Regional gender summit calls for 5050 and stronger commitment to equality

Johannesburg, 23 May: With the South African post-election apprehension concerning how many women will end up occupying ministerial and premier positions still simmering, and with gender activists having to face the looming reality that Joyce Banda is unlikely to win a second term following this week’s elections in Malawi, the call for 50% representation of women in government comes at a crucial time for the SADC region.

In her message broadcasted at the 2013 SADC Gender Protocol@Work Summit, President Banda said, “We are not moving fast enough. I am particularly concerned about the decline of the representation of women in in decision-making at local and national levels in some countries. We need to accelerate our efforts in order to make tangible achievements in attaining gender equality.”

This year’s Regional SADC Gender Summit makes a similar plea under the theme 5050 by 2015 and a stronger post-2015 agenda. The Summit kicks off next week, Monday 26 May at the Kopanong Hotel and Conference Centre in Benoni bringing together over 350 delegates, gender activists, drivers of change, media, government and faith-based organisations from around the Southern African region, to make a concerted push for gender equality in the countdown to 2015.

“Southern Africa blazed the trail by going well beyond the requirements of the Millennium Development Goals when it comes to gender equality,” noted Gender Links CEO Colleen Lowe Morna. “With one year to go until 2015 we face our moment of truth as well as the need to re-position in line with the global post-2015 agenda.”

The Summit, hosted by Gender Links and the Southern Africa Protocol Alliance, follows 15 district and 13 national summits (see stat tables below) that involved 1961 participants (1345 women and 616 men), garnering 775 entries from across the region. Some 185 winners (53 men and 132 women) from the district and national summits will now compete at regional level. 50 of the participants attending the regional summit next week are travelling outside their country and 26 getting passports for the first time.

Approximately 20 high level delegates from across SADC will attend the Summit including, Mauritius Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare-Mireille Martin; Lesotho’s Minister of Gender and Youth, Sports and Recreation-Chief Thesele John Maseribane and South Africa’s Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities-Lulu Xingwana. These Ministers will speak at the opening and award ceremonies and will be attending the 5050 campaign and post-2015 agenda round table discussion on the last day of the summit, Thursday 29 May.

The event not only rewards gender champions, but also serves as a platform to call on governments to step up the pace on fulfilling the 28 targets on the SADC Gender Protocol before the 2015 deadline. With time ticking fast and eight more elections taking place across the region, this year’s regional Summit places special emphasis on the 5050 campaign and the need for a stronger post-2015 gender equality instrument.

In her keynote address at the South Africa summit held earlier this month, UN Women’s Programme Specialist- Susan Kimathi praised the 5050 and post-2015 campaign, adding that “echelons of power that make the decisions need to understand what they stand to lose if they don’t engage women.”

Following the Lesotho Summit, Colleen Lowe Morna-GL CEO said, “Lesotho is doing very well in women’s participation in local government, where we have 49%, which is the highest in SADC and it reminds us across the region, that women’s equal participation in political decision-making is possible,” explained Lowe Morna.

The post-2015 forum will also stress the controversial issues that continue to hinder the achievement of gender equality, namely sexual and reproductive health rights, rights concerning sexual orientation and gender identity and persistent high levels of gender based violence. Furthermore, a petition drafted by Gender Links which will be circulated amongst the SADC visitors for signatures to call on the Nigerian government to prioritise the rescue of the 276 Nigerian girls who were recently abducted by Boko Haram.

The Summit consists of plenary sessions each morning followed by presentations from the individual and institutional winners from the national summits who will showcase their gender mainstreaming work under the themed categories. There are three broad areas for the awards: gender mainstreaming in institutions and civil society organisations, thematic areas in line with the 28 targets of the Protocol, including 5050, post-2015 and media content awards.

The award ceremony and gala dinner takes place on Wednesday evening 28 May, followed by the strategic sessions that will bring the Summit to an inspiring close, with high hopes that participants will continue driving the gender agenda forward before 2015 and beyond.
2015, Yes we must!

(For more information phone Katherine Robinson on 076 227 6517076 227 6517 or email communications@genderlinks.org.za or Kubi Rama on 082 378 8239082 378 8239).

Summit stats at a glance and by country:

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