BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE– The Government of Eswatini is a few step towards linking gender and energy.
The Principal Secretary to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, Dorcas Dlamini, today revealed that government was a step closer in implementing the National Energy Policy of 2018.
Dlamini said this when the today at a sensitisation workshop hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy for curriculum designers on integrating gender and energy in the school curriculum. The workshop is funded by the World Bank through the Shiselweni Network Reinforcement and Access Project.
The PS in the ministry said the Government of Eswatini recognised the need to integrate gender equality in all areas of national development and the gender mainstreaming project in the energy sector launched by Government in May, 2022, is therefore a step towards implementing the National Energy Policy (2018) which established the link between energy and gender as significant for sustainable energy access.
“This activity is one of the strategic interventions towards changing the social norms, beliefs and stereotypes that limit the meaningful participation of women and girls in the energy sector and to correct any gender imbalances that may exist in the energy sector.
“If these issues are imparted to learners at an early stage, social transformation would be realised as they grow up. This will ultimately contribute immensely towards an increased participation and representation of women and girls and thus closing the gender gap in the energy sector,” said the PS.
In the meantime, Director Guidance and Counseling Lindiwe Dlamini said they, as a unit, were cognisant of the barriers to education that result from energy poverty and these were more pronounced on girls and young women in rural settings.
“I want to challenge tertiary institutions to offer diverse programs that ensure we have more girls that venture into energy careers.”
Director National Curriculum Centre Musa Hlophe said there was evidence in their system that the education was not achieving gender equality in a number of areas and none more glaring than in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
“If there is inadequate support at the lower levels of education, then the ripple effect is felt at tertiary level,” said Hlophe.
