FAWE has partnered with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) on a research initiative geared towards strengthening gender research to improve girls’ and women’s education in Africa.
Gender-biased cultural practices have led to entrenched gender inequality in education, the labour market, and the political and social arenas, at the expense of women.
Politically, women in many African countries are seriously under-represented in governing bodies and decision-making at all levels, from village councils to national government. Economically, even though women have a greater burden of labour than men, they remain the poorest in the world. And in the education sector, gender disparity in access, retention and performance continues as a reminder of the failed objectives and missed targets set by the international conferences, conventions and declarations that many sub-Saharan African countries ratified.
The FAWE-Norad initiative seeks to demonstrate to policy- and decision-makers the high cost of missed opportunities for African girls and women arising from such inequality.
It will harness the expertise of a network of well-established researchers and advocates to set the agenda on gender and education in sub-Saharan Africa and constructively engage and dialogue with government, policy-makers and other regional bodies on the appropriate approaches and strategies to adopt in terms of women’s rights in education.
Findings from the research projects conducted under this initiative will show how to redress the gender inequities that hamper girls’ and women’s fulfilment of their right to education and their meaningful participation in Africa’s social and economic advancement.