Category — Social Issues

In Malawi, very little government money is spent on education and educational resources. The conditions of the schools we worked in were extremely poor, and teaching tools for teachers were limited—at times nonexistent. Despite the lack of physical resources and poor infrastructure, teachers in Malawi make use of all sorts of items, rocks, food packaging, twigs and bricks, to help them teach a number of subjects. This strategy for teaching is called “Talular”.

In Malawi, lack of income generating opportunities have forced many people to encroach deeper and deeper into wooded areas and forests in order to collect fire wood to sell. Malawi, once a lush and green country, is slowly seeing its forests disappear as poverty becomes more prevalent among the population.

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Throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa, rates HIV/AIDS are extremely high, in some countries affecting one out of every three adults. This disease affects all aspects of life and has severely detrimental effects on community and national development. HIV/AIDS affects youth and the working adult population by hindering peoples’ abilities to earn a living receive an education and care for their families.  Many of the children we encountered in Malawi were “AIDS Orphans”, meaning they’ve had at least one parent die from the disease. Some of these children live with their grandmothers or are cared for by village elders. Others are not so lucky.

Advancement of technological development creates new problems in ensuring working conditions

In Malawi, a large scale communications technology project is currently being implemented. This project will install fibre optics throughout the country. For less than a dollar a day, young male labourers have been working from dusk till dawn, digging a large ditch from the North all the way to the South of Malawi. These men, living in extreme poverty, will never have the money to make use of the communications technology that they are helping to install.

In Malawi, water sources are scarce and often women and girls must walk across long distances to fetch water. Water, which usually comes from pumps dug into the ground, is used to irrigate farmlands (in the dry season) for washing, cooking and drinking. This means it is especially important for both urban and rural communities to have access to clean, safe, and sanitary water.

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-Right to be protected from economic exploitation

In Malawi, many children have no choice but to terminate their education in order to seek out income generating activities in towns, or to work on their families farms. Forcing children to work instead of getting their education is a form of economic exploitation. Children should have the right to pursue an education without being forced into income generating activities in order to make money for their families.

- Advancement of technological development creates new problems in ensuring working conditions

In Malawi, a large scale communications technology project is currently being implemented. This project will install fibre optics throughout the country. For less than a dollar a day, young male labourers have been working from dusk till dawn, digging a large ditch from the North all the way to the South of Malawi. These men, living in extreme poverty, will never have the money to make use of the communications technology that they are helping to install.

-Omnipresence of HIV/AIDS

Throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa, rates HIV/AIDS are extremely high, in some countries affecting one out of every three adults. This disease affects all aspects of life and has severely detrimental effects on community and national development. HIV/AIDS affects youth and the working adult population by hindering peoples’ abilities to earn a living receive an education and care for their families.  Many of the children we encountered in Malawi were “AIDS Orphans”, meaning they’ve had at least one parent die from the disease. Some of these children live with their grandmothers or are cared for by village elders. Others are not so lucky.

-Deforestation

In Malawi, lack of income generating opportunities have forced many people to encroach deeper and deeper into wooded areas and forests in order to collect fire wood to sell. Malawi, once a lush and green country, is slowly seeing its forests disappear as poverty becomes more prevalent among the population.

Since my return to Montreal, I have been asked to write a report about a given issue that sparked my interest during my trip to Malawi. I knew I could discuss many subjects, but I wasn’t sure which one to select. One day, I found the inspiration that led me to write the following report in a documentary entitled “Tough Guise: Violence, Media & the Crisis in Masculinity”, written by Jeremy Earp and Jackson Katz. The video discusses how the portrayal of masculinity has been completely distorted over time, and how social and cultural factors have led men to feel the need to put on a “tough guy” facade in order to be accepted as a man in society. Although there cannot be a complete comparison between western civilisation, and African village life (simply because the media is not as overwhelmingly present in the latter), similar principles can still be applied. Gender discrimination that has resulted from men’s need to overpower, dominate and control women is a worldwide issue. As I watched the video, a particular moment from my trip came to mind. This moment occurred after we finished painting a classroom at the primary school.

“As we were cleaning the room, we noticed that the floor desperately needed to be mopped. Mr. Chiroua sent all the girls to get more water. When they returned with filled buckets, he told them to mop the floor. Complaining, the girls said that the boys should take over, but the boys just laughed and said that mopping was “a girl’s job”. Mr. Chiroua shoved the bucket into one of the girl’s hands and ordered her to mop.

Then, a male Standard 7 student took the bucket from the girl, and began to wash the floor himself. His friends ridiculed him and stared at him the entire time. The Vanier group watched  the boy and smiled. We were amazed that he had taken the initiative to mop the floor, even though it was considered “a girl’s job”. We were even more impressed that he did so in front of all of his friends. We thought to ourselves, ‘now this is a true sign of courage’. We commended him for helping us, and thanked him for his job well done.”

During our stay, many members of the group focused on understanding gender issues in Malawi, with a particular interest in discovering ways to empower young women who faced adversity.  Our goal was to develop a support system that would allow girls to feel comfortable discussing topics such as education, relationships, teenage pregnancy and what it means to be a strong woman. What I hadn’t yet considered but came to the realization of, after watching the documentary, is that young men need a support system as well. The boy who helped mop the floor after we painted the classroom is quite an exception. Most boys would have let the girls do the work. This is because the ideas that men and women have distinct roles, and that women are inferior to men is instilled in boy’s minds from a young age. Most boys refuse to be associated with doing “female chores” because they fear being disrespected by their peers or being considered “unmanly”. Although this may seem innocent on a small scale, on a larger scale it creates many problems. Gender discrimination has been the reason why many girls have not been able to go to school. In poverty-stricken areas, if a family has more than one child of different sexes, the boy is deemed as more intelligent, thus has a higher chance of attending school. Furthermore, household chores are completed by females; therefore a girl might not be able to attend school if she is needed at home. In addition, if a girl becomes pregnant, she is expected to leave school to take care of the child, whereas the boy can continue to pursue his education.

Many other social and cultural factors have not been discussed, and I am aware that I have only scratched the surface of an issue that has been ongoing for many centuries. However, as I mentioned previously, if we are to alleviate any of the consequences caused by gender discrimination, it is important to develop a support group for both females and males. As much as we need to empower women, men equally need positive role models to show them that succumbing to gender discrimination is not acceptable.  Only by presenting young boys with men who can break down traditional views of gender roles, and re-evaluate the true definition of “masculinity” can we hope that someday, all boys will gladly mop a floor.