User:Ebanza01

= Women in the Republic of the Congo = Women in the Republic of the Congo are living under oppressive conditions that which makes it difficult for them to have a role in society, unless they liberate themselves from the patriarchal system. The Congolese women's presence have "both allied themselves with the fighting parties and [made] became victims of violence."

Violence
In the Republic of the Congo, rape and domestic violence are common yet hardly ever reported. The country just recently had an increase in gender-based violence. There are no specific laws that would prosecute the perpetrator who commits, specifically men. Rape is a weapon of war during different times of conflict. In the late 1990s, an influx of women had been sexually assaulted by armed French militias to preserve the French petrol interests.

Health
The spread of HIV and AIDS has been prevalent in the Republic of the Congo. Fifty-five thousand women who are 15 and over are living with HIV, and the prevalence rate is 3.7. Additionally, among women, the prevalence rate is 1.6. Two thousand and seven hundred women have been newly infected.

Education
Over the years, the attendance of young girls attending secondary school has diminished. Additionally, this decline has continued into university. Due to the decrease of women in education, it has resulted in women’s literacy to plunge to 70% compared to adult literacy right, which is 77%. It is a commonplace for girls to have sex to help with their schooling. Sometimes it is voluntarily while some women are pressured into the act.

Religion
During the 19th and 20th centuries in the Republic of the Congo, the slave trade decreased the population, which resulted in African men and mainly missionaries focusing on having women reproduce. With the lack of females, missionaries insisted on creating Christian communities. Thus, they would steal girls and force them to experience traumatic situations that led to the assimilation of a foreign culture and belief system. However, the new world they were entering did share one similarity with the old, which was motherhood. Now, women use Christianity as comfort and protection from trouble or traumatic events.

After the women converted to Christianity, they began to use their new values but made it into their own. When the missionaries left, many young women started to urbanize and expand the Catholic Church during the 20th century. Thus, resulting in religion having a political influence

Politics
In the political world, women are significantly underrepresented. In the National Assembly, 15 seats are held by women out of the 151. In the Senate, 14 seats are held by women out the 72. In August 2018, 35 new members entered the cabinet 8 were women. “Societal constraints limit women’s political participation in practice”.

The government funds the military $484,300,000 rather than financing a justice initiative that could educate 5,000,000 Congolese women.

Inequality
The country has a problem with ignoring implemented laws that follow the patriarchy standards and discriminating against women.

By law, men are the head of households, and divorce settlements are granted for women never to win. Adultery is illegal for both genders. If men commit adultery, they are asked to pay a fine. If women commit the crime, they are convicted and may face a prison sentence. The Fundamental Act of the Republic of Congo states, “ discrimination based on race or sex is illegal and also ensures pay for equal.”The country chooses to ignore this law and continue to oppress women.

Economy
Women are paid low wages and do not make as much as their counterparts. Women rarely have the opportunity to work the same jobs as the males in the country, and if they did, they still would not be equal pay. Despite that, those who are self-employed and make a good profit, “their share of the non-salaried workforce being as high as 73%”.

Urban
The urban women are some times known as le femme libres, also known as “free women”, because of the liberty they have to sell goods between cities around them. The Congolese women sell merchandise in their capital, Brazzaville, and they participate in cross-border trade with their neighboring cities like Kinshasa. The women who live in urban areas are usually educated and maintain a job. Many women who are self-employed work are in the marché, an outside market used to sell a variety of goods. Their leading retail is food production, textiles, and fabrics. Some foods the women sell include fufu, traditional foods, or baked goods. The textiles and fabrics that are sold are from abroad or made by the women who are selling. Other commodities they sell are imported goods, farm goods, or artifacts. Some young girls sell products, such as fresh fish, to help pay for their school tuition and school supplies.

Women who live in urban areas sometimes are known to have multiple husbands or sexual partners throughout their lifetime due to the number of times they explore and travel around different cities.

The migrant workers who travel between borders rely on the merchant women who live in Brazzaville. Many migrant workers who are underpaid occasionally turn to prostitution to make a way of living.

Rural
Women who live in rural areas are discouraged not to receive an education and having paid jobs. This makes it harder for women to make a way of life. Usually, women do household chores, such as cooking, farm, or tend to their children. There is a small population of women who work in rural areas. The women who do work in this area sell handcrafted items in the capital, Brazzaville. They usually sell pottery, wooden statues, or small artifacts.

Women leave their rural communities as a sign of abandoning traditional responsibilities and restrictions. They go with the hope of being employed in the cities.

Women Organizations
Many organizations created for and by women are designed to aid the historically oppressed groups of the Congo.

Such groups focus on social development, education, poverty and unemployment, health, human rights, women’s rights, climate change and environmental pollution, and indigenous people.