'It is, therefore, imperative that this paper will explore the plight of women when it comes to the aspect of development and being integrated into society as key role players. A comparative analysis of scholarly works will be used to determine the extent of the plight of women, especially in the Global South'.
The place of women in society can be termed as the tragedy which has befallen the human race ever since the inception of human civilization. Despite women almost at the center of human life, they have been sidelined in society, and this has resulted in the creation of a culture that looks down upon them and with the idea that women are the weakest of all sexes. The term gender has been synonymous with derogatorily referring to the plight of women. Any of the places where gender is mentioned, it usually means the biases and discriminations which have been done by women by the male folk. It is, therefore, imperative that this paper will explore the plight of women when it comes to the aspect of development and being integrated into society as key role players. A comparative analysis of scholarly works will be used to determine the extent of the plight of women, especially in the global south.
According to Martinez (2012), the word gender equality has been used by people to term put a cross-reference between men and women with a larger emphasis on the plight of women in society. Gender inequality is, therefore, a term which in the global south is used to refer to the inaccessibility of women to things like education, medical services, housing, infrastructure, employment among other issues which consist of the dynamics of the society. It is, therefore, imperative to note that women have been left behind in the developmental evolution of society. Mynul Islam (2011) agrees with Martinez in that women comprise about half of the population of the world and therefore are thy cannot be life out in the developmental process of the world. It is, therefore, imperative according to them that women be given the right priorities in the developmental aspects of society. Mynul Islam is quick to suggest that the term socio-economic and political dimension of the world cannot go far without the inclusion of women in the developmental concepts in society. It can be deduced that the developmental processes usually affect men and women differently and therefore there is the need to put different measures in the developmental processes in the world. Martinez and Eade (2016) however does not buy the notion by Mynul Islam (2011) and criticizes the segmented developmental concepts in society as the key root of the underdevelopment of women in society. The omission of women in society can be regarded as the main obstacle to the development of women.
In their quest for the developmental process of society, women have been left to carry the largest burdens on the economy and the social setting. This is primarily because there is higher mobility of men than that of women the rural global south. The attempted modernization of the means of production has resulted to the segregation of both sexes, creating a hollow society that is dependent on one gender. Akabue (2001) is of the opinion that, historically, women have been the most laborious than men, with gender-assigned jobs being assigned from one generation to the other. In this regard, these genders based duties have been the detrimental issues that have led to the development of the society and improvement of the status of women in society.
There is a consensus by Jayachandran (2014) and Akabue (2001) that girls and women in the global south are less likely to be gaining the same technological, educational and infrastructural aspects when compared to men. It is, therefore, a tragedy for the developing nations in that the integral people in the society are the ones who are lagging behind regarding their inclusion in the operation and creation of the next generation of their countries. The reduction of women to be the movers of the minor economies in the grassroots while giving priorities to men and boys. Jayachandran (2014) is of the opinion that in the third world countries, these regions have a monopoly on the issues of gender inequality and men in all aspects of the society earn more money than women. The gender pay gap in these countries is very demonstrated such that women who earn more than men are seen as usurpers of the male roles in the society. He continues to note that with countries in the global south, there is larger disparities on the matter of health, education and the position in the family especially in countries with low GDPs.
When it comes to the access of resources, especially in the areas of agriculture, women still find themselves sidelined because when a new technology appears, it is usually shifted to be handled by men. Therefore, as Akabue argues, women are therefore left behind in the revolutionary aspect of the technology and development. Martinez (2012) therefore argues that is uncalled for women to have been naturally selected by their male counterparts to be the laid back and fail to integrate into the developmental shifts in society. Access to equal opportunities is what is wanted, and of consensus among them in that it is skewed to the extent that some countries which still practice cultural patronage in sidelining women in the society. Mynul Islam (2011) agrees with Akabue that in the modernization of agriculture, women have been left behind in the agrarian reforms. This is because in the legislative or political attitude in the global south makes women less worthy than men in the acquisition of inputs and the necessary resources to empower themselves.
However, in the wake of the 21st century, there has been a rise in the manner in which women are taking up initiatives that are on the path towards emancipation from the chains of poverty. Feminism and other activists have taken center stage in championing for the inclusivity and emancipation of women from the latches of male chauvinism and domination. This is because economic and cultural economic issues have been some of the issues which make the bulk of underdevelopment of the women. Mynul Islam (2011), is of the opinion that the rise of groups in the global south despite their muzzling by the political entities in the country taken up issues to fight poverty in the regions. It can be ascertained that poverty in the global south is an aspect of the doings of people in those in those countries. In this aspect underdevelopment of women and poverty in the global south is a perennial problem. Perennial because as Akabue argues there is a lack of political goodwill and governance.
On matter what to be done, Akabue (2001), argues that despite women being subordinate of tokenism in social institutions. He suggests that to empower women, the obstacles which hinder women from accessing male dominated domains such as technology, science, and engineering discipline. He suggests that there should be constitutional changes, socio values, stereotypes and societal-power relations have to be factored in the manner which will spur the development of women in the global south. Eade, (2016) admonishes the manner in which globalization has brought about the underdevelopment of women leading financial dependence on men who harass them in all manner of obscenities. Therefore, she suggests that the global soothe should work towards developmental frameworks which will ensure that there are equal rights and overall enhancement of the position and value in the society. There should, therefore, be extensive extension and improvement of gender equality in the dissemination and the spread of gender awareness in the global south which whereby there can be a replication of successful programs in the society. It is, therefore, imperative as Jayachandran (2014) suggests, women have to be put in the forefront of corporations developmental planning and the execution of gender equality mechanisms.
In conclusion, the underdevelopment of women in the global south can be termed as a human-made affair. The undervaluing of the input of women and their critical position in the society is an obstacle to the enhancement of the status of women in the society. It is evident that ii is impossible for men to pull the economies of those countries with the exclusion of women in the vital, productive aspects of their economies. Therefore, women and girls in these regions should rise above societal stereotypes, cultural biases and gender discrimination to be able fully to develop and integrate themselves in all political and economic dynamics of the society.
References
Akabue, A. (2001). Gender Disparity in Third World Technological, Social, and Economic Development. The Journal of Technology Studies, 27(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.21061/jots.v27i2
Eade, D. (2016). Women, Gender, Remittances, and Development in the Global South. Gender & Development, 24(2), 332-335. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2016.1194038
Martinez, A 2012. ‘Gender and development: The struggles of women in the Global South’ in P Haslam, J Schafer, & P Beaudet (eds), Introduction to International Development: Approaches, Actors and Issues, 2nd edn, Oxford University Press, Ontario, pp. 86-106
Mynul Islam, M.D. (2011). Third World Women in the Development Process: Feminist Thoughts and Debates. Higher Education of Social Science, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2011, pp. 25-35
DOI: 10.3968/j.hess.1927024020110102.018
Jayachandran, S. (2014). The Roots of Gender Inequality in Developing Countries. Annual Review of Economics. Northwestern University. Journal of Development Studies.
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