There are many problems with gender inequity in GB: child marriage, domestic violence, women and girls having to do all the housework and childcare and growing food, girls having to help in the home before/as well as school, girls dropping out of secondary school when priority given to boys / girls losing confidence. This is more pronounced in the villages, with FGM in many areas.
GB has an oral tradition of experts going to villages to talk to local people. Villagers listen well, many are illiterate and follow traditions unquestioningly.
Mariatu Mane is very experienced speaker on gender issues in GB. She is a school English inspector, and a member of several women’s groups. She is well respected in GB.
She will organise small groups of up to 25 people – older and younger people, men and women - to discuss the issues of domestic violence, child marriage, girls missing or dropping out of school because they need to help with housework or childcare etc. Photos will be taken to document the meetings.
This is what Mariatu said she did at her gender issues awareness-raising session in Buba:
1. Introduction of action Guinea Bissau.
2. The objectives of Action.
3. Gender discrimination or gender based violence etc.
She talked about what some people think about gender due to the culture. She I loves working on gender issues to fight all kind of gender descriminations.