Senior lecturer at the University of Pretoria’s Department of Taxation, Sumerie Swanepoel, says ensuring women’s participation in an economically inclusive society works towards placing women on an equal footing with their male counterparts.
She believes that acknowledging that unpaid care work is really what is needed to sustain society is also one of the things that gives women more decision-making power in their homes.
Her remarks come two days after the Human Sciences Research Council released a study which showed that 66.6% of men believe that women belong in the kitchen and their only role is to be a home caretaker.
Ten percent of the men also blame women for rape, believing that they put themselves in such situations.
Swanepoel, who is currently enrolled in PhD research in taxation, says statistics have proven that women’s financial empowerment lowers the risk of Gender-Based Violence cases.
“Tax can combat GBV, as statistics show that the more wealth and independence women have, the lower the incidents of Gender based Violence,” remarks Swanepoel.
She says this also provides leeway for women experiencing GBV or stuck in abusive relationships to escape.
“If they have the economic means to escape, it is so much easier than being beholden to a relationship because of a specific gender role and not having the economic freedom to leave it,” opines Swanepoel.
Meanwhile, Gender Focal Points representative for the National Department of Health, Tshepiso Machabapala, believes that conscious male leadership is key in dismantling adverse societal mentality.
“Because of the cultural roles and views of men as leaders of households, their conscious leadership in dismantling adverse mentality is key.”
Machabapala also notes with emphasis that moral fibre deterioration has a rebounding potential, affecting everyone in society.
“It is also significant for men to realise and acknowledge that the breakdown of moral fibre or morality of society has ripple effects that also affect both genders,” says Machabapala.
She believes that the prevention of moral-fibre deterioration requires intensive and constant public education.
She says a strong moral fibre needs to be built initially from an individual level and eventually up to community and societal levels.
Machabapala says because of how easily the transfer of contradicting information can be mobilised among people, there needs to be an urgent transfer of moral fibre principles at a larger scale.
“Intensive public education is a constant requirement to prevent the breakdown of moral fibre. Society should intentionally and deliberately work together,” concludes Machabapala. Written by Odirile Rabolao
Written by: Lindiwe Mabena
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