Below are the Introduction and chapters on Sport and Physical Education as a Fundamental Right for Everyone and the Barriers that are stopping women and girls from participating in sport within developing countries.
This was my first essay for my MA in International Education and Development. If you would like to read the full article please let me know.
Gender inequality in sport in sub-Saharan Africa
Challenging gender norms as a possible solution
by Terence Weston
by Terence Weston
Introduction
The essay focuses on “gender” in terms of development and explores why the biggest issue in sport in development is unequal access for women and girls. Sport and physical education have so many proven benefits for women and men and yet access to involvement in sport is limited for so many women. This essay explores the possible barriers that are preventing women in sub-Saharan African from accessing sport. The barriers faced by women are discussed by using the overarching themes identified by Martha Saavedra (2005): gender and sexuality, competing obligations and safety. The essay identifies the initiatives that have been introduced in Kenya, including recommendations being made both at a macro and micro level, aimed at challenging social norms, and reducing gender inequality within sport in sub-Saharan Africa. Finally the essay looks at what the international community has done, and continues to do, to break down the barriers and change the inequity for women and girls in sport, with reference to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Sport and Physical Education – A Fundamental Right for Everyone
1.1 Every human being has a fundamental right of access to physical
education and sport, which are essential for the full development of
his personality. The freedom to develop physical, intellectual and
moral powers through physical education and sport must be
guaranteed both within the educational system and in other aspects of
social life. (UNESCO, 1978, p.32)
Physical education in schools has proven to be crucial when it comes to developing the child’s capacity and willingness to move their bodies with meaning and expression. It helps them to develop poise, spatial awareness, coordination, and it develops their gross and fine motor skills. Physical education introduces a child to new sports and skills, and provides time for them to practice and develop, with the opportunity to master their skills, in a safe environment. In addition to the long list of physical benefits associated with physical education, there are hidden benefits such as sporting values including: fair play, teamwork, support, respect, cooperation, empowerment, leadership, inclusion, and the ability to connect people and communities with the notion of sportspersonship.
The values and benefits of physical education and sport can be extended a lot further than two paragraphs. The significance of health, (both mentally and physically) teamwork, inclusion, as well as the transference of skills to academia, the workplace and the community, cannot be under estimated, neither can the ‘enjoyment’ be. In development documentation, government polices, and in this essay, the notion ‘sport’ generally refers to physical education in schools, personal exercise/fitness, traditional sports, and recreational activities. By using such a broad definition of ‘sport’, it encompasses activities suitable to women and girls of all ages, abilities and from all socio-cultural backgrounds.
Access to sport is fundamental in attaining the rights and freedoms set out in international human rights, yet for many in sub-Saharan Africa, access to ‘sport’ has barriers. It is important to gain an understanding of what the gender barriers are in order to develop possible solutions or develop acceptable alternatives.
The Barriers
An examination of gender, sexuality and the roles in sport that society expects, accentuates the stereotypical concepts of what is feminine and what is masculine. Stereotypically (though unique in different cultural settings) masculinity is having the qualities and appearances that have been traditionally linked with having muscles, strength, aggression, logic, leadership and competitiveness. In contrast, being feminine is about possessing the qualities and appearance that has been traditionally linked with being soft, gentle, passive, intuitive, responsive and cooperative. Sport has traditionally been associated with the concept of masculinity and it still embodies essential masculine traits; historically a sport was a way men measured their heterosexual male superiority against other men. The stereotyping of gender roles in sport is not just confined to the developing world. In the developed world it is predominantly women who encounter discrimination through gender stereotyping in sport, with respect to levels of media coverage, salary contracts and sponsorships (Huggins and Randell 2007). In contrast, successful male athletes become heroes and idols to many in the developed and the developing world. In Nigeria the French soccer star Thiery Henry, at the height of his career with Arsenal FC, was considered Igwe (Monarch) amongst his fandom. Again, in contrast, successful heterosexual female and gay athletes receive media coverage when risking disrupting social order with sensationalized stories that are considered to be against perceived stereotypical norms (Meier, 2005; Olaoluwa & Adejayan, 2010). In the developing world it continues to be women that encounter the majority of discrimination through gender stereotyping. The issues that they face include gaining access to sport, as well as challenging the existing cultural gender roles in their countries, and challenging the concepts of what is feminine and what is masculine (Huggins and Randell 2007). Women in the developing world that are seen to participate in sport are risking their ‘femininity’ and because of this they are risking their place within society (Saavedra, 2005).
Sport is a physical activity; if a woman wants to play sport she has to at least display some of the qualities that are traditionally and stereotypically associated with man and masculinity. In traditionally patriarchal sub-Saharan Africa children are introduced to their socially differentiated roles at a very early age. The son’s role is seen as the future heads of the household and the main source of income, whilst the daughter’s role is one of domestication and obedience (Kambarami, 2006; McDowell & Pringle, 1992). Daughters who participate in sports are therefore seen to be acting in unfeminine ways and are considered a disgrace by their families, as a daughter’s role is to behave like a lady in order to attract a husband and become a mother and homemaker (Meier, 2005). Time and energy is dedicated to fulfilling family obligations. In Zimbabwe, food, safety, shelter, family and health are the primary concerns of girls with little free time available for sport or leisure time. Girls concentrate on what they see their mothers doing and thereby they replicate the skills that have kept their mothers and grandmothers subjugated for generations. While boys have very few chores to do, which gives them the gift of time for outdoor activities, as they play with balls, run along roads, climb trees, jump over rivers and gullies, boys at an early age get to identify their sporting talents (Saavedra, 2005; Manyonganise, 2010).
Losing femininity, or the perceived loss of femininity by society, is a major barrier that prevents women and girls from getting involved in sport across developing countries. As a consequence of these barriers women’s sport in developing countries lacks female role models (Meier, 2005). Copying actions and behaviours, and by interacting socially with peers within the values and concepts of moral good sportspersonship, are some of the fundamental ways that young people learn. The observation of positive role models engaging in sport plays a crucial role in developing the skills and qualities of a good sportsperson that younger children need. Positive role models can be parents, mentors, teachers, coaches and peers, if their attitudes, behaviours, and the programme that they are promoting is a moral one. Unfortunately the lack of female athletes, teachers, coaches, leaders and decision makers in sports and in schools, is another barrier in achieving equity in sports and physical education (Saavedra, 2005).
The concept of safety and sport relates to the physical risk associated with participating in an activity, the standard of the equipment and the facilities that are available, the location of the facility and the logistics required to get to and from the event, and the verbal harassment and physical violence towards women and men or girls and boys (Saavedra, 2005). In Zimbabwe, like many other sub-Saharan countries, man owns the public spaces and travels there freely, where the women’s domain is in the privacy of the home. Women and girls have their physical mobility controlled by man, and as a consequence, society creates moral spaces that have been described as safe spaces for women such as the home, church, markets, clinics or in the tailors. Access to these spaces thus fulfills the concept of woman in her domestic role of homemaker and mother. Space is crucial for physical exercise, but gaining access to safe spaces can be difficult particularly as girls approach adolescence and are faced with even greater restrictions on their mobility which effects their participation. Regrettably for women, sport stadia, swimming pools, gymnasiums and training grounds all fall within the category of public places that are considered unsafe and immoral (Brady & Khan, 2002; Manyonganise, 2010; Ramtohul, 2010).
Harassment and violence can come from other athletes, teachers, coaches, family, spectators who are there to watch the game, or even passersby such as groups of street boys dependending on where the event is taking place. An example of violence combined with expected obligations of a girl’s role within a family in sub-Saharan Africa, identifies a 15-year-old girl describing her father’s opinion towards her starting to play sport, in this example football in Kenya with the Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA):
When I started playing for MYSA my father would say that there is
no football for girls, and he would beat me up. So whenever I wanted
to go and play, my mother would cover up for me by saying that she
had sent me somewhere. (Brady and Khan, 2002 p.14)
Challenging social expectations, traditional cultures and breaking sexual stereotypes will enviably come across resistance.
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