Introduction

There is clear evidence that gender equality is smart economics. Yet, African women are still disproportionately affected by poverty. The role of women in smart economics is often relegated to the private domain.  It is estimated that it will take Africa 95 years to close gender gaps. COVID-19 demonstrated that women are disproportionately occupied in jobs that require face-to-face interactions and have been disproportionately more exposed to the risk of contagion during the pandemic. 

There are five key elements to consider regarding barriers to women’s empowerment.

Firstly, it is estimated that about 65% of the population of African nurses is made up of women, and the same applies to those frontline workers such as supermarket cashiers. Second, women are occupationally segregated in sectors and industries that have been economically impacted the hardest by the pandemic.

Third, women are disproportionately more represented among informal workers. Fourth, even before COVID, on average, women took up about 75% of the burden of unpaid domestic tasks within households globally. And that has not gotten any better during the pandemic. And lastly, women have seen an increase in their burden of unpaid domestic labour. 

And yet policies and strategies are often developed as if an equal playing field exists. The Southern Africa Development Community’s (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development speaks to empowerment but misses a vital element—the realities of SADC countries to implement the Protocol.

SADC Protocol on Gender and Development

The main objective of the Protocol is to empower women and eliminate harmful, discriminatory practices. The Protocol came into force in 2013, with 14 SADC member states party to it.  There are five primary objectives of the Protocol to ensure gender-responsive normative frameworks:

1.       Eliminate discrimination and achieve gender equality.

2.       Harmonise and coordinate the implementation of the various SADC obligations.

3.       Address emerging gender issues and concerns.

4.       Set measurable targets and goals for the Protocol.

5.       Deepen regional integration for sustainable development and community building.

As noble as these objectives are, the protocol has not met expectations.  A strong criticism of the Protocol is that it negated and weakened the continental commitment to the “African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa”, better known as the Maputo Protocol. The Maputo Protocol guarantees comprehensive rights for women in Africa; this continental instrument provides for the family, community and national building blocks that will ultimately result in human security and sustainable peace.

Article 21 of the Protocol obligates member states to ensure equal wages and jobs for men and women, recognise the value of persons in domestic work, and prohibit employers from denying employment based on pregnancy or disease. Thus, guaranteeing the right of women’s equal opportunities in job and career advancement.

However, the SADC has weak implementation mechanisms and added another layer of reporting gender issues to member states. SADC member states must register the same issues for the Maputo Protocol and the Convention on Eliminating all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.  South Africa, for example, should have reported in October 2021 but did not due to issues arising from domestication amendments of the protocol.

SADC is a Region of Contradictions

Despite some low-level political violence in Southern Africa, the region is predominantly peaceful.

However, socioeconomic unrest – promoted by poverty, corruption, a lack of essential state services, underdevelopment, state repression and political tyranny – has contributed to violent protest and human insecurity in the region. Despite a commitment by most governments to international protocols enshrining women’s rights and empowerment there are entrenched social, economic, and cultural practices in the area which perpetuate and enforce gender inequalities and discrimination in all aspects of women’s lives.

This is especially important because a common and consistent thread through overt conflicts and ‘ordinary’ societal violence is the enactment of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). SGBV is a global problem that cuts across race, class, religion, age, and culture. A recent international study has highlighted the tragic reality that domestic violence kills more people than wars and results in significant loss of economic output,  far surpassing the financial cost of recent wars

Women have been instrumental in building social capital at the community level. The Namibian Peace Centre is an example of what women can do to address violence and social unrest. The challenge in most SADC countries relates to reconnecting communities and rebuilding social capital, especially given the political violence and civil protest.  Women-led community-based organisations are uniquely placed to provide robust, inclusive, and vigilant approaches.

The Protocol on Gender and Development: What is Hampering Implementation

The Protocol consolidates and creates synergies between various commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment into one comprehensive regional instrument that enhances the capacity to plan, implement, and monitor the SADC Gender agenda effectively. The Protocol sets specific, measurable targets for Member States on issues such as, among others: constitutional and legal rights, representation and participation, gender-based violence, peacebuilding and conflict resolution, and implementation.

Women in SADC make up the majority of those living in poverty. This is due to high illiteracy rates, restrictive and discriminatory national laws, and limited control over productive resources compared to men. Another serious problem is the contradictions between customary and constitutional law. Customary law often promotes inequalities, while constitutional law promotes equality between genders.

Despite the Protocol’s existence since 2008, gender inequality remains high in the region. And women are still employed in the informal sector and unsafe or less regulated industries. This means the key elements of the Protocol: “identifying gender gaps and making women’s, men’s, girls’ and boys’ concerns and experiences integral to the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all spheres so they benefit equally” is unrealised for 15 years.

Despite political rhetoric that includes economic empowerment and equal access to employment and a productive workforce, nothing tangible beyond ad hoc interventions exists. Discriminatory gender norms and practices continue in the region. To tangibly measure the investment for women’s empowerment in Southern Africa is challenging.

Overcoming Challenges and Realising Women’s Empowerment

Most of the challenge in terms of empowerment for women within the region relates to funding. A special fund for the Gender and Development Protocol must be established in SADC.  The fund’s purpose would be to mobilise resources to support programmes and projects that realise gender equality.

SADC member states interpretation of the Protocol needs to be more consistent. Reporting mechanisms should be streamlined with international and continental reporting to avoid overburdening member states.  The most significant criticism is that the policy is focused on women but lacks a complete focus on gender equality when it seems that women's empowerment means excluding other marginalised groups like people with disabilities and youth. So, opening the space for more gender representation would ensure that women’s empowerment can occur holistically.

In the 2022 Global Gender Report, Namibia and South Africa are part of the top economies to have closed at least 80% of their gender gaps. And this could be related to Namibia's high educational attainment rate, especially in terms of tertiary education, which speaks to the close link between education and economic participation. Namibia could be used as a case study to address overcoming challenges other countries face in reducing gender inequality.

Given the costs associated with decision-making in communities and households, financial resources can limit women's participation.  Access to power tends to emerge from familial, communal, and economic linkages, and these factors may help explain why women are not empowered economically in the region. Having more equitable societies also means that those societies are less prone to violent conflict. Research has shown that women’s empowerment and gender equality are closely linked with more stable outcomes and sustainable peace. 

Though it will cost resources, infrastructures should be established to protect women’s work and labour. The SADC member states should start investing more in gender-responsive budgeting (GRB), which has proven to focus more on improving health and education, which the region desperately needs. The Protocol reporting mechanisms could introduce a GRB section to highlight social spending.

Conclusion

It is not just about having women represented but also about making sure their representation counts.  SADC has an opportunity to streamline the implementation of the Gender and Development Protocol, which focuses on uplifting women in all their diversities and other marginalised groups. The development and security of the region is dependent on women’s empowerment.

Written by Liezelle Kumalo (Gender Specialist and the Acting Gender Manager at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation)

Published by Africa Legal Aid

The views expressed on this blog are those of the contributors. They are not necessarily the views of AFLA, its editors, or its board.