Women in Haiti have equal constitutional rightsConstitution of the Republic of Haiti , Title III: "Art. 17: All Haitians, regardless of sex or marital status, who have attained twenty-one years of age may exercise their political and civil rights if they meet the other conditions prescribed by the Constitution and by the law. Art. 18: Haitians shall be equal before the law, subject to the special advantages conferred on native-born Haitians who have never renounced their nationality." to men in the economic, political, cultural and social spheres, as well as within the family.

However, the reality of women's experience in Haiti differs from the provision of the law. Structural issues and patriarchal views limit Haitian women's ability to experience full autonomy. These trends have persisted throughout the country's history, both during period of peace and political unrest.Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on "The Right of Women in Haiti to be Free from Violence and Discrimination." OEA/Ser.L/V/II, Doc. 64, 10 March 2009.

Women and society Some Haitian scholars argue that Haitian peasant women are often less socially restricted than women in Western societies and than more Westernized elite Haitian women. Compared with their Latin-American counterparts, Haitian women's participation in agriculture, commerce and industry has been high. During the US occupation of Haiti (1915–1934), peasant women actively participated in guerilla warfare and anti-US intelligence gathering to free the country. Because of their involvement in commerce, Haitian peasant women have accumulated resources independently of their partners, in contrast to more Westernized elite Haitian women.

Political representation

The Haitian government has a Ministry of Women's Affairs, but the ministry lacks the resources to address issues such as gender-violence and workplace-harassment . Political figures such as Michele Pierre-Louis, Haiti's second female prime minister, have adopted agendas aimed at addressing inequalities and persecutions against women. Her tenure as Prime Minister had a positive effect on women's political leadership in a country where women accounted for 25% of government ministers in 2005.UNDP 2007/2008 Human Development Report, Haiti Factsheet

History of the Haitian women's movement

Women have been involved in social movements in Haiti since the battle for independence.

In the 1930s, following an economic crisis, a women's movement emerged in Haiti. The crisis is thought to have forced middle-class Haitian women to work outside the home, like their lower-class counterparts, for the first time. This was also a time when more elite women began to pursue post-secondary education and L'Université D'Etat d'Haiti opened its doors to women. The first Haitian woman to receive a secondary education graduated in 1933.

One of the first established feminist organizations in Haiti was called the Ligue Féminine d'Action Sociale (Feminine League for Social Action) and was created in 1934. Its initial members, who were mostly from the Elite, included Madeleine Sylvain, Alice Garoute, Fernande Bellegarde, Thérèse Hudicourt, Alice Mathon, Marie-Thérèse Colimon, Léonie Coicou Madiou, and Marie-Thérèse Poitevien. The Ligue was banned by the government two months after its founding. The league was re-established after agreeing to study its goals rather than immediately implementing them. The league is credited with helping secure voting rights for women in 1957.

In 1950, writer and feminist Paulette Poujol-Oriol joined the league. She later served as president of the League from 1997 until her death on March 11, 2011. She was also a founding member of L'Alliance des Femmes Haitiennes, an umbrella organization representing over 50 women's groups.

Under François Duvalier, some women were appointed to government leadership positions: Rosalie Adolphe (aka Madame Max Adolphe) was appointed head of the secret police Volontaires de La Sécurité Nationale, also known as the Tonton Macoute; Lydia O. Jeanty was named Under-Secretary of Labor in 1957; and Lucienne Heurtelou, the widow of former president Dumarsais Estimé, was Haiti's first female ambassador. Marie-Denise Duvalier was considered a potential successor to her father in 1971.

In 2010, Rezo Fanm Kapab Dayiti, a network of women's rights organisations founded by Tina Nadine Anilus, was established.

Sexual violence

Women in Haiti often face threats to their security and well-being from rape, kidnapping and human trafficking.

Documented cases of politically motivated rape, massacres, forced disappearance, and violent assaults on entire neighborhoods increased greatly at the end of 1993, under the military dictatorship of Raoul Cédras. Reports from women's rights groups in Haiti revealed that women were targeted for abuse in ways and for reasons that men were not. Uniformed military personnel and their civilian allies threatened and attacked women's organizations for their work in defense of women's rights and subjected women to gender -specific forms of abuse ranging from assaults on women's breasts to rape.Rape in Haiti: A Weapon of Terror, Human Rights Watch (HRW), 1 July 1994

The troubles preceding the 2004 coup were seen by many nationwide women's group as a reminder of the 1991–94 coup d'etat tactics with the use of rape, kidnapping, and murders as forms of intimidation. Although many of the feminist activists in Haiti campaigned for the election of Jean-Bertrand Aristide before his first term (1991–1995), many of them, especially intellectuals like Myriam Merlet or Magalie Marcelin, criticized the way the first democratically elected president of Haiti ruled the country during his second term (2000–2004). Other observers, who were more favorable of the Fanmi Lavalas party, were more inclined to criticise the period after the coup as a "rewind" back to the same dictatorship tactics: "a terror campaign employing rape, murder and disappearance as tactics, and rapidly increasing insecurity undermining all economic activity of the informal sector.""Rewinding History: The Rights of Haitian Women" 2005 Report of the Let Haiti Live Women's Rights Delegation sponsored by the Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean (EPICA), January 2005. Obtained June 3rd 2009

To this day, Haiti is "gripped by shocking levels of sexual violence against girls;" of particular concern is the number of cases of sexual violence reported in the run-up to or during Carnival.Amnesty International, Press Release, Embargoed Until Noon, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2008. Obtained June 3, 2009

Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International launched a grass-roots campaign to send postcards to the Prime Minister of Haiti to remind her of her duty to protect Haitian women. The text of the letter was such:

"Dear Prime Minister:

I am writing to you to express my deep concern at the levels of sexual violence perpetrated against girls in Haiti, particularly during the carnival period. While the true extent of sexual violence against girls is not known, every year, in Port-au-Prince alone, dozens of girls report being raped at gunpoint by groups of young men.

I therefore urge you and your government to implement all necessary measures to prevent rape and protect girls' right to live free from violence, to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice and that the victims receive adequate support and reparation.

Yours respectfully," and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have emphasized the state's duty to exercize due diligence to prevent and eradicate violence and discrimination against women.

Despite the MINUSTAH's peacekeeping mandate, a number of cases arose where the UN soldiers were found to have abused women.

Education

Women's education history

Women in Haiti have historically had unequal access to education, as a male-dominated society with colonial origins restricted girls' and women's access to school.

This formally changed with The Constitution of 1843, but the first documented account of a primary school established for girls in Port-au-Prince dates to 1844. Although the political leadership attempted to address unequal education at the time, economic and social barriers made progress difficult, and the number of girls attending school didn't increase until 1860. However, secondary education for women developed faster than primary education for girls. The first secondary school for women was established by Marie-Rose Léodille Delaunay in 1850. Following the law of 1893, the government had established six secondary schools for women by 1895.Clement, Job B. "History of Education in Haiti: 1804-1915." Revista De Historia De América, no. 88, 1979, pp. 33–74. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20139335. Although most Latin American countries had achieved universal or near universal primary education for all children, in Haiti the primary school enrollment rate for boys was still somewhat higher than that of girls in 1987.

The overall system

The education system in Haiti is underdeveloped. Although there are primary, secondary, and tertiary schools, attendance and graduation levels, particularly at upper levels, is low. Poverty forces many people to prioritze earning an income for their livelihoods. In the Haitian school system, formal education begins at preschool, followed by nine years of fundamental education. Beginning the second year of secondary education, students can pursue vocational training programs. Higher education after the completion of secondary studies is uncommon but highly valued, as many children do not have the opportunity to begin their eduction. Tuition rates have increased substantially, including at the preschool level. What once cost 1628 gourdes ($41) in 2004, increased to 4675 gourdes ($117) in 2007. This represents an increase of 187% in the three years which many families cannot afford,Suzata, Eriko. 2011. Education in Haiti: An Overview of Trends, Issues, and Plans. World Innovative Summit for Education. Retrieved 24 November 2012. Archived 14 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine especially families in rural Haiti. The rural-urban disparity is considerable : nearly 25% of the women in urban areas have finished secondary school, compared with less than 2% in rural areas. Women in rural areas also face barriers to education as many young girls have to work to support their families. Overall, according to a study by the Haitian Institute of Statistics and IT, 39% of Haitians have never attended school. In the 6-12 age range, it is 37.7%. Situations worsened after the 2010 earthquake.

Post-2010 earthquake