This month’s newsletter briefing sprouts from a selection of recent events in the women’s development and empowerment sphere. These events include two United Nations (UN) meetings, two elections and political progress in the area of women’s representation at decision-making levels.

The UN General Assembly hosted two high-level meetings this month, both concerning topics that touch women’s lives most intimately. On the 22 September, New York hosted a meeting of world leaders regarding Africa’s development needs. This meeting was aimed at reinvigorating existing commitments, most notably those related to reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. The second of these meetings took place on the 25 September, and focused specifically on the MDGs and the set of challenges each country faces in its endeavours to reach these goals. Given the fact that at least six of the eight MDGs directly impact on the lives of African women, the two meetings were particularly relevant to women’s development and empowerment.

The MDGs are idealistic and ambitious, to say the least, but they nevertheless set a high standard against which countries can compare their own and others’ efforts and commitments to addressing poverty and gender inequality. Eradicating extreme hunger and poverty, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV & AIDS and ensuring environmental sustainability are all goals that will positively impact the lives of women, provided they are worked on continuously and with vigour.

DEVELOPMENT CONSTRAINTS

However, reaching the MDGs remains a daunting challenge for most African countries, despite all the efforts made by role players, such as governments and donors. In fact, the full potential impact of donations and other funds often do not translate from cash into real, tangible progress, development and upliftment of women. From a broader perspective, the situation of ineffectively and mysteriously applied funds means that the already scarce resources available for development initiatives are not having the impact they could. While billions are being pumped into reaching the MDGs, therefore, several factors constitute severe challenges to progress in this regard.

A study by the European Commission on Aid Effectiveness and Gender Equality, conducted with the aim of assessing the impact of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness on Gender Equality in twelve pilot countries, has found that donors often report that aid flows far differently from that of government data sets. Donors are now being urged to improve their methods of reporting aid to the government. Governments in turn are expected to develop data collection reporting in this regard. The report also emphasises that data on aid flow needs to be published in a simple and accessible manner.

In short, those who take responsibility for the flow of funds between involved parties need to be held accountable. According to a new United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) report, government accountability to women is still at low levels and much progress remains to be made in specific areas. The report, entitled “Who Answers to Women? Gender and Accountability”, is authored by UNIFEM’s advisor on governance, peace and security, Anne-Marie Goetz. "When we ask who answers to women, we're asking about accountability. Accountability is about ensuring that power-holders answer to those affected by their actions. And answer means they give an account and if they've done something wrong there are consequences”, she writes.

THE BENEFITS OF A HOLISTIC APPROACH

The eighth MDG, developing a global partnership for development, will directly increase the progress made with the other seven goals. A holistic approach to reaching all the goals (and therefore uplifting women) needs to be practiced on national and international levels. For example, the goals of improving maternal health and reducing child mortality go hand-in-hand, yet health care systems and interventions often fall short of appropriately addressing one or the other, or both, adequately. Similarly, an improvement for the women of one African country does not mean the same for others. Countries need to join in partnership with each other if they really want to address all these issues that affect women so profoundly. Global developments such as rising food and oil prices, conflict and climate change, affect every country and citizen, after all. “The globalised world needs a developed Africa”, said French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the High-level Meeting on Africa’s Development. “It would be a delusion to envision Europe’s prosperity without working for the emergence of a major economic partner”. Hopefully, this implies that economic development will translate into the empowerment of women.

POLITICAL PROGRESS IN WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION

Shifting from a macro perspective to something more local, there have been a number of positive developments that have occurred recently in Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa. These developments will surely contribute to the upliftment of women, not only as agents who are part of decision-making processes, but also in terms of the HIV & AIDS struggle on South African soil.

Rwandan women this month were overjoyed when they won the majority of seats in the Parliamentary elections. Women candidates won 56.25% of seats and Minister of Family Promotion Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya attributed this wonderful victory for women to what she calls the “realisation by Rwanda that we cannot go far by marginalising the other half of the population”. In addition, two Kenyan women won seats in by-elections this month, and women’s organisations responded with delight. Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Chief Executive Officer, Patricia Nyaundi, said that the women’s victories show that voters feel that women are up to the task. "This is an open appreciation of the leadership qualities of women. We would like to see a repeat of this in future. Women are looking forward to winning more seats”, she said.

Regardless of opinion about the tumultuous South African political changes this month, two undeniably positive things happened for women during this process. First, the new Deputy President appointed by President Kgalema Motlanthe, Ms. Baleka Mbete, is a tough and spirited woman who played a key role in the re-establishment of the ANC Women’s League after 1990. She has been Deputy Speaker and Speaker of Parliament for some years and the potential is high that she will contribute significantly to the advancement of women in South Africa in her new role as Deputy President. The Progressive Women’s Movement of South Africa (PWMSA) welcomed her appointment as Deputy President. “Baleka Mbete has always been in the forefront of the liberation movement and women’s struggles for a better life; her deployment in the office of the Deputy President has elevated women’s struggles to the higher gear”, said the organisation.

Second, while the new President has not wildly chopped and changed ministers, he did release Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, whose time as Minister of Health will be remembered as notorious by those who suffer from HIV & AIDS. Various media voices have also widely commended the new President for his decision to move Tshabalala-Msimang away from the health sector into an administrative position. The new Minister of Health is Barbara Hogan, a popular ANC advocate and HIV & AIDS activist. South African women who suffer the evils of HIV & AIDS can now look forward to some change in government’s approach to tackling this disease and its twin evil, tuberculosis (TB). According to Chris Desmond, an economist who specialises in HIV & AIDS, Barbara Hogan “…will create an environment where the HIV community can work against a common problem and not fight the ministry and each other”.

Against the background of the above challenges and events, we will watch with curiosity and hope to see what happens next. Strides forward are but small steps in the fight for women’s equality, as the struggle continues.

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