Investigation of young girl’s perceptions about equality in local sport, games, and public spaces to evaluate the level of inclusiveness

Gender inclusion and equality are significant matters in the many countries in the world that face problems, limitations, and challenges. The new studies highlight that gender inclusion is part of cultural, social, political, and administrative foundations rather than personal beliefs. The objectives of this research were to discover the level of inclusion of girls regarding the use of playgrounds in a pre-urban area in Kigali, Rwanda. Qualitative questionnaires were arranged to ask the girls’ opinions about inclusion and equality through open-ended simple questions. Through descriptive and interpretation analyses the results were evaluated. The findings reveal that girls face problems using playgrounds and open spaces at any time. The school was restricted due to administrative operations. The girls believe that boys have priority to use spaces for sports and games rather than girls and even half of respondents mentioned bullying of boys. In conclusion, the level of inclusion and equality in the areas was low due to the perception of the girls. This result referred to the wider context of such perception that allowed exclusion and inequality such as cultural, social, political, and administrative aspects. The level of inclusion in the open spaces is higher than in the school due to some insufficient policies. The outputs of this research could lead the politicians and administrative staff to draw more effective policies and administrative guidelines to meet the needs of girls.