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Gender equality for today, a sustainable life tomorrow

Although several civil service organisations have for years been talking about gender equality, it was the UN Sustainable Development Goals that opened eyes for more attention to be given to it.

Shantan works at the Bulawayo Public Library which is situated right in the heart of the city. The library has been in existence since 1896. It provides services to all sections of the urban community and also operates mobile library vans that take books to all corners of Bulawayo.

She observes that the constitution of Zimbabwe has outlawed discrimination against women with adoption of the Domestic Violence Act of 2007. The country is also a signatory to the international humathe n rights frameworks for women's rights. However, in practice, it is like an unspoken rule that women are seen but not heard. This often puts women at a disadvantage in society.

When she enrolled in the INELI SSAf Cohort 2 program, she was exposed to the UN SDGs and how libraries can drive sustainable development in their various communities. She realized the essence of working with the SDG framework to identify and tackle challenges within the library’s user community. Her mindset was also reconfigured and so she saw the need to promote gender equality with the idea behind her mind which is the fact that giving women a voice to share their narratives would bring them to the decision-making table and make them a vocal part of society to strengthen the laws on gender equality and ultimately improve the livelihoods of women.

To pull this agenda through, women and the girl child were targeted to learn how to tell their own stories to promote women's empowerment and gender equality. A support group of 7 women who are authors and promote gender equality was formed.

The purpose of the partnership between the female authors and the library is to create an awareness of how these female authors have used the power of their words to highlight injustice and speak for those without a voice. The Support group also acts as mentors for women and the girl child. The partnership with the library also educates the community and the girl children to be aware and defend themselves against sexism. Posters inviting women and girls to the Library for the initiative were made and circulated. The response was massive

With a broad smile, Shantan shares with us that young women and girls engaged in the program are beginning to understand the power of the pen, even as they support and celebrate other women who tell their stories. When Shantan was asked, how she and her colleagues feel about the program, she said ‘I would not have dared to run this type of program if I had not gone through INELI SSAf program. It was the program that opened my eyes to possibilities of how the public library can innovatively provide information services for the transformation of their communities and so empowered me to go out and initiate action. Today this is a flagship program of my Library’.

This is a story we are happy and proud to share.

• Gender_equality_today_for_a_sustainable_tomorrowpics.pdf (PDF)