User:Ceciliaher46/sandbox

Gender Equality
In 2017, Mali ranked 157th out of 160 countries in the gender inequality index as reported by the United Nations development Programme. The Malian Constitution states to protect women’s right, however many laws exists that discriminate women. Provisions in the laws limit women's decision-making power after marriage, in which the husband becomes superior than his wife. Women are blamed for not maintaining the appearance of their husbands and the actions of their misbehaved children, which encourages the attitude against women as being inferiors to men. The lack of participation of women in politics is due to the idea that politics is associated with men and women avoid this sector. Girls' education is also an area in which boys dominate, since it is a better investment for the parents. As traditional values and practices have contributed to gender equality in Mali, conflict and lawlessness has also influenced to the growing gap in gender through gender-based violence. The unstable government of Mali gain the attention of organizations like USAID to improve to the lives of the people, mainly women and girls' right in order to re-engage the development of the country.

Social Factors
Religion, the patriarchal social system, and gender-based violence are the social factors that shape women in Mali. These factors serve as the norm for gender relations, but are also the cause for inequalities and strengthen male domination within the household. Majority of the population is Muslim and it is reinforced that males dominate the household. Traditional roles of men and women are emphasized in which the man is the head of the household and women have to meet to the needs and demands of men. So girls at a young age are shown and to learn household activities like chores, cooking, childcare, etc. as that is the final duty of a women to become a housewife and rear her children while the men provide for the family. In the patriarchal social system, men are considered the authority and women are subject to obey and respect men. The primary roles of women are that of wife and mother, so childcare house chores, meal preparation, and a discrete life is required of a Malian women. This means that women, in some cases, are subject to a double burden due to having professional and family obligations that does not apply to men. This inequality toward women then leads to the lack of education of girls in a household because boys are the priority and their education is necessary in comparison to the girls who will eventually marry and join their husband's family. Gender-based violence in Mali happens at the national and household level. At the national level, in 2012 the conflict in the Northern part of the country increased cases of kidnappings and rape toward women. The conflict impacted gender and social system, and reduced women's access to resources, economy, and opportunities. The areas of impact then influence the negative score of Mali in relation to gender equality. At the household level, Malian women face gender-based violence through domestic violence, forced marriages, marital rape, and cultural practices in the family. The Demographic Health Survey for Mali in 2013 stated that 76% of women and 54% of men believed physical harm towards women was acceptable if the women burnt food, argues back, goes out without notifying her husband, the children are not tended to or refuses sexual relations with her husband.

Area of Opportunity
The lack of education has increased gender inequality in Mali because not many women are working outside the household are even participating in the Public Administration sector. After adjusting the entrance requirements and access to education, girls still have lower enrollment rates and less access to formal education. Drop-out rates for girls are 15% higher than that of boys because they have a higher responsibility at home and most parents refuse to allow all their children to go to school, so boys tend to become educated. Similarly, technical and vocational education has a lower numbers of girls participating and are inadequately distributed in the country because the training centers are focused in the urban cities. Finally, higher education for girls consist of short programs because early marriages prevent most girls from pursuing a longer term education program like those in science. Although women do not have the same access of education, in recent decades women have been entering and representing in decision-making positions in the Public Administration sector. Members of Parliament, 15 were women in 2010 out of 147 members. Recent decades show that women are slowly joining important decision-making positions which is changing the attitude and status if women in Mali, which has led to the promotion of women's right in the political sphere.

Efforts
Legislation at the international and national levels have been implement over the decades to help promote women's rights in Mali. At the international, Mali signed the Beijing Platform for Action which suggest that women should participate in decision-making and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women which is the foundation to to women's rights promotion. At the national level, Mali's Constitution has the Decree No. 092-073P-CTSP that claims equality to all Malian citizens and discrimination is prohibited, which has not been followed. The Poverty Reduction Strategy Programme (PRSP) and the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Programme under the Malian Government seek to improve the well-being of the citizens, and changes to governance and gender in the country. The Ministry for Advancement of Women, Children and the Family was created specifically for women and children so that their basics rights and needs get meant under the law. Although there exists legislation and policy for gender equality the institutionalization of the National Gender Policy of Mali is necessary to support the importance of women's rights. Strengthening and the support of girls' and women's access to education and training is recommended to improve gender equality in Mali. The involvement of international organizations like USAID assist Mali financially to enhance their development through the efforts of the improvement of women's rights.