Commisioned by oxfam gb southern african regiona study undertaken by rosemary semafumu

Scope, Methodology and Expected Results

As part of its efforts to promote and protect women’s rights and enhance gender equality, OXFAM conducted policy research on the African Women’s Protocol. The purpose of this research was to assess the implications of the Protocol in order to strengthen the popularisation and mobilization campaigns in at least three countries. It examined the level of awareness about the Protocol and its implications for women’s rights in the areas of governance, violence against women and sexual and reproductive health rights.
The research was conducted at two levels: the regional level and the national level. At the national level, the countries covered were Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia. The methodology used was a literature review, interviews and questionnaires. The key interviewees included officials of national Governments, and regional intergovernmental organizations, Parliamentarians and members of the Pan African Parliament, academicians, and representatives of civil society and community-based organizations.
At the regional level, a total of 15 people were interviewed or responded to the questionnaire. In South Africa the total number of respondents and interviewees was 14. In Zambia, 15 people participated. In Mozambique, there were 11 respondents. The questionnaire that formed the basis for the interviews covered a number of areas including the situation of women with regard to the thematic areas, the strengths, weaknesses, implications of and obstacles to the operationalization of the African Women’s Protocol. It covered the level of awareness among policy makers, civil society and the media, best practices, as well as recommendations for actions and target actors.
The research team encountered a number of problems as it conducted this research. The timing December 2004 to January 2005 coincided with the holiday season, making it difficult to interview some respondents. In Mozambique this situation was aggravated by the national elections.

The expected results were:

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  A comparative analysis of the African Women’s Protocol in the light of regional instruments, international instruments and national legislations and policies.
  
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  An analysis of national situations and implications for the African Women’s Protocol in the thematic areas
  
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  Identification of challenges and best practices, and
  
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  Recommendations on how to popularize the African Women’s Protocol and promote its ratification and implementation
  

Summary

Chapter One of the research report analyses the Protocol in the light of relevant instruments like CEDAW, the African Charter for Human and People’s Rights, the Beijing Declaration and Programme of Action and the SADC Declaration. It highlights the role that the Protocol can play in strengthening the framework for promoting and protecting women’s rights.

Chapter Two looks at the situation of women, while Chapter Three examines the implications of the Protocol for the three countries in the three thematic areas of governance, violence against women and health and reproductive rights. The level of awareness among policy makers, civil society and the media in the three countries is briefly assessed in Chapter Four. Chapter Five outlines major challenges and Threats. Chapter Six highlights best practices in a number of areas. Chapter Seven sums up the lessons and conclusions. The report then makes general and country specific recommendations on how to popularise, promote the ratification and ensure the implementation of the Protocol. Finally it identifies possible areas for future research.

CHAPTER ONE: THE SITUATION OF WOMEN

The SADC Region: A Panoramic View

Over the last decade the SADC region has witnessed a number of notable achievements with regard to the situation of women. In politics, we have witnessed great strides with respect to the participation of women in decision making. Electoral reforms in Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa have resulted in an increase in parliamentary representation over and above the required 30% target set by the SADC Gender Declaration. The region has seen ground breaking appointments of women to high level posts such as Prime Minister and Deputy President, Speakers of Parliament and ministers to cabinet portfolios that were hitherto the preserve of men such as Foreign Affairs, Finance and Defence.

All countries in SADC have ratified CEDAW and there have been legal reforms that aim at promoting gender equality in many countries. With the exception of Swaziland, Angola and Mozambique, most countries, had adopted National Gender Polices with implementation plans by 31 December 2004. Many countries have also adopted specific strategic plans to promote gender equality in fields such as health, education, agriculture, and labour. In the field of education, a critical area for empowering women, the adoption of policies such as the drive for 50/50 enrolment at primary level, free primary education, programmes to enhance the self-esteem and self-confidence of the girl child and affirmative action at tertiary level have significantly improved the lot of women and girls.
There have been efforts to improve the financial position of women through entrepreneurship programmes, the establishment of women’s banks, credit institutions and development funds. Trade policies have been revised to improve women’s assess to credit and a number of countries have began land reforms that among other things aim at improving women’s access to land.
Unfortunately the region’s health has deteriorated as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The plight of women and girls is aggravated by the fact that they also bear the multi-faceted burden of home-based care giving to those living with AIDS and economic production. Poverty has increased dramatically in the region’s population. Women make up an unacceptably high percentage of 70% among those living in extreme poverty! The increased number of poor households led by women in an atmosphere of food and nutritional insecurity reflects this feminization of poverty.
By removing safety nets such as access to essential services without substantially enhancing their capacity to compete in the free marketplace, structural adjustment programmes have left women in double jeopardy in many countries of the region. Micro-credit, small scale loans and income generating projects though helpful have not succeeded in permanently lifting women out of the vicious cycle of poverty. (Lomoyani: 2005, p. 2)
Violence against women has been recognized as a human rights issue, and there have been some efforts to address it. Nevertheless it remains a major challenge in the region. Trafficking in women and children is on the increase but yet to be seriously addressed. While the women’s movement weakened over the decade, patriarchy and societal attitudes that disadvantage women have remained largely unchanged. Gender machinery remains weak in terms of financial resources, skills and power. (ECA: 2004, pgs. 5-8), Lomoyani: 2005, pgs. 3-5)
While advances have been made in efforts to advance gender equality and women’s rights and progress must be recognized, a lot remains to be done to improve the lot of women in the region. It is against this backdrop that OXFAM undertook the research in three countries, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia.