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SADC leaders urged to sign into gender protocol
Thato Chwaane, Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
May 26, 2008

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805270646.html

Gender activists have called for Heads of State to sign the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development.

A member of the SADC Gender Protocol Alliance, Elsie Alexander, said at a briefing held on Friday that there is a need to convince leaders to sign the protocol at a summit in South Africa to be held in August.

The protocol's objective is to empower women to eliminate discrimination and to achieve gender equality and equity through the development and gender responsive legislation, policies, programmes and projects.

"It is about time we see action," she said. She added that there cannot just be talking all the time and stated that currently women representation in positions of power in Botswana is still low, while countries such as Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia and Tanzania have moved to over 30 percent representation. Alexander noted that there is a need for a constitutional guarantee.

"If the Constitution remains the same, we are fighting a losing battle," said Alexander who is also the Gender Policy and Programme Committee (GPPC) vice chairperson at the University of Botswana. Heads of State have accepted the proposal that the target for women in decision making be raised from 30 percent to 50 percent.

The protocol has already gone through different drafts since its inception in 2005, and last year leaders instructed that there should be further consultations.

Alexander said that the protocol has more clout, as they strive towards achieving gender equality in leadership positions. She said there is a need for a paradigm shift, to push the system.

The Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organizations' Gender and Development sector coordinator, Lorato Moalusi-Sakufiwa, said there have been many articles that have been deleted in the draft Protocol.

Moalusi-Sakufiwa attended the recent SADC Gender and Development Protocol Alliance meeting where recommendations were made in preparation for the summit. She said issues excluded in the draft protocol included the issue of marital rape, prohibiting persons under 18 to marry, recognizing the rights of socially excluded and vulnerable groups to be protected and the rights of cohabiting couples.

She said another controversial one, related to maternity and paternity leave, were others from some states felt that where one has more than one wife, the issue of paternity leave would not be practical.

The other issue raised is that the draft uses obligatory language and it is prescriptive.

The alliance meeting agreed to make efforts in lobbying for some of these areas that have been dropped in the draft protocol before the August summit.

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