By Dylan Murambgi
ILLICIT Financial Flows (IFFs) continue to deprive young women of their due gains in the extractive sector profits, exposing them to the double jeopardy of their age and gender, Economic Justice Women Project (EJWP) executive director, Margaret Mutsamvi has said.
She made the remarks during an exclusive interview with the Humanitarian Post recently as she elaborated on the key findings of the recently published EJWP paper.
“When IFFs reduce taxes that must be channeled to provide young women with adequate public services, social security, and resources to lessen the heavy burden they are carrying due to unpaid care work, this mostly affects young women as they have no access to critical sexual and reproductive health services,” she said.
Mutsamvi said this places young women at the inter section of being both young and being women therefore leaving them with no choice except to bear the brunt of ageism and patriarchy making them the most vulnerable to the impacts of IFFs.
“The link between ageism and gender discrimination results in overlapping discrimination and barriers for young women affecting their self esteem.
“Negative age and gender stereotypes widespread and accepted in our societies are often reflected in laws and policies leaving young women most vulnerable. The potential and existing links between tax policy and gender equality have largely been ignored in development cooperation,” she said.
