Roadmap to Equality, Issue 12, November 2010

Editor’s Note

Highlights
SADC Executive Secretary speaks at the launch of the SADC Gender Protocol 2010 Barometer: Gaborone
Attorney General Yatin Varma launches SADC Gender Protocol 2010 Barometer: Mauritius
Zambia enforces a 30% quota for women’s land allocation
Permanent Secretary launches SADC Gender Protocol 2010 Barometer: Harare
African Women’s Decade (2010-2020) officially launched on International Day of Rural Women
The MDG summit outcome: what next?

SADC Protocol @ Work
The SADC Protocol @ work

Gender-based Violence
Sixteen Days of No Violence against Women approaching

Governance and Peace Building
South Africa cabinet reshuffle – How did women fare?
Upcoming elections 2010-2011
Local Government Elections in Malawi scheduled for April 2011

Economic Justice, Education and Training
The Global Gender Gap Index
What the Human Development Index misses

Health, HIV and AIDS
Don’t make HIV a crime – Mogae
Health, HIV and AIDS

Media, Information and Communications
Who and what makes the news: A case study of The Citizen 5 November 2010
Nation Tops Region on Press Freedom

• Gender in Media Education: An audit of gender in Journalism and Media Education and Training
• Gender and Media Progress Study Southern Africa
• SADC Gender Protocol Alliance Strategy meeting report
• SADC Gender Protocol 2010 Barometer
• Roadmap to Equality Handbook

Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance Programme Officer

Gender Links, a dynamic NGO based in South Africa that promotes gender justice and equality seeks to fill the post of programme officer for the Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance, which comprises 40 NGOs around the region that campaigned for the adoption of this protocol in August 2008. The alliance has drawn up a work plan over the next three years for the implementation of the 28 targets for the attainment of gender equality in Southern Africa by 2015. Read more

The proposed Media Tribunal: Poverty and women’s economic empowerment
“There can be no press freedom in South Africa until women’s voices are equally heard in the mediaÀ, is what Gender Links noted in a statement to mark National Press Freedom Day on 19 October. This fact remains when one looks through a gender lens at the recent Protection of Information Bill which is a new piece of legislation currently being deliberated by the South African government. The Bill is widely contested by civil society, academics, non-fiction writers and social movements arguing that, should it be passed, the Bill will give too much power to the government to classify or declassify controversial information. In other words, they feel it gives the ruling party the power to deem anything they like “unfit” for public consumption. … Read more

SADC Executive Secretary Tomaz Augusto Salomão launched the 2010 SADC Gender Protocol Progress Barometer in Gaborone, Botswana on 25 November. In his keynote speech, Salomão said “SADC is indeed honoured to be a part of the launching of the 2010 SADC Gender Protocol Progress Barometer. I have been made aware that at this very meeting, the Botswana shadow report will be launched – despite the fact that Botswana has not yet signed the Protocol: It is testimony to the fact that the Protocol is being put to work even where it is not formally in effect.” … Read more

Attorney General Yatin Varma launches SADC Gender Protocol 2010 Barometer: Mauritius

Attorney General Yatin Varma launched the SADC Gender Protocol 2010 Barometer in Mauritius at a colourful ceremony held at the Gold Crest Hotel on 26 October. In his address, Varma paid tribute to the work of Gender Links, especially on gender-based violence. While Mauritius has not adopted the SADC Gender Protocol, Varma highlighted that the Constitution of Mauritius guarantees the equality of all citizens and the respect of fundamental rights, such that Mauritius has adopted and harmonised some key legislation in an attempt to eliminate any form of discrimination and bridge the gap between men and women. … Read more

Zambia enforces a 30% quota for women’s land allocation

The Zambian government has implemented a policy which will see a quota set so that women are entitled to own 30% of the country’s land, said Victor Mbumwae, information specialist at the Zambian Ministry of Gender and Women in Development, at the launch of the SADC Gender Protocol 2010 Barometer in Zambia. The report was launched at Lusaka’s Golf View Hotel on 20 October and Mbumwae took the occasion to promote women’s economic empowerment in the country, noting the changes to land ownership…. Read more

Permanent Secretary launches SADC Gender Protocol 2010 Barometer: Harare

Zimbabwean Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development Silvia Utete-Masango launched the SADC Gender Protocol 2010 at a ceremony held in Harare on 19 October. In her speech at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Utete-Masango reiterated Zimbabwe’s commitment to gender equality and equity, noting that “Zimbabwe has a woman vice president, a woman deputy prime minister, a woman president of senate and a woman deputy speaker of parliament.”… Read more

African Women’s Decade (2010-2020) officially launched on International Day of Rural Women

On the International Day for Rural Women, the African Union (AU) officially launched the African Women’s Decade (AWD) (2010-2020) with the aim to advance gender equality through the acceleration of the implementation of global and regional decisions and commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Under the theme “Grassroots Approach to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment,À the Decade hopes to effectively combine a top-down and a bottom-up approach. The launch was attended by Heads of State and Government, AU ministers, representatives from UN entities, development partners, civil society organisations, and the private sector, as well as academia, gender activists, and grassroots women…. Read more

The MDG summit outcome: what next?

International news: On 4 October 2010 in Geneva, the United Nations Non-governmental Liaison Service (NGLS) organised a briefing and multi-stakeholder interactive panel to take stock of the outcome of the “MDG summitÀÀ“ the UN High Level Plenary Meeting which was held in New York on 20-22 September to review and accelerate progress in the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs, which grew out of the 2000 Millennium Summit, are composed of eight Goals, most of them with time-bound targets, ranging from halving hunger and poverty by 2015 to dealing comprehensively with the debt problems of developing countries. The 2010 MDG summit, which brought together some 140 Heads of State and Government, adopted an outcome document which identifies lessons learned over the past 10 years and an action agenda with recommendations to advance progress on each of the Goals…. Read more

SADC Executive Secretary Tomaz Augusto Salomão: “We must continue to strive to ensure that all SADC Member States sign and ratify the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. It would be sad indeed if the momentum is slowed down by legal technicalities.”… Read more

The Sixteen Days of Activism campaign is upon us. This is the period 25 November and 10 December when activists raise awareness around gender violence. This year’s global theme is 16 Days campaign is Structures of Violence: Defining the intersections of Militarism and Violence against Women. However NGOs in Southern Africa will launch the global theme under the banner: War and peace at home and in the region. … Read more

Following a cabinet reshuffle by President Jacob Zuma, Gender Links noted the percentages of women as Minister and Deputy Minister, ahead the SADC Gender Protocol target of 50% parity in all areas of government and governance. A total of 34 ministers; and 32 deputy ministers were appointed…. Read more

Upcoming elections 2010-2011

There are several elections happening during the remainder of 2010 and into 2011 within the SADC region. These include Local Government elections in Madagascar, Mauritius and Namibia between November and December 2010. Lesotho and Malawi will be having Local Government elections in April 2011; while South Africa will be holding theirs in May 2011. Zambia and Zimbabwe have National and General elections respectively around May 2011. Madagascar and Zimbabwe are currently undergoing Constitutional referendums. Click here for the detailed regional schedule of upcoming elections…. Read more

Local Government Elections in Malawi scheduled for April 2011

The Government of Malawi and the Malawi Electoral Commission have now confirmed that local government elections will be held on 20 April 2011. This announcement came after several groups threatened to pull out of the Malawi Electoral Support Network (MESN) and NGO Gender Coordination Network (NGOGCN)’s 50/50 Campaign. This was due to a breakdown between the Ministry of Gender, Children and Community Development (MoGCCD) and MESN and NGOGCN. … Read more

The Global Gender Gap Index, introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006, is a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress. The Index benchmarks national gender gap on economic, political, education and health based criteria, and provides country rankings that allow for effective comparisons across regions and income groups, and over time. The rankings are designed to create greater awareness among a global audience of the challenges posed by gender gaps and the opportunities created by reducing them. The methodology and quantitative analysis behind the rankings are intended to serve as a basis for designing effective measures for reducing gender gaps…. Read more

What the Human Development Index misses

Monrovia, Liberia. In grade ten my teacher reprimanded me in class for suggesting that in Canada we had people, aboriginal people primarily, who lived in developing world conditions. Third world was the term used then. I had spent much of the previous summer camping and windsurfing in an area on the west coast accessed only by many hours of driving on gravel logging roads. Often rain-scarred and pot-holed, if you saw a logging truck approaching you had to swerve your car into the ditch to avoid a collision…. Read more

Former president of Botswana Festus Mogae has called on leaders not to pass laws that criminalise infection of HIV/AIDS as that will not help in fighting the scourge. Speaking when he called on President Rupiah Banda at State House yesterday, Mr Mogae who is also the chairperson of the Champions for an HIV Free Generation noted that leaders should fight stigmatisation instead of criminalising HIV infection. … Read more

Health, HIV and AIDS

The South African Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS yesterday called on the government to lead discussions with the private sector to find new ways to finance the fight against the disease. SA has one of the world’s worst HIV/AIDS epidemics, with an estimated 5.7-million people infected. While SA is one of the few African countries able to afford to commit significant funds, the government is also dependent on the assistance of external donors such as the US Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. … Read more

On 19 October 2010, Jennifer Lewis attended a workshop to discuss human trafficking of children, women and girls at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa. The following day, The Citizen, a daily newspaper, published a photograph of three women, including Lewis, at the workshop. The image had a correct caption but was not accompanied by a story. Lewis wrote a letter to the editor in response to the use of the image. Letter to the Editor: To Whom It May Concern: I wanted to take a moment to comment on your newspaper which ran on Thursday 20 October, 2010. On page 16 of this issue you featured a photograph from the Joburg Child Welfare event: Lekgotala. This photo ran alongside two unrelated articles, City ‘didn’t consult’ on open toilets and Top Cele aide’s office is burgled. … Read more

Nation Tops Region on Press Freedom

Windhoek – Namibia holds the top press freedom position for an African country in the latest Reporters Without Borders 2010 World Press Freedom Index rankings. RSF (Reporters Sans Frontiers) has moved Namibia 14 places up from 35rd to 21st in its press index recently released, stating that the country has “recovered its former pre-eminent position”. In Africa, Namibia is followed by Cape Verde (26th) which has caught up with Ghana (26th) and Mali (26th). … Read more

The Barometer will enable both state and non-state actors to track progress whether governments are on the way to meeting set targets in the Gen- der Protocol which provides a road map for achieving gender equality in the region.

The new and updated Baro- meter will focus on the articles of the Protocol namely Consti- tutional and Legal Rights; Gender and Governance; Edu- cation and Training; Economic Justice; Gender Based Violence; Health; HIV and AIDS; Peace Building and Conflict Reso- lution; and Media, Infor- mation and Communication.

It is essential that gender and women’s rights activists and governments track the impact of their work in order to measure whether or not they are making a difference. The Barometer is a tool that can be used firstly, to track progress in advancing gender equality in the region and also to hold governments in Southern Africa accountable to the commitments they have made to address inequality through their obligations to international and regional in- struments and in particular the SADC Gender Protocol.

Facts about violence against women

In Zimbabwe, domestic violence accounts for more than 60% of murder cases that go through the high court in Harare. (ZWRCN)

Globally, at least one in three women and girls is beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime. (UN Commission on the Status of Women, 2/28/00)

4 million women and girls are trafficked annually. (United Nations)
In a study of 475 people in prostitution from five countries (South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, USA, and Zambia):
62% reported having been raped in prostitution.
73% reported having experienced physical assault in prostitution.
92% stated that they wanted to escape prostitution immediately.

(Melissa Farley, Isin Baral, Merab Kiremire, Ufuk Sezgin, “Prostitution in Five Countries: Violence and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder” (1998) Feminism & Psychology 8 (4): 405-426)
Website

Peace Security and Reconstruction
Workshop on Gender, Peace and Security in southern Africa

The ISS recognises that October 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the UNSCR 1325 which affirms the importance of women in peace-building and urges member states “to ensure increased representation of women at all decision-making levels in national, regional and international institutions and mechanisms for the prevention, management and resolution of conflict.” Article 28 of the SADC Gender Protocol also tasks SADC states to implement UNSCR 1325. Although SADC countries have advanced in creating the legal frameworks for women’s participation in peace-making, peace-keeping and peace-building, and 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 and processes, in protecting women during conflict and in the prevention of gender-based violence.

Against this backdrop, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the Gender Alliance will be co-hosting a one and a half day workshop on Gender, Peace and Security in Southern Africa on 22-23 November 2010 at Irene Country Lodge in Pretoria, South Africa. The Gender Alliance will also launch the SADC Gender Barometer and the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence at this event.

This workshop seeks to celebrate the achievements of creating peace and security for women in the region, discern their level of participation and to highlight the continued challenges they face.

In particular it has the following objectives:
– To provide a comparative overview of the implementation of UNSCR in Africa
– To obtain an analysis of the conflicts in Southern Africa
– To obtain firsthand knowledge from women in the region on their peace and security challenges
– To share experiences and lessons learnt on promoting women’s participation in peace and security
– To track the implementation of Article 28 of the SADC Gender and Development Protocol
– To launch a Gender Alliance Women, Peace and Security cluster

The workshop will bring together approximately 40 participants engaged in gender and peace-building for robust discussion and debate. This initiative presents an opportunity to formalise the Gender Alliance Peace and Security Cluster and discuss its strategic areas of engagement. It will also serve as one of the platforms to launch the SADC Gender Barometer and the 16 days of Activism in South Africa.

SIGNING AND RATIFICATION OF SADC GENDER PROTOCOL

List of countries that have signed

Angola
DRC
Lesotho
Madagascar
Malawi
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe

List of countries that have not singed

Botswana
Mauritius

List of countries that have ratified

Namibia
Zambia
Zimbabwe

List of countries that have not ratified

Angola
DRC
Lesotho
Madagascar
Malawi
Mauritius
Mozambique
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanzania