Call for papers

Call for Papers

International Seminar on Gender and Empowerment in the 21st Century in Africa

Nairobi, Kenya, 24-26 August 2009

Organized by the IUSSP Scientific Panel on Gender
and the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)

Deadline for submission of abstract: 15 May 2009.

The International development and policy agenda has galvanized global attention to issues of gender inequality and women’s empowerment through various international policy platforms like the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo and the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. The importance of gender equality and women’s empowerment in achieving national and global development goals is underscored in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), with the third goal (MDG 3) specifically addressing the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. A mid-point assessment of global progress on the MDGs noted that “doors are opening slowly for women in the labor market”. However, women still account for over 60% of unpaid family workers (UN DESA, 2007); only 17% of members of single or lower houses of parliament; and more girls than boys remain out of school (UNSD, 2007).

In Africa, although substantial progress has been made to promote gender equality and empower women in some areas (e.g. in political participation), women still face enormous constraints.  Women continue to bear a disproportionate burden of the HIV/AIDS pandemic; they suffer more gender-based violence, especially in civil conflict settings but also within their homes; they have more limited access to productive resources especially land; and, with fertility levels still high in many countries, they continue to bear huge health and reproductive health burdens.  New challenges, including globalization and climate change, may also disproportionately affect women.

The African Union Solemn Declaration of Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA, 2004) aimed at addressing issues of major concern to women of Africa. These issues included lack of access to social services, health care, discrimination against women living with HIV/AIDS, lack of representation of women in decision making bodies as well as their lack of participation in peace building and post-conflict reconstruction. Other problems which were highlighted as facing the African woman included gender based violence and the trafficking of women and girls into sex slavery. The AU has resolved to encourage African heads of states to show commitment to gender issues by increasing budgetary allocation in the health sector to alleviate women’s burden of care, to increase the participation and representation of women in peace building processes and post-conflict reconstruction as well as to spearhead campaigns against gender based violence and trafficking of women and girls.

The IUSSP Scientific Panel on Gender is organizing this seminar on “Gender and empowerment in the 21st Century in Africa” to take stock of where the continent is in achieving MDG 3.  The Panel seeks to bring together researchers, policy makers, program managers, and other development partners to share experiences on innovative policies and programs that have pushed the region forward in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in some countries, as well as highlight experiences that have undermined such efforts in other settings. The objective is to stimulate and advance research, policy and programs to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. The organizers seek papers that address theoretical and methodological issues, present empirical case studies, or undertake analyses of policy or program gaps on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Papers focusing on Africa or those that bring comparative insights from other regions are highly encouraged. Papers may address any of the following areas:

• Measurement and conceptualization of gender (including changing meanings and perceptions of gender equality and women’s empowerment)
• Gender and Reproductive Health (including abortion, sexuality, fertility change, etc)
• Gender and HIV/AIDS
• Gender and civil/armed conflicts (including sexual and gender based violence)
•  Gender and political participation
• Gender and the management of natural resources/Climate change
• Gender and the labor market (including internal/international migration)
• Gender and education  
• Poverty and gender

Submission Procedure
The IUSSP Scientific Panel on Gender invites researchers in the field to submit a 200-word abstract of their proposed paper [and if the author(s) wish, a full paper which must be unpublished] to gender_iussp2009@aphrc.org by 15 May 2009.

Abstracts may be submitted in English or in French but the working language at the meeting will be English and complete papers must be submitted in English.

For co-authored papers, include the names of co-authors in the abstract. The submission should be made by the co-author who will attend the meeting. Please note that we will only consider unpublished work. We intend to publish a selection of the papers in an edited volume or a special issue of a journal.

Applicants will be notified whether their paper has been accepted for presentation at the seminar by 30 May 2009.  In the case of acceptance on the basis of an abstract, the completed paper must be uploaded onto the IUSSP website by 31 July 2009 or submitted to gender_iussp2009@aphrc.org. These drafts will be circulated among seminar participants before the meeting.

The seminar will be limited to a maximum of 25 contributed papers. Seminar organizers will cover accommodation and travel expenses only for a limited number of participants. Participants are therefore encouraged to seek their own funding for travel. Those who are applying for financial assistance from the IUSSP are invited to apply for a travel grant at the time of submission of abstract by indicating when submitting their abstract. Co-authors of funded participants wishing to attend the meeting will be responsible for all local costs and travel expenses.

For further information please contact: Netsayi Noris Mudege (nmudege@aphrc.org).

Members of the organizing Committee
1. Alex Ezeh, APHRC, Nairobi
2. Sonalde Desai, University of Maryland, College Park
3. Netsayi Mudege, APHRC

 

References

UN DESA, The Millennium Development Goals Report 2007, New York, June 2007.

http://www.naptip.gov.ng/naptip/docs/UNSD_MDG_Report_2007e00008.html

http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Conferences/Past/2006/October/WG/doc.htm

 

 

 

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