adminVirginia Muwanigwa Correspondent
As the African Union (AU) meeting gets underway in South Africa, the issue of gender equality and women and girls empowerment should be one of the key discussions. This follows the adoption by the continental body of the theme as part of its Africa 2063 development agenda.
In principle, this means gender equality will transcend all the sectors the AU deals with, from politics and governance to social welfare and to budgeting of its programmes. While applauding the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment in principle, it remains to be seen how this will translate into reality in practice.
As negotiations for the finalisation and prioritisation of the SDGs at a national and regional level continue, it may yet be an indicator that gender equality as a cross cutting goal has been adopted at the AU level.
“SDG Goal 5 on gender equality goes much further than its predecessor MDG 3, with a much stronger emphasis on voice, choice and control,” notes the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance in its note to the SADC Gender Ministers meeting held in Harare in May.
Goal 5 aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by ending all forms of discrimination, eliminating all forms of violence, all harmful practices, recognising and valuing unpaid care and domestic work, full and effective participation in leadership, universal access to sexual and reproductive health rights, access to economic resources and access to ICTs and adoption of a conducive policy environment.
On the other hand, the SDGs have missed the connections between gender, media and ICTs, presenting an opportunity to lobby at sub-regional, regional and international level for gender sensitive targets for media. Against empirical and anecdotal evidence that discrimination in practice is still an issue, at household right up to the international level, the SDGs under this goal reiterate the need to end discrimination against women and girls everywhere.
While there is general consensus that most countries in Africa, particularly in Southern Africa, have made considerable progress in adopting laws to end violence against women and girls, the sceptre continues to rear its ugly head. Campaigns have been started across the continent to eradicate violence and thus release women’s and girls’ potential to participate in public and private spaces at social, economic and political levels.
One target to ensure gender equality and empowerment of women and girls seeks to eliminate all harmful practices, regardless of whether they originate from traditional, religious and norms, values and standards. These practices have seen the bodily integrity and personal security of women and girls violated in the name of religion and cultural practices. Zimbabwe’s Constitution, for example, subordinates all practices to the Bill of Rights.
Specific to Southern Africa, the SADC Gender Protocol Barometer notes that while parity in enrolment and retention at primary school level education has become a reality, this situation tapers off the higher one goes on the ladder. In secondary and tertiary level, girls become disproportionately fewer than the boys. The Barometer has been produced every year to reflect progress in meeting the protocol targets
Another target under Goal 5 seeks to ensure women’s equal access to full and productive employment and decent work, and equal pay for work of equal value. Recent statistics by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) that the workplace is still predominantly male-centric, with total wages distribution still heavily skewed in favour of men.
This distribution represents the positioning of women and men in the workplace hierarchy, with the former at the lower rung.
Virginia Muwanigwa is a gender activist and Chairperson of the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe. She is also the Director of the Humanitarian Information Facilitation Centre (HIFC).
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