May, 2024.- When the calendar marks Africa Day, Many think of that great peninsula joined to Asia by the Isthmus of Suez. Others review in their minds what they read over and over again in books related to its fairly regular coasts, the scarcity of ports and inlets and of course, the note that can never be missing, its nature, characterized by great contrasts, which is why It is also known as the continent of contradictions. Being a land mass of gigantic extension, it barely has several thousand kilometers of coastline and only one true port, Delagoa Bay on the Indian coast.
Large but relatively short rivers distinguish it. Immense forests with dense vegetation, varied and abundant animal life in front of torrid and extensive uninhabited deserts and even the benefits of the temperate climate in the heart of the tropical zone, due to the altitude of the plateaus, give it that unique touch that surprises.
The mystery that accompanied its name for hundreds of years made it the ideal setting for fantastic stories that accentuated its undeserved reputation as a dangerous land.
After these details, it is worth delving into, for example, the life of African women. In them, restlessness manifests itself as an everyday occurrence, hope is not lost and the effort that covers the blankets does not fade.
Today, the issue of equality has become one of the most debated and is at the same time one of the ones that has received the least solutions. There is still an enormous distance between official discourses and reality that continues to be unfavorable for women. Why there remains a wide difference between legal provisions and practice regarding discrimination imposed on the female sex.
In relation to education and health, many African women are marginalized, in some cases, for not having basic skills to hold a job.
In health care, they are crying out for maternal mortality rates to decrease and for governments to provide them with more attention and care.
The burden of food production is carried by African women, with a significant participation in agriculture; for many periods, they have constituted 70% of the workforce in the countryside.
This May 25, Africa Day, it is worth paying tribute to those who suffer the most from conflicts and endure the loss of family members with astonishing stoicism. For those who step by step strengthen their livelihood for themselves and their children. This difficult and real situation reveals that Africa runs the risk of a lack of female population unique in the world, hence the need for governments, institutions, organizations and societies to urgently address this problem, the responsibility of many and especially of the international community. (Photo taken 5septiembre.cu)
