The Republic of Mauritius has a lot to be proud of as a nation. It consistently does well in international surveys in various fields, usually coming out top in Africa. Earlier this month, it was voted the best island tourism destination in the world, and also featured in the top 10 worldwide in a list of economic freedom, coming ahead of the United States and the United Kingdom. The country is one of the world’s oldest democracies, having an elected Parliament for over a hundred years, and also having local government of one form or another for over two hundred and fifty years. … Read more
Welcome to the 23nd edition of the Roadmap to Equality! Tracking progress towards the implementation and ratification of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.
Seychelles is set to become the first SADC country to develop a national gender policy that will be closely aligned to the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development targets to be achieved by 2015. Drafting of a costed national gender action plan, which will provide a framework for the operationalisation of the gender policy, began in earnest at a gender-mainstreaming workshop held from 20 – 26 January 2012 in Victoria on the Mah’e Island.
Linda Williams, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Social Development and Culture who provides oversight to the Gender Secretariat emphasised the importance of the milestone because it is the country’s first national gender policy and action plan.
“The national gender policy and plan of action will act as a road map to guide us on how we are to get to where we want to be (achieving gender equality). Without a detailed and accurate map we cannot hope to strike a true path towards our final destination. It is our hope that this framework, which we have developed together, is well understood and owned by all partners.
Seychelles is the second SADC country to produce a costed gender action plan after Namibia developed their national gender action plan in October in 2011. … Read more
Seychelles: Develops a roadmap to gender equality aligned to the SADC Gender Protocol Seychelles is set to become the first SADC country to develop a national gender policy and costed gender action plan that is aligned to the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. Gender focal points from government departments, civil society representatives and development partners attended a gender mainstreaming workshop that also saw the technical validation of the first ever National Gender Policy and the development of the first draft of the Costed National Gender Action Plan from 20 – 26 January 2012 in Victoria, Mahe. … Read more
The regional gender, peace and security theme cluster lays out plan for 2012 The year 2011 witnessed a number of milestones for the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance’s gender, peace and security cluster. The regional cluster led by the Institute of Security Studies Head Office in Pretoria held four national roundtable meetings in Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Malawi and Zimbabwe, which gave birth to national working groups in each of the countries. … Read more
Call for Applications: Public Policy (A course for leaders in civil society, public and private sectors) This course in public policy, governance and civil society is designed to provide basic fundamentals of public policy analysis to practitioners working in civil society organisations, public service and the private sector. To face the challenges of the new millennium, Africa needs leaders who can inspire those they lead; … Read more
Lesotho: Ban on women chiefs in Lesotho must end The Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC) in a landmark case set before the Lesotho Constitutional Court is challenging parts of the discriminatory Chieftainship Act, which only allows the first-born son to succeed to Chieftainship…. Read more
Namibia: Electoral reforms could pave way for a legislated quota for women at national level A significant increase in women’s representation in parliament could become a reality in Namibia’s next elections set for 2014 if the introduction of legislated quotas at national level is adopted. The country is in the process of conducting public hearings as part of consultations on the proposed Electoral Law Reforms. … Read more
Mauritius: Women find a political voice at local level A new local government law that provides for gender quota introduced in Mauritius, requires that at least one-third of the candidates in local elections must be women and the same for men. This is in line with the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, which calls on States to put in place special measures to increase women representation and participation in decision making positions…. Read more
Malawi: Women’s education the path to the Presidency On an elegant veranda adorned with a red carpet, Malawi’s Vice President Joyce Banda recalls how her childhood friend Chrissie Mtokoma was always top of their class and how she struggled to beat her. But now decades later Banda is a likely contender for the country’s presidency in 2014, while Mtokoma lives in poverty…. Read more
Gender education needs boosting in rural areas “There is a need for more outreach centres throughout Namibia to facilitate the gender education platform,” said Sarry Xoagus-Eises who facilitated the Sixteen Days of activism campaign against gender violence in Namibia in December 2011…. Read more
Mauritius: Women make their contribution in saving lives For the first time in the history of Mauritius, women are breaking stereotypes and entering a formerly exclusively male dominated field. This area is a tough and physically demanding one: Fire-fighting!… Read more
Zimbabwe: Gender analysis of the Global Political Agreement shows that the agreement recognises women’s land rights The recently published gender analysis of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) commended the drafters recognising the rights of women to access to land. The peace agreement (GPA) gave birth to the current set up of the Zimbabwe coalition government…. Read more
Cop 17 makes progress in preserving a better tomorrow, SADC gender and climate agenda under the spotlight The recently ended 17th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP17) on Climate Change has been described as a success by both the host country, South Africa and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). South Africa Minister of International Relations and Cooperation and President of the Durban (COP17/CMP7), Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said the conference made progress in ensuring a better future for all. … Read more
Zimbabwe: Poverty fuels sexual abuse – perceptions of sexual and gender based violence report Medicines Sans Frontiers and the University of Zimbabwe recently released a baseline study on the Perceptions of sexual and gender-based violence in Mbare, Harare’s oldest high-density suburb that revealed that the judiciary system allows perpetrators to escape retribution…. Read more
Angola: Abortion Bill causes uproar The newly proposed Angolan health reforms aimed at curbing illegal abortions were recently dealt a heavy blow after the Catholic Church publicly condemned the newly proposed Abortion Bill. … Read more
Zambia: Cervical Cancer – ‘Fighting a Battle We Can Win’ Cervical cancer is an aggressive disease, which affects millions of Zambian women each year. New vaccinations and screening programmes are helping to bring the condition under control. … Read more
A first female Brigadier General at Zambia national service Bravo once more to President Sata for elevating yet another woman into a senior decision-making position! On 12 January 2012, Sata appointed Ms Catherine Makwala as the country’s first female Brigadier General in the Zambia National Service…. Read more
End sexual harassment in newsroom now Female journalists working in the media in Southern Africa want to put an end to sexual harassment in newsrooms, as they want media owners to formulate policies that provide a mechanism to address such forms of gender based violence. … Read more
Tracking the SADC Gender Protocol Countries that have signed Angola, DRC, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe Countries that have not signed Botswana, Mauritius … Read more
Education Centre for Adolescent Women in Botswana The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) in Botswana has provided hope to many young women who become pregnant by helping them continue with their education through the YWCA Education Centre for Adolescent Women (ECAW). … Read more
The Roadmap to Equality: Southern Africa Gender and Development Protocol Barometer is a regional e-news- letter that tracks the ratification and implementation of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. It is produced by Gender Links in partnership with the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance and the Gender and Media Southern Africa (GEMSA) Network with support from DFID and UNIFEM.
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.
– With the exception of Seychelles, women in Southern Africa have lower literacy levels than men. – In most SADC countries, there are now roughly equal numbers of boys and girls at primary schools. The widest gaps are in Angola and DRC. – There are more girls than boys in schools in Lesotho, Namibia and Seychelles in primary school. – Seven SADC countries now have higher proportions of women than men at tertiary level compared to compared to the last five years) – In all but two instances, primary education in Malawi and secondary education in Mozambique (where girls and boys are virtually at par) girls are outperforming boys at schools in the SADC region. – Gender stereotypes still abound in decision-making in SADC; in curriculum and teaching materials, and in the choice of subjects. – Gender violence in schools remains a major challenge. Source: SADC Gender Protocol Barometer 2011
In response to the growing interest by local municipalities across the SADC region, Gender Links will this year hold mini summits in at least six countries from the region. Botswana, Madagascar, Mauritius, Zambia and Zimbabwe will during the month of March hold their in country summits in preparation of the annual regional summit. The winners at the in-country summit will be then compete at the regional summit taking place in Johannesburg South Africa from the 18 – 20 April 2012…. Read more
Gender Links (GL) will be holding the third annual regional Gender Justice and Local Government Regional Summit and Awards from 16 – 18 April 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Under the banner “365 days of local action to end gender violence: halve gender violence by 2015” the summit will show case best practices in mainstreaming gender and ending gender violence at the local level. … Read more
Comment on Roadmap to Equality, Issue 23, January 2012