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The Church contributing towards grooming girls for marriage without encouraging them to advance their education, career, or business. All these, contribute towards the way girls and women are seen and termed unequal to boys and men. In Mercy’s community, the boys are allowed to play whatever sports they enjoy and are not held accountable for housework or prepared for marriage and fatherhood. The Church does not hold classes for them either.
Boys and men grow up perceiving women as the lower sex and or second-class citizens who they can treat any how without consequences. This is part of the reasons Mercy’s husband could get her pregnant while she was still unaged, married her and would beat her anytime he felt like without resistance from her or interference by family or the community. It is normalized.
Gender inequality in Mercy’s life manifests through restricted opportunities, assigned caregiving roles, educational inequality, economic dependence, and community norms. These factors not only enable violence but also contribute to the perpetuation of gender inequalities in a reinforcing cycle. The community’s acceptance and enforcement of these gender norms contribute to a culture that perpetuates gender inequality. On the other hand, Violence can lead to long-lasting psychological effects, undermining Mercy’s confidence, self-esteem, and mental well-being. This can reinforce gender stereotypes and contribute to a sense of inferiority. Experience of violence also limits Mercy’s ability to make independent decisions, trapping her in traditional gender roles. Fear and control associated with violence can restrict her agency, reinforcing power imbalances.
1. Disproportionate power between men and women and harmful gender stereotypes causes violence. The belief that girls do not deserve some opportunities but boys do e.g Mercy was denied an opportunity to pursue her love for sports since it was deemed a boys affair. She wasn’t able to pursue secondary school, but the brothers did. As a teenager, due to her disadvantaged level, Mercy was vulnerable to abuse and Clinton took advantage of this, probably sex in exchange for for the small gifts.
2. Economic dependence: after getting babies, she had no option but to fully depend on Clinton for survival.
3. Perpetuating harmful norms: the community tolerates norms such as wife beating, early marriage, etc.Denying girls and women equal opportunities in education and social engagements reinforces discriminatory attitudes and stereotypes, encouraging submissiveness in girls. It restricts their career options and normalizes domestic violence.
Restricting Mercy’s access to equal decision-making power regarding family resources and educational choices for her children, particularly her daughter Angel, along with an unequal division of family responsibilities, results in burdensome unpaid care work. This imbalance causes mental stress and physical fatigue.
Mercy’s story shows the different levels of the socio-ecological model and the factors of gender inequality that can enable VAW or VAW could worsen gender inequalities.
Individual Level – Mercy’s history and experience where she is given less priority to education or more chores than her brothers. – When she gets married, she is beaten to be submissive to her husband. She is not educated, she does not have to make decisions.Interpersonal Level – Gender roles at home, men and boys do fewer household chores and have a lot of free time to spare while women and girls roles are more reproductive roles and additional income activities that are suited for women such as selling local produce at the market. There is pressure from one income source so it causes disagreement and violence at home.
Community: Girls marry at an early age to older men. Mercy was pregnant at 17 years of age, it is shameful to be a single mother, she had no choice but to marry. The church plays a role in training women to be good wives and mothers but nothing is mentioned for men and boys trained to be good husbands or fathers. If the women or girls don’t meet those obligations they can be beaten up.
Society: The policy for beating your wife is illegal. How can it help women when it is a private matter and done behind closed doors? How can she speak up when it is a social norm that is how a husband shows his love for his wife? – When she gets married, she is beaten to be submissive to her husband.
– Although Mercy thinks Angela should have a different opportunity than herself, she doesn’t see how that can be possible as she knows that Clinton will not allow it. If she says something about income she will be beaten.
-Violence causes women and girls to be silent to seek opportunities to change because of fear and bruises are reminders that men are dominant in the family and community.
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