Patriarchy in Southern Africa and war in West Africa: Twin impediments to sustainable social development in Africa

Close to 4 decades post-publishing of the Brundtland Report, a global blueprint that emphasised multilateralism and interdependence of nations as the basis for a tenable sustainable development, gender inequalities and untenable development persist in Africa. There is a need to continuously redefine the pathways for eliminating poverty and gender inequalities as the basis for sustainability. A better understanding of the causes of gender inequality as well as an acknowledgement of the fact that gender equality and sustainable development are inseparable is also imperative. This review study, through a desk review of available literature, explored three central issues: why gender inequality and sustainable development must be addressed together in everyday theory and practice, how patriarchy and war cause gender inequalities and untenable sustainability in Africa, and how these twin pandemics must be confronted to ensure achievement of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and their 86 targets, drawing from case studies of Southern and West Africa. Focusing on a number of social determinants of well-being, including good health for all, sexual and reproductive health services, education for all, quality of employment, gender rights, and basic requirements such as food and portable water, the review study argues that development efforts in Africa have proved gender unequal and thus unsustainable. The review study advanced arguments for a holistic view of sustainable social development, contending that market-focused indicators of development that disregard social determinants of well-being misrepresent reality. Market-focused neo-liberal patterns of growth neglect human needs and compound poverty and undergrowth. On the other hand, integrating a people centred approach to growth helps understand the connections, ruptures, and trade-offs between dimensions of gender equality and sustainability in a way that facilitates holistic growth.