Gender dividend is defined as the increased economic growth that could be realised with investments in women and girls. It has been long established that women empowerment doesn’t just benefit women alone, but society in general. Therefore, as women are facilitated to find equality; their empowerment, more so, economically, carries with it potential to foster development for the world in general. Investing in women was at the core of the 13th Meeting of the Advisory Board for women, peace and security that was held last week by the Office of the Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa. Through joint advocacy, participants endeavoured to share experiences and lessons, identify actions that would help influence policies across the region with other partners in order to further develop women empowerment. Alex Nkurunziza, representative of Concertation of Collectives of Women’s Associations in the Great Lakes region (COCAFEM), mentioned that in order for women to fully realise growth and empowerment, there is need to strengthen partnerships with civil society organisations to ensure a focus on prevention, protection, capacity building and economic development. “Let us think of a way to do things differently. First, we should strengthen partnership with the other stakeholders such as AWLN (African Women Leadership Network) among others,” he said. He also noted that there is need for a stronger commitment in the fight against gender-based violence. Gender-based violence such as physical violence, child marriage, and intimate partner violence, negatively affects women socially, physically and emotionally. The dynamics that come with these effects add another layer of vulnerability, preventing women from fully realising their potential. According to Nene Bah, Senior Gender Advisor at the Office of the Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, as a region, the Great Lakes remains on front in terms of addressing a number of challenges, especially economic challenges that affect women. “We want to build capacity of women in economic factors and also in regional trade. We have received support from donors and we would like to reassure everyone that their contribution will be put into account. This development will allow us to promote the role of youth and women in development,” she said. For this to happen, however, Bah also pointed out the need to avail a conducive environment for women, for instance by prevention of all forms of violence against women. “These resolutions can only be effective and guarantee women participation if priority measures are taken to cushion and protect women against such vices.” Increase women’s visibility Information from UN Women showed that there have been significant and positive developments in peace and security in the Great Lakes region in the last few years which need to be harnessed for sustainable peace, social and economic development, and greater cooperation among the states in the region. Nonetheless, there remains a long way to go to resolve all the development issues. Violence and conflicts that still exist in some parts of the region all have a negative impact on the women, which makes them disproportionately impacted, affecting their visibility and participation. UN Women, hence, committed to working towards women’s economic recovery through implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, to support women’s economic empowerment and recovery, especially in cross-border trade. Huang Xia, the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes, noted that gender is mainstreamed across all pillars of the UN Strategy, as well as leading collective efforts to increase participation of women in peacebuilding and sustainable development. Hence, this meeting provided a platform to align efforts and further strengthen synergy towards the promotion of women’s and girls’ rights, he said. Peace, security, and regional integration cannot happen without the participation of women. There is need for more effort towards empowerment for women and girls to enjoy full access to their human rights.
