2.4. International policy context on women and peacebuilding
2.4.3. Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa
Adopted by the African Union in 2003 and enforced in 2005, this protocol serves as the key etiquette with elaborate provisions to protect and promote the rights of women and girls in Africa (Equity Now 2011: 1). Central to the protocol is its delineation of discrimination against women and the safeguarding of their rights in all international Bill of Rights proceedings. The protocol resolutely champions for the recognition and respect of women’s rights to dignity, life, peace, integrity and security; education and training; economic and social welfare; protection from armed conflicts; participation in the political and decision- making processes; and rights to sustainable development (The Protocol 2003), just to mention a few. In particular, Article 10(2) (b) of this Protocol sanctions for states to put in place all measures necessary for strengthening women’s participation in the areas of conflict prevention, management and resolution at all levels, from the local to the international. The Protocol basically dictates for its ratification and implementation by all African States and assigns the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights to take charge of interpreting and clarifying issues arising from the implementation of the Protocol. To translate and buttress their commitment to this Protocol, African Union Heads of State and Governments, within the expansive context of responsibility also adopted the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA) and the Post Conflict Reconstruction and Development Policy in 2006 (see: African Union Gender Policy, Part 1(iv) 2009).
Translating from the above policy contexts and provisions, there is no gainsaying that their essence is the purposeful acknowledgement and recognition of women’s rights as human rights before the articulation of their importance in influencing decision-making processes. As such, the policies depict they are watershed instruments that transmit the relevance of women’s concrete contribution, representation and recognition in peace processes at all times, irrespective of the status quo. In this regard, the constitutions of some forty-nine African states currently have provisions that dictate “equality; non-discrimination; rights of women”
for CRSV. - UNSCR /2122 (2013) - UN Women identified as key UN entity providing information and advice on participation of women in peace and security governance; whole-of-UN accountability; civil society inclusion; 2015 High-Level Review of implementation of UNSCR 1325”(Shepherd 2014: 1).
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(Huckerby 2013); among others.25 The table below is indicative of the independent African countries with such provisional pronouncements.
Table 2.1: Gender Equality and Provisions in Constitutions of Africa by Countries
1. Angola 26. Madagascar
2. Benin 27. Malawi
3. Botswana 28. Mali
4. Burkina Faso 29. Mauritania
5. Burundi 30. Mozambique
6. Cameroon 31. Namibia
7. Cape Verde 32. Niger
8. Central African Republic 33. Nigeria
9. Chad 34. Rwanda
10. Comoros 35. São Tomé and Príncipe
11. Republic of the Congo 36. Senegal 12. Democratic Republic of the Congo 37. Seychelles
13. Cote d’Ivoire 38. Sierra Leone
14. Djibouti 39. Somalia
15. Equatorial Guinea 40. Somaliland
16. Eritrea 41. South Africa
17. Ethiopia 42. South Sudan
18. Gabon 43. Sudan
19. Gambia 44. Swaziland
20. Ghana 45. Tanzania
21. Guinea 46. Togo
22. Guinea-Bissau 47. Uganda
23. Kenya 48. Zambia
25 These other provisions include “public authorities, institutions & services; political participation & freedom of association; citizenship/nationality, right to property/inheritance; reproductive rights; education;
employment; equality before the law; marriage & family life; status of religious/customary law; status of international law (including human rights law); limitations and/or derogations; general human rights guarantees; and human rights duties” (Huckerby 2013)
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24. Lesotho 49. Zimbabwe
25. Liberia
Source: Huckerby J. (2013). Gender Equality and Constitutions of Africa. Document prepared for UN Women. Available at: http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/Headquarters/Attachments /Sections/Library/Publications/2013/2/Africa-Constitutions%20pdf
While these constitutional provisions are generally grouped under the specifications of gender equality, they all carry provisional guidelines that mention or speak to the women’s rights.
Another point to reckon with is, before the adoption and enforcement of these policy frameworks, the participation of women in public decision-making processes was comparatively microscopic. Paxton, Hughes and Painter (2009) generally maintain that the under-representation of women in national political affairs remains remarkably high. This is despite the different international policy developments and efforts by societies to enhance women’s equal recognition, participation and representation in development and public decision-making processes and positions. In addition to this, records from the Inter- Parliamentary Union statistics base indicate that the constitution of women in national parliaments (Single House of Lower House, and Upper House or Senate) worldwide in 1995 stood at a mere 11.3%. This was downright way below the BPfA recommended mass of 30%
of women representation and indicative of the disparity between women and men in the domain of politics and public leadership. However, with the policy developments and passage of time, there has been a global and gradual upsurge over the past twenty years (1995 to 2015) with women accounting for 13.1% in 2000, 16.3% in 2005, 19.1% in 2010 and 22.7% in both parliamentary houses as of December 2015 (Inter-parliamentary Union 2015). This increase is also evident in the regional average representation of women in national parliaments as indicated in the combined statistical table of 2000/2015 that follows.
Table 2.2: Regional Representation of Women in Parliament 2000/2015 Regions Single or lower
House
Upper House or Senate
Both Houses combined
2000 2015 2000 2015 2000 2015
Nordic Countries 38.8% 41.1% - - 38.% -
Americas 15.2% 27.0% 16.6% 25.7% 15.9% 26.8%
53 Europe - OSCE
member countries (including Nordic countries)
16.5% 25.7% 13.8% 24.2% 16.0% 25.4%
Europe - OSCE member countries (excluding Nordic countries)
14.2% 24.2% 13.8% 24.2% 14.1% 24.2%
Sub-Saharan Africa 23.3% 22.0% 14.8% 23.1%
Asia 15.0% 19.3% 15.5% 16.2% 15.0% 19.0%
Arab States 3.8% 19.1% 2.7% 11.9% 3.6% 17.9%
Pacific 12.0% 13.4% 25.6% 36.0% 13.6% 15.9%
Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2000/2015. Women in National Parliament. Available at http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/world.htm
That the past fifteen years (2000 to 2015) since UNSCR 1325, has seen a significant rise in the percentage of women in parliament is indisputable. While the Nordic countries as per the above table shows a high level (41.1%) of women representation in the lower houses, the generic conundrum of under-representation remains apparen, and is not specific to the African region alone, but all the regions in the world. Focusing on the African continent, records also exhibit some levels of improvement in women’s representation in parliament with Rwanda achieving the BPfA 30% quota and above at an uppermost total of women parliamentarians continentally and universally in its lower house, as indicated below. The table also captures countries with low levels of female representations in parliament.
Table 2.3: Proportion of Seats held by Women in Single or Lower Houses in National Parliaments (Revised – Africa in Focus)
Country name 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Algeria 8 32 32 32 32
Angola 38 34 34 37 37
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Benin 8 8 8 8 7
Botswana 8 8 8 10 10
Burkina Faso 15 16 16 19 13
Burundi 31 31 31 31 30
Cameroon 14 14 31 31 31
Central African Republic 13 13 - - -
Chad 13 15 15 15 15
Comoros 3 3 3 3 3
Congo, Dem. Rep. - 9 9 11 9
Congo, Rep. 7 7 7 7 7
Cote d'Ivoire 11 10 10 9 9
Djibouti 14 14 13 13 13
Egypt, Arab Rep. 2 2 - - -
Equatorial Guinea 10 10 12 24 24
Eritrea 22 22 22 22 22
Ethiopia 28 28 28 28 -
Gabon 14 16 16 15 14
Gambia 8 8 8 9 9
Ghana 8 - 11 11 11
Guinea - - - 22 22
Guinea-Bissau 10 14 14 14 14
Kenya 10 10 19 19 20
Lesotho 24 27 27 27 25
Liberia 10 11 11 11 11
Libya 17 17 16 16
Madagascar 13 18 18 21 21
Malawi 22 22 22 17 17
Mali 10 10 10 10 9
Mauritania 22 22 22 25 25
Mauritius 19 19 19 19 12
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Morocco 17 17 17 17 17
Mozambique 39 39 39 - 40
Namibia 24 24 24 - 41
Niger 13 13 13 13 13
Nigeria 7 7 7 7 6
Rwanda 56 56 64 64 64
Sao Tome and Principe 18 18 18 18 18
Senegal 23 43 43 43 43
Seychelles 44 44 44 44 44
Sierra Leone 13 12 12 12 12
Somalia 7 14 14 14 14
South Africa 42 42 42 42 42
South Sudan 27 27 27 27 27
Sudan 25 25 25 24 31
Swaziland 14 14 6 6 6
Tanzania 36 36 36 36 36
Togo 11 11 15 18 18
Tunisia 27 27 27 31 31
Uganda 35 35 35 35 35
Zambia 12 12 12 11 13
Zimbabwe 15 15 32 32 31
Source: The World Bank Group (2016). Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%). Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SG.GEN. PARL .ZS? page=2
Reading from the table above, 14 countries (earmarked in bold) as per the 2015 statistics voted 30 and above percent of women in their single and lower houses. As per the mandate of the Beijing Platform for Action (1995), each country should be vying for such 30 % and beyond quota to ensure women are universally represented in the structures of political leadership.
The component of women’s political participation is very vital for the strengthening of women’s empowerment, human and civil rights in society, as well as their roles as peacebuilders (Castillejo 2016). However, the majority of the African countries are still
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(though making gradual progress) lagging behind with the implication that men continue to hold primary percentages in decision-making processes and positions of leadership. Taking Liberia for example, the number of women in national parliament as indicated in Table 2.3 from 2011 to 2015, has not really improved over the timeframe of different years. This is below the 30% quota, and indicative of the fact that much still needs to be done to make political participation and leadership of the state more inclusive of women. As such, the question of implementation and domestication of the fore-discussed blueprints by member states that have so ratified them remains a challenge for many states, especially in Africa.
In deliberating the matter of policy challenges, Rehn and Sirleaf (2002) uphold that the question of implementation and domestication of policy blueprints by member states is a continuous challenge for many African states. In areas where states have implemented the policies, the charge of translating them into viable projects also remains a major challenge.
Research by Butler, Mader and Kean (2010: 22) indicate that from 1990 to 2010, only eight percent of women were involved in the facilitation of peace processes worldwide. These challenges are aside from the conventional perceptions of patriarchy and other specificities that place men at the higher echelons of the society as resilient and able leaders compared to women. This is further compounded by society’s obliviousness and indifference to the fact that women like men and every other citizen of the world possess equal rights that should be valued and reinforced. More to the point, Castillejo (2016) contends that marginalizing women in decision-making, especially in the post-conflict contexts not only discriminates against their socio-political, economic and human security rights to equal participation, but also their penchant to contribute to peacebuilding outcomes. A critical exploration of the Liberian case study shows that these challenges, as expounded in chapter seven, are existent despite women’s notable role in bringing about peace in Liberia and the fact of having a female head of state. Assessing these obvious complexities, therefore, the question of the agency for recognition, respect for women’s human and civil rights, inclusion and participation as standalone provisions continue to loom.
It is important to note that the instruments discussed above and the outcomes thereafter are soft policy efforts to address the limitations in gendered development by emphasizing the centrality of women’s rights in decision-making governance, peace and development agendas.
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However, the challenges between implementation and practice as already indicated, constitutes a paucity in literature yet to be addressed. This limitation, the study argues is because of the ascription of generic policies and gender equality agendas amongst women in international treaties and platforms on their roles as peacebuilders. Tønnessen and Kjøstvedt (2010: 1) also note this looming gap in scholarly works on women and peacebuilding research.
Likewise, they reiterate the dearth of literature on how this broad view has resulted in the conviction that the recognition and inclusion of women in public decision-making structures are tantamount to the representation and improvement of women’s conditions at all levels of the society (Tønnessen and Kjøstvedt 2010: 38). In efforts to bridge this gap, this study drawing from field engagements in Liberia establishes in the chapters that follow that women’s experiences of conflict are as varied as post-conflict peacebuilding, reconstruction and development processes. In this regards, the study avers that as diverse as women’s experiences of conflict are and the strategies for post-conflict agendas, so too should it be with the policies underpinning women’s peacebuilding roles.
While reflecting the above, the study, irrespective of the barriers, acknowledges the proliferation of women’s organizations and their roles in peacebuilding, especially in post- conflict settings in Africa. The chapter also draws attention to significant changes in the status of women as they progressively embrace and actively assume responsibilities in formal politics, leadership and decision-making structures subsequent to the overtures of policy developments. This realization as presented in this study owes to the meaningful lobbying and advocacy by women and women’s organizations for the approval and effective enforcement of the established policy instruments. Likewise, it can be attributed to their agency to mobilize for increase equality, inclusiveness, transparency and sustainability of (post-) conflict processes, and to empower and support women’s candidacy for leadership positions (UNIFEM 2005:1-2). This brings us to the insight of the importance of women’s organizations as vocal advocates and viable resources necessary for the establishment and sustenance of society’s peace and functionality. So the literature on women’s organizations and peacebuilding in (post-)conflict builds on their roles in enhancing the transition of conflict situations to that of peace, as well as strengthening the mandate for democratic and peace consolidation.
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