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Women’s PoliticalParticipation in SADC

Ms. Colleen Lowe Morna

“Without the active participation of women and the incorporation of women’s perspectives in all levels of decision- making, the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved.”

- Beijing Platform for Action

“Throughout Africa, women are preparing themselves for greater and better political participation. They are inviting the men folk to seize the opportunity and embrace true democracy and good governance by opening up political systems to women and all marginalized groups- youth, people with disabilities and minorities. There can be no turning back… this is the call of history…. The question is, on which side will you be caught – for change, or for resisting change?”

- Winnie Byanyima, MP, Uganda and Chairperson of the Forum for Women and Democracy, speaking at the Emang Basadi 10th Anniversary Celebration in Botswana, 13 December, 1996.

“Gender equality is not a bi-product of democracy and it does not derive only from the clauses of the constitution. Democratic constitutions deliver formal, but not substantive equality….A conscious development of theory is critical to help us understand the workings of patriarchy, its character and form in our countries as it exists in and interacts with other oppressive forms such as racism and capitalism. Indigenous approaches, informed by other experiences but based on our concrete situation should be applied”.

- Thenjiwe Mtintso, Deputy Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC) in “Women in Politics and Decision Making in SADC: Beyond 30 % in 2005”. Report of the proceedings of a conference held in Gaborone, Botswana, 28 March-1 April 1999

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International IDEA Conference -Towards Sustainable Democratic Institutions in Southern Africa

Executive summary

Africa is in the throes of major political transformation. Southern Africa-unique on the continent because of its history of white settler colonialism- is no exception. Over the last three decades, the remaining vestiges of colonialism have been removed. During the last two decades, several countries have experienced “second generation” revolutions- the shift from one party to multiparty rule. Of the handful of African countries that had functioning democracies before the nineties, two (Botswana and Mauritius) were in Southern Africa. The region is unique in Africa for having experienced only one military coup (in Lesotho). There are presently no military governments in Southern Africa.

Because of its settler colonial past, Southern Africa has a keen understanding that government that is not representative of the population is not democracy. But, until recently, that understanding was based almost entirely on race. When less than fifteen percent of the population in Namibia, Zimbabwe, or South Africa constituted the majority of those countries parliaments, there was naturally an outcry. The same outcry did not extended to the fact that, on average, there are five times more men than women in the parliaments of the region; and an even higher proportion at local government level.

The Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, heavy lobbying by civil society, and subsequent establishment of gender structures in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have spurred a vigorous campaign whose central theme is that government for men, by men, cannot be government for the people, by the people. In 1997, SADC Heads of Government adopted a “Declaration on Gender and Development” that pledged to reach a target of 30 percent women in all spheres of decision- making by 2005. In May 1999 the SADC Gender Unit (SADC GU) convened a ground breaking conference called “Beyond 30 percent in 2005: Women in Politics and Decision Making in SADC.” The conference yielded a comprehensive action plan with regional and national components.

Even at this early stage, the fruits of this action plan are evident. In the five SADC countries that held elections in 1999, two maintained the proportion of women parliamentarians while three witnessed an increase in the level of participation by women. In the case of Botswana, where the above conference was held just before the elections, and where an NGO called Emang Basadi has waged a concerted campaign for increasing the representation of women in decision- making, the figure doubled from 9 to 18 percent. Currently, the proportion of women in parliament in SADC is 17.9 percent; considerably higher than the African average of 11 percent (and average for sub Saharan Africa of 9 percent); and global average of 13.4 percent. The proportion is also higher than that for Europe and the Americas, at 15 percent. Three of the top ten countries in the world with regard to women in parliament (South Africa, Mozambique and Seychelles) are in Southern Africa.

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What the Southern African and global experience show is that there is no correlation between level of development and the degree of representation of women in leadership. The single major barrier to women’s participation in decision- making remains the deeply ingrained cultural and traditional stereotypes around the role of women, whether in western or African society. It is no coincidence that in Southern Africa, as elsewhere in the globe, there is a far closer correlation between the level of women’s representation and the existence of social revolutions or upheavals (often ushering in socialist leaning or social democratic governments) than level of economic development. Higher scoring countries include Mozambique, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia whose struggles for liberation began to prick the national conscience over whether equal representation should not also be understood to include representation by women in accordance with their numbers in the population.

Tanzania’s social democratic traditions have been critical in ensuring a higher level of participation by women there. Seychelles is unique in that the high level of men seeking employment outside the island has created a virtual matrilineal society. Participation by women was also boosted by the former one party, left leaning government and has in fact dropped since the advent of multiparty democracy- a phenomenon common in eastern Europe.

Some of the lower scoring countries, like Mauritius and Swaziland, have relatively high levels of income, but are socially conservative countries in which the presence of women in the corridors of power remains taboo. Botswana was a similar case. Its recent experience shows that socially conservative, but democratically responsive governments, can be cajoled into change.

Lessons learned

These observations have profound policy implications. The first is that simply focusing on empowering women (“give them leadership training”) is not going to achieve the desired objective. Empowerment of women must be accompanied by nationwide and region wide campaigns whose aim is to shift mindsets so that a stage is reached when we can close our eyes and see power in both feminine and masculine moulds. Short of more social revolutions and upheavals, these campaigns have to be able to challenge the status quo, leaving no country comfortable at the thought of a parliament or cabinet pin up that has only a token sprinkling of women’s faces.

Second, it has become apparent that campaigns alone will not do the trick. Some social engineering is essential. It is no coincidence that two of the three countries with the highest proportion of women (South Africa and Mozambique) are countries that have a proportional representation electoral system; and in which the ruling parties have had quotas for women. Because of its past, Southern Africa is more familiar than most regions with the arguments

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around affirmative action for disadvantaged groups. The same arguments must now be applied to gender.

Third, gender considerations need to be built into existing and ongoing debates on electoral systems- the proportional representation or first past the post system- that up to now have been gender blind. Explicit constitutional provisions for gender equality – as found in South Africa, Namibia and Tanzania- are also powerful tools for ensuring transformation.

Fourth, Southern Africa must be wary of being caught in the numbers game. This paper draws on the conceptual framework developed by Thenjiwe Mtintso, Deputy Secretary general of the African National Congress (ANC), who argues that the subject of women in decision- making must be approached from the three perspectives of access; participation and transformation. Participation concerns where women are located within decision- making bodies and the institutional barriers to their effective contribution. Transformation is about what difference women make- to the institutional culture and exercise of power; as well as to the making of laws and delivery of services. Women can be supported to be more effective participants, and therefore transformers through appropriate capacity building and training. As part of its far- reaching programme on women in politics and decision- making, the SADC GU is producing and testing a “Gender Tool Kit for SADC Decision Makers” to be adapted and used at national level.

SADC GU has been keen to grasp that while there is much that can be done at regional level, each country must come up with a national action plan for promoting women’s equal and effective participation in decision making. The agenda in Mozambique with nearly thirty percent women in parliament will be different to that in Swaziland with less than five percent women in parliament- despite the fact that these countries are neighbours. The motto that runs through SADC’s “Action Plan on Women in Politics and Decision Making” is: think globally, organize regionally, act locally.

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BACKGROUND

Over the last decade, Africa has been in the grips of a major social, economic and political revolution. Following the “lost decade” of the eighties when a combination of stumbling commodity prices, conflict, war, political instability and mismanagement witnessed major economic decline, the majority of African countries are undertaking far reaching economic reforms. The end of the Cold War, and growing acceptance of economic liberalisation, have prompted an unprecedented wave of democratisation that has led Africa to move up from the category of “not free” to “partly free” in the latest “Freedom of the World Survey” (1).

Southern Africa is both unique and similar to the rest of the continent. The only region in Africa to experience white settler rule, Southern Africa was largely preoccupied during the last two decades of the millennium with the independence of Zimbabwe and Namibia and ending of apartheid in South Africa; as well as the wars that spilled over into the former Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola as a result of South Africa’s destabilisation of its neighbours. South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe have constitutions guaranteeing multi party democracy and have experienced peaceful post independence elections, though in Zimbabwe these have been marred by claims of irregularities.

Five out of fourteen Southern African countries (Malawi, Mozambique, Seychelles, Tanzania and Zambia) have witnessed a return from one party to multiparty rule; and in two cases (Malawi and Zambia) incumbent parties have been defeated at the polls. Lesotho, the only Southern African country to ever experience military government, has restored a multiparty system. Swaziland has a constitutional monarchy. Angola, and the newest member of SADC, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), are mired in civil war. Botswana and Mauritius are two of the African countries that have long boasted functioning democracies. In the case of Mauritius, elections have led to routine changes in government.

In sum, eleven out of the fourteen SADC countries can claim to have multiparty systems with regular elections- even if old established political parties continue to win and consolidate, or in some cases cling, to power. At the very least, more democratic forms of government have led to an increase in the number and voice of opposition parties; a new lease of life for the often outspoken if perilous independent media; and a mushrooming of civil society.

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Gender and democracy in Southern Africa

Despite these momentous changes, and Southern Africa’s own unique experience of government that is not representative, issues of gender and democracy have only recently come to the fore. The painful struggles for independence in Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia provided some impetus for exploring the double and often triple discrimination borne by women- because of their race, class and gender. But gender considerations took back seat to the more immediate cause of defeating colonial and settler colonial masters.

Preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, alongside the blossoming of more democratic forms of government across the region in the closing years of the last millennium, provided new ground for examining the issue more seriously. Among the arguments that have been advanced regionally and internationally for equal representation of men and women in politics and decision- making are:

The demographics and justice argument: This school of thoughts argues, that a government by men for men can't claim to be a government for the people by the people- a view endorsed by the following resolution taken by the Inter Parliamentary Union Council in April, 1992: "The concept of democracy will only assume true and dynamic significance when political parties and national legislation are decided upon jointly by men and women with equitable regard for the interests and aptitudes of both halves of the population.” .

Who feels it knows it: Democracy is premised on the principle of the will of the people-men and women. This school of thought argues that women are best placed to articulate their own needs and concerns. As Ugandan lawyer Florence Butegwa put it in a paper presented at a Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) symposium in Johannesburg in May 1995: "women's participation in politics is not a luxury, but a necessity." Butegwa went on to point out that over three- quarters of women in Africa are engaged in food production. It follows, she argued, that "policy decisions in agriculture should not be made without the active involvement of women."

Women bring a different style and values to politics. "Women's exclusion from power in the public arena," says a United Nations background document to the Beijing conference, "is in sharp contrast to their ability to make crucial decisions relating to the survival of families." By excluding women from decision- making, the document argues, countries are depriving themselves of a reservoir of talent and wisdom, as well as a different style of decision- making.

In January 1997, government representatives and NGOs held a ground- breaking gender strategy workshop that put forward recommendations for a gender policy and institutional framework in SADC. This was approved by the Council of Ministers that February. In November 1997, SADC Heads of Government adopted a “Declaration on Gender and Development” at their annual

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summit in Blantyre. One of the commitments is to achieve a thirty percent representation of women in politics and decision- making by the year 2005. Soon after, SADC established a Gender Unit, which in May 1999 convened a conference entitled “Beyond 30 percent in 2005: Women and Decision Making in SADC” that adopted a far- reaching programme for achieving gender parity in politics in the region. The regional and international obligations for achieving this target are summarised in the box below.

INTERNATIONAL, CONTINENTAL AND REGIONAL OBLIGATIONS FOR INCREASING THE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN DECISION MAKING

The UN Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women states that: "parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in political life and shall ensure to women, on equal terms with men, the right to participate in the formulation and implementation of government policy and to hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government."

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action calls on governments to take measures to ensure women's equal access to, and full participation in, power structures and decision making by creating a gender balance in government and administration; integrating women into political parties; increasing women's capacity to participate in decision making and leadership and increasing women's participation in the electoral process and political activities.

The Organisation of African Unity committed itself to the Dakar Platform for Action through a Declaration of African Heads of State in June 1995. Among the eleven concerns is the issue of the political empowerment of women; the Declaration notes that “no African regional organization has appointed women to the top echelons of the hierarchy.”

The 1997 Southern African Development Community (SADC) Declaration on Gender and Development commits member states to “ ensuring the equal representation of women and men in the decision making of member states and SADC structures at all levels, and the achievement of at least a thirty percent target of women in political and decision making structures by the year 2005.”

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SITUATION ANALYSIS

Parliament

By global and African standards, Southern Africa has a relatively good record with regard to women in parliament, but these two comparisons fall far short of democratic principles. According to the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), since the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, the average representation of women in the parliaments of the world has increased from 11.3 percent to 13.4 percent- less than the 14.8 percent achieved in 1988. The decline is largely due to the decreasing number of women in the parliaments of former eastern bloc countries. As can be seen from the table below, there are wide variations in these figures across the globe- from 38.9 percent in the Nordic countries, to 3.4 percent in the Arab states.

WOMEN IN THE WORLD’S PARLIAMENTS BY REGION : MARCH 2000SINGLE HOUSE UPPER HOUSE BOTH COMBINED

Nordic countries 38.9 % - 38.9 %

Europe including Nordic countries

15.8 % 13.1 % 15.3%

Americas 15.4% 14.8 % 15.3 %

Asia 14.7 % 11.8 % 14.4 %

Europe excluding Nordic countries

13.6 % 13.1 % 13.5 %

Sub Saharan Africa 11.3 % 13.6 % 11.5 %

Pacific 11.3 % 25.4 % 13.3 %

Arab states 3.6 % 2.5 % 3.4 %

Source: Inter Parliamentary Union

With an average of 17.9 percent women members of parliament in its upper and lower houses (excluding DRC, for which figures were not available, see table at Annex A), Southern Africa is considerably higher than the sub Saharan African average of 11.5 percent and African average (including North Africa) of 9 percent. Seven of the top ten African countries with regard to representation of women in politics are in Southern Africa; and no Southern African countries feature in the bottom ten of the African league (see Africa table at Annex D). As a sub region, Southern Africa outstrips Europe and the Americas, and is second only to the Nordic countries.

But, as the bar graph of women in the parliaments of the region at Annex B shows, the Southern African average is largely accounted for by three countries: Mozambique, which at 28.4 percent is closest to reaching the 30 percent target; South Africa (28 percent) and Seychelles (23.5

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percent). These three countries indeed feature among the top ten in the global league of women in politics. Still, no SADC country has yet reached the 30 percent target, and only five SADC countries are at 15 percent or higher, that is, beyond the half way mark. These are: Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Seychelles, and Tanzania. Swaziland (4.2 percent) and Mauritius (7.6 percent) are the lowest in the Southern Africa league.

Cabinet

Globally, according to the Inter Parliamentary Union, there has been a slight increase in the number of women in the executive (ministers, state ministers delegate, deputy ministers, secretaries of state, deputy secretaries of state, deputy secretaries of state and parliamentary secretaries) from 5.7 percent in 1995 to 11.7 percent in 1999. The average percentage of women in cabinet in Southern Africa (excluding DRC, for which figures were not available) is 14.2 percent (see table at Annex A): well below the average for women in parliament.

Only two Southern African countries -South Africa, at 29.6 percent, and Seychelles (21.4 percent)- are over the half way mark for achieving a 30 percent representation of women in cabinet. As the graph at Annex C shows, there is not necessarily a high correlation between a high representation of women in parliament and in cabinet: for example, Mozambique’s 28.4 percent representation of women in parliament is in contrast to its 14.2 percent representation of women in cabinet. The average representation of women deputy ministers in the region, at 17.6 percent, is higher than that for ministers; but this is largely influenced by South Africa’s exceptionally high proportion of 61.5 percent.

Local government

Statistics on women in local government in Southern Africa are incomplete and are the subject of a research project about to be launched by the SADC GU. They are therefore not featured in the table at Annex A. Available percentages of women in local government in SADC range from 1 percent in Mauritus; 3.1 percent in Zimbabwe; 5 percent in Malawi; 6 percent in Tanzania; and 6.3 percent in Zambia; to 14.6 percent in Botswana; 18 percent in South Africa; 41 percent in Namibia (which had a legislated quota for local government) and 52 percent in Seychelles.

Women representatives at local government level in Seychelles and Namibia are the only example in SADC of the minimum 30 percent target for women in decision- making by 2005 being surpassed before the deadline; and in the case of Seychelles, of gender parity being achieved. In general, however, it would appear that the representation of women at local government level is even lower in SADC countries than at the national level.

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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

At the SADC GU conference on “Beyond 30 percent in 2005: Women in Politics and Decision Making” in 1999, ANC Deputy Secretary General Thenjiwe Mtintso provided a simple framework for analysing women in politics and decision- making.

Mtintso’s starting point is that the under-representation of women in decision-making is “anathema” to democracy and that boosting numbers is a pre-requisite for change. It is therefore important to uncover what is barring women’s access to the corridors of power, such as attitudes and stereotypes; lack of political will; electoral systems and voter apathy; as well as seek to redress these through appropriate campaigns and support for candidates.

But she argues that simply getting in is not enough; as she puts it: “an assumption that once women enter the parliamentary sphere, they may freely participate without any constraints is erroneous” (2). Women's participation in male dominated institutions is often inhibited by patriarchal norms that leave women unable to operate effectively as a result of where they are located within the institution; gender unfriendly work environments; unfamiliar language and rules; lack of training and experience or of adequate support.

For women to participate effectively in politics and decision making calls for a institutional transformation; the establishment of gender structures in parliament; as well as the empowerment of women through relevant training and support. As argued in the IDEAS book, “Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers” the key is to learn the rules; use the rules; and where necessary, change the rules.

In keeping with the main theme of this book, Mtintso goes on to argue that access and effective participation must ultimately be geared towards transformation. As South African MP Melanie Verwoed puts it in Mtintso’s paper: “ We must stop making history and start making policy”. Beyond Numbers adds: “Previous efforts related to increasing the numbers of women in politics, particularly in the context of women in some parts of the world not even having the right to vote, were a feature of those particular times and conditions. Though still crucial to contemporary endeavors towards equality and representation, it is now essential to look beyond the question of numbers to enhancing the quality and effectiveness of women politicians.” (3)

The following sections will analyze the constraints facing women in politics and the requirements if their presence is to contribute to transforming gender relations in Southern Africa using Mtintso’s framework.

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ACCESS

Changing attitudes and stereotypes

In their soon to be published study on women and leadership in Africa, Longwe and Clarke construct two indicators:

A Women’s Empowerment Index (WEI), to provide a quantitative indicator of women’s progress measured in terms of women’s level of representation in leadership positions including the executive, members of parliament and managerial positions.

A Women’s Self Reliance Index (WSI) to measure women’s individual capacity to advance, in terms of education, training and access to resources, including level of education, share of income and proportion of women in industry. (4)

The main finding of the report is that there is “absolutely no correlation” between self reliance and empowerment; and that this is in keeping with global trends that suggest a lack of correlation between women’s education, affluence, and levels of representation in politics and decision- making.

Put differently, Mozambique, one of the poorest countries in the world and one with the highest illiteracy levels, has the highest representation of women in parliament in Africa (see Annex D). Yet Mauritius- Africa’s “little tiger”- is 29th in the same table!

Similarly, Southern Africa, the world’s least developed continent, is ahead of Europe and America, two of the most developed continents in the world, when it comes to women in parliament. As Namibia’s Minister for Women’s Affairs Netumbo Nandi Ndaitwah commented wryly during the UNDP’s 1997 conference on “Governance for Sustainable Growth and Equity”: “At least in one area (women and decision making) developed and developing countries share a similar record!” (5)

Longwe and Clarke conclude that: “Gender gaps in empowerment are far more fundamental and intractable, by comparison with gender gaps in self reliance…women’s occupation of top leadership positions poses a much greater threat to male interests and privileges, which therefore attracts greater resistance to women’s advancement in these areas.”

At the heart of the under representation of women in politics are age old attitudes and stereotypes that assign women to the private, and men to the public domain; reinforced to varying degrees by custom, culture, religion and the media.

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It is no coincidence that, of the bottom ten countries in the Africa table at Annex D, five are in North Africa where custom and religion exercise a powerful influence. Mauritius, with one of the lowest levels of women in parliament in SADC, has strong religious influences. Swaziland, at 36 on the list, is a monarchy with socially conservative traditions. Despite the fact that women in Lesotho, where there is a high level of male migrant labour to the mines in South Africa, are the majority of heads of households, women are not allowed to participate in the traditional public decision making meetings known in Sotho as the pitso. One of the reasons why, in general, there are higher levels of women in national parliaments than at local level in Southern Africa is the fact that custom and tradition play an even stronger role at this level than at national level.

Yet, as the following excerpts from a debate in parliament in Zimbabwe on the participation of women in politics shows, the prejudices are deeply ingrained at all levels:

“The present problem is that women are trying to overshoot their rights. Biologically we are different and never will men and women be the same…. Women must be wary of bringing too many women to parliament. There will not be balanced thinking in parliament because of the irrational thinking of women.” – Micah Bhebe, MP Bubi.

“From the beginning the land was always regarded as she and the heavens as he. This means that it is natural that women are below men otherwise the land will be above and the heavens below. Women should not act as though they want to rule men. It just cannot be”- William Mushonga, MP Dzivarasekwa. (6)

As Beyond Inequalities, Women in Zimbabwe comments, women invariably internalise their own oppression: “ironically, society has made women the custodians of the very cultural values that lead to their oppression. In that respect it is tempting to conclude that politically, socially and culturally society has turned women into their own oppressors as they too tend to see men as better leaders than women.” (7)

The media feeds into and reinforces gender stereotypes. In a review of gender, politics and the media in South Africa just prior to the 1999 elections in South Africa the Media Monitoring Project noted: “Women entering the political sphere provide the news media with a ‘problem’. They embody a challenge to masculine authority. They also defy easy categorization. The scrutiny of women’s work in our society, therefore, is closely tied to their traditionally defined roles as ‘women’. Their images fit in well with prevailing cultural perceptions of women. These images also help to maintain the patriarchal structure by inculcating restricted and limited images of women.” (8) Even in South Africa, with its laudable achievements, politics remains a man’s world. The Media Monitoring Project found, for example, that 87 percent of the news sources in the 1999 elections were men (9).

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Changing the male “face” of politics remains one of the greatest challenges to the region. NGOs working in this field have been keen to grasp that simply training and supporting women’s candidates is not sufficient; they must also change societal mindsets. In Botswana, Emang Basadi, which provides training and support to women candidates and parliamentarians, began by co-ordinating the production of a “Women’s Manifesto” with a list of demands designed to show male politicians that women’s issues are political issues, and that the women’s vote is important to them. This NGO, which has become virtually synonymous with the advancement of women in Botswana has conducted a vigorous public education and mobilisation campaign alongside its training activities (10). A similar strategy is being pursued by the Zambia National Women’s Lobby Group, which has membership across the country and is conducting a civic education campaign in addition to training parliamentarians and local councillors (11).

In Zimbabwe, a group of men have formed the Men’s Forum for Gender, known locally as “Padare” to promote gender sensitive behaviour by men. While the idea of engaging men in public education campaigns is still in its infancy, it holds considerable attraction as a strategy for changing stereotypes.

Political systems, commitment and philosophy

Of the top ten African countries with regard to women in parliament in Annex D eight countries (including five from Southern Africa) - Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda, Rwanda, Eritrea, Angola and Namibia - have recently undergone social revolutions or upheavals; first or second- generation wars of liberation. This suggests that upheaval often creates opportunities for women to play non- traditional roles and opens the door just a little wider for women to participate in decision- making.

Another feature is that eight of these top ten countries (six of them Southern African) have come from social democratic or socialist roots (Mozambique, South Africa, Seychelles, Uganda, Tanzania, Angola, Eritrea and Namibia). At the very least this suggests that getting women into politics and decision-making is not something that can be left to chance: it must be part of a deliberate strategy and must have strong political backing. It is no coincidence that gender equality features in the manifestos of the ruling Frelimo in Mozambique, African National Congress in South Africa, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) in Tanzania, and South West Africa Peoples Organisation (SWAPO) in Namibia.

Seychelles ascribes its tradition of women’s comparatively higher visibility in politics and decision- making to women taking responsibility for decision making at all levels as a result of men seeking work away from the island; as well as the strong socialist philosophy of France-Albert Rene’s Seychelles People’s Progressive Front. Indeed, from 1980 to 1985, Seychelles boasted 41 percent women in its national assembly- over the critical mass of thirty percent. This proportion has since dropped with the advent of multiparty democracy and new

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political parties gaining seats in parliament that did not have the same commitment to the advancement of women (12). Still, the societal acceptance of women playing an active role in public life has led to a continued high representation of women at local government.

Constitutional guarantees

Southern Africa is unique in having examples of countries with relatively new constitutions, drafted at a time when issues of gender equality had become the subject of lively debate, lobbying and advocacy. The South African, Namibian and Mozambican constitutions explicitly outlaw gender discrimination and provide for affirmative action. In South Africa, the Women’s National Coalition, an umbrella of non governmental organisations working in the gender area, conducted a participatory research campaign that culminated in a “Women’s Charter”, presented to the negotiators in Kempton Park. Each three- person delegation to the negotiations had to have at least one woman. This presence made a symbolic statement and made a substantive difference to the outcome of the constitutional negotiations in the strong provisions made for gender equality.

Constitutions are not static. Malawi and Tanzania have incorporated gender considerations into their constitutions, including, in the case of Tanzania, a quota for women (see below). Several countries are undertaking or anticipating constitutional reviews. There is therefore scope for strong gender provisions to be incorporated into the constitutions of all SADC countries. Indeed, the SADC “Plan of Action on Women in Politics and Decision- Making” requires that all SADC countries include an unequivocal commitment to the attainment, promotion and protection of gender equality in their national constitutions.

Electoral systems, quotas and special measures

Of the thirteen SADC countries represented in the table at Annex A, six have constituency- based electoral systems; and four -Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Angola- have proportional representation systems except at the local level in South Africa (in which there is a combination of the PR and constituency based system) and at the regional level in Namibia (where elections are constituency based). Seychelles has a mixed PR and constituency-based system. Tanzania has a constituency- based system except for the 15 percent seats reserved by the Constitution for women, which are contested on a PR basis.

There is overwhelming evidence internationally to suggest that women stand a better chance of getting elected under the proportional representation, as opposed to the constituency based, electoral system. The reason for this is that in the former case, candidates focus on the party and its policies, rather than on a particular individual. This works in favour of women-at least in getting their foot in the door- because of the in built prejudices against women (Lowe-Morna, 1996). The chance of women getting elected is even higher when the PR system works in concert with a party or legislated quota.

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TYPE OF QUOTA PR SYSTEM CONSTITUENCY BASED SYSTEM

VOLUNTARY PARTY QUOTA

Eg ANC in South Africa; Frelimo in Mozambique

Eg Labour Party in UK

CONSTITUTIONAL OR LEGISLATED QUOTA

Eg In the local government elections in Namibia, which has a PR system, 33 percent of all candidates had to be women. Overall, women constitute 41 percent of local councilors

Eg The Ugandan and, Tanzanian constitutions reserve certain percentages of seats for women.

Source: Lowe-Morna

As illustrated in the table above, there are four different possible combinations of quotas and electoral systems:

The voluntary party quota, combined with the Proportional Representation (PR) system, are seen at work in South Africa and Mozambique; and it is no coincidence that these two have the highest representation of women in parliament in SADC. The two ruling parties, the ANC and Frelimo, have their own voluntarily adopted 30 percent quotas. Because of the PR or list system, every third person on their list was a woman. As the majority parties, this system has ensured levels of representation by women of close to thirty percent. The disadvantage of this is that it is reliant on the ruling parties getting substantial majorities. In other words, unless every party contesting has a 30 percent quota, there is no guarantee of the “critical mass” of thirty percent being obtained. There also strong arguments against the PR system, because of the perceived lack of accountability to constituents in this system. South Africa could well move in the 2004 elections to a mixed system, and the test then will be whether women are sufficiently accepted in the political realm to stand and win as constituency candidates. South Africa’s 1995 local government elections, which were held on the basis of a mixed system, do not engender much confidence. In the PR seats, women won 27.9 percent of the seats. In the constituency- based seats, women won only 10.84 percent of the seats. This gave an overall average of 19 percent of the seats in local government being won by women- substantially below the 27 percent at national level, where elections were held entirely on the basis of proportional representation. The second local government elections will be held in South Africa towards the end of this year. It is expected that because of the higher level of awareness of gender issues there may be a small increase in the proportion of women who win seats. However, as a result of the mixed electoral system, this will still not match the one third level being reached at national level.

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The legislated quota, combined with the proportional representation system was seen at work in the local government elections in Namibia. Because the quota was legislated, as opposed to being voluntarily adopted by one or other party, the elections had a guaranteed outcome of thirty percent women. However, as some parties fielded even more women candidates, the overall outcome was 41 percent. This suggests that the combination of a legislated quota and PR system are the most powerful combination for achieving gender parity in politics- the ultimate objective. However, the idea of a legislated quota is strongly resisted by some parties; in South Africa, for example, opposition parties have made it clear that they would oppose a legislated quota on the basis that it is contrary to freedom of association.

The voluntary party quota, combined with the constituency based system: An example of this internationally is the Labour Party in the UK which, through its commitment to fielding women candidates managed to increase the representation of women substantially. In Botswana, which has a constituency system, two opposition parties (the Botswana Congress Party and Botswana National Front) had quotas of thirty percent women in the 1999 elections. Unless all political parties contesting elections have a thirty percent quota, the target of thirty percent will not be met in such a system. Moreover, unlike the list system, women candidates have to be fielded in “safe constituencies”, where they are assured of winning, for the voluntary quota to actually lead to an increase in the representation of women. Studies in Botswana and Mauritius have shown that women in constituency systems often get dropped at the stage of party primaries, that are often secretive and dominated by intra party intrigue within which women are sidelined. These factors explain why Southern African countries with the constituency- based system, are further behind than those with a PR system when it comes to women in politics.

Legislated or constitutional quotas in the constituency based system: The example of this in Southern Africa is in Tanzania, whose constitution stipulates that at least 15 percent of the 238 members of parliament must be women- in other words 38 seats are reserved for women. With the eight seats that women contested directly and won, this has given women in Tanzania an overall representation of 16.4 percent in parliament. Clearly, the quota has boosted the level of representation by women. But, as Tanzania’s Minister for Community Development, Women Affairs and Children Mary Nangu points out, having reserved seats for women “perpetuates the stereotype that women are not capable of competing with men.” (13)

In addition to quotas, the electoral systems of many countries allow the Head of State to make some appointments to parliament (examples are Zimbabwe, Botswana and Swaziland). Indeed, of the six women in the Swazi parliament, only two were elected. The king appointed the remainder. The SADC “Plan of Action on Women in Politics and Decision Making” recognizes such appointments as another short- term measure at the disposal of countries for ensuring that the thirty percent target is met.

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The area in which heads of state have complete discretion to make appointments is with regard to cabinet. The fact that with the exception of South Africa and Botswana levels of women’s representation in cabinet are far behind their representation in parliament calls into question the political commitment of Heads of State to the declaration they signed in 1997. This issue is also highlighted in the SADC “Plan of Action on Women in Politics and Decision Making” as a lobbying and rallying point.

Significantly, despite the inevitable charges of tokenism that accompany debates on quotas and discretionary appointments, very little evidence has been presented to show that women who enter politics in this way prove to be incompetent. On the contrary, anecdotal evidence suggests that women members of parliament and cabinet ministers find themselves under pressure to be twice as good in order to be half as recognized as their male colleagues.

ANC Deputy Secretary-General Thejiwe Mtintso cites, as an example, the way in which many ANC women parliamentarians have improved their position on the ANC list between the 1994 and 1999 elections (see table below) as evidence that once in parliament, women have gained acceptance and credibility in their own right, as a result of their hard work and delivery (14).

Position of some women in the 1999 ANC National to National List.NAME POSITION IN 1994 POSITION IN 1999

Nkosazana Zuma 51 3Geraldine Fraser- Moleketi 61 9Winnie Madikizela-Mandela 31 10Gill Marcus 47 12Frene Ginwala 54 13Stella Sigcau 26 28Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula 52 29Baleka Kgositsile- Mbethe 34 33Bridgette Mabandla 66 36Melanie Verwoerd 83 64Lindiwe Sisulu 93 27Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka 90 35Sanki Mthembi-Mahanyele 84 34Thoko Msane-Didiza 108 42Pregs Govender 85 50Adapted from the 14th May 1994 Government Gazette and the March 1999 ANC List.

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Recognising that the 30 percent target of women in politics and decision making will not be achieved without direct intervention, the “SADC Plan of Action on Women in Politics and Decision Making” requires SADC member states to adopt specific measures, including constitutional or legilslated quotas, non constituency seats over which Heads of State have discretion, to achieve this objective.

Women in political party structures

The location of women in political party structures is an area that requires further study. Available evidence suggests that while espousing increasingly progressive rhetoric on gender equality on the outside, parties continue to marginalize women within. The ANC, for example, has not applied its thirty percent quota to party leadership (one out of six of its top officials are women). This is a critical issue as leadership within the party is an important training ground for women in politics (Lowe-Morna, 1996).

A common feature of most parties in the region is the existence of women’s wings. As in other parts of the world, these structures have played an ambivalent role; often reflecting the inferior status of women by serving as the hospitality wing of the party. The Inter-Parliamentary Union has set out some useful guidelines for women’s wings, including focusing on special problems encountered by women in carrying out party activities; helping to mobilise women at grassroots level; assisting in special training programmes for prospective women candidates and establishing support networks for women who get elected (15). In Botswana, Emang Basadi has taken the conscious policy decision to work with the women’s wings of political parties because, despite their present overwhelming concern with the “welfare” of the party, the group sees them as a potentially powerful tool for advancing the status of women (16).

Support for women candidates

Aside from societal stereotypes and marginalisation within political parties, women candidates are at a disadvantage because of their lower levels of education; lack of access to funds; and dual responsibilities that limit the time they have available for campaigning. NGOs in the region such as the Women’s Development Fund in South Africa; Emang Basadi in Botswana; and the Zambia National Women’s Lobby Group offer training to women candidates such as public speaking and campaign management. Less formal programmes, such as mentorship of younger candidates by older ones have yet to be looked at, and may usefully be taken on by the women’s wings of political parties. Given the intensely competitive nature of party politics, the most important source of support for women candidates should be from within the party.

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Women voters

African women have enjoyed universal suffrage from the time their countries achieved independence. The level of voter turn out in African countries is generally higher than in the west; and the turnout of women voters is especially high. But the link with advancing gender equality is still weak.

Emang Basadi has found that “a lot of women lack the knowledge of what their vote is in a democracy as a voter and what obligations of those they vote for are towards them.” (17) Beyond Inequalities, Women in Zimbabwe comments: “ An issue of interest is whether women voters can make a distinction between women’s political interests and party political interests, and whether they realise the potential they have to influence both party and national politics to serve their interests.” (18)

In the 1999 elections in South Africa, one million more women than men registered as voters. A survey carried out by the Commission on Gender Equality of the 1999 elections in South Africa noted: “ Women need to be aware of the huge power they wield as the majority of the supporters of the main political parties in the country. These parties have not yet made a clear link between the women’s vote and the need for unequivocal policies and practices aimed at achieving gender equality. This is because women have not articulated either their needs or their collective political muscle strongly enough to influence party positions. The challenge is therefore both to the male dominated party hierarchies, and to women voters and party members, to reshape the agenda.” (19)

This is an area that cries out for more research, since establishing a link between women’s votes and women’s concerns would be a powerful impetus for political parties to take gender seriously, in fielding women candidates, and in formulating gender sensitive campaigns and programmes.

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The regional campaign

REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN SADC COUNTRIES THAT HELD ELECTIONS IN 1999COUNTRY PRE ELECTION POST ELECTION INCREASE

No of Women Percentage No of Women Percentage

Botswana 4/44 9 % 8/44 18 % 100 %

Malawi 9/171 5.2 % 16/192 8.3 % 59 %

Mozambique 71/250 28.4 % 71/250 28.4 % 0 %

Namibia * 14/99 14.1 % 14/99 14.1 % 0 %

S Africa * 128/490 26.1 % 137/490 28 % 7 %

Source: IPU and SADC GU

* Upper and lower house

Even at this early stage, the regional campaign of the SADC GU is beginning to pay dividends in ensuring women’s access to politics in the region, and will be critical in monitoring future devel-opments. The above table shows that of the five countries that held elections in 1999, three ex-perienced an increase in the representation of women in parliament; while two countries retained the previous level.

An interesting case in point is Botswana. Before 1994, the maximum female representation in parliament was five percent. Thanks largely to lobbying by NGOs such as Emang Basadi, the representation of women in parliament rose to 9.1 percent in the 1994 elections. In May 1999, a few months before the Botswana elections, the SADC GU held its conference on “Women in Politics and Decision Making in SADC: Beyond 30 percent in 2005” in Gaborone. At this con-ference, President Festus Mogae warned that the deadline for achieving a 30 percent participation of women in politics by 2005 could not be extended. In the ensuing October elections the repres-entation of women in parliament in Botswana doubled to 18 percent.

Three SADC countries have elections scheduled to take place this year- Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. By 2005 all SADC countries, with the possible exception of those at war, will have held at least one, if not two elections. Those countries that are half way to achieving the 30 percent target such as Namibia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Botswana stand a good chance of reaching the target, if specific strategies are applied. This is more doubtful in the countries lagging behind such as Lesotho, Malawi, and Swaziland; while the war in Angola makes it difficult to predict what will happen there. In sum, it would appear that overall, SADC countries will increase their proportion of women in parliament from the present level of 17.9

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percent by 2005; but will have to make an extra special effort if the 30 percent target is to be met.

In their reports to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) for the Beijing Plus Five Review, a number of SADC countries cite the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development, and the “Plan of Action on Women in Politics and Decision Making”, as their starting point for redressing gender imbalances in politics; showing that effective rallying at sub-regional level can be in achieving commitments made at global level.

A key function of the SADC GU is to routinely gather and publicise statistics as a tactic for showing up those countries that fall short of the agreed target. As the title of the Gaborone conference suggests, even that target is not satisfactory. If true democracy is to be achieved in the region, the goal posts must be shifted to gender parity.

PARTICIPATION

Much remains to be done to ensure women’s access to politics. Simultaneously, if the region is to move beyond numbers, it must also concern itself with effective participation by women in politics.

The location of women within cabinet and parliament

The first blockage to women’s effective participation once they access parliament and cabinet is their location with regard to the power structures of these institutions; as well as the stereotyping of their roles. With the exception of South Africa, where both the speaker and deputy speaker of parliament are women, all the other leaders of the upper and lower houses in SADC are men.

Pervading gender stereotypes are illustrated in the following table of which parliamentary committees women were assigned to after the historic 1994 elections in South Africa, with a far stronger showing in the developmental and social clusters, than in security, internal, foreign, economic and financial affairs:

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DISTRIBUTION OF WOMEN IN THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES OF SACLUSTER WOMEN/TOTAL % WOMEN

DEVELOPMENTAL (land, agriculture, RDP, Public Works)

42/121 34.7 %

SOCIAL (education, environment, health, housing, sport, welfare, arts)

91/ 260 35 %

SECURITY, INTERNAL AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Constitutional, communications, legislation, correctional, defence, foreign, home, justice, safety, security)

72/358 20.1 %

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS

(finance, mining, public enterprise, public Service, trade, transport, labour)

46/ 233 20.0 %

Source, T.Mtintso, in “Redefining Politics”.

Globally, according to the Inter Parliamentary Union, women comprise 24.7 percent of ministers of women’s affairs and gender equality and 23.2 percent of ministers of social affairs; but only 2.1 percent of ministers of defense and 4.7 percent of finance ministers. (20) In SADC, women ministers predominate in the areas of gender and women’s affairs; housing, and social welfare.

But there are exceptions. Mozambique’s minister of finance, and Angola’s minister of energy, are women. In South Africa, President Thabo Mbeki made a powerful statement in the selection of his cabinet not just by upholding the one- third principle, but also by assigning women to non- traditional cabinet posts. Cabinet positions in South Africa held by women include foreign affairs; health; housing; minerals and energy; public service and administration; agriculture and land affairs; and public works. Deputy ministerial positions in South Africa held by women include arts, culture science and technology; defence; environmental affairs and tourism; home affairs; justice; minerals and energy affairs; public works; trade and industry.

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Institutional transformation

Parliaments the world over are notorious for their family unfriendly practices. Where there is a critical mass of women, some of these norms are beginning to be challenged. For example in South Africa, thanks to the pressure exerted by the multiparty Parliamentary Women’s Group (PWG), sitting hours have been changed; dress codes reviewed (for example, to allow women to wear trousers in parliament) women’s showers installed in the gym and a crèche established for members of parliament and parliamentary employees. Such changes, small as they may be, send out a powerful symbolic message. And they benefit both men and women. Men, for example, ought to be leaving parliament earlier to spend time with their families; and should use the parliamentary crèche if they have young children.

Sexist attitudes and sexual harassment are rife in many parliaments of the region. In Beyond Inequalities, Women in Namibia, the author relays how, while sitting as a research advisor to a ministerial committee, one of the male members gave a long speech about how nice it was to have a “flower” on that committee, since it demonstrated “mothers commitment to their children” (21)

Parliamentary processes can also be dis-empowering. According to a report commissioned by the Speaker on “What the South African Parliament has done to improve the Quality of Life and Status of Women in SA” released on 8 March 1996 : “the cut throat way in which proceedings were handled intimidated some women. Some women Parliamentarians struggle with the assumption within the institution that business should proceed as usual, believing instead that the culture of Parliament should be reassessed so as to accommodate differing values that women may bring to Parliament. An observation made from reading the debates seemed to indicate a reduced level of participation by women MPs in 1995 as compared to 1994. There exists a need for the transformation of Parliament not only in terms of the nature of issues debated but the ethics which are imbued in the style of debate.” Included in the “Gender Tool Kit for SADC Decision Makers” being prepared by the SADC GU is a module on institutional transformation that will propose guidelines for transforming the rules, regulations and institutional practices of parliament.

Capacity building

Women, like male parliamentarians, suffer from capacity constraints that reduce their effectiveness as legislators. To the extent that women also suffer from a hostile environment and an inferiority complex, training that helps to strengthen their technical, conceptual, analytical and communication skills can help women mp’s and ministers to overcome some of these structural barriers. The SADC GU “Gender Tool Kit for SADC Decision Makers” will include practical training on public speaking; using the media; debating; research and information technology. But it will also equip women in politics with gender analysis skills

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and an understanding of transformatory leadership, so that the effective participation of women can contribute to the ultimate goal of transforming gender relations.

Transformation

There are presently too few cases in SADC of women constituting a critical mass in parliament or cabinet, and these have been in existence for too short a time, to judge what difference the presence of women makes to actual legislation. But anecdotal evidence suggests that the presence of women, even in small numbers, brings to parliament agendas and issues that would not likely feature in an all male dominated chamber. The handful of women parliamentarians in Mauritius has been instrumental in pushing through a far-reaching Domestic Violence Act that has now become a model used by other countries in the region. In Tanzania, women were at the forefront of the passage of the Sexual Offences Act, 1998 and Land Village Act, 1999 (22)

The report commissioned by the Speaker on “What the South African Parliament has done to improve the quality of life and status of women in South Africa” highlights the many achievements of women parliamentarians. These include lobbying for the:

ratification of CEDAW, without any reservations, on 15 December, 1995;

enactment of the Commission on Gender Equality, a body with few parallels internationally, which has widespread powers to ensure that the Constitutional provisions for gender equality are realised;

recognition of 9 August - the anniversary of the historic march by women against pass laws during the apartheid era - as a holiday. While South Africa celebrates international women's day on 8 March, the South African Women's Day on 9 August is one with which women around the country identify more closely. 9 August has become an important occasion for reminding the government of its commitment to gender equality under the Constitution and CEDAW;

provisions for ownership by women in land and housing legislation, although (see below) this has not necessarily led to substantive gender equality.

Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act; the Domestic Violence Act, Maintenance Act and Recognition of Customary Marriages Act.

While much of the blatantly discriminatory legislation has now been removed from the statute books in South Africa, the major challenge is to get to the heart of structural or hidden dis-crimination. AS the report to the Speaker puts it: “Our study points to the need for a formal methodology to be adopted by Parliament for integrating gender issues into the legislative process.”

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The finding underscores the importance of equipping women and men politicians with gender analysis skills- a primary goal of the “Gender Tool Kit for SADC Decision Makers” being prepared by the SADC GU. A further strategy is the establishment of gender structures in parliament that serve as a lobby. South Africa, Botswana and Tanzania have multi party women’s caucuses. But these are weak structures, owing largely to the fact that women in parliament feel their loyalties to lie more with their political parties, than with each other.

Mtintso points out that: “Differing views exist on whether or not women are a homogeneous group with common interests that can be represented in parliament. Phillips (1991) challenges the notion of 'sisterhood' which attributes particular qualities to women, sees them as representing common and general ‘women’s interests’. She presents the persuasive view that women are not homogeneous, do not have universally shared interests and perspectives, and do not speak with one voice.”

But Mtintso goes on to note that “both the literature and international experience (IPU, 1997; Karam, 1998; Phillips, 1991) confirm the view that when women, who are perceived to be-long to the private sphere enter parliament, a public sphere perceived as a male domain, the two spheres begin to merge. Such a merger changes the attitudes of both women and men about their roles. This brings about changes not only in gender relations in parliament but also in the society’s attitude, a prerequisite for gender equality.” (23)

Swedish Speaker Birgitta Dahl is quoted in Beyond Numbers as saying: “The most interesting aspect of the Swedish Parliament is not that we have 45 percent representation of women, but that the majority of women and men bring relevant social experience to the business of parliament. This is what makes the difference. Men bring with them experience of real life issues, of raising children, of running a home…And women are allowed to be what we are, and to act according to our own unique personality. Neither men nor women have to conform to a traditional role.” (24)

When such a stage is finally reached in Southern Africa, we will be well on our way to achieving gender equality.

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Footnotes

1. ECA, 2000, “Claiming the 21st Century, Africa’s Agenda”, Speech to the National Summit on Africa, Washington, February 2000, by K.Y Amoako, Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Africa.

2. Mtintso, Thenjiwe, 1999, “Women in Decision Making: A Conceptual Framework”, in “Beyond 30 % in 2005: Women in Decision Making in SADC”, SADC.

3. Karam, Azza 1999, “Women in parliament: Beyond numbers”, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Sweden.

4. Longwe, Sara, and Clarke, Roy, 1999, “Towards Improved Leadership for Women’s Empowerment in Africa: Measuring Progress and Improving Strategy”, African Leadership Forum (unpublished).

5. UNDP, 1997, “Governance for Sustainable Growth and Equity”, Report of International Conference, United Nations, New York, 28-30 July 1997.

6. The Herald, Harare, 16 December 1994.

7. Tichangwa, W, 1998, “Beyond Inequalities: Women in Zimbabwe”, Zimbabwe Women Resource Centre Network and the Women in Development Southern Africa Awareness Programme (WIDSAA) of the Southern Africa Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC).

8. Media Monitoring Project, 1999, “Biased ? Gender, Politics and the Media” in “Redefining Politics”, Commission on Gender Equality, South Africa.

9. Media Monitoring Project, 1999, “Media Coverage of Women During the 1999 Elections” in “Review of the 1999 Elections- A Gender Perspective”, Commission on Gender Equality, South Africa.

10. Emang Basadi, 1998, “Poltical Education Project- A Strategy that Works”, Emang Basadi, Botswana.

11. The African American Institute, 1995, “African Women in Politics: Together for Change, Three Struggles for Political Rights”, African American Institute, New York.

12. Roberts, Maryse, 1996, “Women in Politics in Seychelles”, paper prepared for the Fifth Commonwealth Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Women’s Affairs, Trinidad and Tobago.

13. Nagu, Mary, 1999, “A Legislated Quota in A Constituency Based System, the Case of Tanzania”, in “Beyond 30 % in 2005, Women in Politics and Decision Making in SADC”, SADC.

14. Mtintso, Thenjiwe, 1999, “Women in Decision Making: A Conceptual Framework”, in “Beyond 30 % in 2005: Women in Decision Making in SADC”, SADC.

15. Lowe-Morna, Colleen, 1996, “Strategies for Increasing Women’s Participation in Politics”, paper prepared for the Fifth Commonwealth Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Womens Affairs, Trinidad and Tobago.

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16. Machangana, Keboitse, 1996 “A Case Study of Programmes to Empower Women in Politics in a SADC country” in “Beyond 30 % in 2005: Women in Decision Making in SADC”, SADC.

17. The African American Institute, 1995, “African Women in Politics: Together for Change, Three Struggles for Political Rights”, African American Institute, New York.

18. Tichangwa, W, 1998, “Beyond Inequalities: Women in Zimbabwe”, Zimbabwe Women Resource Centre Network and the Women in Development Southern Africa Awareness Programme (WIDSAA) of the Southern Africa Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC).

19. Motara, Shireen, 1999, “Women’s Participation in Voter Registration” in “Review of the 1999 Elections- A Gender Perspective”, Commission on Gender Equality, South Africa.

20. IPU, 1999, “An Assessment of developments in national parliaments, political parties, governments and the Inter Parliamentary Union, five years after the Fourth World Conference on Women.” Series Reports and Documents No 35.

21. Iipinge, Eunice and LeBeau Debie, 1997, “Beyond Inequalities, Women in Namibia”, University of Namibia, Multi Disciplinary Research Centre and the Women in Development Southern Africa Awareness Programme (WIDSAA) of the Southern Africa Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC).

22. Nagu, Mary, 1999, “A Legislated Quota in A Constituency Based System, the Case of Tanzania”, in “Beyond 30 % in 2005, Women in Politics and Decision Making in SADC”, SADC.

23. Mtintso, Thenjiwe, 1999, “Women in Politics- A Conceptual Framework” in “Redefining Politics”, Commission on Gender Equality, South Africa.

24. Karam, Azza 1999, “Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers”, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Sweden.

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ANNEX A: SUMMARY TABLE OF WOMEN IN DECISION MAKING IN THE SADC REGION

Country Electoral System

Next Election/s*

Women / Parl.

% Women / Parl.

Women Cabinet

% Women Cabinet

Women Dep. Min

%Women Dep. Min

Angola PR 34/220 15.45 %

4/28 14.3 % 5/43 11.6%

Botswana CONST 2004 8/44 18.0 %

2/15 14.5 % 2/4 50 %

DRCLesotho * CONST 2000

200512/112 10.7 % 1/12 8.3 % 0/2 0.0 %

Malawi CONST 2004 16/193 8.3 % 2/22 9.0 % 2/9 12.9%Mauritius CONST 2001 5/65 7.6 % 2/25 8.0 %Mozambique

PR 2004 71/250 28.4 % 3/21 14.2 % 4/33 12.1 %

NAMIBIA * Pr-nat/ C/RegPR/local

2004 14/ 99 14.1 % 3/21 14.2 % 5/22 22.7 %

S. Africa * PR/Nat; PR and C/local

2004 137/490 28.0 % 8/27 29.6 % 8/13 61.5 %

Seychelles CONST 2003 8/34 23 .5 % 3/14 21.4 % (no suchposts)

Swaziland CONST 6/95 4.2 % 2/15 13.3 %Tanzania CONST 2000/

200545/275 16.3 % 3/23 13.0 % 3/23 13 %

Zambia CONST 2001 16/158 10.1 % 2/24 8.3 % 2/28 7.1 %Zimbabwe CONST 2000/

200521/150 14.0 % 3/21 14.2 % 3/16 18.7 %

TOTAL 393/2186

17.9 % 38/268 14.2 % 34/193 17.6 %

Source: SADC Gender Unit and Inter Parliamentary UnionNOTE: * Upper and lower houseCABINET: Minister’s only

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ANNEX B: PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT

ANNEX C: % OF WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT VS IN CABINET

ANNEX D: WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT IN AFRICA AS AT 1 March 2000

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COUNTRY AND RANK REGION NEXT ELECTION

TOTAL TOTALWOMEN

%WOMEN

1. Mozambique SA 2004 250 71 28.42. South Africa * SA 2004 490 137 28.03. Seychelles SA 2003 34 8 23.54. Botswana SA 2004 44 8 18.05. Uganda EA 2001 280 50 17.866. Rwanda EA ? 70 12 17.147. Tanzania EA 2000 275 45 16.368. Angola SA 2000 220 34 15.459. Eritrea EA ? 150 22 14.6710. Namibia* SA 2005 99 14 14.111. Senegal* WA 2003 200 28 14.011.Zimbabwe SA 2000 150 21 14.013. Mali WA 2003 147 18 12.2414. Congo CA 2001 75 9 12.015. Tunisia NA 2004 182 21 11.5416. Cape Verde WA 2000 72 8 11.1117. Liberia* WA 2003 90 10 11.118. Zambia SA 2001 158 16 10.1319. Lesotho* SA 2003 112 12 10.720. Burkina Faso* WA 2003 287 30 10.421. Ghana WA 2000 200 18 9.0022. Gabon* WA 2001 211 20 9.523. Sao Thome, Principe WA 2002 55 5 9.0924. Guinea WA 2000 114 10 8.7725. Sierra Leone WA 2001 80 7 8.7526. Malawi SA 2004 193 16 8.2927. Madagascar EA 2003 150 12 8.0028. Guinea Bissau WA 2003 114 10 8.7729. Mauritius SA 2000 66 5 7.5830. Central African Republic

CA 2003 109 8 7.34

31. Benin WA 2003 83 5 6.0232. Burundi EA ? 117 7 5.9833. Cameroon WA 2002 180 10 5.5634. Equatorial Guinea CA 2004 80 4 5.0035. Togo WA 2004 81 4 4.9436. Swaziland* SA 2003 95 6 4.2037. Algeria* NA 2002 524 20 3.838. Kenya EA 2002 224 8 3.5739. Nigeria WA 2003 468 15 3.240. Chad WA 2001 125 3 2.441. Mauritania* NA 2000 135 3 2.242. Gambia WA 2003 49 1 2.0443. Ethiopia* EA 2000 654 11 1.744. Niger* NA 2004 83 1 1.2045. Morocco* NA 2003 594 4 0.6746. Egypt NA 2000 454 9 1.9847. Djibouti EA 2003 65 0 048. Libya NA 2000 760 0 0TOTAL 8983 809 9.0Source: Inter Parliamentary Union

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