Gender Mainstreaming and Disability Inclusive Development Culture and Religion: The inseparable stumbling block towards the realization of gender equality and equity

Abstract

Many initiatives towards gender equality have been considered and several actions taken
towards achieving gender equality in the 20th and the 21st centuries. Of interest though is the fact
that traditional gender roles, biases, stereotypes, and discriminative practices still persist.
Unpaid domestic and public underpaid or unpaid labor for example remains the predominant
responsibility of women, while on the other hand influential and powerful positions remain
predominantly the purview of men. While a great deal of work has been done, the major question
is still on the approach given to the most powerful influencers of gender inequality, religion and
culture of which this paper seeks to address. Any mention of gender equality and women’s
empowerment always elicit some controversies and challenging the traditional gender norms in
most occasions is seen as going against the belief systems which are informed by religious and
cultural teachings. A common question always is, “is that not contradicting our culture or Gods
ordained order of things or the fact that God created a man as the head and woman to be the
helper?” Though destructive, the sense of gender inequality continues under the presumably iron
chains of culture and religion. Hence this paper seeks to look at Gender mainstreaming from
cultural and religious perspective seeking to address why these two are so slow to face the fact
that equality is good for both men and women and the paper will therefore be theoretical.
Keywords: Culture and Religion