Gender Equity within Families in Mansoura City

Ahmed, Rabab M.; Abd El-Ghany, Nazek; Haggag, Mariam

doi:10.21608/jhiph.2006.161866

Gender Equity within Families in Mansoura City

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Faculty of Nursing, Mansoura University, Egypt

² Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt

³ Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Mansoura University, Egypt

10.21608/jhiph.2006.161866

Abstract

Girl child of today is woman of tomorrow; however, gender inequity is predominant particularly in developing countries. She receives less formal education than boy has. Gender inequities and inequalities and inequalities predispose girls even from conception, to discrimination in terms of being born, allocation of family resources, and access to health care and education. Advancing gender equality and equity is a cornerstone to ensure a better life for girls. Empowering girls will therefore ensure that policies and programs at all community levels incorporate a gender perspective and address girl’s lives and their needs.
The aim of this study is to identify gender equity adopted by families in relation to health seeking behaviors, education and socialization in Mansoura City. The study was carried out at homes of 240 mothers who are selected randomly from 12 villages. A structured interview sheet was developed to collect the needed information.
The study results revealed that 3.1% of studied children leave school in primary level and most of them were girls. Half of girls [50%] compared to 28.6% of boys miss school for family assistance. It was evident that gender gap was still present in education, nutrition, and mainly in the perception of mothers toward son preference and to domination of brother. It is obvious that mother’s education and socio-economic status contribute positively to gender equity, while son preference was more common among large families.
The main recommendations were creating community awareness and cooperation about matters related to gender equity, establish periodic national programs to increase attention toward gender equity, encourage and support women and girls for self-expression and fulfillment, empowering women and raising their status through better educational opportunities, as well promoting women’s understanding of their needs and assertion of their rights.

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