Ideas concerning how men and women should behave are deeply rooted in the collective memory of societies. They are influenced by tradition and faith, but they change over time. Most societies consider men to be dominant and superior to women. These values are the basis for how children and youth are socialised. Today, enlightened democratic societies assume that men and women are fundamentally equal and must enjoy equal rights. Many women no longer want to submit to men and fight for their equality. But a lot must yet be done in terms of raising awareness, and this is an issue pertaining to development policy.
This briefing directly relates to the UN’s 5th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG): gender equality.
