Topic: 2024-Gender Equality in Rural Areas
Country: Senegal
Delegate Name: Sophia Schafer
Committee: ECOSOC
Topic B: Gender Equality in Rural Areas
Country: Senegal
Delegate: Sophia Schafer
School: Williamston High School
Gender Equality is one of the hottest topics we have today, but why? We have this big rift between men and women because of the deep roots of patriarchy in countries like Senegal. Senegal is willing to look past these discriminations, and we are making many steps to help empower more women in our nation. Our organizations include the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the African Union’s Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol). Along with these important steps we have taken to become a more equal nation, there are barriers as well, such as their lack of education and the impoverished state many women of Senegal live in today.
In rural Senegal, women play a vital role in agriculture and contribute greatly to food production and economies. Although rural societies in Senegal rely upon women very much, they are still excluded from many freedoms, such as access to land, education, healthcare, and financial resources. According to recent data, 70% of the agricultural labor force in Senegal is women, but they own only 15% of our land. Along with this unjustness, women have lower education and literacy rates than men, along with more health challenges due to the lack of healthcare available to them. Despite these challenges, our national policies, such as the Emerging Senegal Plan (PSE) and our partnerships with other countries, are improving the lives of our women in education, healthcare, and financial inclusion.
Our nation has shown a strong interest in helping our women achieve equality within our borders by passing many laws, such as the Gender Equality Law, which secures women’s political representation in offices such as Parliament. Along with the Gender Equality Law, our National Strategy for Gender Equality promotes women’s rights, opportunities, health, and much more of their basic freedoms. Lastly, our Programs for Rural Women, including the National Agency for Rural Equipment, are partnerships with other nations, such as the UN Women, to improve all our women’s lives. Along with successes, there are also barriers, such as our nation’s undeniable, deeply rooted discrimination. Still, we are overcoming those, and we wish that, in this meeting of ingenious minds, we could also come together to help my country and theirs. Senegal only wishes to improve the lives of our women, and we will do anything to ensure that our women reach their full potential in our country.
