon some of the issues concerning the
last mentioned.
In 1996, South Africa
passed The South African Schools Act which ensured the educational
success of all school aged children. The Act specifically mentioned removing
any obstacles which may have otherwise prevented pregnant girls the right to an
education during and after their pregnancy. School officials view teenage
sexuality as an act of deviance that shames the girls and the school who
educated them.
In 2011, two schools in a middle class town in South Africa, denied pregnant girls from continuing their education. This past July The Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the schools, denying these and future girls an education. |
Why
is this a gender issue? According to Relebohile Moletsane and Nancy Lesko, who wrote in their article “Overcoming
Paralysis: AIDS Education and Activism”. HIV/AIDS is considered a woman disease
in South Africa. This chart shows the uneven ratio of women to men infected
with the virus. 1 in 4 young women between 20 and 24 have AIDS/HIV while only 1
in 14 young men at the same age contract the virus (Pithouse: 2004) .
When school aged girls become pregnant their education is often put on hold or stopped entirely for a number of reasons. These may include the
stigma attached to teen pregnancy, the male partners’ unwillingness to help or
acknowledge responsibility and just the overall difficulty of raising a child
while attending school.
Former South
African President and Civil Rights Activist Nelson Mandela (who in my opinion
was one of the most influential figures to emerge from South Africa understood
the importance of education stating “Education is the most powerful weapon
which you can use to change the world.” In order to eliminate poverty and
hunger and to promote equitable economic growth, education is imperative.
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