Female Changemakers in S4D

THE CAMPAIGN

In the light of the International Women´s Day, the sector project "Sport for Development" and the regional project "Sport for Development in Africa" of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) joined forces to fight for gender equality.  As part of the GIZ Gender Week we are highlighting our female-oriented activities and the incredible women who take part in our activities. Learn how women have resisted existing prejudices and stereotypes in sport and now pass on their knowledge and skills to young girls. 

Sport for Development in Morocco and Senegal: Team Up for Gender Equality Training in Dakar 

How can sport for development support girls’ empowerment and gender equality? The statements of the young women that participated in the all-female multiplier workshop in Dakar show what sport means to them and the impact it has had on their personal development. The workshop provided a space where the participating Moroccan and Senegalese could share their experiences, learn about each other’s cultures, enhance their knowledge, and extend their capabilities in the field of sport. The young women can take this experience with them in their communities and share it through their own S4D activities. Watch this video to see for yourself!

Gender equality and inclusion through sport - The Kenya Deaf Basketball Federation (KDBF)

The Kenya Deaf Basketball Federation (KDBF) advocates for gender equality and inclusion since 2009. Apart from sportive success on international level  the trainings focuse on teaching and supporting social competencies and personal growth like leadership skills, teamwork, and self-confidence. Furthermore, the trainings include education about important health issues and safeguarding. KDBF supports its athletes holistically to ensure their development and well-being in and outside the sport. Watch this video to learn how sport for development can be implemented in high performance sport and contribute to the promotion of inclusion and gender equality.

Together for Gender Equality - Changemakers in S4D

Morocco has known a remarkable dynamics and a considerable progress of female participation in sports practice in various disciplines and on several levels.  However, the participation of women and girls in sports, all disciplines included, remains to be challenging for both structural and socio-economic reasons. Within the framework of Gender Week, we wish to highlight the voices, experiences and stories of women and allied men in the field of sport in Morocco: executives, entrepreneurs, athletes, coaches, teachers, project leaders or practitioners of a certain discipline. To break the bias it takes society as a whole, together we can do this!

Women around the world - Changemakers and Gamechangers!

We want to be loud, speak up and raise our voices, and tell our stories. We want to show what we do and why the issue of "breaking the bias" concerns us all.

As already pointed out at the beginning of this week, in sport the fixed roles are predominant; stereotypes are present and need to be broken down by strong women like Mariam and Veronique. This week and in celebration of the International Women’s Day 2022 we presented to you a variety of women living in different countries. As in other areas, equality in sport is not a given and there is still a long way to go. But together we can go this way, support each other, and finally reach the goal!

The women we highlighted to you are the women who stand up for gender equality worldwide, who live the change, and are inspiring changemakers. These women draw attention to themselves in their fields and thus make an essential contribution to breaking the bias.

The young Moroccan and Senegalese women kicked off the campaign on Tuesday with their strong voices on gender equality and Sport for Development (S4D). We could see and hear that their experiences in sport and the activities make them more confident and develop their personality. It is great to see, that young women got inspired by the S4D workshops and are highly motivated to share their knowledge and experiences in their communities and through their own work in sport. This deep conviction that life skills and values can be transmitted through S4D is the real driving factor of successful S4D workshops and activities. Another aspect that is pointed out by the young women is the effect of building friendships across cultural differences through sport. Yaye Ndiaté Sall from the Olympafrica Foundation illustrates: “Sport is an important asset in intercultural understanding. If you see our group, you have the impression that we’ve known each other for years whereas we’ve only just met.”

On Wednesday the Kenya Deaf Basketball Federation (KDBF) presented themselves and their approach to gender equality and inclusion. Miriam Opondo, the President of the KDBF, supported the female team until they could compete on the international level like the male team does. When it comes to competitions and trainings, the emphasis of the federation is on gender equality. “The Kenya Deaf Basketball Federation’s objective is for both men and women, including the youth, to participate in the deaf sports at the international level.”, explains Miriam Opondo. In addition to their focus on gender equality, KDBF educates on life skills and values in their trainings. They support their athletes in their personal development and make sure that they can live a healthy life.

In Thursday’s video strong changemakers from Morocco speak up about their experiences with discrimination concerning their participation in sports. They find themselves in a position where they have to deal with objectification and reduction to certain roles due to gender-based  stereotypes. Despite these challenges Zineb, Siham, Safae, Loubna, Asmae and Soukaina speak about how it is also possible to stand up against these odds and be a Changemaker. They point out that the shared negative experiences help in establishing a connection and in reaching girls and women. Through the support of family and friends as well as allied men like Achraf and Rafik it becomes possible to overcome socio-economic and societal obstacles and stand together against structural inequalities.

All these individual stories and the perspectives from different countries illustrate the incredible contributions of women to have a worldwide impact on achieving gender equality. By breaking the bias, they become role models and inspire others to follow in their footsteps. The S4D help fuel this change, they provide females and males with competences like self-esteem and public speaking so they can create opportunities for themselves and speak up. We hope that with the International Women’s Day celebrations and by highlighting these special stories, more of you will be encouraged to speak up and do what inspires you.

 Stay tuned and check out all our stories, activities, and examples on our YouTube and Instagram channels.

 Authors:

Eleonora Hoffmann, Franziska Mühler, Mark Grasy