After slow start, continental initiative
advances gender equity
By Itai Madamombe
NEPAD acknowledges that women play the predominant role in food production. When African heads of state originally launched their continental development plan, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), in 2001, women’s organizations banded together to protest the initiative’s seeming lack of sensitivity to gender issues. They demanded that NEPAD’s proponents ensure that women were not frozen out of the social and economic benefits promised by the initiative.
Ms. Litha Musyimi-Ogana, an advocate for women’s rights, was among those in the forefront asking for change. “I got the NEPAD foundation document into my hands,” recalls Ms. Musyimi-Ogana. “I rushed to the goals and the second one said that empowering women was a priority. I got excited. Then I flipped the pages to find a plan of action that said concretely what NEPAD would do — one, two and three — for women. There was nothing there.”
The once skeptical activist later joined NEPAD’s management structure, heading the Gender and Civil Society Organizations Unit formed in 2004 to bring women’s issues into policies, programmes and activities related to the initiative. The unit was created in direct response to recommendations by women’s groups, civil society organizations and other stakeholders.
“Our attitude in protesting was: If you see something missing, help add to it,” Ms. Musyimi-Ogana reflects. “Don’t just complain. While the NEPAD declaration was far from perfect, I saw a commitment, I saw a spirit in it. It is the first time heads of state are committing to Africa voluntarily. This is historic. I said to myself: ‘I am going to support this vision and change things from within if necessary’.”
Monitoring rights
In one of NEPAD’s most innovative initiatives, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), African governments carry out periodic reviews of the policies and practices of participating countries to assess progress in promoting democracy, good governance and economic management. Among other indicators, countries participating in the peer review are required to demonstrate the measures they have taken to promote and protect women’s rights, as well as the laws adopted and other steps taken to enhance the participation of women in society. They are expected to back up their claims with figures on the percentages of women in decision-making positions, parliament and so on.
Rwanda has been a leader in the number of women elected to parliament, notes Ms. Anne Marie Goetz, an expert on peace and security issues with UN Women, the world body’s agency on gender equity. The constitution mandates that at least 30 per cent of parliamentary deputies be women, but the strong push to support women candidates during elections resulted in women holding 56 per cent of seats.
NEPAD’s peer review report on Rwanda, released in 2006, found that in addition to constitutional provisions, “Rwanda has created a plethora of institutions and development programmes to enhance the status and welfare of women in all walks of life.” Despite the huge strides, the APRM’s country review team reported that women still face many hurdles. Similar reviews, accompanied by proposals to improve women’s status and opportunities, as well as other recommendations, have also been carried out in more than a dozen other African countries.
Hands on the purse strings
Overall in sub-Saharan Africa, an average 19.4 per cent of parliamentary seats are held by women, in line with the world average of 19.3 per cent, according to estimates by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), an international body that serves as a forum for dialogue among legislators.
“Getting women into key positions is critical,” Ms. Goetz points out. “If you have women in public office — though not always the case — they tend to be more sensitive to the needs of female citizens.” The ability of women deputies to bring about real change, however, depends on the stance of their parties and the calibre of the representatives themselves. Occupying top government posts does not necessarily translate to influence. It is disappointing, the IPU reports, that women are still less likely than men to hold an economic portfolio or to be a country’s top foreign affairs representative.
“The question of women keeps coming back,” notes Augustin Wambo, a NEPAD agriculture policy expert. He argues that noble goals will be meaningless unless those in positions of power are made aware of women’s needs. “No matter how many pledges are made,” Mr. Wambo stresses, “unless we empower lawmakers to unblock resources from national budgets and put in place the necessary means and policies to support women, the initiative is not going to fly.”
NEPAD’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), launched in 2003, argues that “special attention must be given to the vital food-producing and entrepreneurial roles of women in rural and urban African communities.” The CAADP adds, “African women account for substantial amounts of production in both the informal and formal sectors,” while women entrepreneurs “not only invest in their business but also place high value on social investments in their communities.”
It is estimated that women produce more than half the food crops in most African countries. Studies by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have found, however, that despite women’s dominant role in food security, contemporary laws and traditional customs make it difficult for them to own land or acquire credit. Women also get only a tiny fraction of the professional training provided by agricultural institutions.
Networks and think tanks
To ensure that issues affecting women are better reflected in policies and programmes, NEPAD personnel consult with pools of experts across all sectors. In 2005, for example, at a meeting organized by the Kenya-based African Women’s Development Communication Network (FEMNET), representatives from over 40 countries called for a mechanism to respond to gender and civil society matters.
As a result of further consultations, the Civil Society Organizations Think Tank, comprising 60 gender experts from all regions of Africa, was created that same year. Its members are experts in NEPAD’s various priority themes, such as agriculture, education, transportation and health. These experts work with women on the ground, and thus have a good understanding of what ordinary women most need.
Such willingness to consult gender experts, notes Roselynn Musa, a programme officer at FEMNET, a member of the think tank, shows that African leaders now realize that NEPAD’s goals cannot be achieved unless women and girls are able to participate to the best of their abilities.
“The think tank shows that the NEPAD leaders are aware there was a gap in how they initially planned to do business,” Ms. Musa told Africa Renewal. “They are now trying to fill that gap.” By having a positive impact on daily lives, Ms. Musa adds, NEPAD will become more credible and relevant to African women.
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