WOMEN AND DEMOCRACY

1
WOMEN AND DEMOCRACY

• Businesswomens Association
• Cape Town
• 22 March 2004
• Com Gertrude Fester

2
QUO VADIS? AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

• Origin- USA
• Balc Civil Rights Movement
• South Africa Constitution and Legislation
• Bill of Rights

3
SEX OR GENDER ROLES

• My mother breastfeeds my baby sister
• My mother prepares dinner regularly
• Sandile was excited when dad showed him how to
  change the tyre/puncture
  
• Thandi was very impressed with my gift for her
  twins. I knitted a blue jacket for Phosa and a
  pink one for Nombonisa
  
• Girls cannot do Maths!

4
Nomathembas Wedding

• Why do the brides usually wear white dresses?
• If there any traditions around what colour the
  bridegroom wears?

5
Gender and sex roles

• Context Conflation of gender and sex
• Gender Role- that which society imposes on women
  because of their sex role- giving
  birth/breastfeeding
  
• Women are primary caregivers in terms of gender
  equality there should be shared responsibility-
  however reality different.
  
• This is reinforced at all levels.
• However there are Men carers According to them
  they now feel fully human, more complete
  
• Women interviewed all referred to their husbands
  as the breadwinners even though they were
  unemployed. Men were the heads of households.
  

6

• Sexism is the systematic mistreatment of women
  and men as enforced by cultures and institutions
  of society.
  
• It has deminished the societal rights of (mostly)
  women to exercise economic, political and
  personal power, even over ones own body. Sexism
  says that one gender is superior to another in
  intelligence, strength and leadership qualities.
  
• Sexism, along with other forms of pooression, is
  hurtful to every person no matter what age,
  nationalistic, ethnic group or class. It
  conditions the person to be submissive and forces
  them, by whatever means necessary, to perform and
  accept the roles assigned to individuals in
  society.

definition of
7
Definition of sexist language

• Is language that expresses bias in favour of one
  sex and thus discriminates against the other. In
  general, bias is in favour of men and against
  women. Any language that discriminates against
  women by not adequately reflecting their roles,
  status and presence in society is sexist.
• People who do not conform to the heterosexist
  model outsiders moffies, tomboy, butch woman

8
Inherent sexism in the English language

• Hysteria wild uncontrollable emotions or
  excitement functional disturbance of the nervous
  system, of psychoneurotic origin
  
• Origin Greek- husterikos of the womb(hustera),
  hysteria being thought to occur more frequently
  in women than men and to be associated with the
  womb

9
WOMEN AT UNIVERSITY

• Women were not allowed to go to universities as
  studying may afffect their abilities to have
  children.
  
• Darwin, in the name of science, reinforced the
  oppression of women
  
• 1870s in Boston- all universities where women
  studied had to have resident doctors in case
  women got ill from studying

10
Constitutional Imperatives

• Act 108 of 1996 calls on the State to respect,
  protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the
  Bill of rights.
  
• Section 9(1) Everyone is equal before the law and
  has the right to equal protection and benefit of
  the law.
  

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• 9 (3) The state may not unfairly discriminate
  directly or indirectly against anyone on one or
  more grounds, including race, gender, sex,
  pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social
  origin, colour, sexual orientation, age,
  disability, religion, conscience, belief,
  culture, language and birth.

12
International instruments

• Convention on Elimination of All forms of
  Discrimination against Women (CEDAW )
  
• Beijing Platform of Action (1995)
• Womens Protocol to the African Charter for
  Peoples and Human Rights(2003)
  
• SADC Protocol on Gender and Development(1995)

13
CGE CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE

• Cl 187(1) The CGE must promote respect for gender
  equality and the protection, development and
  attainment of gender equality.
  
• The CGE has the power to perform its functions,
  including the power to monitor, investigate,
  research, educate, lobby, advise and report on
  issues concerning gender equality (Act 39 of 1996)

14
Why are women always invisible?

• Stats SA and UN statistics confirm this. Public
  /Private dichotomy. Women work harder but are
  least visible in public life
  
• Complexity of reasons socio-cultural,
  patriarchal structures, systemic, etc.
  
• Women often too are trapped by circumstances
• Also internalise their oppression
• Media, Education, Religion and Culture reinforces
  this secondary, subservient, oppressed and
  dependent model of women
  
• The above contrasts with reality.
• Research by GAP SAMGI women quoted less
  often 3 even though they make 17 of public
  figures
  
• Women writers/ journalists often do not focus on
  women or treat women as stereotypes

15
APPROACH OF THE CGE

• Naila Kabeer we need to disaggregate what is
  meant by the community will benefit from this
  project. The community is poor.
  
• Who is the community? Gender, class, race, issues
  of disability and sexual orientation, religion,
  etc., influence power and relations of and access
  to privilege.
• Hence CGE uses the intersectoral approach. What
  are the experiences of the Black rural girl child
  with a disability, an old Xhosa-speaking woman
  living on communal land, a teenager in the
  informal settlement?

16

• Gender equality is not a by product of democracy
  and it does not derive only from clauses of
  Constitution. Democratic institutions deliver
  formal but not substantive equality. A conscious
  development of theory is critical to help us
  understand workings of patriarchy, its character
  and form in our countries as it exists in, and
  interacts with, other opressive forms such as
  racism and capitalism. Indigenous approaches,
  informed by other experiences but based on our
  concrete situation should be applied. (Thengiwe
  Mtintso)

17
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

• Short term strategy
• Distinguish between affirmative action and
  tokenism
  
• Support mechanism and mentorships imperative for
  meaningful affirmative action

18
Arguments pro AA

• Qualitative and Quantitative arguments linked
• Decision making positions- still hostile for
  women
  
• Womens access requires special measures
• Quotas are necessarily short term
• Numbers make a difference
• Numbers help reduce barriers
• Women to support other women

19
AA Pro argument

• Women make a qualitative difference (style,
  procedures, culture)
  
• Critical mass is not enough violence aginst
  women- culture and attitudinal changes
  
• Discrimination in Religion and culture need to be
  challenged

20
Empowerment of women

• Cannot take place in a vacuum
• Radical transformation of gender relations
  personal and private changes
  
• Private and public domain
• Gender mainstreaming not add on
• Short term womens caucusses are crucial

21
MONITORING

• Most depts failed to report on statistics used to
  monitor the progressive realisation of relevant
  socio-economic rights in general and in relation
  to vulnerable groups, women, etc.
• Allocation of financial resources for programes
  addressing needs of vulnerable groups not
  outlined
  
• From available information, expenditure on
  personnel consumes significant proportion of
  spending on social services, education, health
  and social security

22
SUBMISSIONS TO PARLIAMENTWording of Bills

• Traditional Leaders and Governance Framework Act
  - reinforcing patriarchal power . 4th layer of
  leadership - more complexity in service delivery
  more structures, more bureaucracy, more budgets
  to go to this structure than to people
• Communal Land Act- Feb 2004 does not facilitate
  access to land for rural women.
  
• Constitutionality of this act to be contested by
  CGE and partners

23
CHALLENGES AND WAY FORWARD for Government

• Effective reporting to assess govts performance
  to challenges outlined in National Action Plans
  for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights
  and Mainstreaming Gender
• Govts obligation to report to International
  Treaty Bodies

24
Challenges and way forward

• Embark on Education and Awareness campaign What
  are our rights and responsibilities?
  
• Translate paper rights into reality of people
• Examine wording of all policy and other
  documents
  
• Introduce gender budgetting
• Introduction -Gender Focal Persons at
  decision-making level with a budget

25
Way forward

• The empowerment of women and girl children is a
  collective task of all South Africans, all
  institutions both men and women
  
• Men particularly have to be central to the
  changing of attitudes - language
  
• Sensitive areas of culture and religion to be
  discussed.
  
• Media and education need to promote positive and
  active role of women women have agency.
  
• Women themselves to internalise their value and
  importance as stakeholders in society.
  
• Break down the myth of male supremacy(language
  as instrument) South African reality of strong
  women
  
• Build a society in which women, men and children
  can all realise their full potential
  

26
Challenges and way forward

• Embark on Education and Awareness campaign How
  do we use language?
  
• Translate paper rights into reality of people
• Commitment of civil servants to their work?
  speed up service delivery
  
• Examine wording of all policy and other
  documents
  
• Introduce gender budgetting
• Gender Focal Persons at decision-making level
  with a budget

27
Way forward

• The empowerment of women and girl children is a
  collective task of all South Africans, all
  institutions both men and women
  
• Men particularly have to be central to the
  changing of attitudes - language
  
• Sensitive areas of culture and religion to be
  discussed.
  
• Media and education need to promote positive and
  active role of women women have agency. (Rape
  victim- women see themselves as surviivors)
  
• History of South Africa attests to the dynamic
  role of women in bringing about democracy
  
• Women themselves to internalise their value and
  importance as stakeholders in society.
  
• Break down the myth of male supremacy(language
  as instrument) South African reality of strong
  women
  
• Build a society in which women, men and children
  can all realise their full potential
  

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Where do we start as individuals?

• What can I do where I am?
• Highlight ways in which we can increase womens
  participation in decision-making
  
• Advocacy campaigns cf 50/50
• Strengthen argument for equal participation
  positive role models Min Minerals Energy
  Mlambo-Ngcuka

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• The progress we make in the genuine emancipation
  of women of our country should therefore serve as
  a litmus test of the advance we are making
  towards fundamental social transformation.
  Failure to move forwards towards gender equality
  can only mean we are not advancing significantly
  towards the creation of a new South Africa.
• Pres .Thabo Mbeki, ANC Today,
• 8 August 2002

30

• Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!
  Live the life youve imagined. As you simplify
  your life, the laws of the universe will be
  simpler (Thoreau)
• Whatever you think you can do or believe you can
  do, begin it. Action has magic, grace and power
  in it. (Goethe)