ADF IV WOMEN AND GOVERNANCE FOCUS GROUP

ISSUES PAPER

Introduction

There is a consensus that good governance¹ is a prerequisite for sustainable development. In recent years (OAU, 1990) African Heads of State and Governments have pledged to create a political environment that guarantees human rights, observes the rule of law, and ensures high standards of probity and accountability in those who hold political office. This vision must include the participation of all segments of society, especially those that have been traditionally excluded - young people and women. The imperative for including women in all structures of governance is based on the fact that inequalities in representation are not only a violation of women's basic human rights but are also inimical to long-term socio-economic development. Gender inequalities retard economic growth, sustainable development and poverty reduction.

Objective of the Focus Group

The purpose of the ADF IV Women and Governance Focus Group is to examine some of the major obstacles that hinder women from participating in various governmental structures and systems and the necessary actions to expand women's effective participation in policymaking.

1) Political representation

In Africa, women are underrepresented at all levels of political decision-making. While it is true that most countries endorse women's rights in their constitutions, they fail to follow up with action to ensure women's effective participation. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) indicates that in sub-Saharan Africa, women in parliament (both houses combined) constitute only 14.3% in 2003, as compared with 11.5% in 2000. There is thus a need to enact national laws that will not only accelerate the increase in women's participation but also create an awareness among women about their rights. It is in this regard that there is need to monitor and implement the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The question might nevertheless be raised: is there a need for gender-segregated laws and initiatives? In most African countries, women are appointed to parliament by presidents or they are members of women's wings within political parties. This has proved to benefit women in that it gives them a political passage through which they are elected to parliament.

Democratisation and representation

Democracy is an integral part of inclusive governance. To a large extent, when governments are committed, democracy advances the representation of both men and women in political spheres. In addition, democratic systems allow for representation regardless of gender. With women constituting more than half the world's population, they must have equal opportunities to participate in public decision making in the legislative, judicial and executive branches of government.

Structure and nature of representation

The other factor that needs examination is the nature and extent of representation. Do women represent women in parliament? Are they free to attend to women's issues or are they just representing their constituencies in general? In most cases, these women are seen to be there merely to rubber-stamp policies that their male counterparts are advocating. It is thus a serious question whether women appointed by government can voice independent thoughts or support legislative proposals that may oppose the government's.

Quota systems

Quota systems are aimed at ensuring equitable representation and increasing the level of women's representation in governance structures. A handful of African countries implement quota systems. Quota systems are supposed to be a temporary means of ensuring women's access to political governance. Where quota systems exist, as in Uganda and South Africa, there has been some increase in the visibility of issues affecting women, as well as, to some degree, in mechanisms for ensuring the broader inclusion of women in decision-making. In South Africa, the Office on Status of Women (OSW) is in the President's office. The group may want to consider:

• What are the key issues to be addressed to increase women's participation at the leadership level, especially related to capacity and training?

• What are the major obstacles to women's groups' participation in the national political debate? How can we overcome these obstacles?

• What are additional major obstacles to women's participation in decision-making structures, and how can these be overcome?

2) Macroeconomic management and corporate governance

Participation of women in economic activities is an issue that has been widely debated. Despite the fact that women are responsible for most of the food production in Africa, they generally lack access to land titles, credit, information and skills building. The current situation suggests that most women work in the informal sectors of the economy and they are lowly paid, open to high risks and do not have access to skills development. In most cultures, families would rather educate boys than invest in girls' education. This has proved to be a hindrance in economic emancipation of women. In resolving the problem, member States must address the critical issue of gender-sensitive budgets and national accounts, in addition to working out an Africa-specific approach to mitigate effects of unpaid work in the care economy and in the family-controlled informal sector activities. Below are some areas of major concern in macroeconomic management and corporate governance:

• An impressive number of studies indicate a higher incidence of poverty among women in Africa. What are modalities for reducing the level of poverty among women and what would be the role of national planning instruments (systems of national accounts and gender sensitive budgeting)?

• There is a need for expansion and greater access to credit for women that enable them to meaningfully contribute to food security. What would be some of these mechanisms?

3) Institutions, regional governance and the African Union (AU)

On July 11, the African Union summit in Maputo, Mozambique, adopted the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. It deals with the steps that are needed to make women's participation in the African Union more effective, and covers a broad range of economic and social welfare rights issues. The Protocol explicitly calls for the legal prohibition of female genital mutilation and an end to all forms of violence against women. It endorses affirmative action to promote the equal participation of women, including in elected offices, the judiciary and law enforcement agencies. The Protocal also includes the right to equal pay for equal work and the right to adequate and paid maternity leave in both private and public sectors. The rights of particularly vulnerable groups of women are recognized, i.e., widows, the elderly, the disabled and 'women in distress,' which includes poor women, those from marginalized groups, and pregnant or nursing women in detention. In addition, it lays an obligation upon member States to integrate a gender perspective into their policy decisions, legislation, and development plans and activities, and to ensure the overall well-being of women. The following are some of the areas regional institutions should be concerned with:

• The African Union is the only African regional institution to have implemented gender parity at the highest level of its governing structure. Can this example be followed by other regional and sub-regional institutions?

• Describe the constraints upon, and the modalities of, achieving this in other institutions. Is the fact of women's constituting 50% of AU Commissioners sufficient to ensure gender mainstreaming in the AU processes & structures?

4) HIV/ AIDS and its governance implications

HIV/AIDS constitutes one of the greatest challenges to Africa's development. Of the 42 million adults and children infected with HIV globally, 29.4 million are living in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, statistics clearly indicate that women and girls are becoming ever more disproportionately affected by the pandemic, in terms both of rates of infection and burden of care for the sick, the dying, and orphans. In addition, discriminatory laws and harmful traditional practices fuel the high HIV infection rate, particularly among women and young girls. Young girls are being deprived of their childhood and educational opportunities in order to become heads of households. Sexual abuse of very young girls (sometimes as young as 12 years) is widely reported because girls at this age are presumed to be virgins free from HIV infection. Below are some questions to examine in seeking ways to contain the pandemic:

• Can the group identify the key factors that explain the continued high rates of HIV infection in Africa?

• What accounts for the gender differentials in infection rates, and how can these be addressed? What of differential access to drugs because of women's poverty? What of AIDS orphans, and the implication for families and development of the need to support them?

• Identify the major kinds of socio-economic development impact on households and communities that are likely in the next three decades if the pandemic continues at the current rate of infection.

Conclusion

These are some of the issues that the Women and Governance Focus Group will need to consider before the ADF IV in October 2004. The group's agreement on key areas of concern, and consensus on recommended actions, is intended to guide the plenary deliberations, with other stakeholders and selected Heads of States, at the Forum itself. It is imperative for African governments to ask themselves what point they have reached post-Beijing.

1 UNDP defines governance as "the exercise of economic, political and administrative authority to manage a country's affairs at all levels. It comprises the mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations, and mediate their differences. Good governance is, among other things, participatory, transparent and accountable...And it promotes the rule of law. Good governance ensures that political, social and economic priorities are based on the broad consensus in society and that the voices of the poorest and the most vulnerable are heard in decision making over the allocation of development resources."