What is gender inequality?
Gender inequality means that women and girls are treated as second-class citizens, denied their human rights, and valued less because of their sex. Patriarchal systems, or systems that are controlled by men, often value girls according to their virginity lead to limits on female sexuality and reproductive choices. They also limit the status of girls and women to having children and being married, inhibiting their agency and choice. Patriarchy can mean controlling how a girl behaves and dresses, where she goes, who she sees etc; and if, who, and when she marries.
Ending child marriage is only possible if we end gender inequality. It is only possible if we transform gender norms and rebalance power at every level, in public and in private, so that girls and women can enjoy equal status with boys and men.
What are gender-transformative approaches?
Gender-transformative approaches promote gender equality through critical examination of gender roles, norms, and power dynamics. They recognise & strengthen positive norms that support gender equality. INCLUDING approaches that:
- promote the relative position of women, girls, and marginalised groups, and
- transform underlying social structures, policies, systems, and social norms that perpetuate and legitimise gender inequalities.
They challenge the status quo, rebalance power, and redistribute resources towards people who have been historically marginalised, excluded and discriminated against because of their gender. They see and recognise girls and women in all their diversity, understanding that some women and girls are more disadvantaged due to the interplay between gender and other forms of oppression, such as economic status, disability, or ethnicity, among others.
Without taking gender-transformative approaches, programmes aimed at reducing child marriage can have:
- have no impact,
- not act fast enough, or even
- make the situation worse for the girls and women affected.