33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

MALI . their knees when greeting elders. Direct eye contact is considered unpolished and in some case as threat as well as to point people with the index finger; in case of invitation to dinner it is rude to bring a gift, because it is the owner of the house who has to provide everything 10 Most of the people live in small villages and pursue such traditional occupations as farming, fishing, herding, crafts, and trade . Most of the Tuareg and Moors, living in the north of the Niger River, are herders, they raise cattle, sheep, and goats and are always on the move in search of water and forage for their animals. The Tuareg are not traditionally fundamentalist and do not follow strict Sharia law Malian ethnic groups are patrilineal, and residence tends to be patrilocal; in rural areas and to a large extent in the cities, domestic units consist of an extended family (parents, sons, their wives and children, and unmarried daughters). People living in the big cities usually have a higher social standing and reproduce Western education, so in the cities it is possible to find couples who live independently from their extended families 11 . GENDER RELATIONS: Mali is assessed at 138th position out of 144 countries worldwide for gender equality in the 2016 Global Gender Gap Index 12 . The country ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women in 1985, and the Optional Protocol on violence against women in 2000; Mali also signed the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa in 2005 13 . Despite in recent years the government has tried to remove some discriminatory statements regarding women, the new Family Code a dopted in 2011 grants men sole parental authority and allows them to have up to four wives (man hold rights of access to and control over land and decide which parts, if any, women are allowed to farm); men are to be considered the head of the family and women have to obey their husbands 14 . However, a bold step has been made towards bringing about women’s empowerment in Mali by adopting a landmark gender quota bill which requires a minimum of 30 percent of elected and appointed officials to be women. The discriminatory practices can vary significantly depending upon the location, the education, class, and the relationship between husband and wife. Rural women are extremely overworked and have reduced access to health care than city women. Gender inequalities seems to be smaller among younger people, those living in urban areas and those more educated 15 . Gender inequality has been reduced in primary education d ue to campaigns that encourage the enrolment of girls in school but no progress is visible in secondary education because of lack of targeted action and a prevailing sexist attitude. Girls are discriminated against in terms of access to education because families concerned about the safety of girls tend to keep them at home. Polygamy is legal, and relationships between co-wives are tense and competitive. Arranged marriages are less common, although still practiced. Women are expected to take care of household chores and children and they are involved in agricultural activities, especially in the collective fields of their husband's extended family without receiving any income. In general, they are less represented than men in the more lucrative sectors of the economy such as state employment, private enterprises, and big trade. 1 0 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13881370 11 ibidem 1 2 http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2016/economies/#economy=MLI 13 http s://ww w.genderindex.org/country/mali/#_ftn2 14 http s://ww w.fidh.org/en/region/Africa/mali/Mali-s-new-Family-Law-women-s 1 5 http://www.care.org/sites/default/files/documents/CARE-IMAGES-Mali-Summary-Report-FINAL.pdf