Africa’s Appointment with Beijing + 10

Consolidate Progress Achieved by Women
to Better Meet Development Challenges

(Addis Ababa, 7 April 2004), Interview with Josephine Ouedraogo, Director of ECA’s African Center for Gender and Development (ACGD).

Conducted by: Houda Mejri, ACGD Information Officer.

Q.1. In the south as in the north, people are talking about the Decade Review of Beijing Platform for action (PFA), usually called Beijing +10. Could you place this event in its historical context?

A. Since 1975, issues such as the advancement of women and gender equality have become matters of global concern thanks to the UN mobilization efforts and capacities. A series of world conferences started taking place every 5 years to review the status of women and suggest adequate platforms for action to be implemented so as to improve their status and their living conditions. The first World Conference took place in Mexico in 1975 and the fourth one was held in Beijing in 1995. The latter was an important turning point due to the interactive link it managed to define between problems witnessed by women all over the world, and the approach that has been adopted so far to tackle issues all continents are facing related to development, justice and peace. Beijing PFA has thus become a reference framework on which both national actions and civil society initiatives are based, as well as actions undertaken by partners in development.

In 2005, Beijing PFA will be 10 years old. All countries have been
Requested by the United Nations General Assembly to take stock of
progress achieved with regard to the economic, social and political
status of women since 1995.

Q. 2. We talk less, though, about Dakar Platform for Action known as the African Platform for Action . What has become of this platform which concentrated more on Africa’s specific problems and the plight of African women?

A. African women and their respective governments adopted the African Platform for Action during the Fifth African regional conference on Women which was organized by ECA in Dakar so as to prepare Africa’s participation at the Beijing World Conference on Women. The African Platform was a useful tool to foster synergy and common thinking among African women on one hand, and between African women and their governments, on the other. Major women issues were thus discussed, and priority actions were established for implementation at national and regional levels.

We should underline that Dakar PFA components deeply inspired Beijing PFA. The former includes 11 critical areas whereas the latter comprises 12 priority areas. They are almost similar, and the area dealing with “ The little girl (No. 11 in Dakar PFA) was discussed in Beijing and included in its PFA thanks to the input and contribution of African women attending the Conference. What has become of it now? Well, being so similar to Beijing PFA, governments, NGOs and partners thought it would be easier for them to refer to one Platform for Action that would better link Africa to the rest of the world.

Q. 3. As you know 2004 and 2005 has many other important deadlines, namely ICPD + 10, Copenhagen +10, MDGs + 5, etc. Given this host of evaluations, how will Beijing + 10 make a difference and what will be its added- value?

A. This is a very important question indeed… Over the years, we noticed what I would call a conference fatigue when it comes to big meetings held on women issues. Why? It has become increasingly obvious now as stated in Beijing PFA that there is no sustainable solution to problems faced by women such as marginalization, injustice and violence, etc. if the actual vectors responsible for these problems (men, social patterns and governance paradigms) are not mainstreamed in mechanisms leading to the formulation, exchange and implementation of these platforms for action on women. It is no use meeting “among women” to discuss and establish our priorities, if in addition to that, we must mobilize time and energy to negotiate- often on unequal terms- their acceptance and implementation by national and international decision makers at the head of financial and development institutions.
This is the reason why the United Nations Secretary General suggested that evaluations to be done on Beijing+10 at national, sub-regional and regional levels be related to other evaluations expected to cover other sectors. Building bridges between Beijing +10, ICPD +10, Copenhagen +10 etc. will represent a real methodological and strategic challenge that institutions responsible for these evaluations will have to face.

Q.4. How would ECA ensure that Beijing +10 will not be yet one more “Women’s festival” as such meetings are often called…What will this evaluation cover concretely and what comparative advantages will it have?

A. The Challenge ECA will have to face is both methodological and strategic. Our goal is to take stock of progress achieved in mainstreaming Beijing major priority objectives by government officers in charge of key development sectors: finance, plan, health, agriculture, economic development commerce and industry. The purpose is therefore to allow these officials to actively participate in Beijing + 10 evaluation meetings. Of course, other extremely important issues that impact on the political and social status of women, as well as their freedom and security will also be covered. These are governance, displacement of populations due to armed conflicts and natural catastrophes, women’s legal status etc.
We should also associate in the debate national actors who deal with such issues, namely members of parliament, magistrates, community leaders, etc.
Therefore, the African Conference on Beijing +10 will not be a “women’s festival”, simply because, as agreed with ECA Executive Secretary, it will convene concurrently with the upcoming African Development Forum dedicated this year to governance. This Forum will gather a wide range of participants, the very participants we often find it hard to mobilize for “ women’s conferences”!

Q.5. What major progress has already been achieved over the past decade?

A. I can only talk about the most visible achievements, while waiting for the evaluation process to reveal other aspects. African women have made a qualitative leap forward on the political level. The adoption of parity in decision making organs of the African Union, the election in July 2003 of five women commissioners, side by side with five men commissioners, prop to the front this African political organization, as far as women participation in the highest decision- making positions is concerned.

More recently (March 2004), a woman, Ms. Gertrude Mongella, was elected head of the Pan- African Parliament , where women already make up 25% of its members.
Women are also entrusted with governmental positions and ministerial portfolios, usually reserved to men, such as Foreign Affairs and Finance.
Moreover, Africa has achieved remarkable progress in education: in many sub-regions, enrolment is higher that 59%, and there is a substantial 5-10 points increase in the ratio of girls to boys in most countries at the primary and secondary levels of education. Overall, almost 30% of those in higher education are female.

Q.6. What does this progress mean, and how can Africa capitalize on it for its economic development?

A. The main significance of such breakthroughs is that women have proved they can be as competent as men in almost every domain. We cannot wait till they are all enrolled or literate to have them participate in the development process of their country and of the continent. Among the 30% of educated women in Africa, we could easily recruit, designate or elect women with competencies in all sectors, ranging from aeronautics to social and political science… Our deep concern is that women decision- makers do not behave as men. Our hope is that they will be numerous and strong enough to instill in their institutions a sense of humanity, justice, and professionalism. We hope that they will not forget- as many of our male leaders did- that they represent hope for billions of women who suffer in their everyday life.

It should be underlined that African women are also conquering the industrial and commercial sectors, even though this is rarely mentioned. Women entrepreneurs are increasing in number across the continent and helping create jobs. Some of them have important financial assets that made them count among the wealthiest “business men” in their own countries...To have women in the private sector is also an advantage: being usually more sensitive than men, they are likely to use part of their profits to encourage social activities (in education and health notably).

Q. 7. But would you not recognize there are many other problems African women are facing in their every day life. How would you prioritize them?

A. Indeed, Africa is a continent where paradoxes prevail: while women (a minority of them of course) are gaining senior positions, a wider majority of them are still toiling on a daily basis, especially in rural areas, to feed their families…1.5 women, out of 10, die during pregnancy or labor. Women account for over 58% of HIV/AIDS cases in Sub- Saharan Africa. Hundreds of thousands of little girls become head of household in replacement of their parents lost to this pandemic…Women are still the first victims of rape, famine, displacements due to armed conflicts that are still raging up and down in the continent.

Due to different cultural and sociological reasons, women are more exposed than men to development related problems, and they pay a much higher price than men. When famine strikes, it is usually them who go through all types of sacrifices so that children can survive. When water is lacking, it is usually women who walk long distances to bring home the 10 to 20 litres the family needs so badly…When electricity or gas are lacking, it is women who set out to fetch wood, straw or cow-dung…When AIDS hits a family member, it is women who are the caretakers, either at home or in hospital.

Q. 8. There is an increasing conviction that Africa is not poor, yet it is the continent where women are the most hit by poverty, where it has become increasingly difficult for them to access basic needs such as medical care, safety, security, physical integrity, etc. How can you explain this situation? How can it be improved, beyond speeches and international instruments?

A. Africa is not poor, it is poorly managed! It is one of the richest continents in terms of natural resources: cacao, coffee, diamond, oil, lakes, etc. But these natural resources have always been either pillaged or mismanaged.
Had they been used to serve development, African peoples would have never been considered among the poorest of the world. Lack of democracy is also convenient to the interest of those in charge of exploiting and managing the continent’s economic resources. If our peoples (women account for 50%) had a say in the management of these resources, we would have been spared all these problems… Many countries would not have been so constantly plagued with armed conflict and political instability.

Q. 9. You are talking about democracy, aren’t you?

A. Yes indeed. I think one of the means that could help Africa meet its peoples’ basic needs is democracy. As long as men, women and youth are still unable to participate in defining investment priorities and monitoring the implementation of development plans, the governing minority will remain insensitive to the populations’ daily hardships. Some people think that ignorant or uneducated people cannot participate in decision-making. If this is true, then African rulers should, with the help of their partners in development, accept to make education number one priority in their development plans. This would mean making school compulsory and free so that in 15 years one could hope to have a population ready for decision making etc. etc..

Q. 10. Referring to the on going armed conflicts in Africa, what role has the African Women’s Committee for Peace and Development (AWCPD) played since its creation in 1998. How could ECA’s joint action with the African Union be increased in the field?

A. As you know, ACWPD is one of the recommendations made by the African Plat-form for Action and endorsed in Beijing. ECA and AU were then mandated to create the Committee and identify its potential members, in addition to organizing a meeting to elaborate its constituting acts. The Committee’s mandate is to mainly ensure African women’s participation in peace talks and all conflict management and peace- keeping mechanisms.

The Committee ensured important field- work mainly in Burundi, in Manu River countries (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone), as well as in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Committee members also served as Observers during elections held in some countries who have known political unrest. Still, there is a major constraint when it comes to women’s systematic participation in UN organs and strategies related to peace and conflict management. Official institutions involved in peace processes are quite happy as long as the Committee intervenes in the field once in a while…But this does not guarantee the sustainability of women’s contribution to political decisions related to conflict management and nation- building programmes. During Beijing + 10 evaluation, the Committee will be assessed on the basis of Beijing recommendations on peace, as one of its priority areas.