4
th
The
Commonwealth Women
Parliamentarians
[C W P ]
Southern Africa sub-region
Gender Advocacy workshop
4 TH - 8 TH M AY 2 0 1 5 | J O H A N N E S B U R G | S O U T H A F R I C A
0 6 M AY 2 0 1 5 | I S S U E 0 1
Opening of the 4th CWP
Gender Advocacy
Workshop
WRITER: NEO MATONKONYANE
T
he Gauteng Provincial
Legislatue (GPL) hosted the
4th Commonwealth Women
Parliamentarians (CWP)
THE
4th
Southern Africa Sub-Region Gender
Advocacy Workshop, which was
attended by delegates and observers
from Namibia, Swaziland, as well as
Speakers and Deputy Speakers from
all South African legislatures. Other
high profile guests of the Worskshop
included Speaker of the National
Assembly in Kenya and President of
the Commonwealth Parliamentary
Association (CPA), Hon. Justin
Muturi, CPA Africa Region Exco
Chairperson, Hon. Lindiwe Maseko,
Chairperson of the National Council
of Provinces (NCOP) Hon. Thandi
Modise, CWP Southern African SubRegional Representative, Hon. Thoko
Didiza, and Senator Beatrice Elachi,
CWP Convenor.
Speaking at the Workshop, the
Deputy Speaker of the GPL and vice
President of the CPA Sub-National
C O M M O N W E A LT H W O M E N P A R L I A M E N TA R I A N S | G E N D E R A D V O C A C Y W O R K S H O P
[1]
4
th
The
Commonwealth Women
Parliamentarians
[C W P ]
Southern Africa sub-region
Gender Advocacy workshop
“Unless women are part of the developmental
agenda, nothing will move, and as long as women
are in the margins and not at the centre of the
developmental discourse, nothing will happen”
- Hon. Thokozile Didiza
Branch Hon. Uhuru Moiloa opened
his welcome remarks by inviting
delegates to live by a quote made
famous by former President of
Mozambique, Samora Machel who
concisely captured the centrality of
women emancipation to the liberation
struggle of his country, when he
said the “liberation of women is
a fundamental necessity for our
revolution, a guarantee of its continuity
and a precondition for its victory. “As
we meet today, we should attempt to
continue this noble and necessary
course, by affirming that our collective
struggles will not be complete without
the total liberation of women”.
He reiterated that for a healthy
democracy to persist, gender equality
was not an option but a requirement.
He appealed to all delegates to take
the responsibility upon themselves as
leaders to create conducive conditions
for the successful and meaningful
implementation of resolutions and
seek sustainable solutions to the
gender question. He denounced the
atrocious acts of racism, xenophobia
and other related intolerances that
have surfaced in South Africa. “It
is our collective intention to ensure
that we do not relive this harrowing
experience again. The South African
government also came out clear and
more determined in its condemnation
of these acts of xenophobia and has
henceforth put in place numerous
interventions” Hon. Uhuru Moiloa said.
Hon. Muturi stated that since
the inception of the Commonwealth
Women Parliamentarians (CWP),
[2]
women have gained a platform where
they could discuss ways of increasing
their numbers in Parliament and
ensuring that gender considerations
are streamlined in legislation in the
respective countries.
“I am happy to note that great
strides are now being taken to ensure
that women’s participation is evident
and meaningful. Over the years and
particularly in Africa, the number
of women in political leadership
positions has been growing. This
has been demonstrated in the recent
past in Nigeria, where the first female
Governor was elected”, Hon. Muturi
said. He indicated that in his home
country, the Kenyan Constitution had
ensured women inclusion and offered
visibility in political participation
and leadership. “Although it took
the country well in excess of 20
years since attaining independence
in 1963 to address gender issues
appropriately, the Constitution of
Kenya 2010, is a major milestone in
the fight towards gender equality in
Kenya. It has opened up spaces for
women’s participation in decisionmaking processes in a manner
GENDER ADVOCACY WORKSHOP | THE
4th
hitherto not seen”, he continued.
Meanwhile, Hon. Thokozile Didiza,
the CWP Southern Africa SubRegional Representative urged all
members of the legislature to commit
to form part of the mobilisation
towards the emancipation of women.
With the Pan African women’s
organisation celebrating 53 years of
existence to date, one year before
the formation of the African Union,
She commended women of Africa
for conceiving the idea of unity of
the African continent as early as
1962 and leading men to follow
suit. “Unless women are part of the
developmental agenda, nothing will
move, and as long as women are in
the margins and not at the centre of
the developmental discourse, nothing
will happen”, declared hon. Didiza.
She called on delegates to strive
to move beyond the narrow political
confinements and fight for the gender
agenda. “This gender workshop
has come at an opportune time to
reflect on how close we have come
in achieving total emancipation for
women in not only our continent but in
the rest of the world”, she concluded.
C O M M O N W E A LT H W O M E N P A R L I A M E N TA R I A N S
WOMEN IN INFLUENTIAL POSITIONS MUST
LEAD CHANGE FOR
GENDER EQUALITY
WRITER: KHULE MCHUNU
“When women are empowered as political
leaders, countries experience higher standards of
living, and positive developments can be seen in
education, infrastructure and health.”
T
hese were the words of
Chairperson of the National
Council of Provinces (NCOP),
Hon. Thandi Modise, during
the 4th Commonwealth Women
Parliamentarians (CWP) Southern
Africa Sub-Region Gender Advocacy
Workshop held in Johannesburg,
South Africa.
THE
4th
The past few months have seen
many African countries undergo
democratic elections. While these
continue to mark a significant
accomplishment for the continent,
they fail to translate into fair women
representation in Parliaments. “This
is a great cause for concern,” said
Hon. Modise. “While democracy is
about the right to vote – it is equally
about the right to run for office and be
elected,” she added.
In politics, women still face
numerous challenges that continue
to hinder their full participation. These
range from limited financial resources,
disadvantageous electoral systems,
inadequate skills, exclusion from
influential networks, patriarchy and
corruption. Political processes and
practices continue to disadvantage
women’s interests, skills and
competencies.
Furthermore, millions of women
are at risk of contracting sexually
transmitted infections and having
unwanted and unsafe pregnancies,
given the scant access to sexual
and reproductive health services and
inadequate family planning policies.
“Challenges facing women in
Africa need our attention as women
parliamentarians. We must be
vigilant in our fight to see that women
are protected from the abduction,
rape and mutilation in the war-torn
countries from the insurgents. The
case of women abducted in Nigeria,
the women who are slaughtered at
the hands of Al Shabab in Somailia
and Kenya stand as a somber
reminder that we must protect our
young women at all costs.
“It is important that in all
structures of the CWP and the
various Parliaments we represent,
C O M M O N W E A LT H W O M E N P A R L I A M E N TA R I A N S | G E N D E R A D V O C A C Y W O R K S H O P
[3]
4
th
The
Commonwealth Women
Parliamentarians
[C W P ]
Southern Africa sub-region
Gender Advocacy workshop
WOMEN IN INFLUENTIAL POSITIONS MUST
LEAD CHANGE FOR
GENDER EQUALITY
CONTINUED >>
efforts be made to ensure that these
young women and children are not
forgotten,” she continued.
She said participation and
representation in formal governance
meant very little if women were
present but had no ability to influence
policy-making on behalf of other
women. “As women Parliamentarians
we need to advocate for a fast-
tracked approach of dealing with
issues that address marginalised
groups. We are well-positioned
to pursue and effectively address
gender issues due to our legislative,
oversight, budget scrutiny and
representation roles,” she said.
She encouraged women
Parliamentarians to explore barriers
that prevent enhanced women’s
leadership – particularly the
patriarchal values that bind women
and men to stereotypical roles.
“There should be specific gender
measures within Parliaments, political
Progress on women
representation
WRITER: PFANO BULASIGOBO
D
ay one of the Workshop
culminated in brief regional
presentations from the
three CWP branches,
namely Swaziland; Namibia and
South Africa, on progress made
pertaining to female representation
and participation in their political and
legislative landscapes.
Hon. Rosa Kavara of Namibia
reported a notable gender
representation improvement,
specifically through South West
Africa People’s Organisation
(SWAPO) – the country’s governing
party which has since implemented
50/50 women representation
during the 2014 National Assembly
elections. The presentation also
raised the importance of striving
for gender balance and equality in
all spheres- including the judiciary
system and all other industries
which were previously seen as
male-dominated spaces. Namibia’s
Prosecutor General being a woman
is one of the great achievements in
these industries that reflects the rise
of female leadership in the country.
[4]
Swaziland highlighted major
challenges still existent in the country
despite progress made over recent
years to secure women in influential
positions that enable them to enforce
and inspire change in legislation and
other constitutional structures – with
the aim of repositioning them. Senator
Ngwenya noted the country’s women
representation achievements in the
judiciary sector which previously
only accommodated men. Further
remarking on the difficulties in
encouraging more women to
participate in politics, Senator Lindiwe
Ngwenya committed on behalf of
Swaziland’s women Parliamentarians
GENDER ADVOCACY WORKSHOP | THE
4th
parties and political systems to
guarantee equality in representation
in Parliament, ensuring that women
are included in the positions of
Parliamentary leadership to have the
opportunity to influence a positive
change.”
She urged Parliaments to heed
the call of ensuring equal gender
representation. She also called
on CWP branches to channel
their energies towards developing
programmes aimed at educating the
girl child.
(and women in general) to continue
striving for leadership positions – thus
overlooking lack of proper structural
support.
Hon. Masefele Morutua of South
Africa highlighted the country’s
progress in placing women in
leadership positions - thus positioning
itself to provide guidance and support
to other African countries. Progress
made in gender equality is evident
in both international and regional
indices, and statistics attesting to
this were given. Challenges were
also highlighted, which are still
existent in South Africa. These
include among others: about 56%
of female homicides committed
are by an intimate partner; an
overall representation of women in
Parliament falling by 1% in the last
elections; and about 51.3% of femaleheaded households being poor,
compared to 29.5% of male-headed
households.
C O M M O N W E A LT H W O M E N P A R L I A M E N TA R I A N S