Regional and National Organisms

Regional Organisms

African Union The promotion of equality and equity of gender constitute the priority of the agenda of the 3 Ordinary Session of the African Union made in Addis Abebba (Ethiopia) in July 2004. In this session the Chief of State signed the Solemn Declaration about Equality between men and women In Africa.

The Gender Politics Project that was elaborated will be presented to the approval of the Chief of States, in Cimeira foreseen for January 2009. This politic has the aim of getting to the gender equality and the autonomy of women and establish as a goal to achieve the parity of gender in the Organisms of African Union and the Member State until 2020.

NAAD

One of the objectives of the New Agreement for African Development (NAAD) is the reinforcement of the capacity of women with the aim to promote its role in the socioeconomic development.

African Countries are consciences that the success of the SAAD will only be possible if equality and equity of gender is a reality.

East African Country Community (EACC)

Fifteen countries are part of a regional organization: Benin, Burkina-Faso, Cape Verde, Coast of Ivory, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leona and Togo.

The EACC has the objective of build a just and balanced African Society in which men and women has equal opportunities to participate in the development process and decision making and equal access to benefits.

Countries of the EACC are consciences of the importance of the integration of gender dimension in the development of sub regions and the gender politics implemented by EACC that constitutes the framework of repairs about the progress of NEPAD in a regional level.

Country Members look through the Center of EACC to the Gender Development (CGD) created in the 26 Session of the Chief of States and Government Conferences held in Dakar, through the Decision A/DEC 16/01/03”, the evolution of countries of the EACC in the direction towards equality and equity of gender and the adaptation to national politics of gender with EACC.

National Organisms

Cape Verde

The Organism for Equality is the Female Condition Institute (FCI) created by the Government in 1994 (Decreto Ley nº 1/94). The FCI has the objective to promote the “equality of rights between men and women, the effective and visible participation of women in all domains of social, economical and political right, as the development of the country”.

It is a field of work for the Female Condition Institute:

“Promote politics that contribute to gender equality and equity and act towards the creation of institutional conditions and mechanisms that assure its application”.

“Promote measures to contribute to the effective representation of women in power and decision making process at different levels, as well as contributing to the removal of obstacles that prevent its full participation to rule the country”.

The Consulting Council of the Female Condition Institute, an organism that gives support to the President and the Managing Council, has, among others, the competencies to:

“support and verify the execution of public policies related to the gender problems, designed from the political measures that come from the compromises assumed internationally and assures the cooperation of all sectors of Non Governmental Organizations and part of the Administration in the consecution of the objectives of FCI and the policies defined relatively to the gender problematic”.

With the new Government Structure approved the following legislative elections in January 2006, (Decreto Ley nº39/2006 published in the Official Bulletin number 20 Series I) the Institute that followed the chief dependency of Government, began to designate Cape Verdian Institute for the Equality and Gender Equity (IEEG).

The National Plan for the Equality and Equity of Gender 2005-2009 has as a general objective to “democratized the power relation system, promoting the opportunities equality in all levels and qualitative changes of attitudes and behaviors”.

In the Plan there is an explanation of the “integration of gender perspective in all policies, plans, programs and citizen’s participation in the gender field, the effective articulation of the specific policies in gender field and the implementation of a tracking of the evolution of gender indicators”.

The sectorial objectives assume the equality of opportunities in the access of goods and basic services. The tracking of this Plan is continuous and allows to verify the fulfillment of the defined objectives for the plan. The coordination, the tracking and the verification is assumed by the Institute for the Equality and Equity of Gender.

The participation of Sectorial Gender Antenna, the Municipal Focal Points and the Representants of the NGO’s in the coordination encounters is fixed by law.

The IEEG develops the Democratic Government projects, Human Capital and Social Sector, Growth and Opportunities, Gender and Human Rights.

Senegal

Senegal ratified the instruments and Regional and International Conventions about Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. The EACC was ratified without reserves in 1985 and the Additional Protocol to EACC in 2000.

In 1980 the Senegal Parliament institutionalized the national fortnight of women, through the Resolution 80-269 of 10 march 1980. This date is signed annually with different activities that allow the change about various pertinent issues, especially violence referred to gender, particularly against women, awful practices, the fight against poverty, the equality of gender, the promotion of women’s rights. In 2008 the 27 women’s fortnight took place.

In January 2001 Senegal the new Constitution approved in a referendum claimed in the preamble, the adhesion of Senegal to the Convention to the Removal of Types of Discrimination practices against women. The Constitution reaffirms the principles of gender equality and equity.

The Parliament of Senegal approved the Resolution 03/2006 about equality in December 2006. According to this resolution the equality of opportunities is a matter of interests to women and all society, of political parties sensible to cultural changes that break the obstacles with the aim to achieve social justice, the equity, the solidarity and democracy.

The Equality Law approved by the Parliament in November 2007 established the equality of access of men and women to decision making jobs.

The Government Department of gender equality promotion had various designations:

Social Development Ministry in 1980, with a Female Condition Department;

Ministry of Women, Childhood and Family in 1991;

Family Ministry and Little Infancy in 2001;

Family, Social Development and National Solidarity in 2003

Women, Family and Social Development Ministry in 2005;

Women, Family, Social Development and Female companies Ministry in 2006;

The main mission always was to promote rights and improve life conditions of women. Equality and Equity of gender is a goal to achieve.

Women National Action Plans (two implemented plans); the first one was elaborated in 1982, the Equality and Equity of Gender National Strategy (2005-2015) and a methodological guideline for the integration of all policies and programs are the proof of the attention required, by political actors and civil society for the equality and equity of gender.

There are many projects that were developed:

The Gender Project has as the objective to integrate the gender equity in Policies, Plans and Programs;

The Credit Project for women that provide funds for activities that generate improvements for women individually or associated;

Enlighten Program for Women’s jobs.

Observatory of Women and Children’s Rights.

Centre of Assistance and training for women (CENAF)

The Ministry that has the responsibility to promote gender equality works in a transversal way, and besides other ministries as Education, Health, Economy and Finances.

The Association of Jurist Women constitutes a consulting group that works aside the President of the Republic.

Society of Austral Africa Countries (SADC)

It is integrated by the following Austral African Countries: Angola, Botswana, Congo Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Maurice, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa Republic, Swaziland, Republic, Tanzania United Republic, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

SADC states try to develop synergies among regional and national structures of equality and gender equity promotion.

Some Commissions have been created, as an evidence of the given importance to equality and gender equity of Member States.

Gender Regional Policy of SADC

In the Declaration of Gender and Development signed by State Presidents of the SADC 8th September 1997 in Blantyre, Malawi, among others, several compromises were acquired:

 To ensure equal representation of men and women in decision making processes of Member States and so to reach the goal of at least 30% of women in political structures and decision making until 2005;

 To revoke and to reform every law, to amend Constitutions and to change social practices that continue to relate women to discrimination. To create laws which are sensitive to gender promotion;

The SADC Protocol on Gender was signed by 12 State Chiefs, with the exception of Maurice and Botswana. This protocol sets goals to be reached in 2010-2020 period and will constitute a great improvement for equality and gender equity and the improvement of women life conditions. The SADC created different gender structures, including Gender National Mechanism which integrates Ministries and Departments that coordinate gender activities, gender commissions and gender committees.

Mozambique

Mozambique is precursor of many Conventions and International and Regional Initiatives that promote equal rights between men and women: the CEDAW (1993), the Gender Declaration of the SADC (1997), the Optional Protocol to the Convention of elimination of every discrimination against women (2008) and the Solemn Declaration of Gender in Africa (2004), as well as the Protocol of the African Treaty of Human Rights and Human Groups in reference to Women Rights.

The Government adopted and Action Plan after Peking 1997-2000 in August 1997. The Ministry of Women and Social Action is responsible of the introduction of gender dimension in sector policies.

The Government Program for 2005-2009 period priories the integration of gender subject in sector development programmes with the aim of ensuring adopted compromises in international documents, including the CEDAW.

The Plan main areas are:

 Poverty and Work

 Education and Training

 Health

 Women Rights and Violence

 Power and Decision Making Organisms

 Environment and Agriculture

At governmental level, the organism for equality is the Ministry of Women and Social Action.

Among national organisms that work in cooperation for the promotion of gender equality, we remark:

The National Council for Women Advance, which is responsible for the inter-sector coordination and the stimulation of the implementation of programs that contribute to equal opportunities between men and women.

The Parliament Commission on Social, Gender and Environmental Affaires is responsible of the environment protection and gender equality in the parliament agenda.

The Forum of Parliament Women acts as intermediate among women at parliament and feminine organisations with the objective of integrating gender subjects and fight against poverty in Republic Assembly deliberations.

Ministry and Parliament Women Network integrate African women of these institutions with an important role on the defence of women rights and the promotion of women participation in decision making organisms.

The Coordination Gender Group which integrates cooperation associates, civil organisations and Government, constitutes an space of concert between everyone who works in the promotion of gender equality.

South Africa

Women from south Africa participated in the fight against apartheid and one of the best known fights is the campaign against the women pass law of 1956, forty years before the ratification of the CEDAW for South Africa Republic, where nearly twenty thousand women were met in Pretoria to demonstrate against the pass law.9th August is national holiday, the day of south African women.

Nelson Mandela recognised in the inauguration of the first session in the democratic elected Parliament in 1994 that the objectives of Reconstruction Development Program (RDP) would be only reached with radical changes on women conditions and that with its reinforcement they should participate in every aspect of life in the same conditions as men.

The Constitution created a Commission for Gender Equality which is linked directly to Parliament. Gender policies are developing at national and regional level.

In 1996 the Ad Hoc Committee on Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Women was created by the Parliament. It integrates men and women in representation of every party with the mission of supporting and verifying the progresses in the quality of life and status of women in reference to CEDAW recommendations and to Fourth Conference on Women celebrated in Peking in 1995.

Women’s Empowerment Unit meets Presidents of National Parliament and Regional Parliaments.

Parliamentary Women’s Group was founded in 1994 and it is an association of women from many parties with the aim of creating a more sensitive Parliament towards gender subjects.

South African Local Government Association is one of the organisms that work for gender equality and equality promotion.