Overview

The mandate of the Gender Affairs Division is to effectively promote Gender Equity and Gender Justice through the process of Gender mainstreaming in all Government Policies, Programmes and Projects.

The Gender Affairs strategic objectives are:

  • To improve the quality of life of men and women and boys and girls, at all levels of society through the promotion of gender equity and equality.
  • Research and disseminate information on gender specific issues.
  • Promote change in gender discriminatory social consciousness and traditions.
  • Build consultative mechanisms within government, international and regional agencies, academia, NGOs and private sector partners in advancing gender equality.
  • Develop gender policies to promote the equitable advancement of women and men, and boys and girls in all spheres of development.
  • Prevent, punish and eradicate gender based violence.

In order to achieve the stated objectives, the Gender Affairs Division has developed projects and programmes to address some of those issues, which affect women, men, families and ultimately the country. These issues include the following:

  • Gender based violence: The Gender Affairs Division continues to design, implement and execute programmes via its Domestic Violence Unit to address the crucial problem of Domestic Violence in our society.
  • The Male Programme promotes gender equity by taking into account the needs of men, their perspective and expectations, as well as facilitating a level of awareness, which deconstructs the stereotyping, which take place in society.
  • To address issues of inequality in economic structures and policies and in all forms of productive activities and access to resources, the Gender Affairs Division through its Gender Support Unit seeks to:
    • Design, implement and execute activities and programmes as well as collect data to engender social and economic policy in the key areas of our Ministry and the relevant Ministries.
    • Continue gender sensitization activities for key target groups, including the members of the media, protective services, the private sector, and the health sector among others.
    • Provide technical and financial resources to NGO”s to assist them in promotion of and execution of specific projects and programmes.