Written by Yusef Taylor and edited by Sanna Camara
On 22nd September 2015, the Africa Europe Development Platform (AEDP) held the Europe and Africa Post 2015 – Migration, Diasporas, and Development policy meeting in London to discuss the role of the African diaspora in the post- 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). During the panel discussions on ‘Safeguarding the human rights of women and girls: building on best practice and maximising impact – Diaspora’s role in safeguarding the human rights of women and girls’, Akinyi Roselyn Walender, the Director of Women’s Leadership (Cordaid) in the Netherlands stated that currently we have an interesting environment whereby gender equity is featured more and more in policy debates and civil society organisations and governments are engaging and trying to mainstream gender in development policy. As for the diaspora groups, gender is also playing a critical role because it affects many African women living in the diaspora.
Walender, added that although there has been much progress in safeguarding rights for women and girls, there is a need for more integrated development programmes that focus on empowering women, as they continue to encounter significant barriers in their economic, social and political participation. “Some of the most challenging work being done include enabling changes to social behaviour, on issues of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and forced / early marriage…. The diaspora is playing a vital role in promoting changes in these practices in both Europe and Africa.”
Ms. Micheline Ravololnarisoa, GEEDA, formerly Chief of Africa Section, UNIFEM, who chaired the gender session, said the face of migration is changing as are more and more women and girls are migrating now in contrast to the nineties. Thus, the Sustainable Development Goal explores best-practice examples in the field of safeguarding human rights for women and girls, as “It explores how mainstream development agencies and diaspora development organisations in Europe (and civil society on the continent) can work together more effectively in delivering development in the context of the SDGs.” However, Ravololnarisoa posed some questions, which she felt needed consideration when it comes to the SDGs. She asked “what challenges does this present in the development of Africa and developed countries?” As there are often, flagrant abuses on women who arrive in developed countries and thus we have to think about all migrants, and not just those who have achieved success. But we also have to consider the poor migrants in particular.
Naana Otoo-Oyortey MBE – Executive Director, FORWARD, said the SDGs presents an opportune time to look beyond the discussions of remittances from migrants and to give more attention to gender equality within the migration and development discourse. However, Otoo-Oyortey observed, “when we talk about Sustainable Development Goals, unfortunately most Diaspora Organisations do not know much about them. Yes we know that there are 17 goals but what do they really mean? There are a lot of indicators which we can use, but we need to know them and understand how to apply them.” However, with the many years of experience Otoo-Oyortey has working in the area of gender she was well placed in the panel discussions, and she expressed, “I had the privilege to be part of a forum on women and girls and I was the only black face. Very often when diaspora organisations are engaged it’s when the job has been completed and a Diaspora organisations approval is needed, but more meaningful engagement and partnership is also needed.” On challenges facing financing initiatives to tackle gender issues she adds, “We know that there is a real problem with short termism as long term initiatives are almost never funded. But we [the Diaspora] need to be able to document our progress and capture our lessons.” Finally, Otoo-Oyortey attests the Diaspora can influence change by playing a more active role back home and by engaging diaspora organisations, because as the African proverb goes “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Jean-Louis Ville, Head of Unit, Governance, Democracy, Gender and Human Rights, DEVCO, who was also a panellist. Alluded to the fact that migration does not discriminate on gender, as half of all migrants are women and often forced migrations are due to violent conflicts and civil unrests, making women more vulnerable and exposing them to even more severe acts of violence. Therefore, Ville claimed that the European Commission (EC) has been working with Diaspora organisations since 2005 and are revisiting their work to make it address more gender issues, because the EC recognises that conducting a “gender analysis is important to know what is happening, because if you do not know then you are blind. And in most case you might do more harm”.
Video on Twitter of Gibril Faal “the challenge of Short Termism”.
Link to the previous story on the first panel “Europe and Africa Post 2015 – Migration, Diasporas, and Development”