The report titled “Because I am a girl” focuses on young men, regarding them as part of the solution to eradicating poverty and attaining female empowerment.
The report released surveyed Rwanda, United Kingdom, 1,000 young Canadians, as well as nearly 4000 teens from India, says 26 per cent in Rwanda hold similar tough-guy notions agreeing that gender equality is good for both men and women.
While 90 per cent of Canadian youth said they agree gender equality is good for both men and women, nearly 45 per cent agree that being a man you need
to be tough.
“When you see the famine in the Horn of Africa, for example, the instinctive reactionary response is to get aid and hands on the ground. And most of the research out there says that educating men and women about gender equality improves their quality of life.” The report says
Todd Minerson, Executive Director of White Ribbon Campaign, says responding to poverty issues globally is rooted in challenging gender stereotypes.
“It’s definitely a stretch for some people to get from dealing with poverty to empowering women and dealing with male stereotypes,” Mr. Minerson said.
Margaret Capelazo, senior gender adviser at CARE Canada, who works mostly with men in developing countries such as Vietnam, Pakistan and Kenya, says usually men tend to work on different activities to fit in their masculine.
The survey also reveals that 31 per cent of Canadian boys think a woman’s most important role is to take care of her home and cook for the family.
In the U.K., only 15 per cent of young boys think the same, while the number is 74 per cent in India.
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