Posted by Ingrid Cheung / Canada on April 03, 1997 at 13:34:56:
Women in Mali still suffer from sexual prejudice under old traditions and values. An average women works four to seven hours a day in the farm and spends ten hours doing domestic chores at home; yet, her status is still being denied by the Malian society. Not only does she not get paid for her work, she is also fobidden to go to public places and she is not allowed to have dinner on the same table with her husband. Similar social rules have segregrated women and men apart in many aspects of life. Meanwhile, old values have portrayed men as the heads of families. Only the head of the family has the right to make decisions, even on the issues of marriages and divorces. Thus , it is clear that the Malian governmetns should put efforts in eliminating sexual discrimination that are overwhelming in the society.
There are several solutions that the governments can take to improve the social aspect of the society. Firstly, the government should put harder measures to enforce Mali's Labour Code, which entitles womento get equal pay to that of men. Secondly, the governmetn should put some efforts into abolishing certain social rules that segregrates women apart from men in public life. Thirdly, the government should encourage women to come out, speak on their behalf, and to stand up for thier rights. By making these changes, a mutual respect will be build between men and women ; thus, create a better society to live in.