Madagascar has one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the world: a third of women aged 15-49 have experienced at least one form of gender-based violence. In addition, almost four in ten women marry before the age of 18 (World Bank, 2021).
Children and girls in particular, are vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, forced begging, and forced labour in mining/fishing/agriculture. Peers, family members, and pimps reinforce girls' exploitation in tourist locations/cities/vanilla-growing regions/mining areas (USDOL, 2021). Limited access to and control over resources, perpetuates inequalities and hinders social inclusion.
Addressing these barriers, PowerPath incorporates active engagement with local communities, conducting gender and social inclusion assessments and integrating their perspectives into project activities. This can help address identified barriers and promote economic empowerment and social inclusion.
Powered by the past years' experience that have raised female participation in entrepreneurship up to 15% in Nanoé's activities in Madagascar (the energy industry standard is <5%), the PowerPath actively creates income-generating opportunities, benefiting women. Access to electricity enhances education, healthcare, and communication channels, empowering economic opportunities for women towards their financial independence and fostering social inclusion. Economic empowerment can increase women's decision-making power and reduce their vulnerability to gender-based violence, towards leadership roles, ensuring representation and active participation in energy-related activities.
Specifically in alleviating the problem of gender-based violence the project will provide electricity for public spaces in rural communities, increasing safety in streets/public spaces during night-time for all and particularly women/girls.
Community dialogues, training sessions, and awareness campaigns will help challenge social norms and promote positive attitudes towards gender equality and the rights of women and girls.
Households' electrification has a significant positive impact on female empowerment. Indeed, qualitative lighting, by extending the productive day length at home, offers women in charge of housekeeping more time to develop revenue generation activities. This impact will be qualitatively tracked.
On the entrepreneurs' side, Nanoé aims to reach more 1/3 of female nano-entrepreneurs. To achieve this ambitious goal (over 95% Malagasy electricians are male), Nanoé plan to launch targeted advertising campaign to attract female entrepreneurs.