Gender Roles in Colombia Vs in South Africa

In article 43 of the Colombian Constitution it says that "women and men have the same rights and opportunities", however, for Colombian society it is still a great effort to achieve a total equality of opportunities for all citizens regardless of the gender. Although in Colombia and many other Western countries women have in principle the same opportunities as men to study and work, the reality of Colombia is different. I live in Barranquilla, a city on the Caribbean coast, where the people of the country say they are a community of macho men, but the reality is that not only on the Colombian coast there are macho men, in many parts of Colombia the woman is the one who cleans the house and takes care of the children. Colombia is one of the countries in Latin America with the least representation of women in politics. Colombian women have a higher education rate than men, however, it is difficult for them to get a job and a good salary. Many women in Colombia must work outside the home, take care of the children and take care of the house while the man works. On the other hand, the man is the head of the family and main source of money,  These Colombian gender ideologies are often instilled from home and other times by society.

Following the theme of gender roles, we moved to South Africa, where the reality is a bit worse than that of Colombia. In South Africa, women represented the role of the main producer and gatherer of food, but they earn and own less. Statistics show that women produce 80%, consume 10% and own only 1% of the land. In terms of education, men have more opportunities than women because they think that they can generate a higher status for the family. At work, as already mentioned, there is a greater number of women than men who perform unskilled jobs and earn less. In the family, polygamy is a common practice. Finally, with respect to women, several of their rights are violated when performing practices such as genital mutilation and forced sterilization.