Women Demand Action NOW: Countdown to 2015

South Africa led by the Alliance focal network South African Women in Dialogue (SAWID) in collaboration with Gender Links and the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance Secretariat continue to run the campaign in canvassing the South Africa Barometer, enlisting champions for the 28 targets of the SADC Gender Protocol through the Women Demand Action NOW: Countdown to 2015! Campaign the signatures collected will be used during the Heads of State Summit in August 2015 to strengthen the call for a Post 2015 SADC Gender Protocol.

TO READ MORE ON THE CAMPAIGN Countdown to 2015: The significance Synopsis What is the SADC Gender Protocol Objectives Background How the Alliance works at country level How the Alliance works in South Africa Suggested activities Outcomes Annexures

More information: Gender Links South African Alliance Coordinator, Nomthandazo Mankazana on alliancesa@genderlinks.org.za or 00 27 11 622 287700 27 11 622 2877

Countdown to 2015: The significance

Synopsis
This paper sets out building blocks for the Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance in South Africa led by the Alliance focal network South African Women in Dialogue (SAWID) in collaboration with Gender Links, the Alliance Secretariat (please see structure of the Alliance at Annex A). The strategy seeks to use Women’s Month in August 2013 to host nine provincial meetings to canvass the South African Barometer, develop fact sheets, enlist champions for the 28 targets of the SADC Gender Protocol and launch a campaign, Women Demand Change, Countdown to 2015 that culminates in a high profile event at the end of August. The campaign will also be shared during a major conference on local government being organised by the Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs COGTA and SWAID in early August 2013. This campaign builds on a series of meetings leading up to the 2013 SADC Gender Protocol Summit.

What is the SADC Gender Protocol

The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development is a unique sub-regional instrument that is now in force, adopted at the Heads of State Summit in Johannesburg in August 2008. This instrument brings together all existing international commitments to gender equality in one instrument, and enhances these through specific targets to be achieved by 2015.

In South Africa the Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality (WEGE) Bill would help to operationalize the provisions of the protocol as the Bill has provisions on economic empowerment, 50/50 representation in key decision areas, and adoption of gender mainstreaming policies and actions. The Bill is still pending.

Objectives

The campaign seeks to:

• Create awareness around the SADC Gender Protocol.
• Canvass for the adoption of the Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality (WEGE) Bill.
• Set up theme clusters in SA by the end of 2013 that span from national, to provincial to local.
• Launch a South Africa Barometer as well as the regional Barometer during August, accompanied by action fact sheets.
• Collect Protocol@work case studies in preparation for the 2014 SADC Protocol@Work summit.

Background

The Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance is a “network of networks” that campaigned for the adoption of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development and now works to ensure the attainment of the 28 targets by 2015 (www.sadcgenderprotocol.org). The Alliance works through theme clusters and country focal networks. SAWID is the country focal network for South Africa À“ please see structure at Annex B. replication of the Alliance at regional level is envisioned for the formation of a South African Alliance-please see structure at Annex C.

SAWID is an independent South African Women’s Platform committed to hearing the voice of every woman and to improving the status of women by engaging national government, the private sector, civil society, (including non-governmental organisations, community-based organisations, faith-based organisations and donors) in a partnership to shape community, provincial and continental agendas. The SAWID forum is impartial and not-for-profit and tied to no political parties.

Gender Links is an NGO recognised globally for bringing together a coalition of gender NGOs that campaigned for the elevation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Declaration on Gender and Development into a Protocol with 28 targets to be achieved by 2015. GL coordinates the Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance that brings together national coordinating networks; regional theme clusters and interest groups to lobby for the implementation of the Protocol, Southern Africa’s roadmap for achieving MDG 3 – gender equality.

How the Alliance works at country level

Mapping of theme cluster lead organisations

Apart from the overall focal point, ideally Alliance country networks have organisations leading thematic areas under the gender sector. By default, these are also the Alliance country level theme cluster leaders unless an alternative organisation is seconded for this task. *Remember the Alliance does not seek to create new structures so this should follow the structure already set up within the ambit of the coordinating network.

In February 2013, during the Alliance caucus meeting, the Secretariat requested that each country should fill in the thematic lead organisation for each cluster where these exist.

If some of these do not exist, this presents an opportunity for electing a lead organisation to coordinate the cluster at local level. If clusters do not necessarily match the structure of the Alliance like Gender Based Violence, Peace and Security this is still acceptable and the organisation can be repeated on the list of contact persons. In addition if your country has a cluster under the gender sector which is Human rights instead of Constitutional and Legal Rights; or any other for that matter this is still acceptable as long as it then stands on record that these are the leaders.

Linking these with regional theme cluster lead organisations

Once the country level theme cluster lead organisations are mapped, the Secretariat undertakes to provide the names to the cluster leaders at regional level so as to reinforce the regional cluster mechanisms as well.

How the Alliance works in South Africa

Apart from the regional alliance theme clusters the alliance in South Africa works in a similar way but has been adapted to the country and cascaded to provincial and local level (please see Annex B).   The main idea is to build alliance networks at the provincial level through a series of workshops. Through the group work that will be happening at the provincial meetings and workshops a person is elected to represent the theme for the province.

From each province ten people form a provincial steering committee. The members of the provincial steering committee will represent each province at the national level with SAWID representing the South Africa Alliance at the regional level.

Suggested activities

• Popularise the Protocol in the local community through social and traditional media and through the use of a bulletin board- see the communications strategy
• Women Demand Action Now!Presentation at the Women in Local Government conference and workshops in all nine provinces in August 2013 À“ see draft programme at Annex C.
• Identify gender focal champions in all provinces À“ see Champions Matrix at Annex D.
• Develop Barometer advocacy fact sheets.
• Launch the South Africa Barometer at a high profile event accompanied by the actions that women demand.
• Identify and plan cross cutting campaigns À“ including National Healing programme, Poverty eradication programme, GBV, 2014 Local government elections, Gender and Climate Change.
• Advocate for a petition to the submitted to the Heads of State Summit which will urge SADC governments to invest in 15% of the infrastructure budget towards the development of human infrastructure.
• Set up an electronic bulletin board and sign-up sheet.
• Set up an online petition to canvass for WEGE and implementation of the SADC Gender Protocol targets.
• Administer the SADC Gender Protocol Citizen Score Card, Gender Progress Score and “what do you know about the ProtocolÀ quiz.

Outcomes

• 8-10 South Africa Theme Clusters with provincial and local networks and nodes.
• A clear roadmap for attaining the WEGE, targets of the SADC Gender Protocol and MDG3, and a collaborative agenda for attaining human development outcomes in the SADC region.
• A broad-based, participative women’s movement that is focused and re-energised.

Download : Concept note