Cows for Schools

I was really happy to read this great initiative from the government of Unity State in South Sudan. They are selling cows to fund school construction. It may not come across as a big deal - selling property or investments to pay for construction projects - but I'm not sure that people outside South Sudan understand the significance of THE COW.

Cows are taken pretty seriously here. Almost everyone is named after a type of cow. Much like the Inuit have hundreds of words of snow, the Dinka and Nuer have hundreds of names for Cows. I myself have 3 Dinka names (and counting!): Allual (Red cow - I got this one when I arrived. I was likely fairly red), Yar (White Cow) and and Akuor (White Cow with a Black Spot over the Eye). Cows are also the economy here. You cannot get married without paying for your wife in cows (where I live... many cows), people measure their wealth in cows, and in some areas people will starve rather than kill a cow for food. A good looking cow can fetch you well over $1000, so 30 cows can go quite far.

South Sudan has one of the lowest literacy rates and school enrollment rates in the world. They are in desperate need of schools (and teachers... and teachers being paid). They're budget also relies very heavily on international donors and the work of aid agencies to provide almost all basic services. With aid budgets shrinking, there is less money for school construction funding by the international community. Moreover donors would like to see the government starting to take responsibility for the costs partially or in full. To be frank, it unfortunately rare to have governments here willing to support footing the bill even partially for projects.

As many know, earlier this year ROSS shut down oil production over borders disputes and transfer fees with Sudan. Now that ROSS has essentially no money -  the Government is enforcing austerity measures. They are cutting the civil service (or just not paying them - ministry staff I work with have not been paid in 2 months), reducing or halting projects etc etc. This leaves the average man, woman, child out in an even more vulnerable spot, with even fewer services.

Which is why I'm pretty impressed with the government in Unity State. I think they are setting a good example for the rest of the country. Well done.

Promised 16 Days Blog. There might even be two.

The other day my place of employment had the pleasure and the honour of hosting Barbara Bailey. Barbara, was until recently, the head of the Gender and Development Studies department at the University of the West Indies at MONA, and she is the CEDAW representative for Jamaica. She has just completed a long study on gender and education, commissioned initially to find out why boys were dropping out of secondary school. She managed to refocus the study so that it looked at the socioeconomic factors that affect both boys and girls and how that contributed to them leaving or staying in school.

Her description of the study – yet to be published – highlighted an important concept: The Currency of Certification. The presentation displayed the fact that, in addition to pay disparity, and a thick glass ceiling, women also need more schooling than men to reach the same professional level.* Boys are still learning that they do not require high levels of education in order to work. Moreover, highly educated women are still being pushed out of the job market despite their certifications. Therefore despite the focus on women’s education as a means to greater gender equality, it does not help much without a push on the economic side to create jobs for women – but also men.

During the 16 Days of Activism we look specifically at gender violence. The focus of Dr. Bailey’s study showed that the economy on a whole contributed to boys leaving school early. There has been a reduction in the West Indies in areas of employment gendered as male, with growth in areas traditionally gendered as female – such tourism and call centres. There has not been a rebranding of these industries as something everyone can do - therefore, women are now having greater access to jobs/money. This change in gender parity has resulted in men reasserting themselves through macho activities such gun running and drug dealing – where they can earn a lot of cash. This has also attributed to a rise in violence on the streets but also in the homes.

The study reminds us that gender violence and gender equality cannot be fixed through simple targeting, but requires systemic and holistic changes to pretty much everything we do. Not an easy task.

*In her presentation, Dr. Bailey pointed to a UN study that showed that women need on average 6 years more education than men to reach the same job level. I cannot find the report, but will cite it once I do.

This one's for the girls

The New York Times (and I want to say CARE - their ads are all over the thing!) is running a special called "Saving the World's Women". Not so sure of the title ("save us oh male knight in shining armour"), it is just a tad condenscending. Women can help in their own "saving". However, despite this, it highlights the importance of women in the world, the disadvantages they face, and how our involvement and equality is better for everyone. (Plans for global takeover was not discussed... mainly because its planned for when you least expect it).

Anyways - you can find the articles on the NYT website:
The Women's Crusade

Afghan School Girls vs. Jihadists

The Disappearing Girls Effect
Hillary Clinton's New Foreign Policy Agenda
And finally and interview with everyone's favourite female President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf