This is part 1 of a 4 part series
(16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign)
Read Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4
Read Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4
We've given you a lot of updates about
what we're doing at site...specifically me, Tara, but it's getting to
a time where we can proudly highlight what the community is doing
for themselves!
I am sooo incredibly proud to say that
a handful of the girls I have worked with and trained have started to
find their own niche and lead each other! There is no greater
success in the Peace Corps business than becoming completely
unnecessary!
Over the next two weeks I want to
highlight them as a 4 part series in support of the “16 Days to
End Gender Based Violence Against Women”. You
can learn more about the campaign here.
This is the first
time Peace Corps Malawi is participating in this international
campaign. So be ready to see a few posts from me highlighting my SheroesOfMalawi!!
Before we get into
the amazing work that the girls are doing I want to take a moment to
give some statistics to frame why the work they are doing and a
campaign like this is so incredibly important in Malawi.
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The following are some of the
setbacks / reversals Malawi has experienced from 2008:
1. Reduced number
of women in Parliament from 22 percent in 2009 elections to 16.7
percent in 2014.
2. Reduced number
of women Ministers from 28.1 percent in 2013 to 15 percent in 2014.
3. Between the IHS
of 2004/5 and 2010/11, poverty levels for female headed households in
rural areas increased by 3 percentage points, while those for male
headed households remained static.
4. The HIV
prevalence gap between men and women doubled from 3 percent in 2004
to 6 percent in the 2010 Malawi Demographic Health Survey.
5. The Penal Code
Amendment law of 2011introduced a new provision to criminalise
lesbian behavior, in addition to an already existing provision
penalising men who have sex with men.
Numbers don't tell a whole story. But they do help start the discussion. I don't want to spend too much time on the "What". We've done the "What". We've done the "So What". Now we're at the "Now What" part of our time in Malawi. So the next 3 parts of the series will focus on WHAT the girls are NOW doing.
If you want more
info on gender stats in Malawi checkout the JICA: Malawi Gender Profile:
http://www.jica.go.jp/english/our_work/thematic_issues/gender/background/pdf/e07mal.pdf
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