Feminism -Human Rights and Gender Equality in South Africa

2011

Master’s Thesis

Author: Bente Schjødt

Supervisor: Mammo Muchie

Development and International Relations

Department of Culture and Global Studies

Aalborg University

01-06-2011

Feminism - Human Rights and Gender Equality in South Africa

Bente Schjødt Gender Equality in South Africa June 2011

2

Development and International Relations

Department of Culture and Global Studies

Fibigerstraede 2, DK-9220 Aalborg East

Denmark; website: www.aau.dk

Master’s Thesis

01 June 2011

Bente Schjoedt

Pontoppidanstraede 95F

9220 Aalborg East

Denmark

Cell: +45 24806215

Email: [email protected]

Supervisor: Mammo Muchie

http://www.aau.dk/


3

Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................... 5

Tables ................................................................................................................................................................. 7

Figures ............................................................................................................................................................... 8

Acronyms and Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................... 10

Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................... 12

1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 14

2.0 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 19

2.1 Feminist Research ............................................................................................................................ 19

2.2 Feminist Fractured Foundationalism ............................................................................................... 20

2.3 Data Collection and Contextualisation ............................................................................................ 20

2.4 Feminist Approach ........................................................................................................................... 22

2.5 Patriarchy and the Origin of Feminism ............................................................................................ 23

2.6 Global Sisterhood - Local Trouble .................................................................................................... 24

2.7 Different Kinds of Feminism ............................................................................................................ 25

2.8 Contextualising feminism ................................................................................................................ 28

2.9 Postcolonial Feminism ..................................................................................................................... 29

3.0 The Human Rights Framework ............................................................................................................ 32

3.1 Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women ................................................ 33

3.2 Landmarks in the UN history ........................................................................................................... 34

3.3 The Millennium Development Goals ............................................................................................... 36

3.4 The dialectics of history ................................................................................................................... 37

3.5 A cocktail of treaties and the SADC Protocol .................................................................................. 38

3.6 Human Rights in South Africa .......................................................................................................... 38

4.0 Concepts and Conferences .................................................................................................................. 41

4.1 Violence Against Women ................................................................................................................ 41

4.2 Neo-liberal ideology ........................................................................................................................ 44

4.3 Gender Justice and Local Government Summit .............................................................................. 45

4.4 Gender Politics in International Governance .................................................................................. 48

5.0 Gender Equality in South Africa .......................................................................................................... 51

5.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 51

5.2 Data Collection and Baseline Data .................................................................................................. 53

5.3 The third indicator: women’s representation ................................................................................. 56


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5.4 The second indicator: share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector ....... 60

5.4.1 Women in Informal Trade ....................................................................................................... 63

5.5 The first indicator: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education..................... 65

5.6 The fourth indicator: Gender-Based Violence ................................................................................. 71

5.6.1 Presentations from the Johannesburg Summit ....................................................................... 75

5.6.2 Attitudes towards gender relations and GBV in Gauteng ....................................................... 79

5.6.3 Discourse analysis of South African Government official speeches ........................................ 81

5.7 Summary .......................................................................................................................................... 83

5.8 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 84

6.0 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 86

Appendix 1: The participants of the Geneva Conference ............................................................................... 89

PICTURES from GENEVA: Gender Politics in International Governance ......................................................... 93

Appendix 2: Naledi Frida Masipa: answers ..................................................................................................... 95

PICTURES from JOHANNESBURG: Gender Justice and Local Government Summit ........................................ 97

Appendix 3: The 28 targets of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development ......................................... 100

References ..................................................................................................................................................... 103


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Acknowledgements

First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Mammo Muchie, for support and for believing in the

project. We have had some fine meetings the one in Johannesburg is especially memorable. And thank you

for paying the taxi to the airport.

The Study Board and Kirsten Pallesen at The International Office have been helpful in supporting the trip to

the Summit in Johannesburg; without their help it would not have been possible to attend at the Summit,

for that I am grateful.

My former workplace, the Institute for Learning and Philosophy, kindly let me print the whole Thesis at

their printer and that has been a great help.

Thank you all good friends from Gender Links and people from the SADC region for supplying oxygen to this

Master’s Thesis. Special thanks to Abigail Jacobs-Williams and Nomthandazo Mankazana from Gender

Links for giving permission to participate in the Summit and for helping me during the stay, and to Percos

Sinkamba, Biggie Imasiku, Mercy Zulu, Rosemary Sakala, and Sangulukani Isaac Zulu, all from Zambia, who

made me feel welcome to Southern Africa.

Aalborg 01 June 2011

Bente Schjødt


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The Zulu world "ubuntu" translates roughly as "humanity towards others". But it means much more than

this. The spiritual foundation of African societies, ubuntu involves a belief in a universal bond of sharing

that connects all of humanity, a unifying worldview best captured by the Zulu maxim umuntu ngumuntu

ngabantu - "a person is a person through other persons".

South Africa: mid-year population estimates 2010

African 39 682 600 79.4%

White 4 584 700 9.2%

Coloured 4 424 100 8.8%

Indian/Asian 1 299 900 2.6%

Total 49 991 300 100%

The provinces of South Africa with land area by province


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Tables

Page no.

Table 2.1 Feminist theories, unique in this Thesis, no source 30

Table 4.1 Summit categories, unique in this Thesis,

Source: http.gl.pack 2011 46

Table 5.1 MDG3 at a glance, unique in this Thesis

Source: http.mdg.za 2010 52

Table 5.2 List of reports, unique in this Thesis, no source 54

Table 5.3 SA Population, unique in this Thesis,

Source: http.awf 1996, http.un.sa-cedaw 1998 54

Table 5.4 Women in wage employment, unique in this Thesis

Source: http.mdg.za 2010 60

Table 5.5 The Labour Force Survey 2009

Source: http.gl.barometer 2009 61

Table 5.6 Percent of land owned by women,

Source: http.un.sa-cedaw 2009 62

Table 5.7 Informal Trade


Table 5.8 Literacy and enrolment in education sector 2007


Table 5.9 Infrastructure in public schools, unique in this Thesis,

Source: http.sa.edu.budget 2011, http.un.sa-cedaw 2009 69

Table 5.10 Cases of rape 1993-1996, unique in this Thesis,

Source: http.awf 1996 72

Table 5.11 Gender violence statistics 2005-2007, unique in this Thesis,

Source: http.gl.barometer 2009, http.un.sa-cedaw 2009 73

Table 5.12 Reported rates of rape per 100,000 2002-2007


Table 5.13 Problem associated with night classes



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Figures

Page no.

Figure 1.1 Project design, unique in this Thesis, no source 17

Figure 5.1 Representation of women in government, unique in this Thesis

Source: http.gl.barometer 2009, http.mdg.za 2010 56

Figure 5.2 Drop-out rate 2007/2008, unique in this Thesis

Source: http.sa.edu.trend 2011 66

Figure 5.3 Attendance in education programmes amongst 5-year olds 2002-2009

Source: http.sa.edu.trend 2011, p.21 67

Figure 5.4 Attendance in education programmes amongst 5-year olds by province: 2009

Source: http.sa.edu.trend 2011, p.23 67

Figure 5.5 Partnership with the stakeholders,

Source: Gender Links for Equality and Justice 2011 78

Figure 5.6 Women as the violated part and men as the violent part, unique in this Thesis

Source: http://www.genderlinks.org.za/page/south-africa-gbv-indicators 79

Figure 5.7 Attitudes toward family life in Gauteng, unique in this Thesis,


Figure 5.8 Experience of violence/reported violence, unique in this Thesis


Figure 5.9 GBV mention as proportion of not mention, unique in this Thesis

Source: http://www.genderlinks.org.za/article/political-discourse-analysis-

of-sa-government-office-speeches-2010-12-10 81

Figure 5.10 Responsibility for ending GBV, unique in this Thesis

Source: http://www.genderlinks.org.za/article/political-

discourse-analysis-of-sa-government-office-speeches-2010-12-10 82


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Figure 5.11 Elements of a solution to GE, unique in this Thesis, no source 84


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Acronyms and Abbreviations

AIDS - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

ANC - African National Congress

ANCYL - African National Congress Youth League

AU - The African Union

AWOMI - The African Women’s Millennium Initiative for Fighting Poverty Through Gender Equality

BPFA - The Beijing Platform for Action

CDM - Capricorn District Municipality

CEDAW - The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

COE - Centres of Excellence

DA - Democratic Alliance

DANIDA - The Danish International Development Agency

DAW - The Division of the Advancement of Women

DBE - Department of Basic Education

ECOSOC - The United Nations Economic and Social Council

FAS - Femmes Africa Solidarité

FFF - Feminist Fractured Foundationalism

FGM - Female Genital Mutilation

GBV - Gender Based Violence

GE - Gender Equality

GEM - Gender Empowerment Measure

GEM/BEM - Girls and Boys Education Movement

GL - Gender Links

GM - Gender Mainstreaming

HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus

HR - Human Rights

ICPD - The International Conference on Population and Development (held in Cairo Egypt in 1994)

ICCPR - The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

IESCR - The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

IMF - The International Monetary Fund

JSE - The Johannesburg Stock Exchange


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MD - The United Nations Millennium Declaration

MDG - Millennium Development Goal (1-8)

MEC - Member of the Executive Council

MRC - Medical Research Council

OECD - The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

OHCHR - The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

SADC - The Southern African Development Community

SAPS - The South African Police Service

TIPS - Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies

TRC - The Truth and Reconciliation Commission

U.K. - The United Kingdom of Great Britain

U.S. - The United States of America

UN - The United Nations

UN-Women - The UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

UNDP - The United Nations Development Programme

UDHR - The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

UNIC -The United Nations Information Centre Pretoria

UNICEF - The United Nations Children’s Fund

UNIFEM - The United Nations Development Fund for Women

VAW - Violence Against Women

WB - The World Bank

WEF - The World Economic Forum

WW - World War (I or II)


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Abstract

Is the post-apartheid political, cultural, social, and economic system in South Africa conducive to achieving

Gender Equality? By this question the scene is set for an analysis of the conditions in South Africa after the

transition to democracy in 1994. African Postcolonial Feminism is aware of the special circumstances in a

postcolonial country as South Africa, where the legacy of a violent past is an important variable when

understanding contemporary issues, therefore, this particular branch of feminism is used in the finding of

an answer to the asked question. The point of departure is also the human rights legal framework, which

the South African Government has committed itself to by signing important UN treaties and by creating a

new Constitution build on the Universal Human Rights. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of

Discrimination against Women and the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development are used to measure

the actual progress in gender equality together with the Millennium Development Goal no. 3: promote

gender equality and empower women. Gender-Based Violence is used as an indicator in the analysis, as

well. This particular kind of violence casts a cloud over South Africa and has an impact on the development

of Gender Equality.

The indicators for the MDG3, gender parity in the National Parliament, in primary and secondary school,

and in wage employment are close to being achieved. However, the President of the Republic is a

polygamist with at least three wives; the schools are not safe places for girls who are being raped; and the

unemployment rate is high despite nearly gender parity at the labour market. Gender-based violence is

turning the country down; the problem is neglected by the politicians who forget to mention GBV in their

speeches and the attitude towards gender-based violence is reluctant in the community. Local

governments and NGOs are working with the issue in cooperation with the regional NGO, Gender Links,

who functions as the coordinating body in the SADC region.

The findings show that in post-apartheid South Africa the legal system is in place for achieving gender

equality, the international conventions are ratified, except one, and the Constitution is gender sensitive;

even the MDG3 is almost achieved. However, African postcolonial feminism points at the patriarchal

system, the cultural customs, and the neo-liberal ideology as the main obstacles for achieving reel gender

equality. As long as patriarchy permeates the society, there is no gender equality. Patriarchy also stimulates

gender-based violence in order to retain power. Changing attitudes and mindsets can take generations;

fortunately, African feminists are working in the local governments and in the NGOs, and a positive sign is


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that one third of the feminists are men. Overall, the system in South Africa is not conducive to achieving

Gender Equality, at the moment; however, there are small pockets of gender friendly organisations and

local governments that work seriously with the issue and they show the way forward.


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1.0 Introduction

I remember Soweto in 1976, where school children were shot dead by the South African police, I remember

the death of Steve Biko in 1977, after having been tortured by the South African Security Forces, I

remember how we from the anti-apartheid movement never bought fruit or other articles from South

Africa (SA) during the 1970s and 1980s, and we abandoned Shell because of the company’s involvement

with the South African apartheid regime. It was easy to be against this inhuman regime that was even

worse than the dictatorships in South America in the same decades. I once had a poster with the profile of

Nelson Mandela behind bars and with his famous words written in the corner:

“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I

have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together

in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for

which I am prepared to die.” (Stengel 2010: 59f).

It was his last words in the Rivonia Trial of 1963-64 where he was sentenced to prison for life. I fought for

his release and the end of apartheid by the poor means of activism. On the international level there was

awareness too, and South Africa got its own treaty, The International Convention on the Suppression and

Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid. It came into force on 18 July 1976, on Mandela’s 58th birthday.

Article 1 in the Convention says:

“The States Parties to the present Convention declare that apartheid is a crime against humanity and that inhuman acts resulting

from the policies and practices of apartheid and similar policies and practices of racial segregation and discrimination, as defined in

article II of the Convention, are crimes violating the principles of international law, in particular the purposes and principles of the

Charter of the United Nations, and constituting a serious threat to international peace and security” (http.oas 1973).

Black and White are social constructions. It has been biologically proven that over 99% of our human

genome is the same and that shades of our skin colour have been manipulated by those who wanted

power and dominance over others (Thobejane 2010: 135). Nevertheless, apartheid was an inhuman system

that created hell on earth for people with dark colour. The transition to democracy, in April 1994, was the

beginning of a new era with a Constitution built on international human rights standards and with a

charismatic President, Nelson Mandela, in front.


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Seventeen years later, South Africa is visible in the statistics for having one of the highest proportions of

women in the National Parliament and for having one of the highest incidents of rape in the world. The

cities of South Africa have a reputation of being violent and women are exposed to Gender-Based Violence

(GBV). In 1994, there was hope for a better future; however, democracy is neither a guaranty for security

and prosperity nor a guaranty for gender equality (GE).

In the past thirty years, a substantial body of feminist literature has documented the violence committed

against women, largely by men, both in the developing and the developed world. In Security Dialogue 2004,

Lori Handrahan1 emphasises, that female insecurity is so prevalent that it becomes invisible and accepted

as the norm; hegemonic masculinity or patriarchy has a distinct impact on the behaviour of women and

men and on their experiences and lives (p.430f).

Gender is a contextual, socially constructed means of assigning roles and norms to given sex categories, and

race is another contextual and social construction which was meant for keeping power in the hands of the

ruling elite in SA. Intersectionality becomes important in a South African context, where colour and gender

are a critical mixture that nurtures various combinations of oppression and exploitation.

Although South Africa have dismantled the official structures of apartheid and achieved democracy, the

country is still influenced and marked by apartheid. The transition to democracy was peaceful in every

meaning of the word. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) put the lid on the sins of the past,

and business continued as usual. The globally accepted neo-liberal model continues to dominate in SA

where capitalism as the economic model inhibits other modes of production and social organisation.

The British political scientist, feminist and academic, Catherine Eschle says, that it is crucial to fight the

neoliberal concentration of capital, since it will be impossible to resolve issues of gender outside the

framework of a fair redistribution of wealth; any struggle for women’s rights is both a political struggle and

a feminist struggle; the needs of people are more important than the needs of rich states and corporations

(Eschle & Maiguashca 2005: 129).

Today, South Africa is an accepted member of the international society and the country has signed and

ratified important conventions as a member of the United Nations. Yet, one significant Convention is not

1 Lori Handrahan is an international development expert with a focus on human rights, gender, ethnicity, and conflict. She has

spent fifteen years in the human rights community with extensive time in Central Asia, Africa, Europe and Asia.


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signed, The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESC), and has been delayed

since 1994.

The South African people represents a mixture of cultures and when it comes to intercultural

understanding, the status of women and children and the rituals of sex and marriage have occupied a

special place. Practices that most frequently lead to clashes are polygamy, arranged marriages, female

genital mutilation (FGM), and the subordinate status of women and the girl child (Benhabib 2002: 82f).

Jacob Zuma, a prominent member of the ANC, is a polygamist and has partnerships with at least three

women, furthermore, he was charged of rape in 2005 but the Court dismissed the charges, agreeing that

the sexual act in question was consensual. In 2009, Jacob Zuma became the fourth democratic elected

President of The Republic of South Africa.

The question is where the Nation is heading now? If the South African Government stands behind the

commitments enshrined in the international conventions, it is necessary to ask:


Gender Equality?

The present study aims to contribute to an answer to this question through analysis based on feminist

methodology, international treaties, acknowledged concepts, and data collected in Geneva and

Johannesburg.

The mixture of activism with research and the difference between black and white feminism are challenges

that I have accepted by doing this Master’s Thesis. The point of departure is an academic feminist human

rights approach which has emerged from an activism that seems natural when you are born as female, the

second sex.

Design of the project: Feminists seek to understand why women, compared to men, are devalued, and how

they are disempowered across history, societies and cultures. Furthermore, they seek to find solutions for

how this state of inequality and injustice can be changed. Figure 1.1 illustrates the design of the project.

Methodology is the academic layer where approach, method and theory form the trio that puts reliability

and credibility into the project. The ontological base is the assumption that gender is a social construction.

At the epistemological level, knowledge has a double edge in the sense that it is to be found within


17

everyday practice and also in what the feminist researchers work out. The approach is called Feminist

Fractured Foundationalism and the term recognises that there is a materially grounded social world that is

interpreted differently according to group belonging, e.g. the women in South Africa experience life

differently depending on race and status; feminists interprets the world differently depending on their

material grounding in the Western or Southern soil.

Figure 1.1: Project Design

African Postcolonial Feminism is aware of the special circumstances in a postcolonial country as South

Africa, where the legacy of a violent past is an important variable when understanding contemporary

paradoxes, therefore, this particular branch of feminism is used in the finding of an answer to the asked

question.

The point of departure is also the human rights legal framework, which the South African Government has

committed itself to by signing important UN treaties and by creating a new Constitution build on the

Universal Human Rights. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

(CEDAW) and the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development (the Protocol) are used to measure the

actual progress in gender equality together with the Millennium Development Goal no. 3: promote gender

equality and empower women (MDG3).

The concept GBV is defined and used as indicator in the analysis, as well. This particular kind of violence

casts a cloud over SA and has an impact on the development of GE. The dualism of neo-liberalism and

Analysis of Gender

Equality in South Africa

Methodology

Concepts and Conferences

MDG3: promote

gender equality and empower

women

On location data collection and personal experience

Human Righs Framework


18

capitalism is mentioned and conceptualized; however, this Thesis has the emphasis on political and social

issues more than on economy and, only because it is difficult to overlook the economic system’s impact on

gender equality, it will be mentioned, briefly.

The personal outcomes of the Conference, Gender Politics in International Governance, in Geneva 2010

(the Geneva Conference) and the Gender Justice and Local Government Summit in Johannesburg 2011 (the

Johannesburg Summit), arranged by Gender Links (GL), are used as sources together with governmental

statistics and reports based on CEDAW and the Protocol. In addition, indicative samples from the

Johannesburg Summit are used purposeful to add the voices of subaltern gender representatives from the

grass-root level. All in all, the battle lines are drawn up for a comprehensive analysis of Gender Equality in

South Africa.

Exceptions:

It is important to note that the issues of HIV/AIDS and correlative rape are not included in the analysis as

separate parameters, but are implicit in the statistics of women’s health and incidents of rape.

Syntax of websites:

To make the Thesis readable, the references to websites and articles from the Web are abbreviated with

the syntax: http.<abbreviation> <(year)>. Example: http.oas (1973) is the abbreviation of:

“http://www.oas.org/dil/1973%20International%20Convention%20on%20the%20Suppression%20and%20

Punishment%20of%20the%20Crime%20of%20Apartheid.pdf”.

The International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid.

The full text can be looked up in “References”.


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2.0 Methodology

2.1 Feminist Research

This is a feminist research project and the elements that put together give the toolbox to and framework of

that kind of project is explained in Letherby 2003, Wise & Stanley 2006, and Ackerly & True 2010. Gayle

Letherby points out that there is a feminist research practice that is distinguishable from other forms of

research. The difference is to be found in the questions asked, the location chosen, the theory used and the

purpose of the research project (Letherby 2003: 5). To be a feminist researcher is to work with gender

equality. Under the conditions of today’s unequal opportunities, it also means to work for the

empowerment of women. The theoretical background of this paper is within the paradigm of feminism and

some of the possible choices of a theory together with their strengths and weaknesses will be outlined.

The methodology is the mode of investigation in which theory, method and operational procedures are

interlinked, and it illuminates the way from research design to the analysis (Wise & Stanley 2006-03). A

method is a technique, a manner of collecting data, and it is paramount to emphasise that there is not a

specific feminist method (Letherby 2003: 5). Doing interviews individually or in groups and observation

through conversation are examples of qualitative methods. Making surveys, studying statistics, reports and

newspapers are examples of quantitative methods. Quantitative and qualitative data should complement

each other to make a holistic approach to a project, although there is a risk that gender disappears in the

engagement with methodologies and conventional qualitative and quantitative approaches. In other

words, it is important not to get “lost in translation” but to remember the gender links (Bennett 2008: 4).

Another concern is the normative assumptions that influence the formulation of indicators and the

collection of data, e.g. the World Bank (WB) regards women as mothers2 in their working area supporting

and nurturing their family, while the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) understands women as

part of the community on equal terms with the men; two value systems that causes different research

questions and answers (FREIA 2010: 16).

Before going into action, it is important to decide the ontological and epistemological grounding of a

project. The two terms are intertwined, where ontology is how we see and understand the world and

epistemology is what we consider as legitimate knowledge. Some people are religious and believe that God

2 At the Geneva Conference, the feminist scholar from Lebanon, Rita Sabat, told that the word “woman” is equal to “mother” in her

language. There is no special word for “woman”.


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created the Earth and the Holy Book contains all the knowledge, other’s are essentialists and convinced

that the behaviour of man and woman are decided beforehand and cannot be changed. Feminist

epistemology argues that truth is strongly shaped by our social conditions, and the idea of value-free

knowledge is a false construct (Hochfeld & Bassadien 2007: 221). Keeping in mind that the focus is on South

Africa it seems convenient to add postcolonial to the feminist epistemology and tone down the Western

hegemonic notions North/South, us/the other, third world women and the like (Ackerly & True 2010: 27).

2.2 Feminist Fractured Foundationalism

The strategy in this Thesis will follow the Feminist Fractured Foundationalism approach (FFF), presented by

Sue Wise and Liz Stanley in the beginning of the 1990s. The term recognises that there is a materially

grounded social world (Foundationalism), and this world is being interpreted differently in different-

situated groups (fractured) (Wise & Stanley 2006). The ontological base is the assumption that social life is

constructed and gender is constructed, which means that talking about women as a natural category is

nonsense (Wise & Stanley 2006). At the epistemological level, knowledge has a double edge in the sense

that it is to be found within everyday practice but also in what the feminist researchers work out. Feminists

seek to understand why women, compared to men, are devalued, and how they are disempowered across

history, societies and cultures. Furthermore, they seek to find solutions for how this state of inequality and

injustice can be changed (Ackerly & True 2010: 71). In the empirical section of this Thesis, every day

practices will be illustrated by the work of local governments and local NGO’s in South Africa, and the work

of feminist researchers will be illustrated by the work of the feminist scholars attending the Geneva

Conference and the Johannesburg Summit. The aim is to analyse the question in the field of tension

between global and local governance with the civil society as the mediating partner. In the FFF approach,

the knowledge has to be transparent, produced through non-exploitative means and must produce open

accounts of findings and conclusions. Consequently, the reader should be able to validate the data by

herself and be empowered to “bite back” (Wise & Stanley 2006). Because it is not possible to collect and

use all the information available, there will be a selection of data chosen with respect to the topic and the

formulated paradoxes.

2.3 Data Collection and Contextualisation

The problem with measuring GE and GBV is that they have been underdeveloped areas and there is a need

for more gender-sensitive methods of measurements. Studying GE and GBV demand formulation of

indicators and sex-disaggregation of data together with baseline studies, and to that extent the MDGs are


21

operational with targets and indicators that are measurable. The emphasis will be on the MDG3: promote

gender equality and empower women.

Which method to apply depends on the context of use, including the theoretical concerns and

epistemological assumptions of the researcher, but more importantly, how reality is seen by the people in

the social context being investigated. South Africa is a country with a violent past and present; it is a

divided country with a legacy from more than forty years of institutionalised apartheid. To give a true

picture of the country by talking to people would require more time than was available and, therefore, the

method was chosen to be the collection of qualitative data by using an mp3 recorder, observation and

conversation with people at the Summit in Johannesburg, in combination with quantitative reports from

NGOs, Gender Links, and the South African Government. In addition, the outcome of the Geneva

Conference is used to cover the international aspect of the topic. Judith Buber Agassi calls this method

“oral history” and opposes it to the method in social science where researchers claim objectivity by non-

involvement and by distancing themselves from the human subjects of their research (http.tau 2011).

The obstacles in doing feminist research can be experienced from various angles illustrated by this

anecdote: “A well known African professor meets one of his former students whom he has not seen since

graduate school, and who is now a scholar in her own right. Meeting anew as professionals in the corridors

of an African Studies meeting, he discovers that her field of research is women, and says privately to her "Oh

no, you are too bright to just work on women!"”. On the same page another even better known African is

cited for saying that the study of women is too important to be left just to women. Unfortunately, the

names of these male academics do not appear in the text (Carole Davies in Ogundipe-Leslie 1994: Preface).

Since 1994, where the book was published there has been some advancements. It is generally accepted to

study “women” or “gender”, and the subject is high on the agenda in the UN, wherefrom the interest has

trickled down to the regional, national and local level. In the preface of the book, Carole Davies3 says:

“There is the tendency in Western academic contexts, borne of U.S. and European hegemony, to assume that

what is said in Euro-American universities is only what has been said or only what matters. As well, the ways that

research is conducted, the subject positions and locations of those conducting the research, and the types of

questions engaged are often set in the West” (Ogundipe-Leslie 1994). It is important to show sensitivity to the

context, and the backbone of this project is an analytical strategy based on contextualisation in

3 Carole Boyce Davies is Professor of African–New World Studies and English at Florida International University. She wrote the

preface to the book Re-Creating Ourselves. African Women & Critical Transformations from 1994.


22

combination with data generated from the visits to Johannesburg and Geneva. Focus is on South Africa and

the implementation of the MDG3, and the aim is to build up enough arguments to give a qualified answer

to the question asked in the introduction: Is the post-apartheid political, cultural, social, and economic

system in South Africa conducive to achieving Gender Equality?

2.4 Feminist Approach

Basic to feminism is that “the personal is political”4. According to Wise & Stanley, all research must be

concerned with the experiences and consciousness of the researcher as an integral part of the research

process, the feminist researcher is not above or outside, but right in the middle of the research process

(1983: 48). This feminist research ethic is an important tool for guiding feminist scholarship and will

strengthen the awareness of the power relations between the researcher and the researched (Ackerly &

True 2010). Objectivity is not an option in feminist research, but that does not mean that the researcher is

not reflective or critical, on the contrary. Research is a lived and interactive process and feminist inquiry

must be aware of the importance of intersectionality in understanding a situation or a problem. Any

research phenomenon has to be understood by means of context and social characteristics like race and

gender (Ackerly & True 2010: 30).

Frameworks are by no means universal. Due to difference in culture there is no one-size-fits-all, and it is a

challenge to develop gender-sensitive indicators that are specific and responsive to unique local conditions

(Warren 2007, Hochfeld & Bassadien 2007). Culture is not the only stone in the shoe. In the 1980s, the

white feminists were shaken when black feminists such as bell hooks5 claimed that the sisterhood bond

across race was marred with inequality, colonial imperialism and racism (Ladino 2002: 2). Hopefully,

Olufemi Taiwo, a black scholar from the University of Seattle, is right when he claims that any researcher

working on Africa, will be less indulged in generalisations and uniformities in advance of more adequate

knowledge and information about the peoples and cultures of the continent (Oyewùmí 2003: 48).

Building on the understanding that gender is a social construction and knowledge is to be found within the

society and in the work of researchers, this analysis will be formed out of the many valuable inputs from

4 Carol Hanisch’s, journalist and founder of The New York Radical Women, wrote an essay in 1969 with the title”The Personal is

Political”, it refers to the feminist theory that personal problems are political problems, which basically means that many of the personal problems women experience in their lives are not their fault, but are the result of systematic oppression. (http.mindthegap 2008). 5 bell hooks is Distinguished Professor of English at City College in New York, mainly known as a feminist thinker. She prefers her

name spelled without capital letters.


23

the Geneva Conference and the Johannesburg Summit; together, they represent many years of research

and practice and will empower this Thesis with a substantial body of knowledge.

2.5 Patriarchy and the Origin of Feminism

Feminism is often considered a phenomenon that have occurred in three waves, at least that is how we tell

the story north of the 30 degree of latitude. To readers who do not recall their childhood’s geography, it is

where Europe and the U.S. are situated. The first period, before WWI, was dominated by equal rights

claims with the right to vote as the main demand. In Denmark, women got the right to vote in 1915; in

Switzerland they had to wait until 1971. The second period, the 60s and 70s, was characterised by a variety

of discourses and movements within the feminist paradigm. Women entered the universities and the

labour market, they became independent and many joined the red-socks movement. The third and

contemporary period is characterised by an awareness of diversity in a global world (Schjødt 2011: 7).

Initiated in the 1980s, today’s feminism is extended to issues of race and sexuality in a broader sense and

the information technology has transferred feminism to the global scene and made it transnational (Grewal

& Caplan 2006: 257). Not in political parties but in movements and at the academic level the political

discourse was gendered and transformed to transnational feminism with help from the UN Decade for

Women (1976 - 1985) and the World Conferences for Women in Mexico (1975), Copenhagen (1980),

Nairobi (1985), and Beijing (1995) (Desai 2006).

During the 1970s and into the early 1980s most feminist theories addressed a single, basic question: how

can we account for women's subordination? As neither given by nature nor an accidental feature of

relations between men and women, this subordination had to be seen as social in origin (Jackson 1999).

Feminist theory is part of feminism where a triangle creates a feminist universe of women’s studies,

feminist theory and women’s liberation movements (Scott 2008: 141f). This universe of feminism

incorporates a view of reality which may frequently be in conflict with other ontological systems and for

that reason it can cause reactions that derive from its threat to other people’s realities (Wise & Stanley

1983: 145). Anthony Giddens6 follows this line of thought by saying that men have power and authority in

the society, and that they do have a profound interest in keeping those privileges. In other words they are

in opposition to feminism and will fight for their own privileges (2004: 839). At the Geneva Conference,

both Carol Cohn and Hillary Charlesworth emphasised that men do not want to share decision-making

power, and Cohn noted, that it is heartbreaking to watch how women in the organisations and movements

6 Anthony Giddens is a British sociologist, known for his holistic view of modern societies.


24

are struggling for change (FREIA 2010: 34ff). The Nigerian feminist scholar Molara Ogundipe-Leslie talks

about six mountains on the shoulders of the African woman, where the fifth mountain is the man, “steeped

in his centuries-old attitude of patriarchy which he does not wish to abandon because male domination is

advantageous to him” (James & Busia 1993: 113). When academics from the U.K., the U.S., Australia and

Nigeria register the same male behaviour, there must be some kind of universal habit that needs to be

dealt with in a common understanding. Feminists are called frustrated, miserable spinsters, castrators and

home wreckers; it calls for a broad shoulder to carry all these characteristics (Adeleye-Fayemi in Ricciutelli

et al. 2004: 110).

A comprehensive definition of patriarchy is giving by Olufemi Taiwo as “a set of social relations between

men, which have a material base, and which, though hierarchical, establish or create interdependence and

solidarity among men that enable them to dominate women. Even though, patriarchy is hierarchical and,

implicitly, some men are dominated of other men, both male dominator and male dominated are united in

their common objective of dominating women” (Oyewùmí 2003: 48). Patriarchal domination shares an

ideological foundation with racism and other forms of oppression, and this knowledge should be the

guiding star in feminist theories and practices (hooks 1989, Mtintso 2003). A theory is a way of approaching

realities and experiences, and feminism is a family of theories that explains the power structures that keep

women subordinated and oppressed and erases the artificial distinction between the private and the public

sphere (Facio in Ricciutelli et al. 2004: 378). Patriarchy is not the only oppressive system in the world.

Where patriarchy is oppressive from the inside and has women as the only target group, the hegemony of

capitalism creates oppression from the outside oppressing every member of the lower classes (Taiwo in

Oyewùmí 2003: 47). They are both of primary and equal importance when we look at different theories

within the paradigm of feminism.

However, it is a kind of minefield we are approaching where origin, age, race, and class are central to the

understanding of gender relations, locally and globally. Discrepancies emerge around black and white

feminism, between academics on the African continent and between feminists in general.

2.6 Global Sisterhood - Local Trouble

On the global scene, dissatisfaction emerged from women who were not white, who were not belonging to

the middle or upper class, and who were not educated. Judith Butler7 discusses the problem in Gender

7 Judith Butler is an American post-structuralist philosopher, who has contributed to the fields of feminism, queer theory, political

philosophy, and ethics. She is professor at the University of California, Berkeley.


25

Trouble and underlines the paradox that women’s trouble is defined to be universal and cross-cultural in

opposition to a universal and hegemonic structure of patriarchy while gender oppression mediates

differently depending on the cultural context (2006: 5).

Looking at South Africa, we have gender trouble and race trouble within the same nation in such a degree

that someone has called South Africa a country with two nations (Mtintso 2003: 572). According to Butler,

culture is a determining factor in women’s living conditions and has to be taken into consideration in the

discussions when it comes to universal values of feminism. Even if sisterhood is global, not all women’s lives

and experiences are identical. In different times and places, people have invested in a more general

struggle for social justice and have participated in and produced multiple histories of feminism (Gillis &

Munford 2004: 178).

In South Africa the colonisation and the apartheid system created a special connection between the national

liberation struggle and women’s liberation. At a conference in Johannesburg on the 17th of April 1954, about

150 women from all over South Africa and from different racial groups came together to share experiences

and to map a way forward (Gasa 2007: 212). The conference adopted a Women’s Charter where all the

apartheid legislations were firmly rejected and the Charter stated: “The law has lagged behind the

development of society; it no longer corresponds to the actual social and economic position of women. The

law has become an obstacle to the progress of women and therefore a brake on the whole society”. The

women addressed the men and warned them that they could not hope to liberate themselves from the evils

of discrimination and prejudice as long as they failed to extend to women’s complete and unqualified equality

in law and practice (Gasa 2007: 212f). Those women, who were, and still are, committed to challenge

patriarchal domination and to struggle to transform the position of women in society, play a leading role

and are called feminists (Horn 1995: 72). According to Jane Bennett8, “a key challenge for African feminists

remains the need to create knowledge which both emerge from the diverse and complex contexts in which

they live to such contexts with sufficient resonance to sustain innovative and transformative action” (2008:

1).

2.7 Different Kinds of Feminism

There are different brands of feminism. Some feminists believe that gender violence lies at the heart of

patriarchal domination and prioritise the feminist struggle towards violence against women; other issues

8 Jane Bennett is a feminist scholar from the African Gender Institute, University of Cape Town.


26

are the economy, the division of labour, and the creation of a society free of male dominance (Horn 1995:

72). Other feminists follow the political ideologies and call themselves Marxists, socialists, radical or critical

feminists. In short, Marxist-feminism sees the oppression coming from capitalism, socialist-feminism sees

the oppression coming from the patriarchal system, but they both find the germ of the problem in the

relationship between capitalism and the patriarchate (Ritzer 2007: 323ff). Radical feminists have an eye on

the patriarchal system, as well, and argue that there must be a relationship between theory and practice

which not only sees these as inextricable interwoven, but which sees experience and practice as the basis

of theory, and theory as the means of changing practice (Wise & Stanley 1983: 48).

Critical feminist theory, in which the capitalist system is looked upon as an exclusive, polarising, and

exploitative system and the structures in the society are considered patriarchal, seems a fair choice. Seyla

Benhabib, a feminist scholar with Turkish heritage, defines critical feminist theory as the theory that

uncovers the fact that historical and contemporary political systems contribute to the oppression and

exploitation of women. The theory is characterised by being reflective and by analysing women’s

oppression across history, cultures, and societies through critical, social-scientific research. The theory also

articulates a critique of the norms and values of our current society and culture and suggests new models

of togetherness (http.benhabib 2011).

Feminist theories are not right or wrong in how they represent the world “out there”. They provide

theoretical perspectives that can galvanise collective action as well as empower individual women; like

vectors of force they can open up ways of doing things and resonate with the experiences we live with our

bodies and hearts as well as our minds (Lorraine in Alcoff et al. 2007: 268ff).

The Indigenous South African feminism does not copy feminist theories or feminist movements from other

countries but they are part of a global discussion where the main subjects are race and gender; the

essence, in the conflict, is the difference between white and black feminism (Horn 1995: 72).

Race is used in bad faith to attack gender. Sometimes race, nationalism, and class are brought together

to attack gender politics (Ogundipe-Leslie 1994: 222). “I hold that people's identities are determined by the

cultures they carry, not by that nebulous category of race which is a political invention” says Ogundipe-

Leslie in “Re-Creating Ourselves” from 1994. She continues by stating that “Africa or Africans cannot be

generalised. We must always be aware of specifics while we describe our criteria for taxonomies. We

must acknowledge our delimitations and realise always that there are many kinds of Africans. We cannot


27

essentialize blackness, even on the African continent itself. Race, class and gender, among other variables

must mediate our discourses as they mediate our understanding of ourselves and each other. Race and class

also mediate gender for the three categories intersect each other at points” (Ogundipe-Leslie 1994: 217).

The U.S. feminist Oyèrónké Oyewùmí emphasises in African Women and Feminism: Reflecting On The

Politics Of Sisterhood that the biological similarity of all women cannot be taken for granted as the basis of

solidarity in the face of multitude of differences that emerge contextually; she continues by claiming that,

especially, white women at the level of scholarship occupy a position of power that has serious implications

for their relationship with women of other societies (2003: 40f). The black male professor Olufemi Taiwo

maintains that feminism is an aspect of the imperialism of culture, and Western feminists stand in a

relation to the women of Africa in exactly the same manner as their male counterparts do. He continues by

claiming that their desire is to demonise African men in the name of saving African women. Feminists, by

virtue of belonging to the dominant capitalist economies which oppress the rest of us, have all the

resources, the money, the journals, and the conferences, and they “secure the deeds of conveyance over

our realities merely by publishing one or two papers from one or two brief visits to Africa in the worst

traditions of safari scholarship”, says Taiwo (Oyewùmí 2003: 53). Another feminist scholar from the U.S.,

Mojúbàolú Olúfúnké Okome compares a Western feminist with the colonialist in Franz Fanon’s “The

Wretched of the Earth” from 1961. Maybe she is thinking of this passage: “The native must realise that

colonialism never gives anything away for nothing” (Fanon 1990: 114). She finds that the literature on

Women in Development (WID) grossly over-generalises the conditions of women in the African societies,

who are described as oppressed and downtrodden; they are treated as an undifferentiated mass of

humanity, and no one takes neither class nor status into consideration (Oyewùmí 2003: 69ff). Nkiru

Nzegwu is a professor and serves as Chair of Africana Studies at Binghamton University in New York. She

explains that imperialism is dynamic and the exploitative nature changes and becomes gendered when the

political, economic, and social character of dominance is constructed on racial and gender lines. She states,

that white women are acting exploitative when they use their racial and institutional privileges to racialize

others, to claim advantages, and to assert authority over women of colour (Oyewùmí 2003: 103).

Changing time and space, Tjenjiwe Mtintso9 from South Africa clears the point by taking her point of

departure in the legacy of apartheid. In general, the white minority always has had and continue to have

access to resources and tend to be relatively rich, while black people, who have been denied access to

9 Tjenjiwe Mtintso is one of the cofounder of Gender Links and is still serving at the Board. She is a former ANC activist, now

member of the ANC and South Africa’s ambassador to Italy.


28

resources, continue to be poor. The patriarchate keeps the inequalities between women and men alive,

and in South Africa the same inequality is evident between black and white women (Mtintso 2003: 572).

2.8 Contextualising feminism

In The Blackwell Guide to Feminist Philosophy, all the philosophers from the Western tradition are

presented. To mention a few: Aristotle, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Mill, Wollstonecraft, and Plato.

Prophetic pragmatism in the Western tradition is focusing on the plight of the wretched of the earth.

Racism and other evils in the world are confronted, yet without the expectation that all evils can necessarily

be eliminated. By combining pragmatism with feminism, we can reach beyond white academic hegemony.

As is true for feminism more broadly, pragmatist feminism cannot be effective if it focuses solely on gender

without taking race, class, and other significant aspects of lived experience into consideration. Philosophy

should be concerned with improving the lives of all men and women rather than solving artificial problems

created by academic philosophers, and if pragmatism and feminism in solidarity could expand the focus

beyond narrow white supremacy, maybe it will succeed (Sullivan in Alcoff et al. 2007: 75).

No matter how inclusive the philosophy is defined and how tolerant it seems, the practical gender needs

continue to be the major concern of black women. The majority of who are African, are poor, unemployed,

and living in rural areas. As one woman puts it, “(…) while you feminists are concerned with getting out of

the kitchen, our fight is to get a kitchen” (Mtintso 2003: 572).

Black feminist theorising is the understanding of race, class, and gender as simultaneous forces, they are all

social constructions and the discourse is defined of history and context (Brewer in James & Busia 1993: 16).

Mamphela Rampele, a South African academic and activist, locates feminism within the complexities of

race, class, gender and geographical location and finds feminism relevant to Africa because African women

are oppressed as women by race and class and within the patriarchy (Ogundipe-Leslie 1994: 228). African

women have a holistic attitude to feminism and do not see it as being oppositional to men, which often

separates them from their Western sisters. Women's conditions in Africa need to be addressed in the

environment of the total production and reproduction of their society and that scenario also involves men

and children. Black feminism has to be cast in the context of the race and class struggles which bedevil the

continent of Africa today, that is, in the context of the liberation of the total continent (Ogundipe-Leslie

1994: 225f).


29

Feminism in Africa is located in the continent’s historical realities of oppression and domination brought

about by colonialism, racism and neo-colonialism. Today, globalisation has brought marginalisation to the

continent. The interconnectedness of gender, race, ethnicity, poverty and class are placed at the centre of

the discourse. The co-founder of the African Women's Development Fund, Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi,

summarises African feminism in Feminists Politics, Activism and Vision as follows (Ricciutelli et al. 2004:

107ff):

Feminism did not ‘arrive’ in Africa via Western feminism. Many African feminist thinkers consider this presumption to be

an insult. Africa has one of the oldest civilisations. African women have always lived in deeply patriarchal societies and

have always found ways and means of resisting patriarchy.

Women’s experiences in liberation struggles provided an entry point into political and social activism in several African

countries.

A feminist perspective allows us to question the unfair use of women’s unremunerated labour in the private and public

sphere.

African feminist thought is anti-imperialist, anti-racist, socialist-oriented and keenly aware of the implications of social

injustices for society as a whole.

African feminism is born out of the experience of women at the grassroots level. It is interconnected with a global

feminism which has worked for gains for women around the world through the UN conferences and conventions, like the

BPFA and CEDAW.

Women are multidimensional in terms of their status, class, education, involvement in politics, activism in

the civil society, economy and experience, and they experience oppression differently. According to

Okome, this conceptualisation enables us to understand the existence of powerful as well as powerless

women in all spheres of life, and that is the starting point for more meaningful research on the global

nature of sisterhood among women. Like all women in the world, some African women are powerful,

influential, intelligent, and capable, some lack power and influence, and others are more powerful than

most men in their society (Oyewùmí 2003: 86f). United it should be possible to find a solution that will

satisfy both black and white women. The author Gloria Yamato of African-American descend emphasises

that people of colour expect and insist that whites are capable of being good allies against racism

(Andersen & Collins 2004: 103).

2.9 Postcolonial Feminism

Hena Ahmad, an academic from the U.S., is collecting the elements from black and white feminism in

postcolonial feminism, a theory that is born out of the postcolonial world. Postcolonial feminism is a

historically and politically framed theory that informs our awareness of forces underlying knowledge


30

production, of injustices against the disempowered and disenfranchised, and of hegemonic capitalist

economic practices that dehumanise the exploited (Ahmad 2010: 2). One of the main issues for

postcolonial feminists is to interrogate, perhaps even interrupt, the forms of globalisation now dictated by

the WB and other similar organisations and institutions, and challenge and question the hegemonic

national cultural practices and values that make lives of women oppressive (Ahmad 2010: 11). As

postcolonial intellectuals, we have to be responsible to the cultural and political struggles that define the

social being of once-colonised nations today, says Hena Ahmad (2010: 6).

According to Elizabeth Abel, a white professor from the University of California Berkeley, it should be

possible to expand the dialogue across and above racial boundaries, if we produce our readings cautiously

and locate them in a self-conscious and self-critical relation to black feminist writing; thereby, we can

broaden the spectrum of interpretation, illuminate the social determinants of reading, and deepen our

recognition of our racial selves (Abel et al. 1997: 102).

The feminist theories mentioned are all focusing on the patriarchy as an oppressive social system that

ought to be changed. The difference appears in the variables gender, class, race, and culture. As table 2.1

shows, there are similarities between the theories, and two of them “have it all”.

Table 2.1 Feminist theories

Feminism gender class race culture

Marxist x

Socialist x x

Radical x

Critical x x

African x x x x

Postcolonial x x x x

In April 1994, the apartheid system was overthrown by democracy with the ANC as the overall winner.

When the new millennium appeared, the UN came up with a Millennium Declaration (MD) and eight goals.

Especially, goal no. 3 with focus on gender equality and the empowerment of women is still extremely

relevant in a South African context. That is the reason why I ask the question:


31


Gender Equality?

By situating a combination of African and postcolonial feminism in the historical, political, and social

context of South Africa and using a feminist research ethic with its commitment to noticing power,

marginalisation, relationships, and the foundation of the researcher, the question will be analysed from a

human rights perspective with the complicated matrix male-white-poor-female-black-rich in mind.


32

3.0 The Human Rights Framework

Human Rights are presumed to be universal in character, but due to concerns relating to culture, the claim

of universality is hotly debated. Human beings come from different cultures with differing values and have

different opportunities, desires, and capabilities to perform or achieve these rights (Ries et al. 2010: 14). On

the other hand, universal rights can be very useful in the provision and funding of schemes to raise the

consciousness of whole populations, nations and the international community (Ogundipe-Leslie 1994:

114). Despite their apparent peculiarities and diversity, human beings and societies share certain

fundamental interests, qualities, norms and values that can be identified and articulated as the framework

for a common culture of universal human rights (An-Na’im in Goodale 2009: 70).

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) from 1948 is regarded as the mother of all declarations

and conventions concerning human rights. According to the website of the UN there are more than five

hundred of these documents. In the aftermath of WWII, there was a need in the international society to

put some human sense on paper, and that resulted in the formulation of general guidelines for human

behaviour. It has often been accused of being a Western project, but although representatives from Canada

and France had leading roles in the adoption of the UDHR, country representatives from Lebanon and China

was also in the Human Rights Drafting Committee, and countries around the globe provided proposals to

the Declaration. The UN was established in 1945 by 51 states but only 43 signed the UDHR in 1948

(http.un.history 2011). South Africa was one of the eight countries that abstained from voting, in part

because the Government was already laying the foundation for implementing an apartheid programme

which would systematically violate every one of the rights recognised in the UDHR (http.durbanet.hr 2011).

Turning to the feminist perspective, Peggy Antrobus, the Director of Women and Development at the

University of the West Indies, said twenty years ago that patriarchy and the devaluation of women,

although manifested differently within different societies, are almost universal. All women’s

unremunerated household work is exploited, we all have conflicts in our multiple roles, our sexuality is

exploited by men, media and the economy, we struggle for survival and dignity, and rich or poor, we are

vulnerable to violence (Charlesworth in Falk et al. 2008: 354). In the context of violence against women, the

human rights paradigm views all forms of violence against women’s bodies (e.g., rape, battering, homicide,

stalking, torture, and genital mutilation) as a violation of a person’s fundamental rights to freedom of

movement, personal dignity, and economic sustainability (Bumiller 2008: 132f). Human rights standards set


33

the minimum responsibility of the state to affirm antidiscrimination principles and to provide resources for

women and their families including health care, education, and other social services (Bumiller 2008: 146).

3.1 Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

By definition, human rights are universal standards that include all human beings. Article 2 in the UDHR

says: “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of

any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,

property, birth or other status”. Nevertheless, it has been necessary to define particular conventions to

express women’s rights and the first in a row is CEDAW, from 1979. This convention requires states to

commit themselves to efforts to end discrimination against women and to take all appropriate measures to

ensure that women enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms (Bumiller 2008: 132f). To cover up for

not mentioning violence against women, the General Recommendation 19 of the revised Convention from

1992 makes it clear that the definition of discrimination from CEDAW’s Article 110 includes acts that inflict

physical, mental or sexual harm of suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other deprivations of liberty,

and shall be pronounced gender-based violence or GBV (http.un.sa-cedaw 1998).

From a slow start, CEDAW has undergone a remarkable development and has become part of a global

awareness and acceptance of gender norms. This UN framework is being picked up by other kinds of UN

agencies and civil society organisations, and there is recognition from governments, said Susanne Zwingel,

at the Geneva Conference (FREIA 2010: 36). At the same event Carolyn Hannan called CEDAW an excellent

global gender framework; all parts of the UN should work with gender equality and Violence against

Women (VAW) should be a focal point in every institution under their respective mandate and in their

particular context (FREIA 2010: 11).

South Africa ratified CEDAW in December 1995 without any reservations, although it is the Convention with

the greatest number of reservations of all conventions, a serious constraint on its practical efficacy. States

are undertaking to eliminate all aspects of social, economic and cultural life that contribute to women’s

inequality. In reality, the normative systems of gender-based oppression have been constructed and are

10

"discrimination against women" shall mean any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect

or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a

basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or

any other field.


34

fully operational around the world, where human rights are taken up in quite different ways in different

contexts according to the strategies and means of those who use them - a critical constraint for the

implementation of CEDAW (James 1992, Nash 2002).

With CEDAW came a reporting system, where countries on request deliver reports to the Committee on the

Elimination of Discrimination against Women, who on their part conducts an evaluation with appreciations

and concerns. South Africa delivered a baseline report in 1998, signed by President Nelson Mandela, and in

2009 came a combined report covering the period 1998-2008. Both reports will be used in the analysis.

3.2 Landmarks in the UN history

One of the few former female presidents in the world, Mary Robinson11, has spent most of her life as a

human rights advocate. In the foreword to Where Human Rights Begin she underlines the importance of

the three international UN conferences in Vienna 1993, Cairo 1994, and Beijing 1995 and calls them

landmark conferences by which human rights and particularly women’s rights got a place on the

international agenda (Chavkin & Chesler 2005: xi). Before those three conferences, The United Nations

first-ever women’s conference was held in Mexico City in 1975 and marked the beginning of the UN decade

for women 1976-1985. Through the Conference it became clear that the global feminist movement is

deeply rooted in the women’s movements around the world, not solely in Western nations, and there were

differences: Women from industrial countries emphasised gender equality in the workplace and in the

home, where women from developing countries asked how women can achieve equality when they,

together with the men, were living under repressive regimes such as the apartheid system in South Africa

(Snyder in Ferree & Tripp 2006: 24f).

In the beginning of the 1990s, the apartheid system was on retreat and the World Conference on Human

Rights in Vienna in 1993 confirmed women’s rights as integral to all human rights and accorded priority to

women’s participation in every aspect of life, free from discrimination (Chavkin & Chesler 2005: 271). The

Vienna Declaration highlighted GBV and other forms of discrimination against women and was remarkable

in addressing South Africa directly by appreciating the dismantling of apartheid, but also deploring the

continuing acts of violence in the country (http.unhcr.ch 1993).

11

Mary Robinson has law degrees from the King's Inns in Dublin and from Harvard University. She came to the United Nations after a seven-year tenure as President of Ireland, and became the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in 1997. Today, she works for sustainable development from a human rights perspective and is head of The Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice, http://www.mrfcj.org/.


35

After The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo 1994, where equal

partnership among men and women both in private and public life was high on the agenda, the peace torch

of the network “African Women in Crisis” was lit by President Nelson Mandela and carried across Africa to

the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing 1995 (Snyder in Ferree & Tripp 2006: 24f).

The final declaration from the Conference included 12 special points of concern, which, also today, are the

stepping stones in the work for gender equality (http.unesco.beijin 2011):

1. The persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women.

2. Inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to education and training.

3. Inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to health care and related services.

4. Violence against women.

5. The effects of armed or other kinds of conflict on women, including those living under foreign occupation.

6. Inequality in economic structures and policies, in all forms of productive activities and in access to resources.

7. Inequality between men and women in the sharing of power and decision-making at all levels.

8. Insufficient mechanisms at all levels to promote the advancement of women.

9. Lack of respect for and inadequate promotion and protection of the human rights of women.

10. Stereotyping of women and inequality in women's access to and participation in all communication systems.

11. Gender inequalities in the management of natural resources and in the safeguarding of the environment.

12. Persistent discrimination against and violation of the rights of the girl child.

Together, these twelve points became the BPFA and formulated the agenda for the future work on gender

equality and women’s rights. It is a strategic tool with tangible demands for action, e.g. one of the causes of

action to end GBV is to “enact and enforce legislation against the perpetrators of practices and acts of

violence against women, such as female genital mutilation, female infanticide, prenatal sex selection and

dowry-related violence, and give vigorous support to the efforts of non-governmental and community

organisations to eliminate such practices” (http.un.bpfa 1995).

Building on the foundational work of activists worldwide, women’s issues was positioned squarely within

the context of human rights, and Beijing became the first UN women’s conference in which “women’s

rights are human rights” was articulated not as a platitude but as a strategic assertion (Burnham in

Andersen & Collins 2004: 377).


36

3.3 The Millennium Development Goals

To celebrate the new millennium and to clarify the good intentions of the United Nations establishment,

the organisation elaborated a new concept and eight new goals that “collectively herald a vision for a more

just and equal world” (http.unifem 2010). The Millennium Declaration has the following main points: peace

& security including disarmament, development and poverty eradication, protecting our common

environment, human rights, democracy and good governance, protecting the vulnerable, meeting the

special needs of Africa, and strengthening the UN (http.un.md 2000). Of interest to this Thesis, the MD

states that these rights and opportunities of women and men must be assured, and that all nations shall

combat all forms of violence against women and implement CEDAW (http.un.md 2000). As an extension

came eight MDGs:

1. Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

2. Achieve Universal Primary Education

3. Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

4. Reduce Child Mortality

5. Improve Maternal Health

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases

7. Ensure Environmental Sustainability

8. Develop a Global Partnership for Development

The target year for achieving the MDGs is 2015. Every goal is followed by one or more targets and every

target has several indicators. Goal no. 3 is special because it contains elements from all the other goals and

is the only one that fulfilled will have an effect on all the MDGs (Barton 2005, Heyzer 2005). High-profiled

persons like UNDP administrator Helen Clark, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Head of UN Women

Michelle Bachelet agree on the words: “Investing in women and girls is a breakthrough strategy for

achieving all the MDGs”, based on a speech by Jon Lomoy from OECD at a symposium in Helsinki June 2010

(http.oecd 2010). The target under MDG3 is to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary

education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015, and the three indicators are

ratios of girls to boys in the education system, share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural

sector, and proportion of seats held by women in national parliament. South Africa score highly on all of the

three indicators with almost parity in the education system, more than 40% women in the Parliament, and

more than 40 % women in the workforce. By focusing the target on education, MDG3 has been interpreted

in the narrowest sense with exclusion of all the other barriers to gender equality, such as the devastating


37

impact that GBV has on women’s lives (Hayes 2005: 67). The human rights framework forbids trade-offs

being made between economic growth and GE, positions poor women as key actors in the development

process, and is more interested in processes than outcome (Hayes 2005: 69). On the African continent, the

African Women’s Millennium Initiative for Fighting Poverty Through Gender Equality (AWOMI) seeks to use

the MDG3 as a stepping stone towards realisation of the Beijing recommendations (Barton 2005: 32).

The MDGs are interconnected with the BPFA and the global conferences held in the 1990s; these were

founded on international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and CEDAW

(Painter 2005: 82). Building the links between CEDAW, the BPFA, and the MDGs shows that the latter are

not lofty global commitments but concrete human rights obligations which changes the discourse from a

language of will and commitment to a language of duty and obligation (Painter 2005: 85). The human rights

approach and a feminist perspective linked to the MDGs brings accountability mechanisms into the MDG

process, encourages sex-disaggregation of data and provide us with tools to challenge inequality and

injustice caused by features of the prevailing neo-liberal model of development (Nnaemeka & Ezeilo 2005,

Johnson 2005, Painter 2005).

3.4 The dialectics of history

The arrival of colonialism in 1652 changed the whole socio-economic set up for the indigenous people.

Borders that have been created around Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Swaziland were a

result of a scramble for control between the contending colonial masters, especially Britain, France and

Portugal (Thobejane 2010: 90f). Understanding and addressing the human rights concerns of women of

African descent must be done within socioeconomic, political, and cultural contexts, keeping in mind the

legacy of colonialism and the capitalist tendencies of neo-colonialism that have continued unabated the

exploitation of women (Nnaemeka & Ezeilo 2005: 5). A very large percentage of the population - among

them many of the most desperately poor in the world - are being sacrificed on the altar of the neo-liberal

logic of global capitalism (Saul in Barnard & Farred 2004: 661).

African women have not always accepted without protest the deterioration of their position. The transfer

of rights from women to men was often felt to be an injustice committed by the Europeans. People in the

Transkei12 wanted to restore to women the rights they had to land in the old society, but was turned down

12

Transkei was the first of four territories to be declared independent of South Africa during apartheid. In 1994, it was reintegrated into its larger neighbour and became part of the Eastern Cape Province.


38

by bureaucracy (Taiwo in Oyewùmí 2003: 63). Ogundipe-Leslie has a different view on the African history;

even in matrilineal societies, women were still subordinated to men and there was negative discrimination

against women. From the traditional past come genital mutilation and the dress-code, purdah. Other

attitudinal forms are also inherited from the past, e.g. the notions of the physical control of the woman’s

body and its products; she is but a beast that produces the man’s children on his behalf. These attitudes

have lasted into the modern period in the fields of politics, law, and philosophy of life, and serious work has

to be done to educate whole populations out of these attitudes and notions. (Ogundipe-Leslie 1994: 112f).

History is nobody’s fault, but everybody’s responsibility (Busia et al. 1994: 265).

3.5 A cocktail of treaties and the SADC Protocol

The African continent is struggling with the legacy of colonialism and the historical background. Despite the

obstacles, the African women have a contribution to make to the debate on human rights (Nzenza-Shand in

Nnaemeka & Ezeilo 2005: 64). In 2002, a SADC Regional Women’s Parliamentary Caucus was formed to

advocate and lobby for the increased representation of women in SADC parliaments, which resulted in a

goal of 30% female-held seats of the SADC member countries13 in 2005 and a goal of 50% of female

representation in the regions parliaments in 2015 (Tripp et al. 2009: 159).

In the SADC region, a mixture of CEDAW and the MDGs came into force in 2008 by the initiative of the

regional NGO, Gender Links. The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development came with the same time

schedule as the MDGs and is framed as an operational guide to GE where 28 targets have a timeline that

ends in 201514; at that time gender equality and equity shall be part of the Constitutions in SADC Member

States, and by the same year, States Parties shall enact and enforce legislation prohibiting all forms of

gender based violence, and ensure that perpetrators of GBV, including domestic violence, rape, sexual

harassment, FGM, and all other forms of GBV are tried by a court of competent jurisdiction (http.sadc

2008). Every year, the SADC Gender Protocol Barometer (the Barometer) is published by Gender Links for

every country in the region and the results for South Africa is commented in the analysis in chapter 5.

3.6 Human Rights in South Africa

In 1948, a white nationalist party came into power in South Africa and imposed an apartheid system that

became legendary in its cruelty. The black South Africans were systematically stripped of their rights and

13

Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. 14

Appendix 3 on page 100 shows the 28 targets.


39

humanity, and the black women were objectified as the bodies through which the black population grew

(Nnaemeka & Ezeilo 2005: 4). In The Power of Human Rights, International Norms and Domestic Change,

David Black explains that, what set South Africa apart from all other human rights violators and placed its

domestic policies firmly on the international agenda, was the denial of equal civil, political, social, and

economic rights to some citizens solely on the basis of race (Risse et al. 1999: 80). The international

community considered South Africa as a legitimate target for sanctions on the normative ground of anti-

racism, and in this context, it is significant that international criticism and isolation of apartheid South

Africa was justified not simply on the basis of the UDHR but was buttressed by the specific Conventions on

the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965) and the Suppression and Punishment of the

Crime of Apartheid (1973); the practical consequence of this distinct normative basis for action was that

the campaign against apartheid was able to mobilise a broader base of supporters than any other human

rights campaign to date (Black in Risse et al. 1999: 80). There was pressure from the inside, long before the

international society came into action. In the anti-apartheid movement, the ANC became the most

important organisation and the most well-known outside the borders of South Africa. Since the first

democratic election in 1994, the ANC has had the majority in Parliament, and the first president, Nelson

Mandela, was a leading figure in the resistance and an icon for not only the South Africans but for anti-

apartheid activists around the world. The history of the apartheid era in South Africa deserves more space,

but unfortunately it is outside the topic of this Thesis to go into greater detail with this period that shook

not only South Africa, but the whole international community. In the transition from apartheid to a

democratic regime, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a leading figure and he preached forgiveness:

"Having looked the beast of the past in the eye, having asked and received forgiveness and having made amends, let

us shut the door on the past – not in order to forget it but in order not to allow it to imprison us. Let us move into the

glorious future of a new kind of society where people count, not because of biological irrelevancies or other

extraneous attributes, but because they are persons of infinite worth created in the image of God …"

(http.justice.report 1995).

Because the conflict during this period resulted in violence and human rights abuses from all sides, the

government decided to set up the TRC to heal the wounds from the apartheid period, counting incidents

from 1960 and forward (http.justice.za 1995). The final report draws attention to the special conditions for

women, who were banished, abducted and in exile. They were subjected not only to physical torture but

also to extreme mental torment; they suffered from sexual humiliation, were degraded when menstruating

and lived in an ever-constant fear of rape; the psychological abuse included threats to do harm to their

children and other members of their family (http.justice.report 1995).


40

Running parallel to the TRC process was the adoption of a new South African Constitution and Bill of Rights

(1996) by Parliament. In Engendering Human Right, Cultural and Socioeconomic Realities in Africa, Jeanelle

de Gruchy and Laurel Baldwin-Ragaven enlighten how the feminists embarked on well-organised and

effective actions to ensure that the new constitution reflected the interests of women and promoted

gender equality (Nnaemeka & Ezeilo 2005: 40). As a result, the Bill of Rights contains clauses that both

substantively and procedurally safeguard women’s rights. Of significance are guarantees enshrined in more

than one place that safeguard reproductive rights. In addition, legislation has been enacted to protect and

expand constitutional rights: the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act (1997) has strengthened the

reproductive freedom of women in South Africa, and the Domestic Violence Act (1999) aims to combat the

high levels of violence against women. The feminists express concern that these gains, representing

significant and positive political shifts, may be compromised because of lack of transformation in the

sectors responsible for their implementation, and because of the legacy of apartheid that has the potential

to sabotage these important developments (Gruchy & Baldwin-Ragaven in Nnaemeka & Ezeilo 2005: 40).


41

4.0 Concepts and Conferences

4.1 Violence Against Women

Violence Against Women (VAW) concerns women while Gender-Based Violence (GBV) concerns both men

and women. The concepts are closely related but they are not the same. Because the focus of this Thesis is

on women the two concepts are united and the definition of GBV is used to cover both. The term gender-

based violence is used to distinguish violence that targets individuals or groups of individuals on the basis of

their gender from other forms of violence. It includes any act which results in, or is likely to result in,

physical, sexual or psychological harm. GBV includes violent acts such as rape, torture, mutilation, sexual

slavery, forced impregnation and murder (Gender Links GBV 2011). Violence against women often entails a

sophisticated and systematic wearing down of a woman’s autonomy and self-esteem on spiritual,

emotional and mental levels, well before the first blow is struck. A high number of instances are devoid of

physical contact until the last stage of execution (Sexwale in Afshar & Maynard 1994: 198f).

Domestic violence is part of GBV and for many years, the central question about victims of domestic

violence was why the women were staying with their violent partner. In The Blackwell Guide to Feminist

Philosophy, women’s choices to leave or stay are explained as seriously constrained by the social

circumstances that define the limited options available to battered women: The social construction of

masculinity, which may push men toward violent behaviour and push women to accept such behaviour as

normal; sexual discrimination in the workplace; police who do not arrest and courts that do not convict

abusers (Hirschmann in Alcoff & Kittay 2007: 153). For every report of a murder of a spouse, there is often

a long history of both psychological and physical abuse as well as the woman’s frustrated efforts to seek

protection and stability. The more complete story might focus on not only the final acts of violence by the

perpetrator but the hazards of seeking help within the current social and legal system (Bumiller 2008: 17f).

Violence against women is rooted in a patriarchal culture and a hierarchical social structure where

domination and the use of force becomes part of the social order; the violence is a process that occurs at

different levels (psychological, physical) which are interrelated and can be mutually reinforcing. This social

matrix of violence is supported by ideology and language, among other aspects of culture, in sum,

mechanisms which are used to both justify and legitimise GBV (Sexwale in Afshar & Maynard 1994, Caprioli

2004, Bumiller 2008).


42

The stereotyping of women as passive and men as aggressive was counteracted by a new feminist ideology,

in the early 1970s. The purpose of the feminist campaigns against sexual violence was to dismantle the

myths about rape victims and battered women in which women were ascribed the characteristics of

inviting to violence, enjoying brutality, and deserving punishment (Bumiller 2008: 16). Ideology and culture

are built on myths and we have a universal ideology, patriarchy that subordinates women to men with the

consequence that this structural inequality of power creates the conditions for the social control of women.

In the journal Security Dialogue, Mary Caprioli argues that gendered violence relies on stereotyping women

as inferior to men and results in prejudice and exclusion; women are still relegated to second-class status

that makes them more vulnerable to abuse and less able to protect themselves from discrimination and

violence. She concludes by saying, that inequality between men and women is an impediment to

sustainable peace (2004: 414).

In Women, Gender, and Human Rights, Sally Engle Merry explains the complexity in the development of an

international approach to gender violence. Conceptualising GBV as human rights violations through

conventions on the rights of women typically require states that ratify them to change cultural practices

concerning sexuality, marriage, and the family, in particular cultural practices concerning dowry deaths, son

preference, female infanticide, honour killings, and FGM (Merry in Agosín 2001: 90f). According to the UN,

GBV is a fundamental violation of women’s rights that remains widespread and is affecting all countries in

the world. What women need is strong laws, backed by implementation and services for protection and

prevention (http.unwomen.vaw 2011). In January 2011, the executive director of UN-Women, Michelle

Bachelet, proclaimed that the new office will work closely with other UN agencies in a combined effort to

empower local authorities and women’s groups to combat violence against women and girls in public

places. The goal is to end VAW by enabling states to set up the mechanisms needed to formulate and

enforce laws, policies and services that protect women and girls and promote the involvement of men and

boys (http.unwomen.statement 2011).

VAW has been an area in which there has been considerable international mobilisation, especially after

1995 where the issue was placed in the BPFA with the statement, that “violence against women

throughout the life cycle derives essentially from cultural patterns, in particular the harmful effects of

certain traditional or customary practices and all acts of extremism linked to race, sex, language or religion

that perpetuate the lower status accorded to women in the family, the workplace, the community, and

society” (http.un.bpfa 1995) .


43

South Africa is one of the countries on the African continent that has passed legislations regarding domestic

violence and a new ministry for Women, Youth, Children and People with Disability was announced in 2009.

While mechanisms promoting formal gender equality in South Africa are considerable, the good protective

legislation, supporting women's and girl’s rights, now in place, is often inaccessible to those who are poor,

uneducated, or lack the social capital to mobilise resources on their own behalf, which means that

substantive gender equality is far from achieved, particularly in relation to discriminating gender norms and

roles, and excessive levels of violence against women and girls (Ewlukwa in Nnaemeka & Ezeilo 2005,

Hochfeld & Bassadien 2007).

Despite a supportive constitution and a significant female presence in Parliament, post-apartheid South

Africa has one of the highest rape rates in the world, and the much praised Truth and Reconciliation

Commission ignored, for the most part, evidence of sexual violence, according to Jane Parpart15, who also

refers to field work in Cape Town where young men continue to believe that women out alone after dark

are “asking to be raped” (2010: 4). The development literature on women and empowerment urges rape

victims to become empowered by speaking out, but South African rape victims are often reluctant to speak

out in public (Parpart 2010: 4).

One regional NGO, Gender Links, with head office in Johannesburg, has decided to walk the talk by

initiating a Gender Violence Indicators Project that comprises of six methodologies, namely the Prevalence

and Attitudes Survey, Qualitative Research, Administrative Data Analysis, the Burden of GBV on society,

Political Discourse Analysis, and Media Monitoring of GBV. In April 2010, data collection in the Prevalence

and Attitudes Survey began in the Gauteng province in South Africa, where household interviews were

conducted amongst men and women over the age of 18 (Walter & Lowe-Morna 2010: 64f). Knowing the

true state of the problem will help government and gender activists to develop strategies and programmes

for moving forward to make real change on the ground, says the executive director of Gender Links, Colleen

Lowe Morna. While statistics are important, and we need to know the facts behind the problem, the voices

and stories of those most affected can paint a very personal picture of this complex issue. As part of a

healing and empowering process, GL took the initiative to start the “I” stories, and gave the violated

15

Until recently, Jane Parpart was Professor of Development Studies, Gender Studies and History at University of Dalhousie, Halifax, Canada. Within development studies her main focus is on women, gender and development. She is past president of the Canadian Association for African Studies, from which she recently received a lifetime achievement award. She is also Visiting Professor in Political Science at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, and Visiting Professor in Development Studies at Mbarara University in Uganda.


44

women a voice. In The South African “I” Stories experience - Speaking out can set you free, Sweetness

Gwebu attributes these characteristics to GBV:

“Gender violence knows no class, no age, no status core and no tradition. You may be poor as a church mouse, or be

rich, living in a luxurious house, and still you have no peace if you are in an abusive situation. Abuse attacks like a slow

poison and destroys you physically, mentally and spiritually. Abuse does not knock at the door when it comes, but it

creeps in unexpectedly in a quite happy marriage and damages it, steady but sore. Abuse, in whatever form, drains

the mind and one's self-esteem and leaves you helpless and brainwashed, hoping for an undefined change of the

situation” (Walter & Lowe-Morna 2010: 16).

In many cases the abuse escalates to being life threatening, and a terrible example of GBV will end this

section (Walter & Lowe-Morna 2010: 17):

“In 2001, he came home just after midnight and woke me up demanding a cup of tea. I declined and he became

aggressive. He threatened to shoot me to death. I woke up went to the kitchen in tears, plugged the kettle to make

tea. Reaching for the cup in the cupboard, for some reason I decided to turn and as I did so, he released the trigger

and shot me. Fortunately, the bullet did not go straight into my head but became lodged close to my scalp. - Walking

away with nothing. By Mmabatho Moyo”

4.2 Neo-liberal ideology It is difficult to discuss political, social and cultural issues without mentioning the dominant ideology, neo-

liberalism. Sources, used in this Thesis, make references to neo-liberalism, and therefore, it is convenient to

make a short introduction to the concept. The influence of the neo-liberal ideology can be identified as

powerful influence on foreign policies. The liberal economic order has been transformed into what is today

known as the neo-liberal order and has been promoted from the offices of the WB and the IMF. The leading

economies with the U.S. in front view the principles of liberalised globalisation as faultless and there is no

reliable alternative to them. Globalised liberalism is declared the means to the end of poverty and the

route towards economic prosperity everywhere seriously implemented. The market policies of neo-

liberalism largely consist of macro-economic policies that aim to privatise, deregulate, and liberalise in

order to achieve an open global market economy. Overcoming poverty and scarceness is often seen as

basis for a peaceful environment without violence (Ries et al. 2010: 52).


45

4.3 Gender Justice and Local Government Summit

It was not difficult to make the decision to go to South Africa in March 2011. I needed to come closer to the

topic of the Thesis, and I needed to meet people who could give valuable input and boost the empiricism.

Of course, there were some practical details such as the economy, getting permission to attend, where to

stay, and how to get along in a violent society. I went to the website of the Danish Ministry of Foreign

Affairs to get travel information about South Africa and found serious warnings:

Travellers to South Africa ought to be careful because of high risk of crime, e.g. armed robbery, attack, hijacking, and

theft. One of the places where there is high risk of being a target of crime is in the centre of the big cities. It is not

advisably to walk around alone and it is recommended to consult people with local knowledge or to participate in

arranged visits. It is a good idea to have emergency numbers ready in the cell-phone.

Translated from http://um.dk/da/rejse-og-ophold/rejse-til-udlandet/rejsevejledninger/sydafrika/.

On the plane to Johannesburg a white woman confirmed the warnings from the Ministry. One of her

daughters, in her twenties, was still suffering from a robbery where she had been held up at gun point. Her

boy, who is nineteen years old, met a burglar in the house who searched through the house for things of

value and stole their car. After that incident she bought a smaller house. She told me: “You will see

neighbourhoods with high walls, barbed wires and alarms”, and expressed real concern for my safety. In

the end, it all worked out fine and I came home with many impressions and new friends from the SADC

region.

For the second time, Gender Links was the organiser of the Gender Justice and Local Government Summit. It

is an umbrella organisation cooperating in the SADC region with organisation’s that respect human rights

and work on basis of the SADC Protocol. GL works with NGOs like themselves, with local government

authorities, gender ministries, municipalities and journalists. The projects and programmes are closely

linked and for convenience they are divided into the following four areas of work:

1. Gender and the media

2. Gender justice

3. Gender and governance

4. The SADC Gender Protocol campaign

GL organises workshops, campaigns, meetings and summits. The employees and interns are journalists and

social scientists, which is reflected in the professional website, the published books, and the many reports


46

produced, e.g. Roadmap to Equality and the SADC Gender Protocol Barometer. The annual Barometer

measures progress by governments against the 28 targets for the attainment of gender equality by 2015.

Gender justice is the most contested terrain among gender NGOs, and in this area GL has moved from

campaigns to action plans and are now creating pilot projects in three countries. The preliminary findings

from a pilot project in South Africa were launched at the Summit, and I have chosen to use this research

project together with a discourse analysis of South African Government official speeches to illustrate the

status of gender equality in South Africa.

Pictures from the Summit are shown on page 97 to 99. It could look like a safari scholarship like the one

Taiwo is talking about in chapter 2; however, I will only use my impressions as add-on’s to the academic

work done by the scholars from GL.

The summit is a yearly event for members of NGOs, councillors, ministers and others who work for Gender

Justice. The participants were presented with a full program from early morning to late in the evening

during the three days. The full program is a book of 123 pages, and two days were occupied with

presentations of projects and campaigns in eight categories:

Table 4.1 Summit categories

Category Entrance Examples of activities to fight GBV

Centres of Excellence 22 Gender budgets, GM, Action Plans, street lights, listening centres

Women empowerment 22 Sensitization workshops, income generating activities, dung cakes

Support 16 Shelters and hotlines for women, sensitization, cutting grass

Response 12 Shelter and psychological intervention, light on the road, legal action

Prevention 13 Using the media, sensitization campaigns, raise awareness

Leadership 18 Councillors tell about their initiatives within GE, GM, and GBV

16 Days 9 Campaigns like “reclaim the night” shall raise awareness of GBV

Institutional 12 Gender action plans, GM, drop-in centres, network for men

A chairperson was leading the presentations and discussions. Each presenter had 15 minutes (7 for

presentations and 8 for questions). At every event a voting officer and a rapporteur from GL were present

and a presiding judge with two or three judges were asking questions and giving points to the presentations

by using scorecards. The audience was allowed to vote for one of the presentations but the judges had the

decisive vote. It was a highly professional setup, and everyone in the room, both the people with a special


47

appointment and the audience where addressing the issue, seriously. Female entrants won eighteen

awards or commendations and male participants won eight from a field of candidates and projects which

judges called innovative and groundbreaking. From South Africa, Boikanyo Modise won in the 16 Days of

Activism category, scooping top prize because of his success in targeting men through the “Real men don’t

rape” campaign, and Mvula ka Mnisi won in the Prevention category for a project that focuses on the

family, bringing communities together with the public and private sector, religious leaders and civil society.

We were 265 peoples from the SACD region including a judge from the UK, a Danish IBIS employee from

Mozambique and a Danish student from Aalborg, and, according to my judgement, the percentage of

awards to the men reflected the amount of men, attending the Summit, about one third of the participants.

On the third day of the Summit, I had the opportunity to visit Soweto and to experience the atmosphere in

the centre of Johannesburg. I got a deep impression of how hopeless live must be, when the only way of

earning money is running between cars and asking people to buy random articles like key rings or begging

for money. I saw only young men. The women were selling fruit and vegetables on the streets of

Johannesburg, and in Soweto, I saw women sitting under shady trees with their baby’s, selling food. No

doubt, the informal trade is important, and the women in that particular business need special protection.

A representative of the informal workers made a speech at the Summit and gave a picture of what it means

to be an informal business woman. In chapter 5, the speech will be summarised.

It was the second Gender Justice and Local Government Summit, and therefore there was room for

improvement. I was locked up in a hot bus most of the third day because of the traffic jam around

Johannesburg, and like the other passengers in the bus, I wish to have spent more time in Soweto. We just

passed Mandela’s house, Orlando West no. 8115, and the memorial place for the schoolchildren that were

killed in 1976. A woman from the Council of Johannesburg showed us a workshop for women filled with

sewing machines. There was only one woman present and she was painting the South African flag on a

tennis shoe. I wonder why women always have to get activated by sewing. We saw a little shop where

women sold necklaces, bracelets and other things in textile made after local tradition, and we raised the

sale a little bit that day. We had no time to discuss the activities or the business with anyone from the local

community, and I had the feeling that it would be possible to do more, for example develop further on the

business and upgrade the shop to the Internet.

The Summit and Awards ended with a gala dinner and celebration of the Gender Links 10-year anniversary

and the launch of Giant Footprints, a commemorative book looking back on the 10 years of Gender Links


48

existence. It was an overwhelming and very impressive event. The celebration was funded by an unknown

sponsor, but that did not ruin the experience. Although, it seemed luxurious and the money could have

been used to prevent gender-based violence, I felt it was right that people, who works with serious issues

on an everyday basis, gets the opportunity to have a good time with likeminded.

4.4 Gender Politics in International Governance

Switching back in time and taking the issue to the international level, I participated at a Conference in

Geneva in October 2010. Feminists from Europe, Australia, Canada and the U.S. were gathered to talk

about gender politics in international governance. When UN Member States sign conventions and

declarations they become mutually dependent in an international legal framework; what happens on the

international level then triggers down to the local level.

The only official representative from the African continent was the keynote speaker, Bineta Diop, from

Senegal representing the organisation “Femmes Africa Solidarité” (FAS). She said that we have not

achieved enough to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Beijing. Partnership and cooperation are the future,

where the UN should report and the implementation should be in the hands of the NGO’s. Bineta Diop told

us how important it is for girls to have good role models. In Liberia, many of the girls want to be Ellen

Johnson, the president. She also emphasised that there is gender-parity in the African Union with 5 female

commissioners, but they were not selected from the women’s movement, that is why she, later in her

speech, pointed out the importance of the right people in the right places.

In appendix 1 on page 89, the official speakers are presented, many of them with great experience in

gender and human rights studies. I will mention a few of the most important statements and as you may

have noticed, I make references to the Geneva Conference where it is appropriate. On page 93 and 94

pictures from the Conference are shown.

Carolyn Hannan, talked about the new UN office: UN-Women can draw up visions for gender equality, keep

the pressure on and facilitate geographical integration, not least, demand accountability from stakeholders.

The focus on the national level is critical and the question is: How can we use the resources for the benefit

of the women on the ground? Madeleine Rees said that the NGO’s are important, but they are starving.

We have lost the plot, completely; we must not lose the gender focus. Gender mainstreaming is important,

and it is essential that UN-women gets a gender-budget. There is an awful lot of work to do, and we need

support from national institutions and civil society. Gender aware macro-economic models should


49

transform theory into practice and political suggestions. Gülay Çağlar pointed out that gender budgeting

went from New Zealand to South Africa, came to the international level and triggered down to the national

level in many countries. Shahra Razavi had an eye on women’s burden as the reproductive sex, and the

unequal terms on the labour market which were illustrated by the visible circle of unequal care. We need

social development without the Washington Consensus. Learning and knowledge are important together

with investments in social development. Social movements are necessary to implement what all the

Declarations say. The elites rule on the labour market and for that reason, we need social forces to back the

realisation of rights or else they will stay on paper, Razavi concludes. Brigitte Young had this comment to

the financial situation: Einstein said that the same kind of thinking that creates the problem cannot solve it,

but most of the men, who created the crisis, are still in charge in the financial sector. Kate Bedford

criticised the World Bank: The WB is still drawing on the limited model of loving couples, caring men and

the normative and substantial value of heterosexuality. The feminist view is critical and questions the

mainstream economy and mainstream structures. We look at Women’s Human Rights and sexual freedom,

and we do not regard female households as victims of male-abandoning. Jacqui True gave this definition of

Gender Equality: It is dynamic, changes over time and is often contradictive, and pointed out, that norms

are not just good things. How they emerge and how they evolve reflect the meaning of the powerful in the

society. Claudia von Braunmühl gave this warning: Putting sexual violence on the agenda could give the

impression, that women are vulnerable and a special group that needs protection, giving support to the old

social construction of the male as the protector. It could also put states in opposition to Gender

Mainstreaming, Human Rights and Gender Equality. Carol Cohn noted that the hierarchy of power in the

society, this special form of intersectionality, is important to analyse, to be able to decide which women we

want in place. Gender offers the key of ideas, meanings, metaphors and assumptions through which power

is expressed and constituted. If we are trying to get women into the police or the military, it is important

that we know, how these institutions are thinking about gender, in particular about masculinity. Susanne

Zwingel told that, in a broader context, CEDAW is part of a global awareness and acceptance of gender

norms. The UN framework on Human Rights and Women’s Rights is no longer unknown, and CEDAW is now

picked up by other kinds of UN agencies and civil society organisations, and there is recognition from

governments. Despite the recognition, there is a gap between rhetoric and material support. Hilary

Charlesworth reminded us, that International law builds on a set of universal values and can make a bridge

to national legal systems. If we look at CEDAW, rules have been shaped in the light of women’s life, and

now we need feminist norms, but more important, feminist method’s to give these legal standards some

bias, she concluded.


50

The South African Government has implemented the international legal system in the local legislation

where human rights are the framework, and the international system of reports has been accepted by the

South African administration. Some of the data in the analysis emerge from the international acknowledged

reporting systems based on CEDAW and the MDGs.


51

5.0 Gender Equality in South Africa

5.1 Introduction

A feminist human rights approach to development requires more than just identifying that women are an

adversely affected group, but analysing why (Painter 2005: 86). In the executive summary of the CEDAW

Country Report 2009, the legacy of apartheid is pointed out to affect women’s lives and results in

widespread discrimination and underdevelopment which become visible in areas such as women’s high

levels of illiteracy, unemployment, poverty, and gender-based violence (http.un.sa-cedaw 2009: 9ff). Race

problems are basic to any understanding of the societies of Southern Africa, said the Nigerian feminist

Molara Ogundipe-Leslie in 1994, the year where South Africa transformed from apartheid to democracy,

and there are indications that the burden of race problems and apartheid still exists.

From colonial times, the wealthy countries have had their interest directed towards the African continent,

and with the United Nations highly influenced by the well-off countries, the UN Millennium Declaration got

a special section with the noble purpose to meet the special needs of Africa. The international community

committed itself to (http.un.md 2000):

Support the consolidation of democracy in Africa by supporting the political and institutional

structures

Assist Africans in their struggle for lasting peace by ensuring a reliable flow of resources for

peacekeeping operations on the continent

Assist Africans in poverty eradication by debt cancellation and improved market access

Assist Africans in sustainable development by transfers of technology

Bring Africa into the mainstream of the world economy by increased flow of Foreign Direct

Investment

Help Africa build up its capacity to tackle the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and other infectious

diseases

Until now, the expressions are gender neutral and nothing indicates that gender is an issue of special

concern. However, when the Declaration came out operational in the figure of eight goals, gender equality

and the empowerment of women where the main issue of goal number three, which also is the issue of


52

interest in this analysis. The target of MDG3 is to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary

education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015; a narrow target having the

title of MDG3 in mind. The three indicators that follow the target will be analysed with a focus on the level

of implementation and the good achievements in contrast to the negative implications. The next table

shows an extract from the South African Millennium Development Goals Country Report 2010 (MDG+10)

(http.mdg.za 2010), where data from the first democratic election are shown together with data from the

last national election in 2009 (indicator 3), data from the labour market (indicator 2) and data from the

education system (indicator 1) are shown with the notion: likely or achieved.

Table 5.1 MDG3 at a glance (Source: the South African Millennium Development Goals Country Report 2010)

1. Indicator: ratios of girls to boys in the education system.

Ratio of girls to boys in Primary School: 0.97:1 (1996) 0.96:1 (2009) Goal: 1:1 (likely)

Ratio of girls to boys in Secondary School: 1.13:1 (1996) 1.05:1 (2009) Goal 1:1 (achieved)

Ratio of girls to boys in Tertiary School: 0.86:1 (1996) 1.26:1 (2009) Goal 1:1 (achieved)

2. Indicator: share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector.

Share of women in wage employment in

the non-agricultural sector (as a percentage): 43 (1996) 45 (2010) Goal: 50 (likely)

3. Indicator: proportion of seats held by women in national parliament.

Representation of women in the Parliament 27.8 (1994) 43.3 (2009) Goal: 50 (likely)

Outside the MDG3:

Representation of women in Provincial Legislatures 25.4 (1994) 42.4 (2009)

Representation of women in Local Government - 40.0 (2006)

ANC quota of women on the party list 33.0 (1994) 50.0 (2006)

If gender equality and the empowerment of women were only a question of education, employment and

representation in the national parliament, then South Africa is very close to the goal. But the indicators are

not adequate for capturing the complex nature of gender equality challenges in South Africa. There is a

need for measurements that more precise capture the complex dynamics of gender and a need to address

gender-based violence on all fronts (http.mdg.za 2010).


53

The MDG+10 offers a chance to stress the importance of a human rights approach to development and to

highlight the broader non-discrimination and inclusion agenda that has been overlooked by the MDGs

(Painter 2005: 81). The three indicators are not enough to measure the quality of programmes addressing

the empowerment of women. The harmonising of strategies to achieve gender equality with strategies to

tackle violence against women is essential before real empowerment of women can be achieved. Culture,

tradition, and social norms that tolerate violence against women must be challenged (Hayes 2005, Painter

2005). Therefore, gender-based violence is the fourth indicator in this analysis.

The challenges to GE include every aspect of life: Economic barriers, social and cultural attitudes (e.g., FGM,

girl-marriage, polygamy), and an adverse international economic environment. Despite their origins in

human rights, the MDGs are being used in support of a neo-liberal model of development, which threatens

the realisation of human rights and gender equality (Painter 2005: 82). Studies have shown that a failure to

meet the goal of GE will lead to economic growth losses. On the international level the cost is estimated to

15,730 million pounds including health care, social services and legal services (http.lancs.uk 2009); the

department of Community Safety in the Gauteng Provincial Government received a total amount of R35.8

million (USD 5,217,000) for safety promotion in the period 2009-2010 to cover a population of 11 million

peoples (http.gl.gbv 2011). It is not even half a dollar per person a year.

Democracy, statutory structures and human rights institutions ensure de jure gender equality but de facto

equality is difficult to achieve. The policies that have been the hardest to change have involved challenges

to traditional authority, to the clan, to chiefs, and to older power arrangements, especially those tied to

resources. Land, inheritance, and marriage laws generally have been the most challenging to reform. Those,

that have been easiest to change - such as those introducing electoral quotas, gender budgeting, and

educational policies - have affected institutions that are more removed from people’s daily lives and from

local power structures and property arrangements (Hassim in Kabeer & Stark 2008, Tripp et al. 2009).

5.2 Data Collection and Baseline Data

The availability of data allows for the use of statistics as a tool for research and analysis, providing empirical

evidence for observed patterns of behaviour. The concept “gender statistics” implies that statistics on

individuals are collected, compiled, and analysed by sex and presented with sex as a primary and universal

classification while also reflecting GE concerns (Akanji in Kabeer & Stark 2008: 183). In this analysis, reports

from the international, regional, and national level will be used and they follow a timeline starting in 1996.

Table 5.2 shows the list of selected reports.


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Table 5.2 List of reports

Report Year Initiative Publisher Contents/Purpose

Special Rapporteur on VAW 1996 UN UN/ECOSOC Rape in the community

Initial Report of States 1998 SA UN/CEDAW Status report on Gender Equality

Periodic Report 1998-2008 2009 SA UN/CEDAW Status report on Gender Equality

SADC Gender Protocol 2009 GL GL Gender Barometer baseline study

SADC Gender Protocol 2010 GL GL Gender Barometer, annual report

MDG report on SA 2010 SA UN/UNDP Status report on MDGs

Summary Report 2011 SA DBE Macro indicator trends in schools

Before analysing the three indicators inclusive GBV, some relevant data concerning women’s ordinary life

will establish a platform for the analysis.

From the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women16 we have an estimate of the female population

and the selection by race. The living conditions of black and white women are of special interest, and

combined with the Initial CEDAW Report from 1998, the composition of the population by race is illustrated

in table 5.3.

Table 5.3 SA Population

Female Population 1996 Black White Colour Indian

15,507,390, percentage distribution 75% 13% 9% 3%

Maternal mortality pr. 100,000 births 2.6% (2,600) .003% (3) - -

Malnutrition effects on black/white 28.3% 4.0% - -

Female population under 15 years old: 33% (unknown race distribution)

Population July 2008 African White Coloured Indian/Asian

M: 23,444,800 F: 25,242,200 (52%) 79.2% 9.0% 9.2% 2.6%

The SADC Gender Protocol Barometer 2009 shows conditions of special importance to women and the

indicators are common in international statistics such as the Human Development Index from UNDP and

the Gender Gap Index from the World Economic Forum (WEF), as well as in reports from the World Bank.

16

Radhika Coomaraswamy is a lawyer and an internationally known human rights advocate who has worked as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women (1994-2003). She is the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, appointed in 2006.


55

Therefore, using the Barometer fulfils the holistic approach to analyse GE and there is no need to make the

picture blurred by looking at statistics and reports that covers the same area with the same data. Indicators

relevant to GE but not accounted for in the MDG3 are as follows:

Coverage of sanitation facilities 59 % Urban: 86 % Rural: 44 %

Maternal mortality per 100,000 400 (0.4%)

Contraceptive use women age 20-24 65 %

Contraceptive use married women 60 %

The Barometer mentions that abortion is legal and there is no data on illegal abortions; however, abortion

related deaths among women dropped by 91% between 1994 and 2001. Compared to other countries in

the SADC region, South Africa is leading in contraceptive usage, number four in sanitation facilities and

number four from below in maternal mortality out of 15 Member States. The goal is to reduce maternal

mortality by 75 % but South Africa is sliding backwards, according to the Barometer. However, 1996-data

says 2.6% of 100,000 in maternal mortality, which means a ratio down by 84%. According to the WB the

maternal mortality ratio pr. 100,000 was 260 in 1995 a factor 10 from what the Special Rapporteur

indicates in 1996 (http.wb.indicator 2011). What is behind the numbers? From this example of statistic

uncertainty, it is fair to conclude that numbers shall be interpreted with care.


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5.3 The third indicator: women’s representation

The Barometer shows the development in women’s representation from 2004 to 2009. There is progress in

the national Parliament and in the local Parliaments, but decrease in the cabinets. The green column is the

50/50 target for 2015.

Figure 5.1 Representation of women in government

The number of women in Parliament rank 3 in the world and there are 14 female ministers in the cabinet.

The nine South African provinces have five female premiers. The one province, that was not won by the

ANC, the Western Cape, has Helen Zille from DA as the leader of the province. Women in government

economic decision-making positions are 33 percent (http.gl.barometer 2009).

South Africa’s Parliament is made up of two houses - the National Assembly with 400 members and the

National Council of Province with 90 members. The African National Congress, ANC, received 65.9% of the

17.6-million valid votes cast, securing 264 seats. Women occupy 170 of the seats and ANC takes 128 of

these seats with the result that 75% of the seats are occupied by women from the ruling party (http.gl.elec

2009). Gender Links gave this evaluation of the last election: South Africa edge closer to the target, set by

the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, for achieving gender parity in all areas of decision-making

by 2015, but this has largely been achieved as a result of the commitment by the ruling African National

Congress alone to the 50/50 principle. The declines in other parties, and the one step forwards, two steps

backwards approach to gender parity is likely to call for more obligatory measures to ensure that SADC

targets are met. South Africa should not rely on voluntary party quotas but follow the route taken by other

countries in the region and legislate quotas (http.gl.elec 2009).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Women MPs (MDG3)

Women MPLs Women in cabinet

Women in provincial

cabinet

Women deputy ministers

2015

2009

2004


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Women in South Africa now stand side by side with men in the public area and demand freedom and

dignity and the right to participate in revitalizing their societies. Women are bringing gender related issues

to the political centre stage, some that could not even be mentioned in public and were considered taboo

well into the 1990s (e.g., domestic violence and female genital cutting); they are challenging customary law

and are ensuring the prohibition of customary practices that undermine the dignity, welfare, or status of

women (Tripp et al. 2009: 137f).

During the first five years of South African democracy (1994-1998) four significant Bill of Act’s passed

through the Parliament as a result of the political work of women’s movements and the female part of the

South African Parliament:

1. The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act No. 92 of 1996

2. The Maintenance Bill No. 99 of 1998

3. The Domestic Violence Bill No. 116 of 1998

4. The Recognition of Customary Marriages Bill No. 120 of 1998

The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act gives women permission to abortion within the first 12 weeks

of a pregnancy without delay and is a great help, especially for young women and teenage girls that have

become pregnant unintentionally (http.info.za 1996). Shireen Hassim explains in Global Perspectives on

Gender Equality, that The Domestic Violence Act of 1998 provides protection against abuse for people who

are in domestic relationships, regardless of the specific nature of the relationship (i.e., whether marital,

homosexual, or family). It is a highly significant piece of legislation in that it entails the recognition that the

private sphere of the family is not inviolate from the democratic norms established by the Constitution. The

Maintenance Act substantially improves the position of mothers dependent on maintenance from former

partners. The Recognition of Customary Marriages Act of 1998 abolishes the minority status of women

married under customary law and legalises customary marriages (Nassim in Kabeer & Stark 2008: 169f).

Statutory structures are grown out of the activism of women’s movements and as a result of the presence

of women in Parliament:

1. The Commission on Gender Equality

2. The South African Human Rights Commission

3. Office of the Status of Women in the Presidency

4. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Women


58

The Joint Committee was founded in March 1994, a month before the election, and is a parliamentary

body; the Office of the Status of Women prepares the CEDAW reports; The Commission on Gender Equality

receives gender complaints from the public; and the Human Rights Commission is committed to promote

respect for, observance of and the protection of human rights for everyone without fear or favour,

according to the website (http.sahrc 2011).

The women of South Africa have developed both legal reforms and institutional creation. Pat Horn, a white

American feminist claimed in 1995, that the women from the first free election lost contact with civil

society, and Gorm Gunnarsen calls some of the elected women from the former cabinet anti-feminist, anti-

environmental, anti-labour and anti-democratic, followed by these examples: Former health minister

Tshabalala-Msiming’s hostility to anti-retroviral medicines for victims of rape and for pregnant women to

prevent HIV transmission; former minerals and energy minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka’s attacks on

environmentalists concerned about the harm done by extractive industries; and former foreign minister

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s blunt refusal to criticise Robert Mugabe’s tyrannical regime, including its

systematic sexual violence against women (Gunnarsen et al. 2007: 69). Mrs. Mlambo-Ngcuka faced another

controversy in January 2006 when it emerged that she went on a taxpayer-funded holiday at the cost of R4

million to the United Arab Emirates with her family.

It seems like a gap is becoming visible between the female parliamentarians and civil society. The lack of

integrity among the members of Parliament is a serious problem. The lack of autonomy of women’s groups

linked to the party is another problem that has affected their capacity to defend women’s rights

consistently. The New Women’s Movement, a grassroots organisation of poor women allied with Black

Sash17 activists, succeeded in increasing child support grants, while the ANC Women’s League and ANC

Minister of Welfare had proposed grant cutbacks, thus highlighting the differences between the two types

of organisations (Tripp et al. 2009: 84).

Everyone, from the Geneva Conference to the Johannesburg Summit, agree upon the significance of the

right women in the right places. Quota systems or not, the elected person’s integrity and sincere will to

work for gender equality are more important than the sex. Lowe Morna commented on the situation in

2009, where Helen Zille, the woman premier of the Western Cape Province, announced a cabinet

comprising of 75% whites and no female MEC’s (http.gl.elec 2009):

17

The Black Sash is an independent, non-governmental Human Rights organisation that has worked tirelessly for justice and equality in South Africa for nearly 55 years.


59

“The fact that as a woman Zille argues so belligerently in favour of her all male cabinet has already led to the term

“the Zille effect” being coined in gender circles to denote “women who behave worse than men” in political decision-

making. Other than the lack of specific qualifications by the men appointed by Zille for their tasks that has already

extensively been commented upon, one wonders how qualified these men are to address the kinds of issues that Zille

says are her priorities such as drugs and teenage pregnancies.”

At the first morning of the Johannesburg Summit, Pat Kumalow, a councillor from the local community,

Ekurhuleni, made a welcome speech and told about her work as a local politician. She was working hard to

put the women’s agenda into the public domain. “It is not easy to be a politician, but it is even harder to be

a woman in the political arena” she said. Women councillors are being attacked physically and threatened.

The struggle is not over, it is only the beginning. We cannot walk alone, we need the men to walk alongside

us (this statement gave a big applause from the audience where many men were present). Kumalow

emphasized the importance of gender lenses in the media and ended her speech by saying: “Today we

were better than yesterday, and tomorrow we will be better than today, yes we can”.

No doubt, South Africa is close to fulfilling the MDG3, indicator 3, but this gives no guaranty for gender

equality. The quota system is fragile; it is not statutory, and, the ruling party is the only party that has

implemented a 50/50 quota system. People at the Johannesburg Summit talked about lots of zigzag in the

political system and people at the Geneva Conference used the expression “back paddle” when talking

about progress in the international system. There are obstacles to achieving gender equality, despite a

remarkable representation of women in the South African Parliament.

Colleen Lowe Morna said that she has high hopes for the women coming into politics from the NGOs. There

is no turning back; there will always be women in local governments. We should ask the question: What do

we want from a female leader? It is not automatic, that a woman will “sing your song”. These words from

the founder of Gender Links will stand as the conclusion of the analysis of proportion of women in

parliament.


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5.4 The second indicator: share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector

The economic system in South Africa is a copy of the western model with capitalism linked to a neo-liberal

ideology. Free trade and individualism is the western approach to globalisation and the South African State

has adopted the idea. There is no question that neo-liberalism has failed in terms of its announced goals to

bring rapid economic growth, reduced poverty, or economic stability to the African Continent (Barnard &

Farred 2004, Chavkin & Chesler 2005, Nnaemeka & Ezeilo 2005). Tito Mboweni, the former Governor of the

Reserve Bank in South Africa said in 2000: “In the past 10 years the number of people living in extreme

poverty - on less than one dollar a day - has risen to a quarter of the world’s population. You would think

that with such a devastating indictment of their failed policies, the World Bank would reform its own

policies and practices. But no, almost in defiance of the evidence it continues to push its simplistic, useless

free-market strategies for solving poverty” (Magubane in Barnard & Farred 2004: 665f).

The second indicator used to measure gender equality and empower women is formulated as “the share of

women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector”. Table 5.4 shows that 45% of the labour force

in wage employment is women.

Table 5.4 Women in wage employment

Share of women in wage employment in 1996 2000 2009 2010 2015

the non-agricultural sector (as a percentage): 43.0 43.0 43.9 45 50

(Goal achieved by 2015: likely)

(Source: MDG+10)

The goal is to reach parity between female-male employment excluding the agricultural sector which

means the farmers and to some extent the informal workers. What is behind the numbers? Women in the

rural areas are often farmers and many of them are breadwinners, around 30% are head of households. To

measure innovation and empowerment by focusing on women in the non-agricultural sector means that

female farmers and the women in the informal trade do not count, despite the fact that they, at times, are

more empowered than women in low wage jobs in the industry. A holistic view on the labour market is

needed to show a more accurate picture of GE in the area. Even with a high unemployment rate, the

indicator will demonstrate success; it only takes women to hold 50% of the jobs in the non-agricultural

sector no matter the unemployment rate.


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Table 5.5 shows the latest statistics concerning employment and unemployment.

Table 5.5 The Labour Force Survey 2009 (Source: SA statistics)

Workforce Women Men Total %women %men

Employed 5,973,000 7,397,000 13,369,000 45 55 Goal 2015: 50/50

Unemployed 2,065,000 2,060,000 4,125,000 50 50 parity

Self employed 165,000 609,000 774,000 21 79

Total 8,203,000 10,066,000 25 20

The data are from the SADC Gender Barometer Baseline Study. The last line is the calculated total

workforce and shows that 5% more women than men are unemployed, despite the fact that the same

amount of women and men are unemployed. The question is how the data are produced. How is the total

workforce measured in a country with a high percent working in the informal business? Out of the nearly

50 million South Africans, how many are to be counted for as belonging to the workforce? The

unemployment is high for both men and women and there is no reason to celebrate the achievement of a

goal that focuses one-sided on gender equality without taken any notice of the overall conditions of the

society. According to SA statistics, the most common reasons to leave a job are “caring for own

children/relatives” or “pregnancy” and even without sex-aggregated data on this issue, there is reason to

believe that most of the job-leavers are women.

The CEDAW Report formulates concern for women by stating that the key cross-cutting issues that need

priority include improving the socio-economic conditions of women particularly in relation to

unemployment and their congregation in the second and informal economy. The second economy is a

special expression in South Africa that covers the situation of the existence of a first economy in

conjunction with a second. The phenomenon describes two different kinds of economy: One with wealth

and resources and one with poverty and disadvantage. Certain key legacies of apartheid make this

inequality deeply structural, according to Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS)18, which points out

three main reasons for the divided economic structure (http.sa.tips 2011):

The highly skewed distribution of assets such as land and capital

The spatial legacy of Bantustans and apartheid cities

The legacies of deep inequality in the development of human capital

18

TIPS is an independent, non-profit economic research institution, established at the request of senior policy-makers of the new South African Government in 1996.


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The CEDAW Report mentions five legacies of the apartheid era as obstacles for gender equality:

a dualistic polity

pervasive poverty

large scale structural unemployment

inequitable distribution of wealth and income

a high incidence of crime

Some of the points are congruent with the three points mentioned at the bottom of the previous page. The

report emphasises that the most affected and the people who bear the brunt of this unequal legacy, in all

aspects of life, are the black women, women in rural areas and women with disabilities. The feminisation of

poverty and its impact on the health and wellbeing of marginalised women also severely challenges

sustainable development. The Government have introduced social grants and housing in an attempt to

eradicate racial disparity, and they have initiated campaigns to provide IDs for particularly elderly women,

single mothers and women looking after children of relatives, a document that is necessary if you want to

apply for social grants and housing. Another initiative, referenced in the CEDAW report, is The Broad-Based

Black Economic Empowerment Act 2003 that seeks to correct the apartheid legacy of racial imbalances in

ownership, control and participation within the South African economy by introducing a Generic Balanced

Scorecard for measuring black empowerment. The Act covers a broad spectrum of economic issues,

including business development and access to credit. It also touches on employment equity and skills

development relating to the empowerment of black women and men (http.un.sa-cedaw 2009).

Despite the good intentions the data is telling a story of severe inequality. An example is the distribution of

land:

Table 5.6 Percent of land owned by women (Source: the CEDAW report 2009)

Mpumalanga: 1.63 Kwa-Zulu Natal: 7.63 Limpopo: 8.56

Gauteng: 9.65 Eastern Cape: 11.35 North West: 14.32

Free State: 25.87 Northern Cape: 32.35 Western Cape: 41.25

Western Cape is the only province with some kind of equity in land distribution. To add more inequity to

the subject: Women got an average of 13.29% of the beneficiaries of Land Reform Programmes in the

period 1994 - 2007. The distribution of land is of special importance to the female farmers, but they are

outside the focus of the MDG3 and thereby out of this analysis.


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In 2009, women’s income is proportionately 45 percent lower than men’s, even though their real workload

tends to be greater; the percentage is the same in the country indicator from UNDP in 2002, eight years

before (http.gl.barometer 2009). In sum, there is both vertical and horizontal discrimination in South Africa

and women are the most affected.

5.4.1 Women in Informal Trade

Although, the area is covered with unknown data, a survey from 2001 shows the gross monthly income and

number of owners on non-VAT-registered businesses:

Table 5.7 Informal Trade

Informal trade Female Male

Total income (R000) 1,069,845 1,637,316

Owners (1000) 1,383 901

Mean income 774 1,818

(Source: SADC Gender Barometer Baseline Study 2009)

Even in the informal trade, the men are making a better salary than the women, according to the data,

although it is unlikely that the young men I saw on the highways of Johannesburg, selling random articles

bought in the nearby supermarket, are registered in the statistics at all.

I have to conclude, that the MDG3 indicator concerning employment is not a guaranty for gender equality,

and it is a question if parity on the labour market can empower women, at all. We need a holistic view on

the labour market and not just one indicator that at best is taking GE nowhere and at worst in the wrong

direction.

Women, who lack human rights and security, severely, are the informal traders. At the Summit in

Johannesburg Mama Rose, representing the informal traders, delivered a speech that generated a big

applause. I find it appropriate, that she gets the last word in this section.

Mama Rose talked about the abuse and violence that women in the informal trade meet every day. “We

are so abused, we are so violated” she said. “We want to trade, but we need support. We suffer from

economic injustice. We are trying day after day but no one helps us. 4 o’clock in the morning we go and buy

the stock by the representatives from the Government who are selling the stock from their trucks, so we

can lay it on the ground and sell it to the people passing by. Then, here comes the officials from our very


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own Government and they take our stock. We have no rights. If you are stopped by the police in your car,

you get a chance to defend yourself, but with us they don’t even write. Then we need to go and pay, is it

right? We are so abused and violated. They are structuring malls, and if you want a space there, you can get

it if you deliver sex. We are suffering in all areas. We are able now to promote ourselves and be recognized.

We demand dignity, we are people, we are humans here, we are making a living here. The streets are so

mushroomed with people selling things, but what can we do. The Government say they will create jobs for

us, but nothing is happening. We have to pay for water, rental, electricity, who pays, with what? We are

waiting and waiting and waiting for “him” to create jobs for us - where? We have created jobs for

ourselves, now we need your support. We are teaching them that we are able to feed our children and sent

them to school. We strongly believe that informal trading should be accepted. The women should be

involved in the policymaking. Most of the informal traders are breadwinners, we deserve a better life; we

demand a stop to law enforcement. We are treated as lunatics but we have sense, we are normal, so

Government, please, come and sit with us, talk to us.”

This was the words from Mama Rose, at the Johannesburg Summit in March 2011. A picture of Rose is on

page 98; she is right between two backs from the audience. At the next page, there are two pictures of

informal traders. The one with a desk and roof for shadow is owned by men, and the spot at the fence is

occupied by two women, one standing with a baby on her arms.


65

5.5 The first indicator: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education

Education is the only target for the MDG3 with the goal to eliminate gender disparity in primary and

secondary education before or at least at 2015. The indicator ”ratios of girls to boys in the education

system”, is the measure to fulfil the goal. Literally it means that even if the enrolment of children only

reaches 10%, but half of them are girls, the first indicator of the MDG3 can be ticked off.

The female illiteracy was 50% in 1996, according to the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women;

fortunately, data from the Barometer shows a remarkable increase, eleven years later.

Table 5.8 Literacy and enrolment in education sector 2007

Literacy and enrolment in education sector (2007)

Type of data %Female %Male Dropout %F Dropout %M

Literacy 87 89

Primary 49 51 28 31

Secondary 52 48 49 56

Tertiary 53 47

(Source: SADC Gender Barometer)

In South Africa, the school system is divided into three parts. Primary school runs from grade 1 to 7, and

Secondary school runs from grade 8 to 12. Some schools have extensions to grade 0 and 13.The third part is

at the university level which is outside the Millennium scenario and will not be discussed further. Under the

South African Schools Act of 1996, education is compulsory for all South Africans from age 7 (grade 1) to

age 15, or the completion of grade 9. General Education and Training also includes Adult Basic Education

and Training (http.sa.edu 2011).

Recalling the status from the MDG3 in the beginning of this chapter, the goal is achieved for secondary and

tertiary level and the last level is not even in the MDG3. For primary level the ratio is 0.96:1, which means

that only four more girls for every 100 boys are needed to reach the target. The problem is that these

numbers do not say anything about the quality of the learning, the books if any, the children’s persistency

to stay in school all nine years, or if the marks are satisfactory.


66

Table 5.8 on the previous page shows percentage of enrolment in the education sector, furthermore a

dropout percentage shows that more than one out of four children is leaving school before the seventh

grade and every second teenager are leaving school before the final exam. The data are from SA Statistics

2007, and were hard to get, according to Gender Links. The Department of Basic Education brings light to

the drop-out percentage with data from 2007/2008 and the results are shown in Figure 5.2.

Figure 5.2 (Source: Macro Indicator Trends in Schooling: Summary Report 2011)

There is a decrease in drop-out by 20% for primary education compared to the Barometer, if the data is

correct; however, more than 10% do not finish primary school and more than 50% do not finish secondary

school. The percentage is not sex-aggregated, but there is reason to believe that there is gender parity in

drop-outs, however, for distinct reason: Girls get pregnant and boys lose interest. The Barometer makes

reference to a research project from 2004, which says that around 40% of girls drop out within 5 years of

starting school. Frequently the reason is gender-based violence or fear of sexual violence. A project from

2010 found that “financial pressures” and “complex social processes” combined with “in-school factors”

result in youth disengaging from their education and eventually dropping out of school (http.sa-edu.trend

2011). According to the research, children are leaving school mainly because of poverty, teenage

pregnancy, substance abuse and lack of stimulation and support from their parents or the teachers.

In contrast to the positive data from the MDG+10, the drop-out culture is shown as an obstacle to achieving

the MDG3. From the Department of Basic Education, the Macro Indicator Trends in Schooling: Summary

Report 2011 shows that close to 670,000 children age 7 to 18 were not attending any education institution

in 2009, despite the fact that South Africa has compulsory school attendance from age 7 to 15 or grade 1 to

9. Between 2007 and 2008, primary education was not completed by 13% of 16 year olds. The secondary

completion rate (completion of Grade 12 by 24 year olds), which was 44% in 2009, has remained basically

unchanged between 2002 and 2009. The challenge for the system is to increase both primary and

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Never attended school

Over-all drop-out grade 1-11

Drop-out grade 9-11

Not completed primary education

Not completed secondary education

Drop-out rate 2007/2008

Drop-out rate 2007/2008


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secondary completion rates. Four percent of the South African children will never know how a school looks

like from the inside. However, the number of children starting their school-career from grade 0 or grade R

for “reception year” is increasing. The challenge is to keep the spirit into primary and secondary education.

Figure 5.3

Attendance in education programmes amongst 5-year olds 2002-2009

Source: Stats SA (2002 to 2009)

Figure 5.3 shows the enrolment percentage of grade R. A majority of children (78 %) are attending school

from the 5th year and there has been an increase during the statistical period. It is common to assume that

children from city areas attend school more often than children living in rural areas because of easier

access to transport; however, figure 5.4 shows that Limpopo is in the lead while Gauteng lacks behind with

more than one out of four children not attending school from grade 0.

Figure 5.4 Attendance in education programmes amongst 5-year olds by province: 2009

Source: Stats SA (2009)

Gauteng with the cities Johannesburg and Pretoria is one of the economic centres in South Africa where

development is concentrated, but the vast majority of South Africans are poor and Johannesburg is


68

surrounded by townships were most people are extremely poor, which could explain the poor score in

enrolment for 5-year olds. Limpopo, the rural province in the North-eastern part of South Africa, has the

highest percentage (93%) of enrolment in grade 0, a positive step on the way to give children a good start

of their childhood; another positive initiative is on the way in the Province as will be mentioned later in this

chapter.

In Race, Class, and Gender, education is subject to these adjectives (Mickelson & Smith in Andersen &

Collins 2004: 369f):

Education remains important to any struggle to reduce inequality

Education is intrinsically worthwhile and crucially important for the survival of democratic society

Education contains the seeds of individual and social transformation

The schools are arenas of struggle against race, gender, and social class inequality, according to the

authors, who raise the question: Can education eliminate race, class, and gender inequality? - An essential

question, considering the topic of this Thesis. The challenge for the South African educational system is to

create a safe environment for both girls and boys. The CEDAW Report mentions violence in the schools and

emphasises that an increased effort to create safe schools for all learners should be recognised, in

particular for the girl child regarding sexual harassment and abuse.

The high level of gender-based violence in combination with a patriarchal society does not leave the girls

much hope for a future with free choice. Girls are socialised to become housekeepers and child-bearers,

placing less value on their education. Furthermore, when girls perform well in subjects such as maths or

science, they are not encouraged to pursue careers that rely on these skills (http.unicef 2011). Girls are in a

more vulnerable position than boys, because they can get pregnant and they are more exposed to sexual

harassment and rape.

In 2003, the Girls and Boys Education Movement (GEM/BEM) was founded on initiative of the Department

of Basic Education, supported by UNICEF. The Movement exists throughout the African Continent and aims

to

Give girls equal access to education

Improve the quality of education, especially in disadvantaged rural schools

Make the school curriculum and school books gender responsive


69

Create schools that are safe and secure for children, especially girls

Work with boys as strategic partners

Reduce gender-based violence

Abolish harmful cultural practices such as early marriage for girls

The movement operates through the special GEM/BEM clubs in public schools and the members are

learners who are committed to the promotion of human rights, dignity for all as well as mutual respect

between girls and boys (http.gembem 2011).

On 13 April 2011, Dendron High School in the Province Limpopo launched their first GEM/BEM club.

Dendron High School is regarded as one of the top 10 schools in the country and the school is one of the

few that accepts learners with disabilities. The club has already hosted its first community campaign, aimed

at highlighting the high levels of sexual abuse in the community of Dendron (http.gembem 2011). The

school is an exception in the South African educational system, where good initiatives, like the effort of

getting 5-year olds to school and initiating pupils’ clubs, are overshadowed by the occurrence of gender-

based violence that continues to be a scourge on the education sector.

In 2010, fifteen years after the official demise of apartheid, government estimated needs for at least 35

billion U.S. dollars just to fit all schools with the basics - classrooms, water, toilets, and electricity. When

enrolment is of over 60 pupils in one class and pupils sit on the floor, gender takes a back seat

(http.gl.barometer 2009).

Without money, it is difficult to improve anything, and the Department of Basic Education has decided to

fight the mud by prioritizing 85 mud schools and 246 inappropriate structures in the budget year 2011/12.

The Department will provide water to at least 807 schools, sanitation to 391 and electricity to 286 schools.

In addition, the selection process of quality textbooks will be linked to the enforcement of a national book

policy (http.sa.edu.budget 2011). Status of the infrastructure at the schools is illustrated in table 5.9.

Table 5.9 Infrastructure in public schools

Public schools 20,000 1996 2006 2011/2012

Without water 8,823 3,152 2,345

Without on-site toilets 3,265 1,532 1,141

(Source: CEDAW report 2009)

The improvement in the school infrastructure looks like a foot-dragging development. With an economy

ranked 25th in the world it should be possible to earmark sufficient money and establish adequate


70

conditions for all schoolchildren in South Africa, if there is political will. It is not just a matter of parity in the

school system it is also about infrastructure. The female Minister of Basic Education, Mrs. Motshekga, has

nothing to be proud off.

Besides the material shortcomings in the South African schools, another shortcoming has a much more

devastating effect than a missing toilet: the lack of security. The CEDAW Report makes reference to The

National Schools Violence Study, released in 2008. The study was based on information gathered from

12,794 pupils, 264 principals and 521 teachers from both public and private schools. The findings of the

study indicate:

Violence in primary schools is most common in the Eastern Cape

The highest recorded rates of violence were for secondary schools in Gauteng and Limpopo

1 in 10 pupils says it is relatively easy for them to get hold of a gun

Alcohol and drugs are readily available

Between 83 % and 90 % of pupils have been exposed to some sort of sexual assault

Sexual assault was prevalent in both primary and secondary schools

Up to 90 % of pupils said they had experienced some sort of assault

More heartbreaking data from the South African Police Service shows that there were more than 55,00019

reported rapes in South Africa in 2004/05 and 40% were committed against children, not all of them were

schoolchildren, but it must be fair to conclude, that despite the fine numbers in ratio of girls to boys, the

school system in South Africa is bleeding.

19

If that number equals 2.8% of the real incidents as the police think, the number of rape incidents is close to 2 million per year.


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5.6 The fourth indicator: Gender-Based Violence

The target for Gender Links and the associated organisations and governmental institutions is to halve

gender-based violence in 2015 through 365 days of local action. The slogan composed to strengthen the

effort is: “Yes, we can - The time is now”. During the Summit, presentations from the NGOs and the

municipalities showed that GBV is a threat to society and, as one of the participants said:”This evil has to be

eliminated”.

“In the context of this patriarchal society, there is a history of violence and gender inequality as women are

perceived to be subordinate and inferior to men”, the phrase is from the MDGs Country Report for South

Africa 2010 and is followed by recommendations to eliminate harmful cultural practices and respect the

women’s right to exercise choice over their sexuality. Additionally, the report expresses the importance of

mainstreaming gender in all departments followed by sufficient resources (http.mdg.za 2010: 58). In

December 2009, Trunette Rippenaar-Joseph from Stellenbosch University concluded in “Mainstreaming

Women in Development? A Gender Analysis of the United Nations Development Programme in South

Africa” that GM will remain an up-hill battle with little progress to show, unless, sufficient resources will be

allocated, gender training and action plans implemented and senior staff expresses commitment and

accountability; last but not least, successful implementation of GM requires political will (Rippenaar-Joseph

2009: 291).

In the academic world, in the powerful international organisations, and in the national governments,

gender issues are discussed and acted upon by means of paperwork, also in the South African Government.

At the grass-root level, gender issues like gender inequality and gender-based violence are issues with

substantive impact on lived life that demands affirmative action. The MDGs have clear goals and the

targets, corresponding to the goals, have measurable indicators. The MDG3 is the one that influences all

the other goals and has a far-reaching title: Gender equality and empowerment of women. The three

indicators are analysed above, and if their fulfilment could guaranty GE, we are almost there. However,

looking at statistics, reading reports, and listen to people show a different story. One example from the

CEDAW Report 1998-2008 nails the point:

A case on dress-code and culture

Nwabisa Ngcukana was stripped, beaten, sexually assaulted and had alcohol poured on her by taxi drivers at the Noord Street taxi

rank, Gauteng for wearing a mini skirt. Women’s groups came out in public protest while singing songs on fighting for their dignity.

Meanwhile, taxi drivers retaliated by saying that they will continue to strip women who wear mini-skirts because it offends their

culture (Mail &Guardian, March 7-13, 2008).


72

In 1996, two years after the transition to democracy, the Special UN Rapporteur on Violence against

Women, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, visited South Africa and initiated the work of developing indicators

to measure the concepts of “gender equality” and “gender-based violence” (http.awf 1996). Table 5.10

shows the reported cases of rape in the period 1993-1996, the transition period, where data were

extremely uncertain. The Police estimated that they had an average of 36,888 cases reported annually, and

that this was only 2.8 % of all rape incidents which means the real number must have been 1,317,429

incidents a year. The majority of the victims was black women and girls and they were also the most

reluctant to report rape.

Table 5.10 Cases of rape 1993-1996

Cases of rape in the statistics:

1993 1994 Jan-June 1995 Jan-June 1996

28,318 32,107 19,307 23,806

(Source: UN Rapporteur on Violence against Women)

Court statistics reflected the situation at that time:

More than 30 % of rape cases are withdrawn by the plaintiffs before the trial

At any given time 200 to 250 cases are pending before “G Court”

69 % of victims of rape or sexual offences in cases which come to court are under 18 years of age

5 % of plaintiffs are white

80 % of perpetrators are known to the victims

The average sentence for rape offenders ranges from 8 to 10 years' imprisonment

There was a delay in the legal system, cases were withdrawn, young people from the black community

dominated the statistics, and most of the cases were related to family-like matters. That was fifteen years

ago. How is the situation today?

The Barometer notes that The Domestic Violence Act of 1998 and the Sexual Offences Act of 2007 show a

heightened responsiveness by the legal environment to respond to the scourge of GBV. However, the

treatment of these cases once in the hand of the police and the court system need some feminist bias.

Women´s perceived lack of credibility as witnesses is fundamental. Examples of women’s lack of credibility

range from the rape complaint being on trial rather than the accused, to asking victims of domestic

violence what they did to provoke the attack. Therefore, the gender sensitisation of the police force is


73

critical. The rape statistics, available from the South African Police Service has very few data on this issue,

and they are not consistent.

Table 5.11 Gender violence statistics 2005-2007

Gender violence statistics 2007 July-December 2006 January-June 2007

Reported rape cases 36,190

Reported cases of indecent assault 6,763

Conviction rate 15%

Domestic Violence 43,330 45,454

Incidents of rape: 55,114 (2005) 54,926 (2006)

(Source: SAPS)

Data on GBV is sporadic and unreliable, according to Gender Links, the publisher of the Barometer. The

data in table 5.11 confirms the fact that it is impossible to compare data on gender violence and recognise

a development, whether good or bad. The data in red are from the SADC Gender Barometer, the others are

from the CEDAW Periodic Report, but all of them come from The South African Police Service. There is a

need for getting reliable data and a classification that makes sense. It is impossible to see if there are

incidents of rape in the data of domestic violence and visa-versa; adding the numbers would probably give

a more precise picture of the real proportion of gender-based violence. The concerns remain regarding

under-reporting and re-victimisation in the criminal justice system. A comprehensive statistic shows the

incidents of rape in every province in South Africa, and especial the conclusion is thought-provoking.

Table 5.12 Reported rates of rape per 100,000 2002-2007 (Source: CEDAW Report 2009)

Reported rates of rape (per 100 000 population):

Province 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

N. Cape 178 179 187 173 156 143

North West 138 136 132 133 131 131

Free State 142 137 140 135 126 121

Gauteng 142 133 127 135 128 121

W. Cape 150 142 133 150 132 121

Mpumalanga 118 111 115 122 124 119

E. Cape 105 93.9 108 105 127 111

RSA 121 115 114 118 117 111 (55,500)

K.Zulu-Natal 99 99 95 100 101 99

Limpopo 91 84 77 87 78 81

South Africa has amongst the world’s highest levels of sexual and domestic violence. A woman is killed by her intimate partner every

six hours.


74

If the estimate from 1996 is still valid and the reported cases of rape only indicate 2.8% of the real

incidents, South Africa had around 2 million cases of rape in 2007. This estimate is close to the conclusion in

a baseline study performed by GL in the province Gauteng, terminated in spring 2011. The results are

shown in section 5.6.2.

The CEDAW Report from 1998 does not deliver data on Violence against Women but have a statistic on

“Problems associated with night classes”, which gives information on the environmental conditions for the

people of South Africa at a time where tensions ran high.

Table 5.13 Problem associated with night classes (Source: CEDAW Initiate Report)

Problems associated with night classes

1995 % Women Men

Child minding 30 9

Transport 43 29

Own safety to and from classes 47 32

Family’s safety while at class 28 22

Not only women, but also men felt unsafe on their way to and from classes, and almost half of the women

felt unsafe by using the transport system; however, less than 10% of the men cared about the children.

More than one of three women felt unsafe, in general, and every one of four men felt unsafe. The unsecure

and violent environment was not only recognised outside the school, unfortunately, it was evident inside

the school system as well. The CEDAW Report from 1998 has this comment on the subject “Gender

Violence in Educational Institutions”:

“According to a report in 1994 by Africa Watch, a London-based human rights organisation, many girls in South Africa

stop going to school because they fear rape and girls are often unable to leave their homes to study at night for fear of

being raped. Headmasters of 15 farm-schools in and around Johannesburg believe that more than three quarters of

their pupils are victims of sexual harassment and abuse. One headmaster stated that “children walking to school -

some have a 20km walk - are being offered food and money in return for sexual favours”. He commented that if

children had transport to and from school, the rate of sexual abuse would be drastically reduced.”

Summing up, there is awareness within the South African governmental institutions and regional NGOs,

that GBV rampages through the South African society like a tidal wave.

At the Summit in Johannesburg, it became obvious that many people are working in the NGOs and in the

local governments trying to control the problem. In April 2011, the Executive Director of UN Women,


75

Michelle Bachelet, lent a helping hand by stating that better and more comparable data is needed on

violence against women and girls. “UN Women is working with WHO and other UN partners to promote a

standard module that countries can include in household surveys—so that no country can say we didn’t

know that the problem was so bad because we didn’t have the data”, a promise of help from the

international society. On a DVD from Gender Links, called Gender Based Violence, the Executive Director,

Colleen Lowe Morna, declare: “GBV is one of the biggest challenge, we face, in Southern Africa (…) The

problem is very huge (…) One of every three women will experience some kind of violence in her lifetime

(…) The Local Government is a key stakeholder in the fight against GBV, the best instrument - closest to the

grassroots and to the people they govern (…) The SADC Gender Protocol is a omnibus packet that brings

together all the commitments to achieve gender equality” (Gender Links GBV 2011).

The SADC Gender Protocol is the CEDAW convention in local disguise, and the Protocol was the point of

departure for the presentations at the Summit. Before analysing the academic work by GL in section 5.6.2

and 5.6.3, selected presentations from South Africa will be highlighted and commented. What the statistics

lack in consistency, GL has in excess. All the presentations were shaped from the same agenda, which made

them easy to compare and understand.

5.6.1 Presentations from the Johannesburg Summit

Thabang Information Centre, NGO from Northern Cape

In table 5.12 Northern Cape is ranked as the province with the highest incidents of rape, however, the

numbers of incidents are decreasing faster than most of the other provinces.

In the category Support, Liza Magerman told the audience that the organisation use door-to-door visits to

get hold on the families, especially the women and children, and to create an open community. On a daily


76

basis, they inform the women and children about their rights. Currently the men are not interested

although they are often the perpetrators. The local schools are the main collaborators. The Centre informs

the schools if there are signs or cases of abuse amongst the students, and the teachers take contact to the

Centre, if they come upon problems that students experience at home. The Centre creates awareness

campaigns to address domestic violence. The aim is to restore the moral values in the society, empower the

victims of abuse and ensure a good social life for both the victims and the perpetrators. In practical terms,

the organisation runs a home for orphans and vulnerable children and a shelter for women and children;

this way the victims are in a safe place and can stay there until the problems are solved. Within five years

from now, the goal is to achieve a healthy social living amongst the members of the local community. Lisa

Magerman ended the presentation by the words: “We learned that such evil (GBV) practices can destroy

communities and that they need our help”. The organisation has discovered the same problems in the

surrounding farm-areas.

South African’s Men’s Action Group (SAMAG)20

SAMAG is situated in Johannesburg Gauteng, the province that ranks two in table 5.12 on incidents of rape

and has the highest score in recorded rates of violence for secondary schools together with Limpopo.

In the category Prevention, Mokethi Ronthoko told about SAMAG. The organisation deals with issues of

ensuring that men are part of the dialogue on gender and equality rights. Alcohol and substance abuse lead

to aggression and illiteracy on gender issues lead to GBV. The organisation uses a set of tools to tackle the

problems: dialogue - workshops - community engagement tours - soul sessions. The mantra is that people

don’t change with information, they change when those around them move along; behavioural and

attitudinal change are recognised together with an increased understanding and tolerance by men on

issues of GE and GBV. SAMAG has managed to remove myths and perceptions, stamp out prejudice and

create social cohesion and literacy on legislative frameworks. The barriers of addressing GBV are created on

20

The South African men's action group is an action group of young men that are united in fighting for rights against all injustices of the past that has created gender imbalances and violation of Human Rights in the country.


77

cultural and religious stereotypes, and the organisation hopes to change the dominant bias by the slogan:

men of quality are not afraid of women of equality; women of equality support men of quality.

Phokwane Local Municipality, Northern Cape

In the category Sixteen Days of Action, Thembi Pule from Phokwane Local Municipality in Northern Cape

(the rank one province in rape incidents 2007) told that the local Council hosted a march on 17 November

2010 with the slogan: Take Back the Night. While most rape cases happen during the night, the march was

a signal of null-tolerance towards abusers. Stereotypes were mentioned as the main problem. Young

women and girls are being attacked for wearing mini-skirts, and The Sixteen Days of Action puts focus on

the problem by claiming free movements in the streets. In cooperation with the police, the Municipality

raises awareness around safety in terms of addressing the issue of GBV including rape by peace building

initiatives and education.

The Capricorn District Municipality (CDM), Limpopo Province

Limpopo has the lowest score in rape incidents according to table 5.12; however, the province scores

highest in recorded rates of violence for secondary schools together with Gauteng.

In the category Centre’s of Excellence, Naledi Frida Masipa from Polokwane Municipality in the Capricorn

District got a Special Commendation Award for her work. She is from one of the Centres of Excellence (COE)


78

Councils that are vigorously mainstreaming gender and participating in activities to enhance their capacity

in dealing with gender issues. Activities mentioned were

• Gender Based Violence Action Plan

• Quarterly District Gender forums

• Annual Women’s Parliament

The CDM has a Gender Coordinator with an annual budget of R2,2million (USD 320,597), and their

partnership structure looks like a hive, a reflection of the high level of activity in the community.

Figure 5.5 Partnership with stakeholders

Despite her busy days, Ms. Masipa took time to give her view of the status on gender-based violence and

gender equality in South Africa. The questions/answers are listed in full length in Appendix 2. In summary

Ms. Masipa points out: If GBV is removed, everybody will be free to take part in the economy. There is still

a stigma of our people in terms of apartheid: “I think they are still in that system and it will take time for

them to be out of that”. Some women are still not allowed to work, they are not free within their family;

men are still ruling and women are silent. “If you can observe those women, that are at the highest or

higher ladder, are divorced”.

Summary of the presentations

NGOs and Local Governments, people in the Municipalities, Districts and Provinces are working with GE and

with eradication of GBV. There is a growing awareness among activists and councillors and by “walking the

talk”, they will make trickle-down effects to the public and change will happen step by step.


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5.6.2 Attitudes towards gender relations and GBV in Gauteng21

In cooperation with The Medical Research Council (MRC), GL participates in a bigger research project being

undertaken with indicators for measuring gender violence and responses to it. The first pilot project has

been completed in the Gauteng Province where Johannesburg is situated. Kubi Rama, Deputy Director and

Director of Programmes at GL, gave an introduction to the research project at the Summit. She told that the

26 researchers sometimes were threatened with guns and the black researchers were taken for thieves

when they made their door-to-door survey. The assumption of the project was that a majority of women

had experienced GBV, and the 350 questions in the survey were about attitude and knowledge, support

and prevention, in relation to GBV.

Results from the study show that 51.3% of 511 interviewed women has experienced some form of violence

(psychological, emotional, economic, physical or sexual) in their lifetime while 75.5% of 487 men

interviewed admits to have perpetrated some form of violence against women at some point in their

lifetime.

Figure: 5.6

Women as the violated part and men as the violent part

The problem of gender-based violence in South Africa is rooted in social norms around gender relations,

including those that excuse or legitimate the use of violence. By the construction of the questions, the

study highlights attitudes to GE and illustrates how people interpret the attitude of the community. The

great majority of men and over half of women endorsed the view that the woman where expected to obey

her husband.

21

http://www.genderlinks.org.za/page/south-africa-gbv-indicators.

0

20

40

60

80

100

Women Men

Violence

Non-violence


80

Figure 5.7 Attitude towards family life

In figure 5.7, the first and third column shows the women’s and men’s attitude to the statements and

column two and four shows what they think the community’s opinion is about the same statements. The

men and women clearly perceived that norms around gender relations at home were strictly patriarchal

and men generally perceived gender norms in their community to be even more conservative than women

did.

The project analysed data of all crimes committed in Gauteng that were coded as “domestic violence” and

found that, for the period April 2008 to March 2009, nearly 80% of cases reported to the police were

reported by women. While comparing the dataset from the South African Police Service (SAPS) with the

findings from the population-based survey, the conclusion is that there is substantive under-reporting of

physical abuse to the police in the Gauteng Province and there is under-reporting of perpetrations as well.

Figure 5.8

0102030405060708090

100

People should be

treated the same

whether they are male or female

A woman should

obey her husband

A man should

have the final say in all family matters

A woman needs her husband's permission to do paid

work

If a woman works she

should give her money

to her husband

There is nothing a

woman can do if her husband wants to

have girlfriends

Attitude F

Attitude Com. (F)

Attitude M

Attitude Com. (M)

0

5

10

15

Men's perpetration of physical violence

Women's experience of

physical violence

Police Data

Survey Data


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The CEDAW report makes reference to a Sonke Gender Justice22 survey from 2006 where 1000 men in the

greater Johannesburg area were asked about the Government’s efforts to promote gender equality:

41.4% said, that the government is doing too much to end violence against women

38.4% said, that the government is not doing enough in this regard

50.1% felt that they themselves should be doing more to end violence against women

In sum, the men has not yet realised the proportion of repression against women, and most importantly,

they have not yet realised that the violence also influence their own position downward in society. Rape is

still underreported; culture and customs have a crucial position in society; the victims are often treated as

offenders. Thinking of the latest example of sex-allegations (black immigrant worker in New York versus the

former CEO at the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn), takes attitudes toward gender relations and gender-

based violence to the international level and makes GBV universal.

5.6.3 Discourse analysis of South African Government official speeches23

The results of a less risky study were launched at the Summit by a representative from GL. The research is

part of the same study, mentioned above. The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development calls Member

States to halve gender-based violence by 2015, and the purpose of the discourse analysis was to search for

“Gender Based Violence” as a topic on the political agenda through political speeches performed from April

2009 to March 2010. According to the Protocol, specific measures should be taken to discourage traditional

norms, including political practices which legitimise and exacerbate the persistence and tolerance of gender

violence. Out of 1956 speeches made by political leaders between April 2009 and March 2010, only 1%

specifically focused on GBV. A further 4% made passing reference to this daily violation of women’s rights.

Figure 5.9

22

Sonke Gender Justice Network works across Africa to strengthen government, civil society and citizen capacity to support men and boys to take action to promote gender equality and prevent domestic and sexual violence. 23

http://www.genderlinks.org.za/article/political-discourse-analysis-of-sa-government-office-speeches-2010-12-10.

GBV mention as proportion of not mention

Main issue

Is mentioned

Not mentioned


82

President Zuma referred to GBV in 6% of his speeches, with one example of a passage being: “The poverty,

unemployment, domestic violence, abuse as well as crime must be attended to with much vigour by all

spheres of government”, said in a speech on the occasion of celebrating the 35th anniversary of the park,

Westrigde Gardens in Cape Town. It must be fair to conclude that GBV is not high on the agenda among

politicians in South Africa.

The key findings of the study (the percentage is out of the 5% of speeches that mentioned GBV):

10.1% of the speeches made reference to financial resources needed to address GBV

47% of the speeches mentioned causes of GBV

48.3% identified GBV causes as being societal

24.1% identified root causes of GBV to be individual

50% of the speeches made reference to prevention strategies

23.3% of the speakers located responsibility with the community

15.0% of the speakers located responsibility with the civil society

3.8% of the speakers located responsibility with the individual

3.8% of the speakers located responsibility with the family

0% referred to the role of the media

Responsibility for addressing GBV is illustrated in figure 5.10 according to the results of the research.

Figure 5.10

The research material reveals a lack of interest in gender-based violence and a lack of political will to pay

attention to the subject, at least in public speeches. Women are silent about their troubled family-life and

the politicians follow this discourse of silence. Figure 5.10 shows who has the initiative of ending GBV. It

was not mentioned in any speeches, that the State is responsible for ending GBV, but is a result of counting

to 100. According to the politicians, the responsibility is divided between the community, the civil society,

the individual, and the family; however, the biggest piece must be left to the State.

Responsibility for ending GBV

The State

The Community

The Civil Society

The Individual

The Family


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5.7 Summary

On the surface, South Africa is close to achieving the MDG3: promote gender equality and empower

women. A closer look at the data reveals a less positive development.

Looking at table 5.1 on page 52, the ratio of girls to boys in primary school unveils a decrease by 1 since

1996, there is also a decrease by 8 in secondary school, no matter that the MDG3 is achieved for the first

indicator. Women’s share in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector has increased by 2% within

the last fourteen years, if the progress continues in the same pace the MDG3 will not be achieved by 2015.

The data are not race-disaggregated, but as mentioned on page 61, South Africa has a legacy of deep

inequality in the development of human capital, which means that black girls are the ones who are missing

in the school-system and the black women are the ones that are most affected by unemployment.

Women’s representation in the National Parliament is high, compared to countries around the world, but

unfortunately, some of the new women members of Parliament have forgotten to represent other than

themselves. The political climate is not women friendly; it is a twenty-four hour job to be a politician, but

women with children need someone to take care of the children. The same problem emerges on the labour

market where most women leave because they have to take care of the children. The informal traders are

the most adversely affected; they need protection and they need to be legalised. As Mama Rose said, they

are breadwinners and they feel empowered, but need acceptance from the local authorities.

Violence is common in the schools and especially girls are vulnerable and are getting assaulted on their way

to and from school. Violence is common in the whole society and especially the women are exposed of

gender-based violence.

Kristin Bumiller says in the book “In an Abusive State” that many activists in the anti-rape and domestic

violence movement view the setbacks as all the reason to stay on course in efforts to reform mainstream

institutions (2008: 12). The presentations at the Summit from the South African delegation confirmed that

there is a growing activism both in the NGOs and at the institutional level.

At home, the tone is set and the attitudes are formed. A representative from SAMAG said in plenum:”A

man was raised by his mother and his aunt to hate women - The girl-child has to be home before dark, the

boy-child can stay out - Boys are raised to fight back - People change when those around them change. So

let’s take the men along with us, step by step.”


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5.8 Conclusion

Figure 5.11 shows the elements which, in sum, could bring Gender Equality to the South African society,

and make the post-apartheid political, cultural, social, and economic system conducive to achieving Gender

Equality.

Figure 5.11 Elements of a solution to GE

The MDG3, alone, is rejected as a mean to promote gender quality and empower women. Despite their

origins in human rights, the MDGs are being used in support of a neo-liberal model of development which

threatens the realisation of human rights and gender equality. African postcolonial feminism questions the

globally accepted neo-liberal model that continues to dominate in South Africa where capitalism as an

economic model inhibits other modes of production and social organisation. Women in parliament, women

in wage employment, and girl’s enrolment in schools are part of a process to gender equality but on what

premises? Today, South Africa has a dominant ruling party, the ANC, and lack of accountability in the

political system. The unfair use of women’s unremunerated labour in the private and public sphere, still

exist. Women have the burden as the reproductive sex and the visible circle of unequal care illustrates the

unequal terms on the labour market. African feminist thought is anti-imperialist, anti-racist, socialist-

oriented and keenly aware of the implications of social injustices for society as a whole. The struggle for

gender equality is not only for women but includes the men. Learning and knowledge are important

together with investments in social development; in that respect, the social movements are necessary to

implement what all the declarations say. The activism of the NGOs and the implementation of the Protocol

Gender Equality

Education

Employment

End of GBV

Representation

DiscourseAttitudes

NGOs

Local Governments

International Governance


85

in the local governments, illustrated by the examples from the Johannesburg Summit, are necessary steps

towards achieving gender equality in South Africa.

Postcolonial feminism takes the historical dimension into account and points out the legacy of apartheid to

be an important obstacle for achieving gender equality. The legacy of apartheid includes a highly divided

country, divided by race, class, and gender; and a highly violent country where the violence has changed

from political violence to ordinary and gender-based violence. The cultural struggle to end the violence is a

struggle against attitudes towards GBV which means a change in the mindset of both women and men. The

hegemonic national culture is highly influenced by a patriarchal philosophy of life where polygamy and girl-

marriage are accepted customs. The country is lead by a promiscuous President with a tarnished reputation

and he functions as a counterproductive role model for social and cultural development. Not even his

speeches reflect the overshadowing problem of GBV in South Africa. However, silence does not eliminate

the problem. African feminism is born out of the experience of women at the grassroots level, and like

Naledi Masipa from Polokwane Municipality in the Capricorn District, the women cooperate with local,

regional and international organisations in their fight for dignity and de facto equal rights. Feminism in

South Africa is interconnected with a global feminism that works for gains for women around the world

through the UN conventions and conferences, like CEDAW and the BPFA. From the top, the international

conventions can be used to exert pressure on the National Parliament and to create awareness of GBV and

the lack of GE in the country. UN-Women is the international entity in the centre of this work. From the

bottom, women’s experiences in the anti-apartheid movement provided an entry point into political and

social activism and gave rise to a flourishing gender based movement with Gender Links as the unifying

entity in the region and at the country level.

African postcolonial feminism is at front in the cultural and political struggles that define the social being of

post-apartheid South Africa. Understanding and addressing the human rights concerns of women must be

done within the socioeconomic, political, and cultural context of South Africa, keeping in mind the legacy of

colonialism and the capitalist tendencies of neo-colonialism that have continued unabated the exploitation

of women.


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6.0 Conclusion

Mandela has been at times more logo than leader for the Rainbow Nation; regrettably his personal

charisma and wisdom have not passed to the current generation of ANC leaders (Irlam 2004: 697).

The target of the MDG3 is to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by

2005 and in all levels of education no later than 2015. The three indicators have a high score in SA:

1. Gender Parity in primary and secondary school is achieved

2. Gender Parity in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector is close to the goal with 45%

3. Gender Parity in seats held by women in National Parliament is close to the goal with 43.3%

However, there is more to gender equality than just fulfilling the above goals. They are important but not

sufficient to secure gender equality and empower women. In South Africa, one big issue overshadows all

the other indicators, the high rates of rape and gender-based violence, in general.

The cultural system and gender-based violence:

Women suffer many abuses that violate their body integrity. These include rape, marital rape, other sexual

abuses, domestic violence, and genital mutilation. Rape is underreported. Domestic violence is one of the

gravest problems faced by women in SA. There is a need for coordinated strategies to tackle gender

oppression and gender violence at all levels: household, workplace, community, national and international

levels. The target for Gender Links and the associated organisations and governmental institutions is to

halve gender-based violence in 2015 through 365 days of local action. The slogan composed to strengthen

the effort is: “Yes, we can - The time is now”. During the Johannesburg Summit, presentations from the

NGOs and the local governments showed that GBV is a threat to society and, as one of the participants

said:”This evil has to be eliminated”. A local councillor, Naledi Masipa from Polokwane Municipality in the

Capricorn District answered some questions send by email and wrote: ”If GBV is removed everybody will be

free to take part in the economy. There is still a stigma of our people in terms of apartheid. I think they are

still in that system and it will take time for them to be out of that”.

The legacy of apartheid:

Postcolonial feminism takes the historical dimension into account and points out the legacy of apartheid to

be an important obstacle for achieving gender equality. The legacy of apartheid includes a highly divided


87

country, divided by race, class, and gender. In general, the white minority always has had and continues to

have access to resources and tends to be relatively rich, while black people, who have been denied

access to resources, continue to be poor. The patriarchate keeps the inequalities between women and

men alive, and in South Africa the same inequality is evident between black and white women.

The economic system and wage labour:

Unemployment is high despite gender parity in wage employment. The feminisation of poverty and its

impact on the health and wellbeing of marginalised women severely challenges sustainable development.

The Government has introduced social grants and housing in an attempt to eradicate racial disparity and

The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act 2003 seeks to correct the apartheid legacy of racial

imbalances in ownership, control and participation within the South African economy. A vast majority of

men and women are informal traders, and especially the women needs protection. Mama Rose, a

representative of the informal traders, said at the Summit: “We strongly believe that informal trading

should be accepted. The women should be involved in the policymaking. Most of the informal traders are

breadwinners, we deserve a better life; we demand a stop to law enforcement. We are treated as lunatics

but we have sense, we are normal, so Government, please, come and sit with us, talk to us.”

South Africa is divided in two economies: the first economy is the recognized businesses and the second

economy is the informal trade. The first economy has legal rights and a majority of whites as owners, the

other has no rights and a majority of blacks as owners. At the bottom of the economic pyramid are the

black women.

The social system and the school enrolment:

It is mandatory to attend school from 7 to 15 years of age and on the paper the MDG3’s indicator one is

achieved. Nevertheless, more than half of the children do not finish secondary school. The girls drop out

because of pregnancy and the boys drop out because of boredom. The schools are ravage by violence and

girls are getting raped by their teachers and their classmates. The high level of gender-based violence in

combination with a patriarchal society does not leave the girls much hope for a future with free choice.

Girls are socialised to become housekeepers and child-bearers, placing less value on their education.

Furthermore, when girls perform well in subjects such as maths or science, they are not encouraged to

pursue careers that rely on these skills. At the Thabang Information Centre in Northern Cape, Liza

Magerman uses door-to-door visits to get hold on the families, especially the women and children, and to

create an open community. The Centre informs the schools if there are signs or cases of abuse amongst the


88

students, and the teachers take contact to the Centre, if they come upon problems that students

experience at home. The aim is to restore the moral values in the society.

The political system:

As the only political party in South Africa, the ANC has a 50/50 quota system and, no doubt, this has raised

the proportion of women in the Parliament. Because the ANC has an overwhelming majority with 264 seats

out of 400, the percentage of women is 43.3% or 170 and 128 are from the ANC. Lulama Xingwana, the

Minister of Agriculture and land Affairs ones said, that it doesn’t matter how many women are in

Parliament as long as the people remain poor. Maybe, the people remain poor because of the politicians?

Accountability and responsibility are articles in short supply in the South African political system. The liberal

democracy has lifted the politicians in the National Parliament away from the civil society. A small political

and business elite in the South African community with close ties to the Government has made substantial

advances, but the majority of the country still languishes in poverty, privation, violent crime, and

underdevelopment. Gender Equality has moved into the Parliament and is stuck there for the time being.

Concluding remarks:


Gender Equality?

In post-apartheid South Africa the legal system are in place for achieving gender equality, the international

conventions are ratified, except one, and the Constitution is gender sensitive. Even the MDG3 is almost

achieved; however, African postcolonial feminism points at the patriarchal system, the cultural customs,

and the neo-liberal ideology as the main obstacles for achieving gender equality. As long as patriarchy

permeates the society, there is no gender equality. Patriarchy also stimulates gender-based violence in

order to retain power. Changing attitudes and mindsets can take generations; fortunately, African feminists

are working in the local governments and in the NGOs, and a positive sign is that one third of the feminists

are men. Overall, the system in South Africa is not conducive to achieving Gender Equality; however, there

are small pockets of gender friendly organisations and local governments that work seriously with the

issue; they were represented at the Johannesburg Summit and showed the way forward.


89

Appendix 1

Geneva Conference: Gender Politics in International Governance - the participants

Alison Woodward, from the Free University of Brussels.

Alison E. Woodward (Oberlin College, B. A., M..A.; Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley) is Research Professor and teacher at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She is co-director of the Centre for Gender Studies and Diversity Research at the VUB and Senior Associate Fellow at the Institute for European Studies. http://poli.vub.ac.be/view.phtml?id=37

Andrea Schneiker, from Leibniz University Hannover, Institute of Political Science in Germany and newly graduated.

Anne Jenichen, from the University of Bremen.

After graduating in political science from Free University Berlin, Anne participated in the PhD research training group “Gender Dynamics in Violent Conflicts” at the Gender Studies Centre, University of Bremen. Prior to joining UNRISD, she pursued her doctoral research on advocacy processes in the field of women’s rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict at Northeastern University in Boston. Her main research interests include international institutions; women’s movements; the formation and effects of women’s rights and gender equality policies, particularly in post-war states; secularisms/public religions and their impact on gender equality. http://www.unrisd.org/80256B3C005BC203/(httpPeople)/63569E7BE404DC4FC12573A7004A2829?OpenDocument

Bineta Diop, keynote speaker from Senegal, founder and Executive Director of FAS “Femmes Africa Solidarité”. Said to news on the web 15 May 2011: "Women are the backbone of development. But still there is a glass ceiling ... power is still in the hands of the man. Still our voices are absent."

Brigitte Young, since 1999 Professor in International/Comparative Political Economy at the Institute of Political Science, the University of Münster in Germany. From the CV: http://www.uni-muenster.de/imperia/md/content/byoung/pdfs/resume_and_literature_august_2010.pdf 2010–2014: German Delegate and Member – Management Committee, European Cooperation in Scientific and Technical Research (COST) IS0902: Systemic Risks, Financial Crisis and Credit: The Roots, Dynamics and Consequences of the Subprime Crisis” (Project Leader: Oliver Kessler). Latest book: Gender Knowledge and Knowledge Networks in International Political Economy, Baden-Baden: Nomos (Co-Author: Christoph Scherrer).


90

Carol Cohn, from the Boston Consortium on Gender, Security, and Human Rights, USA.

Dr. Carol Cohn is the Director of the Boston Consortium on Gender, Security and Human Rights. Carol is a leader in the scholarly community addressing issues of gender in global politics generally, armed conflict and security. Dr. Cohn's research and writing has focused on gender and security issues ranging from work on the discourse of civilian defence intellectuals to gender integration issues in the US military, weapons of mass destruction, and the gender dimensions of contemporary armed conflicts. In her most recent research, supported by the Ford Foundation, Dr. Cohn examines gender mainstreaming in international peace and security institutions. Within this research program, a central focus is the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, and the on-going efforts to ensure its implementation at the international, national, and grassroots levels. http://asci.researchhub.ssrc.org/carol-cohn/person_view

Carolyn Hannan, former head of DAW in New York.

Ms. Carolyn Hannan was appointed as Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women from 1 December, 2001. Ms Hannan is a Swedish National. She was formerly the Senior Policy Advisor on Gender Equality in the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (1992-1998) and the Chair of the OECD/DAC Working Party on Gender Equality (1995-1997). During the 1990s Ms Hannan was also part of a national gender mainstreaming advisory group in Sweden. More recently, Ms Hannan worked for two years as the Principal Officer for Gender Mainstreaming in the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues at the United Nations in New York. In this context she provided advice and support and monitored progress in gender mainstreaming throughout the United Nations. Ms Hannan has also lived and worked for more than 10 years in Africa, and within the context of her work with Swedish development cooperation, has worked on gender and development in many other countries in Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Her academic background is in social and economic geography and social anthropology. She has a doctorate in Social and Economic Geography from the University of Lund in Sweden and has the title of Associate Professor. Ms. Hannan’s work experience covers advocacy and policy development for gender equality as well as methodology and competence development for gender mainstreaming and she has published widely in these areas. Her work has covered gender perspectives in many areas, including water supply and sanitation, health, population, statistics, human settlements, natural resource management, governance and poverty eradication. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/daw/director.htm

Claudia von Braunmühl, from the Free University of Berlin, Germany.

geb. 1944, studierte Politikwissenschaft am Otto-Suhr-Institut der FU Berlin, 1968 – 1979 wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Fachbereich Gesellschaftswissenschaft der J.W.G. Universität Frankfurt, 1976/77 Gastprofessorin am Department of Politics der University of Edinburgh, 1980 – 1984 Beauftrage des Deutschen Entwicklungsdienstes in Jamaika. Seit 1996 Honorarprofessorin für Internationale Politik am Fachbereich Politik- und Sozialwissenschaften der FU Berlin, September 2002 bis März 2005 Lehrstuhlvertretung "Entwicklungssoziologie/Entwicklungspolitik"(C4) an der Universität Bielefeld. http://www.glow-boell.de/de/rubrik_2/5_1118.htm#Braunmühl

Elizabeth Prügl, from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Switzerland.

PROFESSEUR, SCIENCE POLITIQUE : Education: The American University, Washington, D.C., Ph.D. in International Relations, passed with distinction, August 1992. Book 2009: Diversity in the European Union, Edited by Elisabeth Prügl and Markus Thiel, Palgrave Macmillan

DOMAINES D'EXPERTISE: Agriculture, land and rural development; Civil society, social movements; Trade Unions, NGOs; European Union; Gender,

women and public policies; Globalisation; Governance, local and international; International organisations, UN; Europe Western and Central. http://www.apsun.ch/Jahia/site/iheid/cache/bypass/teaching/professeurs?alphafilter=PQR

Erika Kvapilova, employee at UNIFEM in Bratislava since 2005.

Recent employment: Programme Specialist, UNIFEM (United Nation Development Fund for Women), Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe, Bratislava May 1st, 2004 – December 31st, 2005: Senior research fellow, University of Economics in Bratislava, Faculty of National Economy. Recent participation: 2004-2005: The NGO expert of National Action Plan on Social Inclusion, supported by the European Commission, DG V (along with Zuzana Kusá, Institute for Sociology, SAS) Department of Social Development and Labour (social policy, family policy, gender equality) Recent publication: Kvapilova, Erika and Bahna Miloslav (2007), “Perception of Equality Between Men and Women in Slovakia”, Slovak Socilogical review, Vol 39, No 3, pp.259-272. http://www.euro.centre.org/data/1181642819_99786.pdf

http://www.apsun.ch/corporate/resources/Expertise/page6406_en.html#1










91

Gülay Çağlar, from the Humboldt University - Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture, Germany.

Research areas: Feministische Ökonomie, Internationale Politische Ökonomie, Policy Forschung, Wissensnetzwerke, Gender und Global Governance Book 2010: Transnationale Wissensnetzwerke und Geschlechterpolitik: Diskursive Opportunitätsstrukturen im Feld der internationalen Wirtschafts- und Handelspolitik. In: Bauhardt, Christine; Caglar, Gülay (Hrsg.): Gender and Economics. Feministische Kritik der politischen Ökonomie. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaft. (i.E.). http://www.agrar.hu-berlin.de/struktur/institute/wisola/fg/gg/team/caglar

Helen M. Kinsella, since 2005 assistant professor at the department of political science at the University of Wisconsin, USA.

Hilary Charlesworth, lawyer and from the Australian National University.

Hilary Charlesworth is an Australian Research Council Federation Fellow, Professor in RegNet and Director of the Centre for International Governance and Justice, ANU. She also holds an appointment as Professor of International Law and Human Rights in the ANU College of Law. Her research interests are in international law and human rights law. She has worked with various non-governmental human rights organisations on ways to implement international human rights standards and was chair of the ACT Government's inquiry into an ACT bill of rights, which culminated in the adoption of the ACT Human Rights Act 2004. She is Patron of the ACT Women's Legal Service and a patron of the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture. She was winner (with Christine Chinkin) of the Goler T. Butcher Medal awarded by the American Society of International Law in 2006 for "Outstanding contributions to the development of international human rights law." http://law.anu.edu.au/scripts/Staffdetails.asp?staffID=14

Ilse Lenz, from University of Bochum.

Prof. Dr. Ilse Lenz studied in the USA, Japan and at the University of Munich; she gained her PhD at the FU Berlin on women's work in Japanese industrialisation from a development sociology perspective. In her habilitation in Münster in 1989, she studied gender relations on the Japanese labour market and the influences of computerisation (both studies on the basis of expert interviews and archive work in Japanese). She is currently Chair of Sociology (women's and social structure studies) in the Social Sciences Faculty and co-opted to the Faculty of East Asian Studies at the Ruhr University Bochum. http://www.gender-in-gestufte-studiengaenge.de/en_expertin_beispiel.php?lg=en&expertin=112&fach=17&cFach=Sociology&main=5

Jacqui True, from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Senior Lecturer, International Relations, University of Auckland,Ph.D. in Political Science, York University, Canada（2000). Chair, Feminist Theory and Gender Studies Section, International Studies Association of North America (2010-2011). Latest book: The Political Economy of Violence Against Women. New York: Oxford University Press. http://www.2010symposium-fwrpd.org.tw/speakers/CVPPT/1%20Jacqui%20CV-1.pdf

Janice Førde, chairperson of the development organization “Kvindernes U-lands Udvalg” K.U.L.U., Women and Development, Denmark. Political scientist from the USA with a focus on economics and East Asian Studies. Ms. Førde also holds a degree from the Institute for Social Studies and Public Administration, University of Copenhagen, where she specialized in development, gender equality and women’s rights issues. She has worked on a number of development issue and policy areas, specializing in gender, development and empowerment; gender, trade and development; economic globalization; and reproductive and sexual rights and health. http://www.google.dk/#hl=da&source=hp&biw=1276&bih=606&q=janice+foerde&rlz=1R2SKPB_daDK355&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=d20a1d9125c8b34a

Kate Bedford, from the University of Kent, UK.

Kate Bedford works at Kent Law School (Canterbury, UK), where she teaches public law and law and development. She has previously worked in the US, Mexico, Austria, and Pakistan. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Her research has attempted to explore the relationships between gender, sexuality, and international development. Her book, Developing partnerships: Gender, Sexuality and the Reformed World Bank, has just been published by University of Minnesota Press, and she is embarking on a new project looking at gambling regulation, economic development, and gender. http://www.unrisd.org/80256B3C005BC203/(httpPeople)/EAB378C42965B3CFC12576800055334A?OpenDocument


92

Kristin Valasek, from the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, Switzerland.

She holds a Masters in Conflict Resolution from the University of Bradford after completing her thesis on the topic of gender and small arms/light weapons. Her undergraduate degree is in International Studies and Women's Studies. She works on gender and security sector reform within the DCAF Gender and Security Programme. http://www.dcaf.ch/dcaf/About-Us/Staff/Details?lng=en&id=29508

Laura Parisi, from the University of Victoria, Canada.

Research Description: Gender and international human rights, international development, globalization studies, transnational activism, feminist methodology. http://communications.uvic.ca/experts/details.php?go=1&id=820

Madeleine Rees, lawyer and Secretary General of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in Geneva. Madeleine qualified as a lawyer in 1990 and became a partner in a large law firm in the UK in 1994 specializing in discrimination law, particularly in the area of employment, and public and administrative law and she did work on behalf of both the Commission for Racial Equality and the Equal Opportunities Commission mainly on developing strategies to establish rights under domestic law through the identification of test cases to be brought before the courts. Madeleine brought cases both to the European Court of Human Rights and The European Court in Luxembourg. She was cited as one of the leading lawyers in the field of discrimination in the Chambers directory of British lawyers. In 1998 she began working for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as the gender expert and Head of Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In that capacity she worked extensively on the rule of law, gender and post conflict, transitional justice and the protection of social and economic rights. The Office in Bosnia was the first to take a case of rendition to Guantanamo before a court. The OHCHR office dealt extensively with the issue of trafficking and Madeleine was a member of the expert coordination group of the trafficking task force of the Stability Pact, thence the Alliance against Trafficking. From September 2006 to April 2010 she was the head of the Women`s rights and gender unit. For the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, focusing on using law to describe the different experiences of men and women, particularly post conflict. The aim was to better understand and interpret the concept of Security using human rights law as complementary to humanitarian law and how to make the human rights machinery more responsive and therefore more effective from a gender perspective.

http://www.peacewomen.org/pages/about-us/wilpf-staff-and-board

Rachel Harris, representing Women’s Environment and Development Organization in New York.

Rita Sabat, Assistant professor at the Notre Dame University, Louaize, Lebanon working in the U.S.

Shahra Razavi, from the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, Switzerland.

She is Research Coordinator at UNRISD and specializes in the gender dimensions of social development, with a particular focus on livelihoods and social policies. She began her collaboration with UNRISD in February 1993, when she joined the Institute to work on a new research initiative to explore the gender dimensions of economic policy. She has led the Institute’s subsequent research projects on gender, including Gender, Poverty and Well-Being; Agrarian Change, Gender and Land Rights; Globalization, Export-Oriented Employment for Women and Social Policy; and work on Gender Justice, Development and Rights which was carried out as part of the Institute's contribution to the Beijing Plus 5 Review Process (2000). She coordinated the preparation of the UNRISD flagship report, Gender Equality: Striving for Justice in an Unequal World (2005). Her most recent research projects have been on The Political and Social Economy of Care, and Religion, Politics and Gender Equality. http://www.unrisd.org/80256B3C005BC203/(httpPeople)/D978A8DEC0EA8D5680256B5D00391902?OpenDocument.

Susanne Zwingel, from the State University of New York, Potsdam, USA.

Assistant Professor: “I joined the Politics Department at SUNY Potsdam in January 2006. My teaching areas are International Relations and Women and Gender Studies; my research interests are Human Rights, Transnational Advocacy, Conflict and Post-Conflict Dynamics and Postcolonial Societies (both on the colonizer and colonized sides). I usually envision these topics from a gender perspective. I did all my higher education in Germany and publish in English and German. My dissertation analyzed the Impact of the CEDAW Convention on Women’s Rights Norms in Domestic Contexts; it is accessible online (http://www-brs.ub.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/netahtml/HSS/Diss/ZwingelSusanne/). I am also interested in public gender policies in a comparative perspective, especially in Europe and Latin America.” http://directory.potsdam.edu/?function=user=zwinges


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PICTURES from GENEVA: Gender Politics in International Governance

The Keynote Speaker Bineta Diop R. Harris, Carolyn Hannan, E. Kvapilova, and Madeleine Rees

J. True, G. Çağlar, S. Razavi, B. Young, K. Bedford J. True, C. von Braunmühl, E. Prügl, L. Parisi, A. Woodward

Ilse Lenz Janice Førde


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PICTURES from GENEVA: Gender Politics in International Governance

No doubt, that Geneva is the City of the United Nations

R. Sabat, Hilary Charlesworth, A. Jenichen, Susanne Zwingel Carol Cohn, H. Kinsella, K. Valasek, A. Schneiker (standing)


95

Appendix 2

Naledi Frida Masipa: answers

On request by e-mail on April 2011, Naledi Frida Masipa from Polokwane Municipality in the Capricorn

District sent answers as contribution to the Master’s Thesis.

South Africa has signed the most important conventions concerning gender equality, but has not signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights from 1966. Do you know why? I have no idea why but I think if they can start with the removal of gender violence then everybody will be free to take part in the economy of the country.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is critical to polygamy. How is your attitude to this cultural heritage that is legal in South Africa but illegal in the majority of countries around the world? How do you feel about having a President that is practising this cultural habit? Let us not forget that this country is democratic emphasise the rights of individuals especially that the first women are involved in the polygamy issue. For this to happen is that they have no objection on that otherwise we would have heard about it so it means they are happy. If you are thinking of your own community and the stakeholders in your projects, how can you answer the question: Why is the environment in South Africa not conducive to achieving gender equality? There is still a stigma of our people in terms of apartheid; I think they are still in that system and it will take time for them to be out of that. Again most of the issues are just in papers implementation is still a problem. Some of the argumentations, I have read, contain culture and poverty as main reasons for GBV. Do you agree? You are more than welcome to develop further on the question. Oh yes because there is still some women that are not allowed to work or working due to high rate of unemployment in our country and again most of them are not free within their families,


96

men are still ruling and women are silence about what they are going through especially that they have nowhere to go. In the paper “Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women” from February 2011, the Committee urges the State party to 1. Address harmful practices, such as Ukuthwala, polygamy and the killing of “witches” and the practice of FGM amongst certain population, more vigorously. 2. Use innovative and effective measures to strengthen understanding of the equality of women and men to work with the media to enhance a positive, non-stereotypical and non-discriminatory portrayal of women. Do the Committee have a point? Are the cultural practices and the stereotyping of men and women some of the main problems for achieving gender equality in South Africa, today? I still say yes especially that men are still in control of everything, even if women are getting ther but i minority and again if you can observe those women that are at the highest or higher ladder are divorced.


97

PICTURES from JOHANNESBURG: Gender Justice and Local Government Summit

Colleen Lowe Morna South African delegation in traditional outfit

Entertainment from the South African delegation A South African Choir


98

Mama Rose at the panel (picture taken from a seat among the audience, quiet symbolic she seems squeezed by people)

A wealthy neighbourhood in Soweto Paper sign to the Domestic Violence Court in Soweto

Workshop for sewing and painting shoes in Soweto Craft shop with beautiful jewellery and dresses in Soweto


99

Informal trading in Soweto: female traders to the left and male traders to the right

The Mandela Bridge Johannesburg South Africa


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Appendix 3

The 28 targets of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.

Articles 4-11: Constitutional and legal rights

1. Endeavour to enshrine gender equality and equity in their Constitutions and ensure that these are not

compromised by any provisions, laws or practices.

2. Review, amend and or repeal all discriminatory laws.

3. Abolish the minority status of women.

Articles 12-13: Governance (representation and participation)

4. Endeavour to ensure that 50 percent of decision-making positions in all public and private sectors are

held by women including through the use of affirmative action measures.

Article 14: Education and training

5. Enact laws that promote equal access to and retention in primary, secondary, tertiary, vocational and

non-formal education in accordance with the Protocol on Education and Training and the Millennium

Development Goals.

6. Adopt and implement gender sensitive educational policies and programmes addressing gender

stereotypes in education and gender-based violence, amongst others.

Article 15-19: Productive resources and employment, economic empowerment

7. Ensure equal participation by women and men in policy formulation and implementation of economic

policies.

8. Conduct time use studies and adopt policy measures to ease the burden of the multiple roles played by

women.

9. Adopt policies and enact laws which ensure equal access, benefits and opportunities for women and

men in trade and entrepreneurship, taking into account the contribution of women in the formal and

informal sectors.


101

10. Review national trade and entrepreneurship policies, to make them gender responsive.

11. With regard to the affirmative action provisions of Article 5, introduce measures to ensure that women

benefit equally from economic opportunities, including those created through public procurement

processes.

12. Review all policies and laws that determine access to, control of, and benefit from, productive

resources by women.

13. Review, amend and enact laws and policies that ensure women and men have equal access to wage

employment in all sectors of the economy.

Articles 20-25: Gender-Based Violence

14. Enact and enforce legislation prohibiting all forms of gender-based violence.

15. Ensure that laws on gender-based violence provide for the comprehensive testing, treatment and care

of survivors of sexual assault.

16. Review and reform their criminal laws and procedures applicable to cases of sexual offences and

gender-based violence.

17. Enact and adopt specific legislative provisions to prevent human trafficking and provide holistic services

to the victims, with the aim of re-integrating them into society.

18. Enact legislative provisions, and adopt and implement policies, strategies and programmes which define

and prohibit sexual harassment in all spheres, and provide deterrent sanctions for perpetrators of

sexual harassment.

19. Adopt integrated approaches, including institutional cross sector structures, with the aim of reducing

current levels of gender-based violence by half by 2015.

Article 26: Health

20. Adopt and implement legislative frameworks, policies, programmes and services to enhance gender

sensitive, appropriate and affordable quality health care.

21. Reduce the maternal mortality ratio by 75%.

22. Develop and implement policies and programmes to address the mental, sexual and reproductive

health needs of women and men.

23. Ensure the provision of hygiene and sanitary facilities and nutritional needs of women, including

women in prison.


102

Article 27: HIV and AIDS

24. Develop gender sensitive strategies to prevent new infections.

25. Ensure universal access to HIV and AIDS treatment for infected women, men, boys and girls.

26. Develop and implement policies and programmes to ensure the appropriate recognition of the work

carried out by caregivers, the majority of whom are women; the allocation of resources and

psychological support for caregivers as well as promote the involvement of men in the care and

support of People Living with AIDS.

Article 28: Peace building and conflict resolution

27. Put in place measures to ensure that women have equal representation and participation in key

decision-making positions in conflict resolution and peace building processes, in accordance with UN

Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

Articles 29-31: Media, information and communication

28. Take measures to promote the equal representation of women in ownership of, and decision-making

structures of the media, in accordance with Article 12.1 that provides for equal representation of

women in decision-making positions by 2015.

Source:

http://www.genderlinks.org.za/page/sadc-protocol-policy, pamphlet in English accessed 28 June 2011.


103

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