Representatives from the continent and the region,
Ms Cheryl Frank, Director of the Institute for Security Studies Pretoria Office,
Ms Colleen Lowe-Morne, Executive Director of Genderlinks,
Dr Cheryl Hendricks, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Members of the media
All protocol observed,
I am pleased to deliver the keynote address at the launch of the 2010 Gender Protocol Barometer and 16 Days of No Violence against Women in South Africa which occurs during the jointly hosted Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance workshop on Gender, Peace and Security in Southern Africa.
You would be aware that the SADC Gender Protocol Barometer was launched in Windhoek, Namibia ahead of the Heads of State Summit held in August this year to assess progress in terms of the empowerment and emancipation of women in the region.
Ladies and gentlemen,
South Africa’s 16 Days of No Violence against Women campaign will begin later this week, on 25 November and will continue to 10 December. This year’s global theme for the campaign is “Structures of Violence: Defining the intersections of Militarism and Violence against Women.” During this time activists across the globe rally together to raise public awareness around gender violence.
The issues of peace building and conflict resolution as well as gender based violence, are particularly relevant this evening since it is now widely accepted that women face the brunt of conflict as well as socio-economic challenges. In this regard, on 19 June 2008, during South Africa’s Presidency, the United Nations Security Council in resolution 1820 (2008) unanimously declared that rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute a war crime, a crime against humanity, or a constitutive act with respect to genocide.
The Council further called upon member states to comply with their obligations for prosecuting persons responsible for such acts, to ensure that all victims of sexual violence, particularly women and girls, have equal protection under the law and equal access to justice, and stressed the importance of ending impunity for such acts as part of a comprehensive approach to seeking sustainable peace, justice, truth, and national reconciliation.
While it remains uncertain about the effect of this resolution on the reality on the ground, especially in conflict situations, it was heartening that the international community could reach consensus on this very emotive issue.
Distinguished guests,
This workshop and the launch of the 16 Days Campaign is also more relevant than ever especially since the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2010 Report launched earlier this month states that
“Gender inequality remains a major barrier to human development. Girls and women have made major strides since 1990, but they have not yet gained gender equity.”
In SADC we are still faced with a situation where, in some countries, women have minority status, are not allowed to own property, are not entitled to inherit the estates of those who are deceased, experience a gender division of labour and endure a dominant patriarchal value system. Is it possible that despite international, continental and regional legal instruments, women are still perceived as objects and experience objectification?
That this remains the situation in the year we commemorate the 15th Anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the 10th Anniversary of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the declaration of the African Decade for Women (2010 – 2020) in Nairobi this October, the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, 30th anniversary of the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the 30th anniversary of SADC, is of great concern.
We must at this juncture evaluate the progress we have made in terms of the struggle for the emancipation and liberation of women, which is further compounded by the emergence of new socio-economic challenges facing societies in general and women in particular. These included, amongst others, the HIV and AIDS epidemic, climate change, globalisation, human trafficking, especially of women and children, the feminisation of poverty, and gender based violence.
Social, cultural and religious practices, attitudes and mindsets continue to militate against the attainment of gender equality and equity which are central to democracy and development.
We in Africa have long been convinced that gender equality and equity is a fundamental human right. Accordingly, African leaders further committed themselves to achieving gender parity during the inaugural session of the AU Heads of State and Government Summit in July 2002 in Durban, South
Africa, and through the adoption of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa during the 2nd Summit of the Organisation in 2003 Maputo, Mozambique. We have also signed and acceded to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
In addition to continental commitments, SADC, as a building bloc of the African Union, took an important step towards achieving the emancipation of women in the region on 17 August 2008 when, here in Johannesburg, South Africa, we signed the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. This Protocol has elevated the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development to the most binding of its instruments since it is legally binding, compelling Member States to expedite efforts towards gender equity in the Region.
It further calls for far reaching changes and includes timelines for these goals, amongst which is the inclusion of gender equality and equity in National Constitutions, the repeal of all discriminatory laws, and work towards the continental goal of 50% women in political and decision making positions by 2015.
Despite the political will by leaders on the continent, women still face immense challenges for empowerment and parity. The most recent scientific evidence of this is found in the 2010 UNDP report which states: “Women have traditionally been disadvantaged in the political arena at all levels of government. National parliamentary representation, which reflects women’s visibility in political leadership and in society more generally, has been increasing over time - though the global average is still only 16%.
In 2008 Rwanda’s parliament became the first to have a majority of women.” This is certainly an indictment on the global leadership which has acceded to international conventions aimed at improving and uplifting the lives of women.
Burundi emerges as the closest to gender equality among the low Human Development Index countries. The Report states that women’s political participation is greater in Sub-Saharan Africa than in the Arab States, Europe and Central Asia, and South Asia, but empowerment is offset by disparities in education.
In terms of the Gender Inequality Index (GII), the Report further states that the bottom 10 countries (in descending order) are Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Central African Republic, Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan, Mali, Niger, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Yemen, with an average GII of 0.79.
It continues, “Among the countries doing very badly on both fronts (Human Development Index and the Gender Inequality Index) are the Central African Republic, Haiti, Mozambique and Namibia, each with losses of more than 40% (inequality) and 70% (gender).” While some progress has been achieved in Sub-Saharan Africa, African countries still have a great deal of work to do to improve the lives of women.
In South Africa, despite the vast social disparities we have inherited, government has managed to register some progress in terms of improving the lives of our people, especially women whose household responsibilities would include fetching water for the family, ensuring it is clean and making sure the home is warm and the family meal is prepared. For instance, over 91% of households have access to piped water and in this regard, we have achieved the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of those without access to sustainable water. We are also on track towards achieving the 2014 goal of universal access to potable water.
We have also moved closer towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of universal access to sanitation and despite being a developing country, we have one of the highest rates of government investment in education. We have also made significant progress in ensuring the electrification of homes and rural areas.
Despite such dire statistics and in the face of an almost insurmountable challenge, the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development is a global first having set 28 substantive targets for achieving gender equality by 2015. The Protocol places SADC at the cutting edge of innovative strategies for giving global and continental commitments meaning at sub-regional level.
The 28 targets are divided into eight thematic clusters namely constitutional and legal rights, governance, education and training, productive resources and employment, economic empowerment, gender based violence, health, HIV and AIDS, peace building and conflict resolution and media, information and communication.
Although the region has created a legally enabling environment in terms of frameworks for women’s participation in peace-making, peace-keeping and peace-building as well as for their protection and prevention from violence there is still a long way to go towards creating equitable participation of women in peace and security structures, protecting women during conflict and the prevention of gender based violence.
We therefore have to acknowledge that the improvement of the lives of women is about more than legal frameworks and protocols. In fact, history has shown that any society that has won the battle against any form of social oppression has done so through the mobilisation of the masses. An analysis of how the battle against Apartheid was won in South Africa attests to this. More so, significant progress was made once women were included in the struggle.
The onus is then placed upon us as women to ensure we fight for and contribute towards our own emancipation. While there are a number of ways to do this, perhaps the most fundamental is to say no to any form of oppression immediately upon its manifestation. Surely we should find it offensive when, amongst a group of men and women, it becomes incumbent upon the women in the room to make tea and serve the men? How do we feel that a woman who bears the children who become a nation’s future is considered a minor unable to take decisions about her future without a man giving her permission?
There is also the aspect of education. Various studies indicate that women who are more educated certainly have better chances at living fulfilled and productive lives. This is not just in the area of job or career opportunities.It is as simple as women who are educated are more unlikely to die in childbirth. Literacy is crucial to improving women’s rights, and it is a critical first step for lifelong learning to build capacities, reduce vulnerabilities and improve the quality of life. It is also well documented that educated women have a crucial impact on societies in which they find themselves.
We must also ensure that the change we make today is sustained tomorrow so that the SADC we bequeath to our children is better than the one we found. In this regard, I believe that parents in general and women in particular, who are the nurturers and architects of a society, must realise that adults mirror the societies they were exposed to as children.
If a boy child is exposed to a culture of abuse and male superiority in his home, he will become an abusive husband and father, convinced of his superiority. If a girl child is taught that her place is to serve and that she will always be inferior to a male child, she will become a woman who lives such a life. She will also believe it is her lot in life to be abused and ill treated.
It will be difficult for her to claim her independence if she has been taught her entire life to be submissive and subservient. If we are, as men and women are to live in respect for each other, harnessing each other’s strengths to build sustainable and caring families and communities, we have to be socialised as children that male and female are equal with neither being able to claim superiority and dominance over another.
I would like to conclude with the words of the then President of the ANC, Oliver Tambo who said, “No more shall it be that a women’s place is in the kitchen, but in the forefront of the struggle.” The struggle in which we are waged is as much about eradicating poverty and underdevelopment, uplifting the lives of all people to ensure that tomorrow is better than today but it is also about the progress and advancement of women who can be recognised as equal participants in society, alongside their male counterparts.
We must ensure that the decade 2010/20 is truly the African Decade of Women. When the decade draws to a close we must be proud to assess our achievements and progress in terms of deliverables rather than just political and legal frameworks.
I wish you well as you continue with your deliberations. And I wish you courage as you say no to any form of abuse or oppression directed at you. The oft-repeated cliché, “Think global, act local,” must be activated. Local begins with me, it begins with you. Only then can we hope to make a global impact.
I thank you.
