Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698136817024.pdf (South Africa)
1 | P a g e The Women’s Charter for Accelerated Development Setting A 25-Year Vision and Agenda to Advance Women’s Equality, Growth and Development Parliament’s Mandate - Contextual Overview Since the advent of democracy in South Africa, Parliament has played a fundamental role as one of the three arms of state, to build a new democratic social order that is premised on freedom and equality.
The Constitution has set in place, a single, sovereign democratic state, where governance is effected through Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary.

As enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Parliament’s role is to represent the people and to ensure government by the people under the Constitution, as well as representing provinces in the national sphere of government.
This mandate is achieved through passing legislation, overseeing government action, and the facilitation of public involvement, co- operative government and international participation1.

The Constitution further asserts that the role of Parliament includes the promotion of the values of human dignity, equality, non- racialism, non-sexism, the supremacy of the Constitution, universal adult suffrage and a multi-party system of democratic government.
It upholds our citizens’ political rights, the basic values and principles governing public administration, and oversees the implementation of constitutional imperatives.

In its resolve to advance the ideals of an equal society, South Africa’s unitary state has com mitted itself to building a democratic developmental social order that is able to lead efforts to overcome unemployment and poverty and reduce inequality.
These efforts are given effect and are sustained by the imperative that the developmental state, as the enabling nucleus of transformation in South Africa, must continue to play a strategic guiding role in social, political and economic life, thereby decisively intervening to advance the interests of the people, particularly the workers and the poor.
The progress made to eradicate the legacy of more than 340 years of colonialism and apartheid in South Africa, gives a clear indication of the complexity and extent of underdevelopment in the country and emphasizes the efforts that will be required, to push back the frontiers of inherited inequality.
Furthermore, the historical impact of oppression, particularly on the lives of previously marginalized and subjugated communities, particularly women, has left deeply embedded socio-economic disparities, deeply entrenched patriarchal doctrines of oppression, which still undermine efforts of realizing gender equality in our life time.
Parliament Functioning in the Context of Developmental State-To Accelerate Gender Equality Given the inherited inequalities and the broader transformation agenda before the state, Parliament finds itself striving forward and advancing the country’s transformation agenda, as guided by the precepts of a developmental state.
A developmental state is defined as a state that brings about rapid and sustainable transformation in a country’s economic and/or social conditions through active, in the structural causes of economic or social underdevelopment.

Developmental states are active.

They do not simply produce regulations and legislation.

They constantly strive to improve the quality of what they do by building their own capacity and learning from experiences.
They also recognize the importance of building constructive relations with all sectors of society, while insulating themselves from capture by sectional interests.2 intensive and effective intervention During the Sixth Dispensation, and as further necessitated as a result of the far reaching impact COVID 19 pandemic, Parliament continues to give expression to its constitutional mandate, taking cognizance of the impeding challenges of resource constraints, amidst widening gendered socio-economic disparities, as it seeks to actively advance the country’s developmental agenda.
Parliament is also continuing to execute its constitutional mandate, being cognizant of the prevailing fluidity of perceived social and economic degeneracy and slow progress, particularly given the global impact of the pandemic.

Parliament has therefore positioned itself to function more effectively as a Parliament operating in the context of a developmental state, to effectively respond to global exogenous and regional, as well as the internal shocks, of the COVID 19 pandemic.
As one of the of the three arms of state, it therefore actively strives to operate under the auspices of the mandatory norms and character traits of a developmental state, by contribute towards the: • (i) Formulation of a cohesive and focused set of goals and objectives for national growth and development, and delineate a clear set of policies to achieve these goals (In line with the electoral mandate, as guided 1 https://www.parliament.gov.za/storage/app/media/StratPlan/3/II -Core.pdf 2 National Development Plan, 2012 1 | P a g e 2 | P a g e • • • by the National Development Plan and accompanying International and Regional Development Policy Perspectives) (ii) Co-ordinate and allocate (financial and human) resources for investment in line with the policies identified (Through the division of revenue processes, strive to effectively oversee and ensure the necessary financial prudence and accountability in the usage of state resources) (iii) Monitor and evaluate progress towards the implementation of shared objectives as a result of implemented Policies (Effective oversight and accountability Mechanisms, advancing outcome based oversight) (iv) Oversee the adjustment, mobilization and allocation of resources in response to progress made towards existing objectives, while observing changes in objectives and exogenous pressures and shocks (is striving towards Effective and Necessary Budget Adjustment and effective budget realignment in line with standing priorities, particularly to address gender inequality and the various other social economic ills )3 The developmental state must also play a much stronger role in establishing clear, measurable and time-bound targets for common programmes, and for monitoring their implementation.4 Given the necessity for Parliament to embody the characteristics that underpin the paradigm of a developmental state, it continues to do so in a manner that seeks to accelerate economic recovery and growth, while responding decisively to challenges currently facing the country.
In order to function more effectively within the broader framework of South Africa’s constitutional unitary state, Parliament will hence continue to strengthen its oversight mechanisms, so as to ensure it operates more effectively, as part and parcel of a vibrant and efficient developmental state.
Completing the 25-Year Review of the 1994 Women’s Charter for Effective Equality Despite the plethora of policy and legislative instruments enacted since the advent of democracy in 1994, women in South Africa still continue to bear the brunt of high levels of inequality, econom ic exclusion, unemployment, gender based violence and femicide.
The Women’s Charter Review Process was therefore initiated and implemented, as an important marker in the life of South Africa’s democracy, so as assess the extent of poverty and inequality, particularly as faced by women.

The 25-Year review was also positioned as the litmus test of the functionality and effectiveness of South Africa’s 25-Year democratic project, which subsequently exposed both successes and failings of South Africa’s democratic dispensation, to advance effective gender equality.
Therefore, in an effort to enable the institutionalization of gender sensitive-good governance norms and practices, Parliament has successfully completed its nation-wide, 25-Year Review of the 1994 Women’s Charter for Effective Equality.
The review process was undertaken in collaboration with strategic partners and stakeholders across the three spheres of government, chapter nine institutions, academics, civil society organizations, women’s formations, as well as ordinary South African Women across the country.
Initiated by a resolution of the inaugural Women’s Parliament of the Sixth dispensation on August 28th 2019, a process to review the entire women’s rights regime was undertaken, in order to assess the efficacy of existing systemic and institutional mechanisms across the three spheres of government, to advance the realization of gender equality.
Review engagements have explicitly exposed the glaring gap between policy and practice and the disjuncture between public endorsement of gender equality and actual institutional practice, which also characterizes the state’s inadequate response to give effect to the women’s rights regime, in the first 25 years of its democracy.

The disproportionate share of poverty, inequality and unemployment held by South African women, is further exacerbated by unabating levels of Gender Based Violence and Femicide.
These further served as additional markers, of gender equality policy implementation failures.

Various indicators also linked to the persistence of the multiple vulnerabilities of South African women, importantly underscored that black female headed households, continue to be the poorest of the poor, with unemployment and NEET (not in Education or Training) rates being particularly high amongst female youth.
3 Developmental State: the nature of statal policy and institutional reform https://www.slideshare.net/Costantinos/the-developmental-state-the-nature-of-statal-policy-and-institutional-reform 4 What is a developmental State?
https://www.etu.org.za/toolbox/docs/govern/state.html 2 | P a g e 3 | P a g e The 2019 Women’s Parliament also forewarned the inadequacy of existing frameworks to address the social, political and economic needs of women in South Africa, further indicating that institutional arrangements often fail to create the platform for women to grow and develop.
Developmental policies and legislative frameworks have also not made the necessary impact that was hoped for in terms of changing the status of women in society, as the gender discourse has remained primarily events driven, with no strategic and performance plans to bring about real transformation.
The challenges in the governance system has hence led to unintended consequences for women, where the lack of adequate planning, budgeting and unsatisfactory efforts towards supporting strategic projects and interventions, has done very little to positively impact the material conditions of women.
Through the country wide, provincial, metro and district level review engagements, Parliament was able to gather valuable information and findings, which have become the basis upon which, sustained engagement with, provinces, metro’s and districts will now continue to be based on, particularly for the advancement of gender equality, through the various oversight mechanisms necessary.
The newly developed Women’s Charter for Accelerated Development, which encompasses 15 strategic objectives and a set of broad priority actions, appropriately encompasses the invaluable inputs received from all sectors of society, for accelerated implementation by all sectors of society.
Adherence to the precepts, strategic objectives and priority actions of the Charter, will require a social compact and a resolute commitment to re-engineer systemic and institutional arrangements across the three spheres of government, to enable gender sensitive good-governance policy re-design, planning, budgeting and implementation practices.
The women’s Charter for Accelerated Development, is being adopted nine years before the 2030 target of the National Development Plan, effectively sets a 25-Year Vision and Agenda for the accelerated realization of gender equality and transformation in South Africa, by advancing the appropriate policy, legislative, systemic and institutional machinery interventions, so as to bring about measured change and positive impact in the material conditions of women.
The review process successfully gathered important information under the below categories, for further response, processing and implementation by the three spheres of government and all sectors of society: With the 1994 Women’s Charter for Effective Equality as the backdrop, the charter provided both scope and context to review the efficacy of all policy, legislative, planning and programmatic and institutional arrangements currently in place, aimed at advancing the gender equality agenda.
The review process was underpinned by the following key pillars:  Gender Analysis Local Government (Planning – Integrated Development Plans (IDP), Gender Responsive Planning and Gender Responsive Budgeting, as well as the gendered provision of services at local government level);  Gender Analysis Provincial Government (Provincial Planning Processes – PGDS, Gender Responsive Planning, Gender Responsive Budgeting across All Provincial Departments)  An in-depth review of the systemic weaknesses in the National Gender Machinery (National, Provincial and Districts Level);  An in-depth review of the systemic and institutional arrangements, particularly at provincial and local government level, which weaken or create exclusionary systemic processes, thereby undermining the gender transformation agenda;  Review systemic weaknesses that impede Gender Responsive Budgeting across the three spheres, in order to ensure that women (and children) benefit fairly from financial and other resources; and  Law Reform: Review existing legislation through a gender lens, in order to identify gaps in our laws and policies, so as to prevailing structural constraints, which perpetuate poverty and inequality; 3 | P a g e 4 | P a g e  Public Participation: The review process was also underpinned by a strong public participation component, enabling women across every district, in all nine provinces in South Africa to make their voices heard.
 Revised Women’s Charter: To develop a charter that is responsive to the challenges that women are facing in the current epoch, taking cognizance of the poverty and economic impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on women’s quality of life.
Emanating from the countless review deliberations, the Women’s Charter for Accelerated Development is a strategic and live document that is supported by clearly articulated strategic objectives and urgent actions, for immediate implementation, which must remain on governments developmental agenda.
The Women’s Charter for Accelerated Development serves as the Demand Document for the Women of South Africa, articulating matters for urgent prioritization: by the Three Arms of State, the Three Spheres of Government, including all Sectors of Society.

The revised charter will also serve as a road map for effective policy re-design going forward, legislative instrument efficacy assessments, responsive plans and budgets, Implementation Review processes, as well as monitoring and evaluation processes.
three sphere coordination of gender 4 | P a g e 5 | P a g e PREAMBLE: We the Women of South Africa, recognise the far reaching impact South Africa’s oppressive, colonial past, which continues to disproportionately affect the lives of women, enabling varied forms of state facilitated patriarchy, sexism and gender inequality, to remain deeply embedded within our societal norms, practices, traditions, cultural and religious practices.
We further recognise that South Africa’s democratic dispensation, as guided by the constitution of the republic, has enacted various policies, legislative instruments and strategic programmes, which have thus far, not been adequately implemented, since the inception of our watershed democracy.

To date, the vast majority of South African women, are still languish in extreme poverty, which is exacerbated by persistent economic exclusion, Gender Based Violence and Femicide.
We hereby re-affirm and reclaim our inalienable rights as equal citizens of the Republic of South Africa and proclaim that our indivisible constitutional rights, including our civil and political rights, our social and economic and cultural rights, as equal citizens of the republic, must find accelerated and urgent expression across all sectors of society, including all governance structures, all social and political structures, all economic structures, all cultural, traditional and religious structures, as well as in the rural and urban communities where we reside, across very province, every metro, every district and every locality in South Africa.
to guide and accelerate We the Women of South Africa emphatically declare, that the Women’s Charter for Accelerated Development , its accompanying strategic objectives and broad set of priority actions, constitutes our collective demand document, the Total Emancipation of Women, from All Forms of Oppression, Discrimination, Socio-Political and Economic Exclusion.
It constitutes the Roadmap setting all structures of our instruments and strategic programmes required for society on a clear trajectory, articulating accelerated and priority implementation.
These actions shall be actualised through equitable access to state resources, and supported and underpinned by effective gender responsive policy design, gender responsive planning, budgeting and implementation, monitoring and evaluation, across the three spheres of government, including all institutions that form part of South Africa’s National Gender Machinery.
the priorities, We also recognise the adoption of the first Women’s Charter on 17 April 1954, during the founding conference of the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW), which laid a solid foundation for the development of a broad and overarching regime of emancipative rights for all women, regardless of colour or creed.
We also affirm our Resolute Recognition of the 1994 Women’s Charter for Effective Equality, as a key pillar of our gender struggle trajectory, which remains the bedrock from which we now advance to build gender sensitive institutional norms and practices and as well as gender equal good governance practices.
As we continue the trajectory of the important gender struggle, we collectively affirm that this struggle trajectory can only be traversed and effectively advanced, through sustained contestation and confrontation, so as to realise effective gender equality.

Progress shall be confirmed by measurable economic freedom, socio-political and cultural freedom and freedom from all forms of discriminatory practices, and end to gender based violence and femicide.
5 | P a g e 6 | P a g e (STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1): ACCELERATE THE REALIZATION OF GENDER EQUALITY IN SOUTH AFRICA “The eradication of patriarchy needs all forces of society, more so because it coexists and survives under the most progressive political systems; because it is articulated in many diverse subtle and hidden or open and crude forms; because it is explained away in many logical sounding ways ranging from the natural, biological to religious and cultural arguments; because one of its strongest bases is the family, the home and among loved ones, it is the most complex and entrenched system, embedded in and permeating through all spheres of life, it needs all forms of struggle, persuasion, contestation, compromise, pressure and confrontation”5 Gender Equality Context: The Status of Women in South Africa The South African Constitution (Act 108 0f 1996) lays the foundation for protecting women’s rights.
Chapter 2, the equality clause, provides the legal framework within which gender equality is protected and forbids discrimination against anyone on the grounds of race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation and ethnic or social origin.

It laid the basis for the introduction of progressive, rights-based legislation, that is mindful of gender realities.

Sections 59 and 72 make provision for public access and involvement in the law-making processes of Parliament.
Despite South Africa’s transformation trajectory and legislative gains emanating from the construct of its watershed democratic project, South Africa still remains one of the most unequal society’s in the world, with women counted amongst the poorest.

The triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment, including the pervasive levels of gender based violence and femicide, represent the amalgamated and most persistent challenges faced by women.
The feminisation of poverty is significant because poverty is experienced differently by women, as compared to men, more so due to the economic political, and social dynamics prevalent in the country.

South Africa is the most unequal country in the world and incomes are highly polarized.

The country is characterized by high wealth inequality and low intergenerationa l mobility which arise from high income inequality and inequality of opportunity for children.
These inequalities appear to be passed down from generation to generation, implying little change in inequality over time and perhaps even a worsening of the already bad situation.”6 Overcoming this deeply entrenched and cyclical nature of generational poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment, particularly as disproportionately experienced by women, will require concerted and sustained efforts from all sectors of society.
It is also important to emphasize that the status of women is no merely a statistical matter, as poverty for women is often more severe and poses greater development challenges for women.

When women are poor, their rights are not protected and they face double discrimination, on account of their gender and economic situation.
Women, their families, communities and economies suffer as a result.7 If the state machinery fails to effectively respond to the cyclical and generational nature of the prevailing challenges faced by women, the disproportionate impact of multi-dimensional poverty, economic exclusion, gender based violence and femicide, will continue to impede tangible advancements to realise substantive equality.
The imperative for the institutionalisation of the precept of equality across all sectors of society is therefore advanced, as a key tenet of the social, political and economic fabric of our society, as well as the state’s planning and operational machinery.
The state at large, remains society’s leading implementing agent alongside various other important partners, is obligated to ensure that all policies, all legislative instruments and all accompanying strategic programmes, all institutional arrangements, across the three spheres of government, are developed, taking cognizance of the pertinent gender precepts and legal obligations.
These must be effectively positioned for implementation, so as to enable the attainment of tangible, measurable and impact driven equality.

The precept of Equality therefore remains the overarching nexus and Apex Priority for the women of South Africa and it is positioned as a fundamental precept that must cut across every developmental instrument, to ensure that women, equitably and effectively benefit from all resources and opportunities available for their growth and development.
Despite the existence of the draft Gender Policy Framework on local government (2007), provincial review sessions have highlighted systemic weaknesses in gender mainstreaming at local level.
These weaknesses point to: (i) A lack of resources (ii) A lack of gender mainstreaming in IDP processes, (iii) A gender discourse that is events driven, (iv) Uncoordinated Provincial Gender Machinery (PGM), 5 Now is the Time, our age of hope: Paying Tribute to the Heroic Women of 1956, Ms. T Mtintso 6 overcoming poverty and inequality in South Africa: an assessment of drivers, constraints and opportunities, 2018 7 The Beijing 12 Critical Areas, unwomen.org 6 | P a g e 7 | P a g e (v) The lack of expertise and know how in implementing gender mainstreaming processes and (vi) A general lack of support, amongst others.
Furthermore, the Gender Policy Framework for Local Government was launched in September 2007, and emphasized the role that IDPs can play in mainstreaming gender in policies and implementation plans, as well as the importance of key stakeholders such as gender focal points and structures, such as gender forums and M&E mechanisms, to institutionalize government’s commitment to achieving gender equality.
Yet to be finalized, the framework remains in draft form and has not been broadly adopted by municipalities, indicative of the failure to institutionalize gender mainstreaming at local level.

Taking into consideration that black female headed households remain the most vulnerable group in society, this finding must find reflection in planning processes, the annual and vertical division of government revenue as well as within the horizonta l budget allocations of the 3 spheres of government.
Gender responsive budgeting in particular remains an urgent vehicle for contributing to gender equality at local government level.

An intergovernmental fiscal mechanism must further be an inherent key element in this process.

At a provincial level, the Commission for Gender Equality found that no provincial executive was found to have a clearly articulated Theory of Change embedded on women’s empowerment principles and gender equality prescripts.
Furthermore, most Provincial Gender Machinery programs are campaigns and celebrations of commemorative dates and events and these programs have no impact or monitoring and evaluation frameworks attached to them, hence the difficulty in pronouncing on the substantive improvement on the quality of life of women.
Most provinces have special programmes that are directed at youth, women, children, people with disabilities and elderly persons and these are often not gender responsive in their approach nor do they take into consideration the status of women.

Some of these challenges can be associated with the lack of mechanisms to institutionalise gender through the Provincial Growth and Development Strategies (PGDS) of the provinces.
Out of all 09 (nine) sampled Provinces none had a PGDS underpinned by gender responsive planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation and gender auditing (GRPBM&E & A).

8 During the provincial and District level review sessions, the Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC) placed emphasis on the importance of an intergovernmental Fiscal Relations System (IGFR) as an avenue to institutionalize gender responsive budgeting.
It was further expanded that a successful IGFR system would be sensitive to the needs of women and contribute to moving women out of poverty.

In this sense, innovations in policy design and implementation are required to further ensure gender sensitive resource allocation.
Priority Actions: (Re-Engineering Government’s Planning, By Institutionalizing Gender Mainstreaming in Planning Processes across the three spheres of Government) In order to advance effective equality, women’s rights and gender equality shall be institutionalised, implemented and actualised through the Development Planning Prescripts, Planning Instruments and Implemented through the Effective Management of the functions assigned to the three spheres of government.
Gender equality shall further be implemented through development policy integration, budgeting, M&E and Structured Implementation processes and further emboldened, through Targeted Oversight and Feedback to women across all Provinces, Metro’s, Districts and Local Municipalities.
This implores the imperative that all implementing agencies must deliberately outline plans in line with the principles of gender equality, and that they must attach resources to these plans, in a manner that demonstrates a firm commitment to accelerate the realization of gender equality.

Radical systemic and institutional shifts must be therefore be effected, which must be guided by the necessary integration of the appropriate gender prescripts within all development planning pronouncements.
This includes the National Development Plan (NDP), the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF), Provincial Growth and Development Strategies (PGDS), Integrated Development Plans (IDP), including the District Development Model (DDM), Departmental Strategic and Annual Performance Plans, as well as other important planning and strategy execution tools.
8 Ms T Mathebula, National Gender Machinery Summit, Parliament, 6 March 2020 7 | P a g e 8 | P a g e Priority Actions: Advancing Gender Equality through Development Policy and Government Planning Instruments across the Three Spheres of Government: the  The Precept of Equality Shall be effectively National into Mainstreamed Development Plan (NDP), cutting across all strategic policy proposals of the NDP and the National Spatial Development Framework (NSDF).
(The NDP and NSDF Reviewed for mainstreaming, together parliament and the Commission for Gender Equality) into  The Precept of Equality Shall be effectively Mainstreamed the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) and shall be cascaded cross its seven priorities and related interventions, as well as all priorities and outcomes, which are all intrinsically to women’s development and the advancement of gender equality.
linked The MTSF Shall also be reviewed annually from a gender perspective, in order to develop effectively mainstreamed priorities to guide planning, particularly across the cascaded, implementing spheres.

 The Principle of Equality shall tangibly find expression in the Strategic and Annual Performance Plans of National and Provincial Departments and Sector Plans.

These plans must tangibly reflect gender targets and agendas, before approval by Parliament and the legislative sector broadly.
Such planning shall reflect gender equity as well as equality within all government (internal departments equity/numbers), which must also tangibly translate into equality in delivery and impact on women’s lives in communities (external community tangible and impact driven plans) focussed, for responsibilities The gender mainstreaming for the advancement of firmly with equality shall be placed accounting officers across the three spheres of government and gender mainstreaming shall become an integral part of interrogation of all strategic plans 8 | P a g e Government officials in line departments for how their Shall further also account policies, programmes and related budgets advanced gender equality.
 The Principle of Equality shall be Embedded in and Mainstreamed into the Provincial Growth and Development Strategies (PGDS) and Provincial Spatial Development Frameworks (PSDF) of All Provinces  The Principle of Equality Shall be Embedded in and Mainstreamed into the Provincial Development Plans (PDP)  Given the constitutional role of Provinces of institutional development and capacity building, Provincial executives shall ensure to they build Municipal Capacity, that integration of Gender Equality ensure Precepts the Integrated Development Plans.
and Perspectives into into The Principles of Equality Shall be Embedded and Mainstreamed the Integrated Development Plans (IDP) and District Development Model processes across District and Local Municipalities, in order to ensure that Local Government effectively Gender institutionalises Responsive Planning, based on gender desegregated data and gendered poverty mapping data in each spatial dimension and locality, as informed and guided by PGDSs and PSDF  This shall be achieved by ensuring that municipal integrated development plans: - institutionalise gender planning (e.g.
water by sector and sanitation, economic local development etc.)
and include ddisaggregated gender performance and targets indicators 9 | P a g e - Develop and utilize gender budgeting good practice guides and toolkits - Develop Guidelines for collecting for data sex- disaggregated budgeting processes - Ensure that municipalities have the capacity to analyse budgets from a gender perspective - Ensure appropriations allocations and gender-responsive budget and - Ensure gender-sensitive public participation and consultations at local level  The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditions Affairs, the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities and Treasury shall provide the necessary support for skills capacity building, to enable gender responsive planning development and in the State of State of  The Principle of Equality Shall be the Nation Embedded address, the Province Addresses as well as State of the Municipality Addresses (All Metro’s, Districts and Local Municipalities)  Gender shall Responsive and Planning Budgeting be embedded and institutionalized across multiple institutions and sectors of society.
This includes the parliamentary public committees, and all other state institutions, political parties and civil society administration, Advancing Gender Equality through the Budget and Fiscal Measures – Towards the Institutionalisation of Gender Responsive Budgeting Problem Statement: A key measure for ensuring gender transformation and equal participation between women and men is the allocation of budgets to effect policy and legislative changes.
Government budgets and fiscal measures can play an important role in promoting women’s development and gender equality.

The link between economic and political empowerment is key to enhancing the equal participation of men and women in decision - making – economic and political resources must be accessible to both men and women in order to addres s inequalities between them.
In order to achieve the empowerment of women, various measures can be employed to ensure that states do indeed meet their developmental goals.

One such measure is gender budgeting.9 Gender- responsive budgeting is not about creating separate budgets for women, or solely increasing spending on women’s programmes.
Instead, gender-responsive budgeting seeks to ensure that the collection and allocation of public resources is carried out in ways that are effective and contribute to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.

It should be based on in-depth analysis that identifies effective interventions for implementing policies and laws that advance women’s rights.
It provides tools to assess the different needs and contributions of men and women, and boys and girls within the existing revenues, expenditures and allocations and calls for adjusting budget policies to benefit all groups.

Gender-responsive budget analysis, along with legislation, and other practical policy measures can address gender bias and discrimination.
It is a step not only towards accountability to women’s rights, but also towards greater public transparency and can shift economic policies leading to gains across societies.10 While various gender responsive budgeting mechanisms exist across the three spheres of government, the Majority of them are often fragmented and lack coherence and broad- based political support.
There are no binding mechanisms for the implementation of the Gender Responsive Planning, Budgeting, Monitoring, Evaluation and Auditing Framework.

There are structural and institutional weaknesses that impede gender responsive budgeting, which must be urgently addressed across the three spheres of government.
There is a lack of coherent policies, programmes, systems and procedures to promote gender-responsive policy, research, planning, budgeting, 9 Cáceres, R. M. (n/a) Overview of Gender-responsive Budget Initiatives 10 Wehner, J.

& Byanyima, W. (2004) Parliament, the Budget and Gender 9 | P a g e 10 | P a g e monitoring, evaluation and auditing.11 Tangible plans developed for the advancement and realization of gender equality, must be backed by the necessary budget allocation, so as to ensure implementation.
Priority Actions:  The Principle of Equality Shall be embedded as an Apex Priority and Cross Cutting Imperative in the Budget Process including: The Mandate Paper, the Fiscal Division of Revenue Bill, Framework, the Appropriations Bill and the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement.
Inculcated gendered perspectives shall take into consideration gendered-poverty mapping perspectives across provinces, districts and localities, so as to effectively the consider socio-economic spatial, faced by women across the challenges country.
 Budget Vote Process: Budgets Shall be approved based on clearly articulated and tangible gender responsive strategic plans and annual performance plans, as a commitment of intent to follow through with the implementation of all mainstreaming and gender equality priorities.
 Budgets Shall be clearly linked to gender equality outcomes (SDGs, Agenda 2063, SADC Gender and Dev Protocol, NDP (gendered NDP perspectives), including priority actions articulated in the Women’s Charter for Accelerated Development).
Gender Equality Outcomes Shall be articulated by every department and entity across the three spheres of government  Gender Responsive Budgets Principles: Shall be applied, clearly demonstrating a theory of change paradigm: Across the (National, three spheres of government Provincial and Local), tangible, through impact driven developmental plans, which recognise the urgency of gender equality in South Africa incorporate  Government Shall tangible gender perspective the design, development, adoption and execution of all budgetary processes, as appropriate, in order to promote equitable, effective and into establish adequate resource allocation; Shall appropriate further budgetary allocations to support gender equality and development programmes that enhance women's empowerment; and to develop the necessary analytical and methodological tools and mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation;  The for for responsibilities shall be placed across gender mainstreaming the advancement of equality firmly with three accounting the spheres of government and gender mainstreaming to become an integral part of interrogation of all costing and budgets of strategic plans officers  Legislation targeting women shall be properly costed, ensuring that appropriate resources, financial and otherwise, are dedicated towards successful implementation thereof  Based on evidence-based research, where there are budget deficits, allocation shifts shall be recommended in education, health, (Economic including Development Cluster) participation projects and as an integrated approach to women’s development and wellbeing; economic all  Ensure the revenue measures including fuel levies and sales taxes do not adversely affect women;  For each sector, resource allocations to particular sectors should be monitored to ensure that they benefit women.
 Standardized requirements and guidelines for the collection of gender disaggregated data shall be instituted to serve as the basis for targeted, evidence-based policy and legislative formulation 11 Ms T Mathebula, National Chairperson of the Commission for Gender Equality, National Gender Machinery Summit, 6 March 2020, Parliament of RSA 10 | P a g e 11 | P a g e  All spheres of government will be required to mainstream gender by way of gender responsive planning, budgetary processes, Monitoring (M&E) mechanisms and auditing practices.
Evaluation and  The Auditor General: Shall include Gender Performance Indicators in the assessment of Financial Management Processes  All Departments across the three spheres to an the in Gender of government Shall be subject to assist Annual Gender Audit institutionalization of Mainstreaming;  Poverty Mapping Perspectives in Gender Responsive Planning and Budgeting, Shall be institutionalised as an imperative for planning, in order to ensure that the needs incomes are of women across varied effectively considered.
Spatially specific (Provincial, District and Ward Specific) disaggregated data, with wealth differentials Shall be used for planning and budgeting and delivered through the district based development model.

This process will ensure that no one is left behind.
Mandatory Skills Development and Capacity building on Gender Responsive Planning and Budgeting  In order to ensure continuity and implementation, the department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities and Treasury shall ensure it builds capacity on the integration of socio- economic policy issues, with public spending, through ongoing training and capacity building across the state machinery.
Such mandatory capacity building/training initiatives, shall also focus on the gender responsive planning, budgeting, monitoring, evaluation, and auditing framework and the country gender indicator framework.

Ongoing capacity building in order to ensure that government officials across the three spheres of government have the capacity to implement planning and budgeting from a gender perspective.
 Capacity building initiatives shall strengthen knowledge on gender issues, for the development of substantive gender responsive plans and budgets During the Provincial and District Level Women’s Charter Review sessions, the Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC) placed emphasis on the importance of a gender sensitive Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations System (IGFR), as an important avenue to institutionalize gender responsive budgeting.
It was further expanded that a successful gender sensitive IGFR system, would be sensitive to the needs of women and contribute to moving women out of poverty.

In this sense, innovations in policy design and implementation are required, so as to further ensure gender sensitive resource allocation, that is mandatory and stipulated by the necessary statutory instrument obligations.
Furthermore, given the non-binding nature of the Gender Responsive Budgeting, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (GRBPMEA) framework, it is imperative that mandatory statutory instruments are developed, which must become an obligatory feature of mainstreaming across the three spheres of government.

It is imperative that the below pieces of legislation are amended to mainstream gender responsive budgeting.
Amendments will ensure an inclusion of the gendered implications through the necessary Budget and Fiscal measures: Specific and relevant pieces of legislation in need of revision and amendment in this regard include:  The Municipal Fiscal Powers and Functions Act, 2007; 11 | P a g e 12 | P a g e  The Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003;  The Appropriations Act, 2020 and the Division of Revenue Act, 2013; and  The Public Finance Management Act, 1999 12 | P a g e 13 | P a g e STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2: ADVANCE THE INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH PARADIGM-INCULCATING A GENDERED IMPERATIVE TO ECONOMIC GROWTH “A growing body of evidence shows that economic growth is a gendered process and that gender inequalities can pose barriers to shared prosperity.
Growth patterns that exploit women’s position as a source of flexible labour , may result in jobs that do little to transform their bargaining power within the economy or lessen the burden of their unpaid care work.

And growth that generates forms of employment that favour m ale workers, can also buttress existing ideologies of the male breadwinner, leaving pre-existing gender inequalities largely intact.
Such evidence makes clear it that unless the gender dimensions of inclusive growth are made explicit, and unless policies for inclusive growth aim to improve women’s well-being and address gender gaps, it is unlikely that growth will benefit women and men equally.”12 Policy frameworks on inclusive growth, have rarely called into question current models of production or proposed macro-level policies and structural reforms necessary to correct the distributional bias of growth.
Rather, policy attention has focused on measures to promote equality of opportunity.

For instance, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) framework for policy action on inclusive growth emphasizes policies that can improve the prospects of households in the bottom 40 per cent of income distribution.
It identifies actions needed in three areas: (1) investing in people and places that have been left behind through targeted quality childcare, early education and lifelong acquisition of skills, and effective access to quality health care, justice, housing and infrastructure; (2) supporting business dynamism and inclusive labour markets through broad- based innovation and technology diffusion, strong competition and vibrant entrepreneurship, and access to good quality jobs, especially for women and underrepresented groups; and (3) building efficient and responsive governments through integrating distributional aspects upfront in the design of policy, and assessing policies for their impact on inclusiveness and growth.13 The World Bank, regional development banks such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and bilateral development agencies (such as the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development), among others, have also recommended that equality of opportunity should be at the core of inclusive growth policies.
For instance, the World Bank’s approach to shared prosperity or inclusive economic growth seeks to foster income growth among a nation’s bottom 40 per cent of households.

It focuses on economic growth as “growth generates jobs and economic opportunities for all segments of the population”.
It advocates for a social contract in every country that commits to investments in safety nets that protect the poor and vulnerable against deprivation and shocks, and that improve and equalize opportunities for all citizens.

14 Problem Statement: High unemployment, high inequality and low growth continues to characterise the development landscape in South Africa.
The roots of South Africa’s high rates of unemployment, poverty and inequality can be traced back to more than a century of colonial exploitation and apartheid – denying African people access to land, and the right to run businesses, to own certain assets, to access quality education and to live in well-located, economically productive areas.
Decades of racial discrimination in the workplace, also led to social stratification based on skin colour, with social and economic institutions largely reinforcing these inequities, including deeply entrenched gendered-economic inequalities.
Despite the fact that South Africa has since the inception of its democracy, passed some of the most progressive laws and other legislative instruments, women still continue to face social, economic and ideological barriers to full and equal participation in the economy.

Reports by Statistics South Africa, continue to demonstrate that the face of poverty is African-female.
One of the key challenges in bringing about development and economic transformation in South Africa is the fact that the structure of the economy has not changed and continues to reflect distorted patterns of ownership and exclusion, which has very specifi c race and gendered dimensions.

South Africa remains an unequal society and this is reflected in gross disparities in income and wealth.

Survey data shows that an estimated 10 % of South Africans own 90 – 95 % of all assets.
Women participate in large numbers in sectors of the economy which are characterised by low wages and poor working conditions.

The gender pay gap persists, confining women to low remuneration and is worsened by discrimination against women in the receipt of social benefits.
12 D Elson and A Seth, “Gender equality and inclusive growth: economic policies to achieve sustainable development” https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2019/gender- equality-and-inclusive-growth-en.pdf?la=en&vs=3753 13 Ibid 14 Ibid 13 | P a g e 14 | P a g e In general, women remain in a disadvantaged position in terms of access to productive employment in the formal sector, with the vast majority of South African women working in vulnerable employment.
In addition, due to the gendered division of labour, the burden of care work almost always falls on women and girls to fulfil the family’s needs for food, water, clothing, shelter and care for children, the elderly and sick.

This, in turn, limits women’s opportunities for paid work and other activities.
Factors such as women’s lack of access to social protection, limited education and training and lack of control of and equal access to economic and financial resources, combine to reinforce inequalities and further impoverish women and girls.

key problems prohibiting economic development in South Africa, noting the two aspects of economic development that act as important constraints to wellbeing.
First and foremost is the ability of the economy to achieve sustainable economic growth, then the necessity of human development alongside economic development and the need for industrial structural transformation.

These aspects of economic development are interrelated because human and industrial development impact on one another through conditions of employment and income.
Overall, the Office analysis noted the existence of large constraints on the path to economic development and growth due to the inadequacy of human development, economic and industrial transformation, food and energy security, and infrastructure.15 Inclusive economic growth demands that effort to advance a country’s growth and development should be produced with the contribution of all citizens.
The country’s economic policies, legislative instruments and strategic economic programmes, must be underpinned by equity principles.

Furthermore, given the disproportionate impact of poverty, unemployment and economic exclusion, endeavours to build an inclusive economy must centrally take cognizance of the equality precept, which inadvertent ly demands that entry barriers must be identified and accordingly eradicated.
it is then pertinent to focus on the gender factors that trigger an increase in and stimulate economic growth in both low and high income countries, and result in inclusive economi c growth.

Women are able make a large contribution to productivity and the economic prospects of a society.

Furthermore, as estimated by The World Economic Forum when observing the current rate of progress, it will take 170 years to close the overall global gender gap in economic participation and opportunity.
This places greater urgency on prioritizing and accelerating the economic inclusion and participation of women in South Africa.

Given the bleak outlook based on current progress, engaging in targeted and strategic efforts to close the gender gap in economic participation of women and tangible opportunity, is now imperative.

State of the Economy - Impact on Women: o In mid 2020 the South African population was 59.62 million of which 51.1% (30.5 million) are women and 48.9% male.
o South African women have higher unemployment rates and higher levels of poverty.

o In 2020 Q1 South Africa had an overall Expanded Unemployment Rate of 39.7%.

In the same period, women had an Expanded Unemployment rate of 43.4% with men at 36.5%.

o Black African women are the most vulnerable with an unemployment rate far exceeding other women.

o The proportion of women employed in the unprotected informal sector of the economy is 75% higher than men.
o Women spend 2.5x more in unpaid care and domestic work than men.

o In both Q1:2019 and Q1:2020, more than four in every ten young females were not in employment, education or training (NEET) – Q1:2020 Female NEET at 45.4% and male NEET at 38.1%.

In money-metric headcounts done in 2015, Females (41.7%) remain more disadvantaged than males (38.2%), consistently recording a higher headcount, gap and severity measure at each point in time.
However, the difference between sexes has narrowed from 2006 to 2016. o o The biggest multidimensional drivers of poverty are unemployment and years of schooling, by large margins and account for predominant reasons for experiencing poverty.

o According to the Marginalised Groups Indicator Report (Statistics South Africa, 2018), 39.2% of female-headed households in SA do not have an employed household member vs 19.5% of male-headed households.
By province it varies from lowest of 21.7% F / 14.0% M to highest 52.5% F / 26.5% M. This means that female headed households are experiencing much greater levels of poverty than male headed households and so much more in the rural provinces.

o At the moment it is estimated that 30 million South Africans are living below the poverty line with women much more effected by poverty than men.
o According to the Marginalised Groups Indicator Report (Statistics South Africa, 2018) 11.6% of female-headed households in SA suffer from hunger vs 8.3% of male-headed households.

By province it varies from lowest of 15 Dr D Jantjies, Budget Office Policy Brief-Parliamentary Budget Office, July 2021 14 | P a g e 15 | P a g e 3.8% F / 4.8.0% M to highest 17.4% F / 14.6% M. Women headed households are much more exposed to hunger than male headed households.
o The trend of women inequality carries through to persons living with disabilities, where people living with disabilities earning less than their abled counterparts and women living with disabilities earning less than their male counterparts by a large percentage (39.6%).16 Priority Actions:  South Africa’s Economic Development Policy, must secure a central place for women in the economy  Priority focus Shall be given to the policy imperatives of the NDP (towards a revised gender sensitive NDP), as South Africa’s overarching development nexus, (with a focus on the inclusive growth particular priorities of the NDP and its gendered implications).
This underpinning policy focus will further be supported by the Key Inclusive Growth Policy Drivers articulated in the (Functional Electoral Mandate) and further supported by the (gender sensitive) Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan interventions.
 Women’s economic empowerment Shall therefore be clearly articulated in public policy documents: Including but not limited to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD), including all Economic Cluster Departments.
 Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP) in Government Shall inculcate a Gender Focus interpretation, the and implementation, evaluation of ERRP Objectives, focusing on the following: monitoring - - To create jobs, primarily through aggressive infrastructure investment and mass employment programmes (equitable access for women in procurement and labour opportunities) the economy, To re-industrialize focusing small businesses (aggressively build a growing on - - - provinces, new cohort of Black African women industrialists, based on untapped emerging and opportunities industrialization across metros, districts) Accelerate economic reforms to unlock investment and growth (Reforms shall be gender focused, in order to accelerate women’s participation) To fight crime and corruption (to decisively address crime and it corruption, impacts on women’s quality of life) To improve the capability of the (State capability shall be state into strengthened, consideration the imperatives of constructing a gendered/gender sensitive state machinery, for the accelerated realization of inclusive growth and economic gender equality) particularly taking as  Sector Master Plans: Shall be developed in a gendered/gender sensitive manner, so as to give women equitable access to existing and emerging economic recovery across and provinces, metros, districts and localities reconstruction projects,  ERRP and Support for women in the informal sector: In order to reach women (who make up the highest proportion of those employed in the informal sector), the economic to incorporate support for the informal sector.
recovery needs plan  Given the disproportionate impact of poverty on women’s quality of life, and shall government implement policies that both accelerate gendered inclusive economic growth and reduce poverty.
Meaning that there Shall be an equitable and targeted focus undertake 16 Mr R Maluleke, Women’s and Poverty, Statistics South Africa, Women’s Charter Review Session 15 | P a g e 16 | P a g e to the social, economic, discrimination realization of on accelerating women’s civil, political and cultural rights, particularly face because women continue and oppression, exclusion on all these platforms (with tangible inclusivity, access and equitable focussing on women’s benefit indivisible multifaceted, needs, in the spatial- geographical localities where they reside) integrated and fostered  Assessing the Gendered Implications of All Government Infrastructure Projects, costing and facilitating women’s access to an equitable share) Enable a Strategic Inclusive Growth Catalysing Focus on Policy Priorities, while ensuring their translation into well aligned and costed programmatic outputs across all Provinces, Metros, Districts and Localities the country, with women gaining equitable access such from benefitting government infrastructure projects.
and in Women Shall have equitable access, with access to 50% of Infrastructure Projects awarded to female owned companies in every financial year  Gender Responsive procurement: A Gender equity policy Shall be included in public procurement processes, so as to ensure that women benefit equitably, with penalties imposed on non-compliant departments and entities.
An annual gender audit on procurement, shall be undertaken, in order to ensure compliance until and objectives that those  The National Development Plan (NDP) which emphasizes South Africa’s strategic priorities 2030 municipalities, envisages particularly urban regions, will play a key role in ensuring that the impact of measures aimed at generating inclusive economic growth to reduce high levels of poverty and unemployment, are felt in localities as well as nationally.
covering 16 | P a g e Government shall undertake a targeted focus on urban Municipalities, as catalysts to accelerate the inclusive economic growth paradigm and the gender agenda, so as to ensure that those most disproportionately inequality and the affected by poverty, (Black African COVID 19 pandemic Females), benefit equitably from inclusive economic and interventions, aimed at poverty reduction and the reduction of unemployment measures growth the  The Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC), emphasises importance of making use of the potential of accelerated urbanisation, of making relations intergovernmental instruments, the positive to drive transformation of the economy towards the attainment of rapid economic growth that reduces poverty and inequality fiscal use The necessary gendered analysis shall be undertaken to harness the potential of accelerated urbanization, making use of intergovernmental relations instruments, to drive an integrated and gendered inclusive growth trajectory.
Special focus Shall be placed on such in order to maximize their municipalities, inclusive growth potential fiscal assess  Government recovery, Interventions reconstruction for women’s equitable benefit and participation in the economy Shall Regularly to and transformation, accelerate  Targeted Spatial Growth: Sources / place of growth matters – growth Shall take place where the women to whom growth is directed, live and breathe, through targeted interventions facilitate equitable and measurable access, otherwise the growth will not be inclusive.
to  Structure of growth matters – where is the growth coming from, big, SME’s, micro businesses.

Most poverty alleviation will and micro emanate SME’s from 17 | P a g e businesses.
A focus on women owned SMME’s is therefore for the advancement of inclusivity in the structure of growth imperative  productive Increasing the number of women who manage, own and control enterprises and through interventions by the DTI, DSBD, PIC, DSD and other departments departments in the economic development cluster, Shall be prioritised assets other and inclusion as well as access  Accelerating access to finances: Policy mechanisms shall be developed to ensure to financial working capital for small, micro and medium enterprises.
Quarterly Gender Audits shall be undertaken, follow expenditure and disbursement patterns and processes of to emerging and fiancés developing women owned enterprises in order to  Engage the Financial Sector: to strengthen financial services accessible and affordable to South African women to make efforts Women need access to credit, which is not based on the need for collateral or linked to their marital status.
 Provide support for infrastructure and capital to SMMEs, mainly in the informal sectors – microfinance.
Constraints: constraints, Structural  Structural economic which disproportionately impact women’s ability to tangible economic opportunities, access shall be identified for urgent redress Government Shall ensure processes to remove structural constraints and barriers to Inclusive Economic Growth (as it pertains to advancing gendered inclusive growth) and device innovative mechanisms for the removal of such constraints.
effective Interventions shall be time bound assessed on a quarterly basis, so as to ensure transformation, progress and impact 17 | P a g e  Ongoing, sustained, consistent, and effective support Shall be provided to women who have benefited from loans and skills development programmes, so as to ensure the success of new and growing enterprises  Increased monitoring of programmes and initiatives Shall be provided, to ensure that women owned businesses are recorded and are consistently growing and developing.
The promotion of gender equality and women’s economic empowerment requires regular and careful planning and monitoring, as well as gender budgeting to ensure sustained growth to  Formulate legal instruments to address matters the relating overconcentration of Big companies Oligopolies): and (Monopolies in big overconcentration of business companies, which inhibits the growth of small and medium enterprises.
SME’s are the real engine of growth and job creation in an economy, but are weakened by big companies.

Gender dynamics which feed into discriminatory practices, make women to vulnerable, as exclusionary practices they are subjected  De-regulation is required – overregulation often inhibits SME’s from being the engine of growth such as is taking place in the banking and telecoms sectors to name a few.

Legislation for de-regulation shall be identified and the reviewed necessary de-regulation.
There is a (Need of overregulated for sectors and telecoms) liberalization (including to effect banking  The Gender Pay Gap: financial penalties shall be applicable that perpetuate the gender wage gap to companies  A fund for the economic assistance of victims of Gender Based Violence Shall be put in place.

This funding Shall be used to train victims and employ women into formal and informal markets, in order to Innovative reduce dependence.
18 | P a g e employment strategies shall be put in place for victims of Gender Based Violence be monitored and audited annually ensure adherence and implementation to  Poverty reduction strategies must include long-term structural change – macro-economic structural change with women at the centre of such strategies  as a key gender Industrialisation inclusive growth driver – sensitive institutions and macro-policy instruments must be well aligned, so as to give women equitable access to owning the means of production, which must further translate into women’s equitable access to employment opportunities  District Development Model as a game changer (with women at the centre of district bringing development), development to the people.
- Growth and Development Projects Shall be localised at community level, giving an equitable number to owning of women access production process the through business transacting mechanisms factory shall be factories (community owned by communities, giving women shared ownership) Value chain and circular economy approach community - One one - - Connecting the rural economy to the national economic ecosystem Economic Development Cluster: Three Spheres of Government  Preferential procurement is not a choice, it remains an act through BBBEE to ensure that redress for women and black people occurs.
Public procurement targets are however in vain unless there is monitoring of whether government meets its treasury actually records the businesses and whether the uptake of loans and benefits are recorded.

targets, whether Without proper monitoring and evaluation for mechanisms, new announcements procurement to be made without ascertaining whether these targets have been met or not.
These shall targets will continue 18 | P a g e  Effective dissemination initiatives implemented public information and on programmes targeting women shall be  ensure an inclusive economic development process.

 Provincial Growth and Development Strategies (PGDS) shall be reviewed to enable Women’s Equitable access to Overall Economic Activity in each province.
which Shall be planned and implemented in a gender sensitive manner  Sections 152(1) and 153(a) of units tasked with the Constitution requires that beyond acting as administrative the provision of public services, authorities within South Africa’s local government a developmental fulfil sphere must mandate.
This developmental mandate requires that municipalities promote social and economic development - - - National Local government must also in the Provincial cooperation with of Spheres and government, implement policies to improve the extent and quality of economic development, thereby improving the material conditions of the communities located within their jurisdiction the Integrated Through Development Plan (IDP) and Local Economic Development Plans (LED), municipalities are broad expected development priorities in order to give the catalysing to economic development priorities expounded in the NDP.
develop impetus to Poverty The Mapping Perspectives, including effectively analysed and synthesised gender disaggregated data, Shall be effectively engaged and utilised, in owned enterprises to develop products for the Africa Free Trade Market.
to instruments  Key Policy continue drive development agenda expression Growth Agenda include: to a gendered that will government's to give clear Inclusive - National Development Plan (Gender - Reviewed) Economic Recovery Plan (Gender Inculcated) Reconstruction and - Sector Master Plans - (gender The New Growth Path Reviewed) The National (Gender Reviewed) Industrial Policy Action Plan (Gender Reviewed) Infrastructure Plan - - the gendered These policy instruments, which also form part and parcel of the commitments emanating from the electoral mandate, inclusive must anchor growth trajectory, in order to ensure that women’s is approached from within the country’s key developmental and growth catalysing policies economic inclusion 19 | P a g e order to develop the appropriate economic programmes, initiatives and interventions, which respond to the social and economic status of a particularly province, metro, district and locality (considering education levels, population skills the level, appropriate economic local programmes and interventions for a spatial environment) to design in order Economic  The District Development Model (DDM), Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) Local Development Strategies (LEDs) across Districts, Metros Shall there facilitate Women’s Equitable Access to economic activities and projects, which Shall be planned and implemented in a gender sensitive manner.
These shall be Time Bound and Measurable, for Impact assessment and tangible for progress towards the attainment of gender equality through inclusive economic growth priorities recording  BBBEE - growth Economic with redistribution – ensure equity in workforce to ensure women’s & supply chain, participation.
the workforce through sanctions Enforce equity in  ECONOMIC STRATEGY UNDERPINNED by industrialisation, rural development and production & productive labour force  PFMA recapitalization of NEF/SEFA – targeting women, youth, black Africans Entrepreneurial revolution (finance)  Identify entry points into the African Continent for ACFTA: Support women 19 | P a g e 20 | P a g e STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3: ADVANCING GENDER SENSITIVE WORKERS RIGHTS – ADDRESSING THE GENDERED IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON WORKING CLASS AND POOR WOMEN “Even as globalization has brought millions of women into paid labour, the number of women in the workforce is far behind that of men.
Gender inequalities have also concentrated women at the bottom of the global value chain — in the lowest paid jobs, in piece-rate, subcontracted work, and insecure forms of self-employment, with little or no access to decent work and social protection.

Women are half the world’s potential and unleashing it requires access to decent, good-quality paid work as well as gender-sensitive policies and regulations, such as adequate parental leave and flexible hours.
The economics make sense, too: If women played an identical role in labour markets to that of men, as much as US$28 trillion, or 26 per cent, could be added to the global annual Gross Domestic Product by 2025.”17 Economic Growth, must be prioritised to enable decent, gender inclusive employment opportunities for women Problem Statement: Over a year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic, gender equality in the world of work has worsened.
Women have suffered disproportionate job and income losses, including because of their over representation in the hardest-hit sectors, and many continue to work on the front line, sustaining care systems, economies and societies, while often also doing the majority of unpaid care work.

All these factors underscore the need for a gender-responsive recovery to respond to the commitment of “building forward fairer”.
It confirms that women’s employment has been negatively impacted in terms of both quantity and quality, although with substantial regional variations.

18 This is largely due to the impact of lockdowns that affected sectors, including manufacturing and services where women are overrepresented and where they are often working with informal working arrangements.
Enduring gender gaps in time spent in unpaid care work, limited access to social protection and an upsurge in violence and harassment have also made it difficult for women to keep their jobs, compared to men.

19 The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the large gender gaps in the quality of employment, especially for the many women working in feminized sectors and occupations, and in the informal economy.
Even before the pandemic, jobs with a high concentration of women were characterized by low wages, long working hours, limited opportunities for career advancement and exposure to occupational health and safety risks as well as violence and harassment.

When the pandemic hit, these trends put women workers at greater risk of being laid off, seeing a significant contraction of their working hours and/or experiencing a further deterioration in their working conditions.
Migrant workers, ethnic and racial minorities, older persons and those with disabilities and living with HIV and AIDS have also seen the quality of their jobs dampened.20 Compared to men, women and especially black African women, also continue to have low access to paid employment.

When they do find paid work, black women typically have lower incomes and less security than men.
Most women are found in poorly paid domestic labour and micro enterprises, where they do not enjoy job security and benefits.21 Economic stagnation is currently the biggest threat facing the South African society, which further hampers women’s ability to access decent employment opportunities.

We cannot meaningfully address gender based unemployment, which is a by-product of gendered poverty, inequality, which is further exacerbated by a stagnating economy.
The country’s economic growth and development plans must necessarily be gender sensitive by design, in order to meaningfully address the impact of poverty and unemployment and mitigate the COVID 19 Aftershocks, which continues to disproportionally affects women in South Africa.

The economy must be transformed and government must address all the structural constraints in the economy that make it difficult for women to access the mainstream economy and secure decent employment opportunities.
improved policy coordination and effective implementation, is critically important to address the country’s development and labour market challenges.
A failure to grasp the importance of inclusive economic growth and its implications for decent employment and a gender sensitive labour market, means that we have been unable to create jobs, invest in infrastructure and skills, raise wages and productivity, 17 World Employment Social Outlook, Trends 2016, International Labour Organization; The Power of Parity, September 2015, McKinsey Global Institute, Mckinsey & Company https://interactive.unwomen.org/multimedia/infographic/changingworldofwork/en/index.html 18 Building Forward Fairer: Women’s rights to work and at work at the core of the COVID-19 recovery, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---gender/documents/publication/wcms_814499.pdf 19 ILO.
2020.

‘The COVID-19 Response: Getting Gender Equality Right for a Better Future for Women at Work’ (Geneva); ILO.

2018.

‘Care work and care jobs for the future of decent work’ (Geneva) 20 ILO.

2020.

‘The COVID-19 Response: Getting Gender Equality Right for a Better Future for Women at Work’ (Geneva); ILO .

2020.

‘COVID- 19 and the World of Work: A Focus on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples’ (Geneva); ILO.

2020.

‘A Policy Framework for Responding t o the COVID-19 Crisis’ (Geneva); ILO.

2020.
2020.

‘COVID-19 and the World of Work: Ensuring the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities at All Stages of the Response’ (Geneva); ILO.

2020.

‘COVID-19 and the World of Work: A Focus on People Living with HIV’ (Geneva).

21 Gender Inequalities in South Africa Society-African Portal 20 | P a g e 21 | P a g e and embark on ambitious social welfare projects that are fundamentally linked to economic development projects, at a pace fast enough to meet the needs of a growing population.
In addition, it is imperative to underscore emerging and historical labour market dynamics, taking cognizance of the COVID 19 pandemic, which has also exacerbated pre-existing development challenges, with a particularly profound impact on the labour market, leaving millions unemployed, particularly women.

By the end of the first quarter in 2020, the country’s increasing rate of unemployment had reached a staggering 30%.
Throughout the first three months of 2020, 350,000 joined the ranks of the unemployed, taking the total number up to 7 million jobless people in the country.

Furthermore, most industries and sectors had also witnessed unprecedented job losses, including the banking sector, agriculture and community services.

According to the national treasury, a total of 1.8 million jobs could be lost as a result of the current pandemic, while unemployment might surge to 50% in the worst-case scenario.
Job security, unemployment and precarious jobs are hence some of the major threats in the context of a shifting labour market, that may require skills more commensurate to the fourth IR landscape.

The South African labour market is characterised by a structural gender division of labour, despite legislation making unfair discrimination illegal, such as the payment of different wages for the same work, based on racial, gender or other discrimination.
Women are disproportionately represented in the most insecure forms of work in the agricultural sector, such as seasonal work; in domestic work; in care work; in major sectors of the informal economy such as informal trade, including informal cross-border trade and home-based work, including unpaid work which still goes largely unrecognised in labour market analyses.22 Priority Actions:  Ensure that facilitate labour market policies effectively the participation and protection of women in the informal market and economy, particularly in the fluid and unfolding COVID 19 context  Government Shall effectively use fiscal policy force participation, as well as the protection of and prevention of job losses to promote female labour that support the COVID-19 counterbalance the gender-specific effects of crisis and create the creation of conditions decent work for women.
Unprecedented gendered macroeconomic policies, both fiscal and monetary must be put in place to cushion the impacts of the pandemic and ensure a speedy recovery, particularly as it impacts women  Gender sensitive strategies must be devised and adopted to mitigate and target the widening female casual / contract / temporary employment dilemma.

 Developing human resources and skills in women, for women owned enterprises  Achieving equitable representation / levels occupational categories workforce.
in all the in  Government Shall Adopt gendered labour absorbing strategies – prioritise sectors that state by are procurement.
supported existing  Government support women’s livelihoods the pandemic, throughout and beyond particularly in the informal economy, given their difficulties to employment in gaining access  A gender-responsive, rich recovery, inclusive, and job- explicitly to needs  Both at the macro and sectoral that expenditures levels, support prioritizing gender-egalitarian outcomes and avoiding premature fiscal consolidation, triggered by either mounting debt burdens or the fear of inflationary pressures, are preconditions to sustain recovery and avoid inflicting further damage employment women’s prospects.
on  Of utmost to improve the quality of women’s earnings importance the need is 22 “Social emancipation of SA women not possible under capitalism”, 09 August 2021 https://www.politicsweb.co.za/politics/social-emancipation-of-sa-women-not-possible-under 21 | P a g e 22 | P a g e not only to recognize the value of their work but also to fight poverty.

 Promoting equal pay for work of equal value.


This crisis has brought to the fore the undervaluation of work performed by women, in particular in the care economy, and the need to redress it.

Addressing this issue through a combination of measures, such as inclusive legislation with wage transparency and close interactions with social partners would help improve the quality of work performed by women.
With women representing 40 per cent of total wage employment globally but 47 per cent of those earning at or below the minimum level, adequate minimum wages wage would also have a huge impact on women’s economic autonomy.

Considering the “lighthouse” effect that minimum wages have on wage formation in the informal economy, informal women workers would also benefit from it.
Joining the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) would be a concrete step forward in this area.23  Group Benefits: Shall be made available for women outside formal employment, such as accident and disability insurance, group housing schemes, sick leave and maternity benefits, including for women in the informal economy in  Government Shall take action to increase women’s science, participation technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), which paid employment opportunities, while others are working pay transparency policies and wage reporting24 implementing towards better offer  Government Shall put measures in place to provide unconditional cash transfers, more legislation, and support doe inclusive women.
Such measures need to have a long-term vision to facilitate the transition of workers from the informal to the formal economy.
Furthermore, the promotion of universal comprehensive, adequate and sustainable social protection the systems, which are adapted access to to developments in the world of work, Shall be in the overall emergency and prioritized recovery COVID-19 policies.25 This is essential in order to support workers in vulnerable situations and enable women to enter, stay and progress labour market and enjoy decent work on par with men.
in the  Trade Unions are to advance gender sensitive worker’s rights, by ensuring that the labour market is both accessible to and conducive for women to thrive in  The proportion of women employed in the unprotected informal sector of the economy is 75% higher than men.
Government is to device to protect in the unprotected informal sector of the economy the appropriate mechanisms female workers residing  Government shall device gender sensitive strategies, to mitigate the widening female casual / contract / temporary employment dilemma.
 Gender Sensitive Vulnerability in the Labour Market: Taking cognizance of Livelihood Strategies and the gendered impact of Poverty, which Characterizes South Africa’s Labour Market Vulnerability particularly for women, government Shall devise mitigation strategies and develop alternative the livelihood strategies reduction of women’s unemployment and poverty for  Government Shall address the Risk Factor of Precarious and Vulnerability the Labour Market, particularly as experienced by Women, by devise the appropriate mitigating strategies in  Assessing the impact of Low Pay and Informality-Outlining the Multi-Dimensional Needs of Women in a post COVID 19 Labour Market Context and devising mitigating strategies to address the multi- dimensional needs 23 Ibid.
24 ILO.

2021.

‘Global Wage Report 2020–21: Wages and Minimum Wages in the Time of COVID-19’ (Geneva).

22 | P a g e 25 ILO.

2021.

‘ILC.109/Record of proceedings No.

7A’; ILO 2021.

‘ILC.109/Record of proceedings No.

5A’ 23 | P a g e  Safe and healthy facilities be Shall be provided for women in the informal sector.
 Government Shall device the appropriate support mechanisms, to create a safety net for female headed households  Equal benefits shall generally be provided including housing, pensions and medical aid, amongst others.

 Government shall subsidize benefits for female headed households, including for housing, pensions and medical aid, amongst others.
and other exploitative business practices that affect women's participation in the informal economy  End all forms of Gender Stereotyping and the categorisation of jobs on the basis of sex and gender  Sexual Harassment Policies: Women shall be protected from sexual harassment and violence in all the places where women are working.

 The definition of what constitutes economic activity must include all women's work.
 Unpaid labour shall be recognised as the creation of national the contributing wealth and should be included national accounts.

in to  Put the appropriate systems in place to address matters relating to the Gender Pay Gap, particularly in the Private Sector.
The appropriate regulatory systems shall be put in place, for adherence by the private sector, with financial penalties imposed for non-compliance The Private Sector shall be subjected to Annual Gender Audits and Gender Pay Gap Audits to ensure compliance  Develop a social compact between government, business and civil society as a basis for long-term economic development, in order to bring unemployed women into the labour market  Develop oversight mechanisms, targeted policy/legislative and legal instruments, which are supported by targeted to advance the protection of female workers rights, particularly in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic and its gendered poverty impact on the economy  Develop the appropriate to policy/legislative/Legal protect women against unfair, monopolistic Instruments, 23 | P a g e 24 | P a g e STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4: ADVACNCE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO JUSTICE, THROUGH THE RULE OF LAW AND THE EFFECTIVE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE “When we are looking at the law as an instrument of gender equity and gender justice, this means a process of developing and sustaining an accountable mechanism for inequalities, it means investing in institutions to dispense justice in a gender sensitive manner.
It implies access to and control over resources, combined with the ability of women to make free and voluntary choices, which includes access to justice.”- Prof. Domingo, Commissioner at the SALRC Poverty in South has a gender dimension that challenges the equal status of women in the law and the administration of justic e and poses a threat to their full equal human rights.
The Constitution aims to ‘dismantle systemic forms of disadvantage and subordination in our post-apartheid society.’ Law and justice institutions play a key role in the distribution of rights and resources in South Africa.

The mainstreaming and institutionalisation of a gender perspective in the justice system is an essential step toward recovering a feeling of trust and security and combating its impunity.

This mainstreaming entails an understanding of women’s experiences within the justice system.
There are still significant challenges in ensuring that women’s rights are promoted and protected.

The courts, with Parliament, have a joint duty to ensure that the laws provide effective and sufficient protection of women.

This may mean that various elements of the common law need to be further developed to be in line with the demands of the Constitution.

Parliament should be vigilant in developing laws that do not perpetuate sexist and outdated norms, especially in cases of sexual offences.
Some of these laws include the marital rape case exclusions, which have since been abolished; and the burden of proof, which entails survivors having to testify in open court rooms.

There are certain statutory provisions that should be considered unconstitutional, and that these should be brought back to Parliament for reconsideration.

For example, the procedural processes that need to be followed for rape cases.
There is a need to relook the burden of proof that rape survivors have to provide to investigators.

The apex court has emphasised the right of the state to protect the victims against domestic violence and have strengthened the common law to ensure that police officers safeguard and protect the rights of those who have been assaulted, raped and victimised.
Problem Statement: Women face a number of structural barriers to the realisation of their human rights, which are either overlooked or not adequately addressed in national laws, policies and budgets.
In addition to often experiencing secondary victimisation when taking up issues such as gender-based violence within the criminal justice system, women face a myriad of other developmental challenges, which are meted out under patriarchal, systemically discriminatory socio-economic norms and traditions, which hamper the realization of women’s broader inalienable rights, as enshrined in the Bill of Rights.
The challenge of transformation permeates all areas of life in SA, and the legal profession and the judiciary are no exceptions.

These realities have defined the law and the composition of the legal profession and ultimately the judiciary.
Transformation of these institutions will enable equitable enjoyment of a whole range of rights and resources including: Priority Actions:  There shall be accessible and affordable legal services for women, particularly women who require support for family law and criminal law related matters (gender based violence).

The position of paralegals in assisting women to claim their rights shall be recognised.
 Courts to break down patriarchy by implementing measures within the court that are victim- and gender- rooms sensitive, and prevent second trauma and humiliation of survivors by protecting their rights.

24 | P a g e  Urgently formalise norms, that give the necessary protection, respect and dignity to women during the hearing of these cases.

 There Shall of procedures that give effect to these norms across all courts.
standardisation be  intermediaries; ensure provisions for survivors (of sexual in camera or assault or rape) to testify through through and anonymization.

This inhibit cross the examinations of rape survivors by defence team and to prevent secondary victimisation or trauma.

is to  The Judiciary MUST strive for better court procedures, in order to make the process of 25 | P a g e seeking justice accessible and trauma-free for women and children.

seek justice.
seek justice.

A humane and just approach may retain hope to the survivors.

For example, the United Nations office on drugs and crimes compiled a handbook in 2019 for the Judiciary on effective criminal justice responses to GBV against women (amongst other and girls.

This outlines judges when things) interacting with the survivors.

Further, it provides good practices for judicial training and development, and recommends taking a gendered lens when approaching these types of cases.
the conduct of The approach (to be) taken by judges and practitioners  Judges Shall respect and interact with rape survivors in a manner that promotes their dignity.

The wording in the judgements should embrace the lived realities of the survivors and the norms of the community in which they live.

Furthermore, it should consider how they may face intersecting power dynamics and inequality; whether it is in their basis of gender, class, race and sexuality.
individual should acknowledge  Terminology used in the judgements and in court rooms is very important.

Judges and practitioners the vulnerability of women.

However, this does not imply that women are lesser or weaker than men.

Vulnerability in the South African context may be embedded in structural patriarchal norms, inequality, discrimination, and gender stereotypes.
Thus awareness and understanding of the gender intersectionality; and how gender, race, class, and sexuality (among other things) may exacerbate the vulnerability of other groups is crucial.

It is most often the powerless that are affected by crimes such as rape and murder, and are characterised by power or desire of power.

As such it must not be seen amiss that continuous training of judges and practitioners must be accelerated.
Each member of the legal should be profession cognisant of the words they use - their argument may affect the victims who only Judiciary and 26 Justice S Khampepe, Women’s Parliament 2020, Parliament of the Republic of South Africa 25 | P a g e  Trial courts shall attempt to finalise these cases as soon as possible and without any unnecessary delay, so as to encourage other rape survivors to report their cases - justice delayed is justice denied.

by all the police.
by all the police.

There  Members of society must commit to report violent crimes perpetrated against women is a need to for collaboration law enforcement involved.
Police must properly agencies investigate these crimes; the police should ensure the rights of survivors are protected, the prosecutors must effectively the findings present perpetrators, Investigators should ensure that they investigate these cases properly, to minimise the risks of cases drawn out of court due to lack of evidence.26 against that the  All spheres of government, civil society and all South Africans must come together, to bring an end to the scourge of GBVF.
 Women shall have equal legal status and capacity in civil law, including, amongst others, full contractual rights, the right to acquire and hold rights in property including land, the right to equal inheritance and the right to secure credit, (even those married in community of property).

 All public and private institutions shall legal their to exercise enable women capacity.

 There shall be equality for women offenders.


 Women shall have equal representation on, and participation in all traditional courts, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and local community courts.
 A centralized digital tracking system linking health, police and court services shall be available for victims to track their cases through a central tracking number, I order to ensure that women victims of violence 26 | P a g e are kept informed on the progression of their cases  Providing education on relevant legislation to women living under customary law programmes  The hosting of legal clinics and the provision of pro bono legal representation to divorced and widowed women burdened by issues of tax and debt (Free State provincial session) Legislative Sector Responsibilities  Women equality demand in the development, adjudication, application, interpretation and enforcement of the law.
This can only be achieved if the social, economic and political position of women is in deciding policy, taken legislative priorities, and in determining formulating, interpreting, adjudicating and enforcing all laws into account applying,  At all times the law, and its application, interpretation, and enforcement, shall promote and ensure the practical realisation of equality for women.
adjudication  Parliament shall oversee the effective engendering of all key legislation, in order to ensure that it integrates into the design, legal implementation and review of all legislative the to enable instruments, requisite benefits from the law for women  Through effective and Accountability processes, Parliament is to implementation of all key oversee Oversight the from benefit legislative instruments, ensuring that Girls and Women’s the implementation of enacted laws, through sustained focus on monitoring gender mainstreaming, gender equity as well as the equality precepts, as enabled by the three spheres of government and through the justice system  Parliament shall ensure transformation in the justice system, by observing gender in order to ensure that equity precepts, in the women are equally represented constitutional the court, magistracy, all tribunals and commissions judiciary, the Equality in the Judiciary  There shall be equality for women in the legal profession the in Shall  To address Patriarchy Parliament legal landscape, enact legislation for mandatory Gender Sensitivity Programmes in the justice system, in order to address gender bias, stereotypes and to promote equality for women in the legal system, as well as ensuring that victims of gender based violence do not experience justice secondary victimization system.
the in  There shall be equality in the treatment of legal and quasi-legal in all women proceedings.

 Positive and practical measures shall be taken for women complainants in the criminal justice system.

to ensure equality 26 | P a g e 27 | P a g e STRTEGIC OBJECTIVE 5: EXPAND EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS “Education is the great engine of personal development.
It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mine worker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation.

It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.”27 Problem Statement: women account for an increasing proportion of student enrolment at higher levels of education.
As a result, at post-secondary education level, women outnumber men by a ratio of around 3 to 2.

Despite this favourable position, women remain less likely than men to enrol in higher degrees.

In addition, regardless of access to education, women remain more likely to be employed in lower skilled occupations.

Biased teaching and educational materials limit fields of study, marginalising women in various fields of study, such as science and technology, for example.
Only 30% of the world’s researchers in science are women.

Education includes early childhood development, adult basic and continuing education, primary, secondary and tertiary education and vocational training for the formal and informal economy.

Measures must be put in place to ensure that Education and Training must meet the economic, social, cultural and political needs of women in South Africa.
Priority Actions:  Every woman shall have the right to education and training at any stage of her life in order to realise her full potential.

 Every person has the right to equality within education irrespective of sex, gender, pregnancy, race, sexual orientation, age, disability, urban or rural location, domestic and child care responsibilities and financial status.
 The Department of Basic Education and the Department of Health Shall develop programmes aimed at curbing pregnancy amongst girls of school going age.

 Department of Basic Education developed the National Policy for the Prevention and Management of Learner Pregnancy.

the teenage mothers The DBE has also put in place the provisions on the the readmission of schooling system and retaining them.
However this provision is contravened by the some SGB hence there is a need to ensure enforcement as education is a basic human right for all.
into Higher Learning into Executive Management, rather than the concentration at lower levels  Outcomes of proportion and outcomes of school and TVET college outcomes – improve ANA outcomes and the like  Accessible and appropriate institutions shall be established to provide education to enable active participation by women, particularly rural women, single mothers, and disabled women.

 There shall be no negative gender stereotyping in both curriculum development and educational practice.
 Women shall have special access to funds for education and training.

 Enforce Maths and Science particularly among women and girl children  Childcare facilities shall be provided at all education and training institutions.

 Women shall be represented at all levels of the policy-making, management and administration of education and training.
 Government Shall ensure adequate Promotion of Women Academics and Lecturers in Institutions of  Gender Equality Education, Human Rights Shall be compulsory, in order to inculcate better a better awareness amongst girls and boys about women’s rights, so as to build women's self-confidence, and enable them to claim their constitutional and legal rights in an evolving South Africa society.
27Former President of the Nelson Mandela https://borgenproject.org/nelson-mandela-quotes-about-education/ 27 | P a g e 28 | P a g e   The department of basic and higher education shall conscientise Girls and Women about varied career options, to address gendered career decisions, which often keep women in lower paying jobs.
in order  Girls and women in education institutions must be protected against sexual harassment and abuse (mandatory sexual harassment policies must be developed and adhered to) Interventions that should be considered in relation to include removing education and gender equality financial barriers the to education, number of women in decision-making in all areas; literacy expanding programmes (given the link between education of mothers and health and education outcomes for their families) increasing life-skills based adult  The education system is to address violence against girls and women in schools and institutions of higher learning, which includes sexual harassment, bullying (including bullying amongst girls), verbal attacks, verbal abuse, body shaming and the objectification of women and girl children.
Addressing these issues will aid in creating a safe environment for girls and women to learn.

 The Department of Social Development and the Department of Basic and Higher Education, are to create awareness about gender roles in the home, such as holding girls responsible for domestic chores, treating them as if they have less rights than boys and limiting their life opportunities.
 The Department of Basic and Higher Education shall provide sex education for boys and girls at all levels of schooling, particularly to address issues relating to rape and other forms of sexual violence against women, the appropriate preventative educational programmes through  Making gender awareness training part of the education and training curriculum.
 Women and girls will benefit improved coordination between departments dealing with the well-being and development of women and girls, such as the departments of Education, Health and Social Development.

from  The Department is currently not meeting its requisite employment equity targets, including disability and gender, which has highlighted a need for more advocacy work.
The issues of disability and gender equity are more prevalent at senior management level with lack of visibility of females and people living with disability.

Women, particularly black women, are not well represented in senior academic, professional and in public universities.

leadership positions  Despite 45 % of academic staff being women in 2011, there were four times as many men as women in the senior ranks of the academy.
 The Department of Basic and Higher Education Shall ensure the provision of a safe environment for Women and Girls to learn, through the appropriate preventative educational programmes  Dignity): (Sanitary  Women and Girls Access to Menstrual Health Facilities Provincial Government as well as the Department of Higher Education shall provide Sanitary Towels for identified improvised schools as well as for students in every institution of higher learning, in every province, Metro, District and Local Municipality.
Government is to budget for the provision of Sanitary Towels, in order to prevent girls and young women from dropping out of school and higher education institutions  There is a need to continually monitor spending in the education and training of women and girls, both in the public and private sector.

28 | P a g e here remain disparities of wealth, educational access and attainment, health status and access to opportunities, which are still largely based on race and gender.
Patriarchy, which still exists and is a legacy of the past, ensures that women and girls continue in many areas of life, including in much of the education and training system.
to experience a subordinate position  The Not in Education, Employment of Training (NEET) rate is gender-skewed, being 29.7 % among men and 36.1 % among women, thus emphasising the need to focus on the expansion of opportunities for women  Create better opportunities for further education for adults the DBE’s (mainly women) who attend KhaRiGude mass adult literacy initiative and some of those who attend Public Adult Learning Centres (PALCs 29 | P a g e STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 6: ACCELERATING WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT: INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT Development “It was to address the fundamental challenges that we adopted the National Development Plan in 2012, in order to guide our national effort to defeat poverty, unemployment and inequality.
However, with 10 years to go before we reach the year 2030, we have not made nearly enough progress in meeting the NDP targets.

Unless we take extraordinary measures, we will not realize Vision 2030.

This means that we need to prioritize.

We need to focus on those actions that will have the greatest impact.
Actions that will catalyze faster movement forward, both in the immediate term and over the next 10 years”28 Women’s Development Problem Statement: Community development, represents the spatial arena, where government, including all sectors of society, are able to pour development resources into.

This is the arena (Localised Community Level) where policy implementation, as juxtaposed against the stark realities of gendered poverty and underdevelopment find expression.
An estimated R196.3 billion has been allocated to community development over the course of the medium-term (2019-2024).

This has been targeted at supporting the development of human settlements, water and electrification programmes, public transport and municipal infrastructure.
However, this allocation has not been allocated in a gender disaggregated manner, so as to bolstered the implementation of targeted plans, to address the deeply entrenched levels of gendered poverty, gendered economic exclusion, as well as a myriad of othe r social ills, which can be effectively addressed through a gender disaggregated budget Medium Term budget.
Medium Term should be provided in a gender disaggregated manner, so as to ensure that women benefit equitably, thereby advancing women’s adequate development and participation in productive sectors of society.

.

Environment and Climate Change Problem Statement: Women are disproportionately affected by environmental and climate change.

Women’s human rights are undermined by the impacts of, and responses to, climate change.
It is recognised that women are exposed to increased risks because of their primary role in care work and agricultural production, as well as their role in water and food collection.

Rural women, in particular, are more likely to suffer higher disaster-related mortality and carry the burden of the long-term impacts of loss of land, livelihood and security because of climate change.

Rural women and informal settlement residents in particular have been denied vital resources.
The gradual destruction of the natural environment soil erosion, deforestation and air pollution increases women's household, agricultural and community work responsibilities Priority Actions: a in be structured  The budget supporting the implementation of the Medium Term Strategic Framework, Shall gender disaggregated manner, in order to ensure that development projects such as human settlements, water and electrification programmes, the provision of public transport and municipal infrastructure, are taking approached needs cognizance impacting the lives of women at community level.
the gendered delivered and of  Employment generated from development and programmes Shall benefit women, across provinces, metros, districts and local municipalities infrastructure 28 President CM Ramphosa, State of the Nation Address, 2019 29 | P a g e  Government, including all socio-economic the and political partners, Shall mitigate impact of climate change on women and girls and such mitigation strategies Shall be the adoption of gender developed, to climate change responsive strategies and by giving women a greater voice in discussions change mitigation.
climate about for the in  Government, including all socio-economic and political partners, Shall effectively mitigate impact of human-caused the climate, by ensuring changes economic stability, addressing deepening inequalities as well as mitigating declining food and water security and increased threats to health and livelihoods, bearing in consideration projects in human settlements  There shall be protection of natural resources to benefit women carbon  South Africa’s Climate Change and South be Africa’s addressed, with a particular focus on how it impacts Women, Girl children and Women in rural areas footprint Shall  Government shall urgently address issues relating to access to safe and clean drinking water, sanitation and waste management, particularly in rural areas and informal areas, particularly as it impacts on the health and safety of women in informal settlements facilities  Ensure that infrastructure projects equitably include gender awareness as part of their investment decisions.
30 | P a g e and girls that women are mind disproportionately by climate change and disasters, with many women and girls experiencing greater risks, burdens and impacts.

affected  Adequate, accessible and safe water supplies and sanitation Shall be made including to all communities, available those informal rural areas and settlements.

in  Services such as communications and electricity or other appropriate sources of energy must all communities as a matter of priority.
extended be to  Women need safe transport networks.

 Women Shall have affordable and secure housing with non-discriminatory subsidies and loans.
 Accessible care, recreational, health educational and social welfare facilities should be provided to women and these adequate needs given Shall be 30 | P a g e 31 | P a g e STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 7: PROMOTE UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO COMPREHENSIVE, ADEQUATE AND SUSTAINABLE SOCIAL PROTECTION SYSTEMS FOR WOMEN “Social protection coverage for women of working age, and for children and adolescents – especially in Africa, Asia and the Pacific – has improved over the past two decades but nevertheless remains limited.
• A gendered political economy analysis approach can help to understand why and how progress has (or has not) been made in promoting gender equality objectives in social protection design, implementation and outcomes, and to identify entry points for priority action.”29 A substantial body of evidence exists on the positive impact of social transfers, family allowances, subsidised food and services, and graduation interventions on consumption, human development, economic opportunities, and reduction of monetary poverty.
Evidence on gender-related outcomes is uneven but convincing.

Cash transfers reduce demand-side barriers and lead to increases in school enrolment, particularly for girls, and use of preventative health, and health monitoring for children and pregnant women in many countries.
A well-designed gender-responsive social protection programme considers the dynamics of gender-based differences and their intended and unintended consequences target group, eligibility, benefits, geographical coverage, scale, and delivery systems.30 Problem Statement: The impacts of the Covid-19 crisis have exacerbated gender inequalities.
The crisis has increased women’s care responsibilities, disproportionately affected women’s jobs and livelihoods, and increased the risk of violence against women and girls.

Social protection has been a key policy response to the crisis, but the extent to which these measures have recognised and addressed the gendered impacts of the crisis remains far from adequate.
Without an explicit gender-informed approach, programme choices may further exacerbate gender inequalities, including risking women’s own entitlement to social protection through restrictive eligibility criteria, and exploiting and exacerbating women’s unpaid work.

Gender inequality and dependency is inherently linked to lack of access to opportunities and power.
When women are limited in their ability to participate in the mainstream economy, they are more likely to be dependent on state interventions to bring about the much needed relief, particularly in the unfolding context and impact of the COVID 19 pandemic.31 to inform objectives, Priority Actions: Social Protection to Advance Gender Equality:32  Providing regular adequate transfers and services to households with young children and the intergenerational transmission of poverty.
adolescents tackle to    Providing access to adequate protections for girls and women of reproductive age, including pregnant women and girls and new mothers.

Providing paid parental promoting shared responsibility for care.

leave and Extending coverage of social protection benefits and quality public services over women’s working lives and into old age, including for those in informal, low-paid and precarious work.
 Build the capacity of governments and to design and deliver gender- partners responsive social protection systems, and provide complementary linkages services and programmes.

to  in (i) gendered poverty and Invest vulnerability assessments; improved data disaggregation, collection, quality and analysis; and (iii) research and evidence on policy design features to improve social protection effectiveness.
(ii) 29 N Jones and P Domingo, 2019, The politics of gender-responsive social protection, Rebecca Holmes https://cdn.odi.org/media/documents/politics_of_gender-responsive_social_protection_final_digital.pdf 30 M Siraj, 2020, Setting a clear ambition: a first step towards gender-responsive social protection https://www.unicef-irc.org/article/1957-setting-a-clear-ambition-a-first-step-towards-gender-responsive-social- protection.html 31 R Holmes and A Hunt, Have social protection responses to Covid-19 undermined or supported gender equality?
Emerging lessons from a gender perspective https://cdn.odi.org/media/documents/ODI_Gender_final.pdf 32 Social Protection to Promote Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment: a joint statement to the 63rd session of the commission on the status of women https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@nylo/documents/genericdocument/wcms_674612.pdf 31 | P a g e established, as soon as child beneficiaries reach the age of 18.
 An integrated development approach will ensure that vulnerable families (particularly female headed houses holds) receive skills development and business development opportunities, social ensuring programmes are effectively protection development to linked programmes for vulnerable women of productive age economic that  The state is to introduce a social welfare tax system for big business, which will be utilised towards the overall development of women.
This is premised the principle that Social welfare services should be provided by both the state and the private sector, in accordance with the principles of social justice, equality and accessibility.

 Social services Shall apply to all areas of women's lives, in particular in the home, the workplace, health and education.
 The system of social services Shall pay special attention to the needs of rural and disabled women 32 | P a g e  rights organisations Support local, national and international and women’s movements for to articulate improved design and delivery of social protection for all women and girls, and to strengthen accountability.
demand  The Social Protection/ Social Grants programme, as targeted at Women and Children, shall be linked to the available economic development opportunities for beneficiaries of Social Grants, so as to ensure that women and their children are safely social grant/social protection system, so as to ensure that they do not fall through the cracks, as and when they no longer qualify for grants.
navigated out of the  To this end, the department of social development and the departments of trade industry and competition, together with department of small business, including all economic cluster development departments and entities, Shall target social grant beneficiaries, for skills development and small business opportunities.
This affirms linkages between those identified for social protection, whose is often re- dependency and vulnerability indivisible the 32 | P a g e 33 | P a g e STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 8: DECONSTRUCTING PATRIARCHY AND INEQUALITY IN POLITICAL AND CIVIC LIFE: ADVANCING WOMEN’S RIGHTS AT LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEVEL From the local to the global level, women’s leadership and political participation are restricted.
Women are underrepresented as voters, as well as in leading positions, whether in elected office, the civil service, the private sector or academia.

This occurs despite their proven abilities as leaders and agents of change, and their right to participate equally in democratic governance.

Women face several obstacles to participating in political life.

Structural barriers through discriminatory laws and institutions still limit women’s options to run for office.
Capacity gaps mean women are less likely than men to have the education, contacts and resources needed to become effective leaders.

33 Problem Statement: Since 1994, the representation of women and participation of women in the public sphere has greatly improved, resulting in a greater number of women being represented at the national sphere.

It is imperative that all political parties advance gender equality, by ensuring that more women are represented across the three spheres of government.
It is imperative that women’s representation at local government receives the necessary focus, in order to ensure adequate representation at local government level Priority Actions:  Women shall have equal opportunity and access to leadership and decision-making positions at all levels of government, the society and private organizations sector civil  The IEC shall run awareness campaigns to advance women’s involvement in political and civic life matters  All political parties shall adhere to a 50/50 representation  Rural women shall be part of decision- traditional structures in making communities.
 Traditional institutions shall be restructured in accordance with the principles of equality and democracy.

 Women shall have equal access to, and representation on, public bodies  There shall be adequate and appropriate support services to facilitate the full political participation of women  Women shall have the right to acquire, change or retain their nationality and to pass it on to their children.

 Women shall be free from political intimidation and threat to her person.
 Women shall put systems in place to the politics and advantages of navigate access and inclusion, to ensure that those women who have been in leadership structures, advance gender transformation included 33 United Nations Women, “Women’s leadership and political participation” https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation 33 | P a g e 34 | P a g e STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 9: DECONSTRUCTING PATRIARCHY IN FAMILY LIFE AND PARTNERSHIPS There are many different types of families which have not enjoyed the same rights, duties and benefits.
Women bear an unequal burden in maintaining the family and yet have little power to make decisions.

The White Paper on Families states that along with the economy, polity and education, the family is universally viewed as one of the essential sectors without which no society can function.

It also acknowledges that there is a strong link and interplay between the family and other institutions in society.
For example, the structure of a country’s economy will not only influence the extent to which members of a family are able to enter and participate in the labour market but it will also determine, to a large extent, whether family members are able to derive livelihoods from decent work opportunities, earn a living wage and have benefits which enable them to have acceptable standards of living.
The way an economy is structured will also have a bearing on the ability of family members to access quality health care and education.

Problem Statement: Eradicating Patriarchy, Gender equality and respect for women’s rights starts at home, where often power and wealth are still in the hands of men.

Traditional societal expectations of women, i.e.


predetermined social roles as child-bearers and carers - Prescribed gender roles, lead to women assuming larger responsibility for childcare and domestic work.

Such values lead to people believing women are not able to make decisions and take responsibility outside of these roles.

Priority Actions:  All family types shall be recognised and treated equally.

 Women should have equal access to the financial resources of the household.
 Women should have equal decision- making powers and access to information with regard to the economic management of the household.

 The integrity of the partnership has to be maintained without external and familial interference, except where physical, sexual and emotional abuse occurs.

 Women shall have guardianship over their children.

 Women shall have adequate, effective and enforceable maintenance and/or social welfare benefits for themselves and their children.
 Gender stereotyping of work in the home shall be combatted through the appropriate the awareness campaigns offered by department of social development  Women shall have equality within the family intimate and and within marriages relationships.

 Women shall have the right to choose the partner of their choice.

 Women shall have equal rights during, and at the dissolution of, a marriage.

 Women married under customary law shall their to inherit from right the have husbands.
 Women must have the right to decide on the nature and frequency of sexual contact within marriage and intimate relationships.

 Partners and all members of the household to share domestic should endeavour responsibilities.

34 | P a g e 35 | P a g e STRAEGIC OBJECTIVE 10: DECONSTRUCTING PATRIARCHAL HEGEMONY IN CUSTOM, CULTURE AND RELIGION “The fact that patriarchy is a term so many shy away from using is one of the things that enables it to survive.
Patriarchy is everyday sexism, but it is more than everyday sexism.

Patriarchy embraces misogyny, but relies on more than misogyny.

Patriarchy produces gender inequality, but its consequences run deeper than gender inequality.

Patriarchy is a system – a dynamic web – of particular ideas and relationships.

Patriarchy can be updated and modernized.

It is stunningly adaptable.


‘Sustainable patriarchy’ simply describes how a system of ideas and relationships that so many women have risked their reputations and lives to challenge has, nonetheless, managed to survive.

Exposing how patriarchal systems are being perpetuated today will enable us to more effectively challenge and dismantle them.

The ideas and relationships that comprise any patriarchal system are multiple, but knowable.

They are not mysterious.

They are not abstracted from daily life.


Patriarchy is what we live.

Patriarchal ideas include both beliefs (how we explain how the world works) and values (what we deem is worthy, good, attractive, as well as what we find unwort hy, bad, distasteful).

Both can be appealing – and in fact are appealing – not only to most men, but to a lot of women.

That appeal is one of the things that sustains them.
patriarchy’s essential core remains, which perpetuates the privileging of particular forms of masculinity over despised masculinities and over all forms of femininity.
A few select women can be let into the boardroom – or onto the television sportscast or into the law school – but on (usually unwritten and denied) conditions: that those few women do not insist that many more women of diverse races join them; that those allowed inside internalize masculinized ways of thinking (about profits, war, sexuality, inequality); or, by contrast, that those few selected women act out a form of patriarchal femininity that complements but does not supplant masculinized privilege.”34 Problem Statement: Culture and religion have played a significant role in impeding women from accessing their human rights.
Many cultures, throughout the course of history, have traditionally exercised strict control over women and girls, which is also reflected in a wide range of customs and practices.

Domestic violence and the exclusion of women from inheriting land are examples of cultural practices that have harmed women’s human rights.

It is important to promote the understanding that while culture is a significant component informing identity, it is not sacrosanct.
It does not stay static over time and is able to adapt to new ideas and thinking as people change over time, allowing societies to grow and adjust to different ways of thinking.

In addition, it is important to note that both culture and religion are permeated by power relations, where power is skewed so that women are at a disadvantage.

Priority Actions:  Custom, culture and religion shall be subject to the equality clause in the Bill of Rights.
 Protecting the rights of women and girls, particularly those living in rural areas, shall be prioritised by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, including All Traditional structures and Monarchs across South Africa identify  Through engagement with Traditional and Religious structures, religious and customary practices, which are used as mechanisms to exercise strict control over women and girls, particularly women and girls in rural areas.
all cultural,  Through engagement with traditional structures and monarchs across South Africa, develop programmes and legal instruments, to bring an end to All harmful cultural practices such as ukuthwala, female genital mutilation and All other gender discriminatory practices, as identified through public engagement processes  There shall open engagement on prevailing social reinforce gender stereotypes and norms creating an enabling environment within which gender-based violence can occur.
that  All women shall have the freedom to practise their own religion, culture or beliefs without fear.

 Notwithstanding legislative reform, women and girls from their homes when their are often evicted husbands/ fathers pass on.

Inheritance practices that favour men at the expense of women who should rightfully inherit property, are placing many women in precarious positions where they have to live at the mercy of others.
The appropriate mechanisms to address these discriminatory practices shall be developed  The appropriate systems and mechanisms shall be developed, to increase the numbers of women in positions of traditional leadership 34 C Enloe, 2017, The Big Push: Exposing and Challenging the Persistence of Patriarchy https://newint.org/columns/essays/2017/10/01/patriarchy-persistence 35 | P a g e 36 | P a g e STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 11: ADVANCING WOMEN’S EQUITABLE ACCESS TO LAND “Women are responsible for between 60 and 80 percent of food production in developing countries.35 Yet they rarely own the land they are working on, have tenure security or control over the land.
They often have limited decision making power and control over how to use the land or its outputs.

Women’s access to land and property is central to women’s economic empowerment, as land can serve as a base for food production and income generation, as collateral for credit and as a means of holding savings for the future.

Land is also a social asset that is crucial for cultural identity, political power and participation in decision making.

Women’s equal access to land is a human rights issue.
It also has other benefits.

Evidence shows that women’s land rights reduce domestic violence4, that women who own land are more capable of exiting violent relationships and negotiating safe sex.36 Agricultural production and food security also increase when women are granted tenure security.”37 Problem Statement: Women’s access to, use of and control over land and other productive resources are therefore essential to ensuring their right to equality and to an adequate standard of living.
Throughout the world, gender inequality when it comes to land and other productive resources is intimately related to women’s poverty and exclusion.

Women’s access to productive resources in general, and land in particular, cannot be divorced from the broader context of macroeconomic policy and the global economic system.

The exclusion of women from owning land and property are some of the practical ways in which control over women has been exerted.
Access to land is a key challenge for many women living under customary law and in rural communities.

With secure land rights, rural women usually have a greater say in their household investments and in community matters.

Inclusive growth requires equal access to opportunities and resources for all segments of society, including for both women and men.
The High Level Panel Advisory on Land Reform revealed in its report that women in South Africa still carry the cost of oppression, marginalised by the land reform programme with women constituting less than a quarter of land beneficiaries nationally.
The South African Human Rights Commission recently in its Investigative Report into the Impact of Rural Land Use and Ownership Patters on Human Rights in South Africa stated that “Women make up the majority of the rural population and labour force on commercial farms, yet they are deprived of land ownership.

Women who benefit from land reform projects are in most cases excluded from decision-making processes on issues regarding land use.
Women constitute only 23% of land beneficiaries in South Africa, despite progressive laws and policies in place.

The country’s National Development Plan (NDP) recognises the need for an inclusive and integrated rural economy, with the aim of implementing effective land reform, ensuring food security, and developing the potential of industries such as agro-processing, fisheries and tourism.
Legislative and Policy paradigm Various human rights instruments guarantee women’s equal rights related to access, use and control over land.

 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, establishes the principle of non-discriminative practices including discrimination based on sex.

Among many rights the declaration recognises women’s rights to property, food, housing and education.
 The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in article 3, guarantees equality between women and men, and it prohibits discrimination based on sex.

 On its Platform for Action, the Fourth World Conference on Women called on Government’s to enable women to obtain affordable housing and access to land and to undertake legislative and administrative reforms to give women equal access to economic resources, including the right to inheritance and ownership of land and other properties.
35 Action Aid ”Securing women’s rights to land and livelihoods: a key to ending hunger and fighting AIDS” Action Aid briefing paper, p.7 36 COHRE, (2006) ‘A Survey of Law and Practice related to women’s inheritance rights in the MENA Region’ 37 Action Aid p.7-8 36 | P a g e 37 | P a g e  The Habitat Agenda, which was adopted at the Second United Nations Conference, on Human Settlements, committed governments to providing legal security of tenure and equal access to land to all people, including women and those living in poverty, as well as undertaking legislative and administrative reforms to give women full and equal access to economic resources, including the right to inheritance and to ownership of land and other properties.
 The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), recognised women’s land rights.

The RDP also stated that the national land reform programme should address inequities and that support services and government assistance for agricultural production should benefit women.

 The 1997 White Paper on South African Land Policy, places considerable emphasise on gender equity in land access and the effective participation of women in decision-making procedures.
The white paper concedes that “A key contributing factor to women’s inability to overcome poverty is lack of access to and rights to land” The above Protocols, Declarations and Legislative Frameworks laid the foundation for the development of and the progressive realisation of women’s access to, use of and control over land.
However, the disjuncture between public endorsement of land ownership by women and actual institutional practice or implementation is vast, hence only 23% of land reform beneficiaries are women.

Priority Actions: Role of the state  The state Shall develop adequate capacity responsive to embark upon gender planning and budgeting to accelerate women’s land ownership, in both urban and rural areas.
in order  Gender Budgeting must be aligned to International, Regional and National development goals on gender equality and women development.
 Ensure that the land reform process favours people, disadvantaged all historically including women, to get land  Government Shall incorporate a gender perspective into the design, development, adoption and execution of all budgetary in order to processes, as appropriated promote and appropriate resource allocation to advance land ownership by women in each province, metro, district and locality.
equitable, effective  Concerted efforts Shall be undertaken, to activate the meaningful participation of communities and civil societies in the effort to ensure land ownership by women.

 Cultural traditions disempower women’s access to and security of tenure on land must be urgently addressed.
that 37 | P a g e  Government Shall ensure subsistence receive adequate support and small scale that women farmers  Women Shall be enabled to play a greater and a co-operative role in food security, both in rural and urban agriculture.
 Vacant Land owned by Municipalities, shall be released and made available to women who require land for subsistence farming and small commercial projects  Government Shall embark on a multi- the sectoral approach which harnesses roles, and government commitment to accelerate departments and spheres women’s land acquisition.
responsibilities, resources across  The District Development Model must be instrumental in advancing a gendered Land Reform approach, more so because the District Development Model enables all three spheres of government to coordinate integrate development plans and and budgets, while mobilising the capacity and resources of government and civil society, including business, labour and community, inclusive growth and job in pursuit of creation.
38 | P a g e  Government Shall support the development of co-operatives in the land and agricultural sector, which must be embedded in the integrated District Development Model  Government Shall avail the necessary infrastructure to meet the needs of existing and new entries of women farmers.

in the  Government Shall show its commitment by transformation of our engaging grossly inequitable corporate dominated food and agriculture regime.
Monopolies, these sectors shall be Oligopolies in to disable old in order deconstructed, patters of ownership  Government Shall put in place effective systems and Mechanisms, to roll back the increasing including corporate power, control of seeds and other inputs as well as corporate domination in retailing.
 Government Shall provide support to beneficiaries of land redistribution through financing, training, market access, irrigation and the provision of seeds, fertiliser and equipment, all of which contribute to the sustainability of emerging agricultural enterprises.
 When government embarks on land redistribution, the government Shall not treat “women” as a monolithic category, women differ in terms of tenure preference, background, land needs, social standing, class access to wages, location interests and capabilities.

These matters shall be adequately deliberated upon, in order to ensure targeted support.
that women receive  All staff from national and provincial offices of the department of Land Affairs and Agriculture Shall participate in gender- sensitisation programmes/workshops.

Translating Commitments into Tangible Outcomes  Parliament must take a three sphere sector by underpinned schedule oversight 38 | P a g e  Proactive steps Shall be taken to ensure land reform that women participate projects, pre-and post-settlement.
in  Government Introduce strong monitoring and evaluation component and enforce compliance of Legislation.

 All land reform and or rural development programmes should have a set quota, which must be annually allocated and the set up date must be 2030.
 Land acquired through any of the land reform programmes in South Africa, should be registered jointly in the name of the wife and husband/ life partners, particularly those married in community of property and customary marriages  Women cannot be productive citizens until they are safe.

It is necessary to establish places of safety for women and children in rural areas.

This should be coupled to accessible legal aid and a gender-sensitive and effective police presence in rural areas.
 Offer white commercial farmers and organised industry bodies the opportunity to significantly contribute to the success of black farmers in general and black female farmers in particular through mentorship, chain integration, preferential procurement and meaningful skill development.

 Encourage and support women farm cooperatives through incubators, mentoring and accelerating in agricultural training science.

 Strengthen Chapter Nine Institutions so that their recommendations must be binding.
quarterly engagements, activities in order to and sphere ensure synergy three access new funding until its defaults status is addressed, the bank liquidity constraints the agricultural sector and transformation and development is compromised by bank inability to support it.

A concerted Oversight and Accountability strategy is needed to save the bank.
Capacity training of officials linked with gender training is needed  Government shall rectify the restitution programme, more so because it was never developed with sufficient emphasis on, or an understanding of gender, hence women did not benefit significantly nor equitably from restitution programmes.

 Recommendations made by propose the priority the High Level Panel, must be scrutinised and be implemented.
new They framework legislation which would clearly of spell out beneficiaries effectively handled with clear strategic priorities.

A land redistribution programme, coupled with a range of micro- economic intervention must be prioritised, while further focussing on food security as a priority.

categories 39 | P a g e implementation of gender biased reform.
land  Policies to support smallholder and small- scale farming households (the majority of which are female-headed) include essential extension services.

Access to plant material and breeding stock, and access to markets.

Famers must be given access to better shearing infrastructure and training and be guaranteed market for their produce.

 The state to develop proper enforcement mechanisms in order to keep stakeholders accountable for women land ownership.
The Commission for Gender Equality and Human Rights Commission must be instrumental these mechanisms.

developing in  Gender Annual mainstreaming Performance Plans must be integrated into existing government –wide Monitoring and Evaluation system.

 The Land Bank which the advancement of the agriculture sector in the country, is facing The bank cannot serious challenges.
for transformation of is key 39 | P a g e 40 | P a g e STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 12: END ALL FORMS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND FEMICIDE “Domestic violence in South Africa is a consequence of the complex interplay of patriarchy, culture, and the negative masculine construct.

The patriarchal cultural beliefs and traditions that emphasise on male assertiveness and domination of women influence the constructions of masculinity and reinforce domestic violence.
Domestic violence is a persistent worldwide problem that affects many women regardless of their demographic characteristics Research shows that the problem of domestic violence in South Africa persists despite the current strategies aimed at addressing it.

South Africa is ranked as one of the countries with high rates of domestic violence in the wor ld.
According to the report by South Africa Demographic and Health Survey (2016), over a quarter of women in South Africa reported experiencing domestic violence from their intimate partners.

This report also suggests that the rate of domestic violence in South Africa may be higher than the recorded figures, given that many cases go unreported.
Research shows that many survivors tend not to report abuse from their partners due to factors like, fear that the abuser will retaliate, desire to protect the family, financial dependence on the perpetrator, and fear of ending the marriage.

Feminist research reiterates that domestic violence is a consequence of patriarchy, a system that promotes male dominance by giving men powers to dominate and control women.
Some researchers have attributed domestic violence to a set of interlocking factors, such as patriarchy, cultural beliefs, community norms, unemployment and low levels of education.

Also, domestic violence is associated with the masculinity ideology, an endorsement of patriarchy related attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours assigned to men during the socialisation.”38 Problem Statement: “Violence in all its forms is endemic to the South African society.
Both sexual and domestic violence are pervasive and all women live under the threat of or experience violence.

South African women continue to face pervasive structural violence, which is deeply embedded in societal structures.

This pervasive structural violence manifests as the economic exclusion and depravity of women.

It manifests as women’s endemic poverty and unemployment.
It manifests in the silencing of women through cultural norms and practices, which morphs into harassment, intimidation, assault and killing of women.

It is also worth noting that not all incidents of sexual offences are reported.

The World Health Organisation highlights that many women do not report sexual violence to police because they are ashamed, or fear being blamed, not believed or otherwise mistreated.
Violence in South Africa is common despite the proliferation of legislation and state measures to prevent the crime before it happens, and protect victims after the fact.

For this reason, innovative measures to combat the problem are critical.

Over the past decade, more than a million women in the country have been the victim of gender-based violence.

The cost of this violence is not only to the victim, but to her family, the economy, and to the state.
In addition, it hinders women’s ability to exercise their constitutional rights to live and move freely within South Africa’s borders.

Violence in all its forms is endemic to South African society.

Both sexual and domestic violence are pervasive and all wom en live under the threat of or experience violence.

Women experience secondary victimization at all stages of the criminal justice system.
Research has shown that it is possible to prevent violence against women in the short to medium term with the right interventions.

There is a very important legislative role that encompasses measures in the criminal justice system, but has a far wider reach with measures across a number of areas of the social cluster.

It was reiterated that there is a solid basis of know ledge from research conducted over three decades, into measures needed for GBV prevention.
Widespread exposure of children to violence promotes anti-social behaviour.

Widespread abuse of alcohol and drugs.

This both increases the likelihood of violence and renders victims vulnerable.

Guns: legal and illegal guns are still widely used to threaten and kill.

Social norms that support and legitimise the use of violence are prevalent, and in particular, acts such as sexual harassment and sexual violence are perceived as normal by many South Africans.
Law enforcement is generally very weak; legislation does not form a deterrent.

The response from Government to violence prevention has been very weak, and does not include social reforms.
Priority Actions:  The extent of GBV shall be accurately captured through a dedicated platform, by including violence against women as a for specific incidence/recording category 38 L Mshweshwe, 2020, Understanding domestic violence: masculinity, culture, traditions https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844020321770 40 | P a g e 41 | P a g e GBV, in order to address the fact that there doesn’t exist a specific crime called “GBV”.
When referring to GBV, what is generally meant is sexual offences and cases arising from domestic violence.

The establishment of a system to accurately record GBV cases in a detailed manner, will increase the accuracy of GBV statistics and data.
 Government Shall activate Sustained measures and reduce poverty and enhance school completion for both boys and girls interventions, to  Housing strategies Economic opportunities shall be provided for GBV victims to rebuild lives and Such measures Shall Effectively Combine economic empowerment social and programmes targeting women;  Parenting programmes to prevent IPV and child maltreatment;  Government, Civil Society and community Shall activate Community structures, activism to shift harmful gender attitudes, roles and social norms;  Social shall Structures implement Interventions that work with individuals and or couples their alcohol reduce consumption and or substance abuse (with or without other prevention elements); to  Government shall Consistently Implement Measures to promote gender equity and actions against GBV;  Government Shall Consistently implement to reduce all interventions and actions forms of violence in our societies;  Government Shall Consistently implement interventions and programmes to reduce alcohol and drug abuse Such Couples Interventions Shall (focus on transforming gender relations within the couple, or addressing alcohol and violence in relationships);  Interventions with female sex workers to reduce violence by clients, police or strangers partners) (i.e.
non-intimate through empowerment collectivisation or alcohol and substance use reduction;  Government Shall for mental health and support for counselling programmes Increase funding  Government Shall parenting programmes to support vulnerable parents, young mothers, poor mothers Increase  Government Shall introduce Measures to bring fathers into the full role of parenting, both emotionally and economically  Programmes to build gender equity and counter GBV Shall be mandatory in the in both public and private work place, sectors, including the education system.
 Cash transfers to women (social grant programmes).

Social grant beneficiaries shall be transitioned into skills development and economic opportunity programmes 41 | P a g e  Valuable school-based interventions to prevent dating or sexual violence and school-based peer interventions violence; and for  Child maintenance programmes.

 improve oversight Shall Legislators mechanisms in reducing all drivers of violence through the strengthening of laws, promoting a focus on key policies for implementation.
The security advanced and social cluster shall be monitored by the legislative sector, so as to ensure proper coordination of interventions across various these drivers, to address departments, which are not only limited to the Criminal Justice System (CJS).

 Shall Exercise Effective Legislatures the National the work of Oversight of Council on GBVF its associated structures, in implementing the NSP on GBVF and its budget.

(NCGBVF), and men.
(NCGBVF), and men.

Ideas of manhood are founded on the domination of women, and carrying weapons and the abuse of alcohol are part of these ideas.

These toxic ideas shall be deconstructed and replaced with ideas that build cohesion in communities  Women shall be entitled to security and integrity of the person, which shall include the right to be free from all forms of violence in the workplace and in public spaces.
in communities, the home, in  The State Shall be responsible for public education about the dignity and integrity of the person.

 There shall be against legal protection and sexual women harassment, abuse and assault.

for all racial  Government Shall Provide Facilities staffed by trained personnel, where women can report cases of rape, battery and sexual assault, undergo medical examination and and receive counselling shall be provided.
appropriate treatment  Appropriate education and training for judges, police, prosecutors, magistrates, surgeons and other persons district involved in dealing with cases of rape, battery, sexual assault and incest must be provided.

 There shall be accessible and affordable for rape, battery and sexual shelters and counselling survivors of assault.
services 42 | P a g e  Sufficient Resources Shall be allocated for measures from National Treasury required for GBV and femicide prevention  Gun, alcohol and drug control: enforcement of existing measures, action on illegal guns, measures to reduce harmful alcohol use and drugs evidence-based  Government Shall Provide Resources prevention for programmes harmful masculinities e.g.
Stepping Stones and Creating Futures change to  Government Shall Provide Resources in the for mental health programmes, health sector and through community-level interventions including psychotherapy from lay counsellors;  Government Shall Provide Funding for shelters, parenting programmes for vulnerable efficient parents, maintenance, protection orders etc.
; more  There Shall be Stronger enforcement of existing legislation, and judicial review of sentencing; and  Government Shall Ensure a Solid Research Foundation to guide the GBV strategy and monitor and prevention evaluate its impact.
 Dominant ideas of manhood and Toxic is an emphasised Masculinity: There gender hierarchy and competition between 42 | P a g e 43 | P a g e STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 13: HUMAN SETTLEMENTS - ACCELERATING WOMEN’S EQUITABLE ACCESS TO HOUSING (PARTICULARLY THE POOR AND VULANARABLE) During the COVID-19 lockdowns imposed by Southern African countries, some homes across the region became enclaves of cruelty, rape and violence for women and girls trapped with abusive family members and nowhere to report or escape the danger.
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted an escalation in gender-based violence against women and girls in Southern Africa.

It has also magnified existing structural problems such as poverty, inequality, crime, high unemployment and systematic criminal justice failures.39 Furthermore, the termination of a relationship can create considerable housing problems for a woman.
"Given low earnings and a lack of housing options, some women have to choose between continuing difficult domestic relationships in good housing, or better relationships in poorer housing".

Changing accommodation may well involve moving downward in housing quality terms.40 Problem Statement: The underdevelopment of housing and infrastructure contributes to the poor conditions in which the majority of South Africa’s communities live.
However, female-headed households constitute a disproportionate number of the poor and they experience greater extremes of poverty than male-headed households.

Although women are generally targeted in urban policies concerned with population control, health and family planning, women are less often included in policies which directly address the problems of low-income housing and infrastructure provision.
Since female-headed households are required to provide these services to their families, gender should play a prominent role in policy consideration.
Priority Intervention:  Government must re-assess the role of housing with respect to vulnerable groups, such as orphans, people living with AIDS (PLWA) and abused women, child headed houses holds  link general housing strategies and housing policy to the needs of women in abusive relationships (victims of GBV)  Develop a comprehensive shelter and housing policy responsive to the needs of abused women.
  Link general housing projects Female and Child Headed households to benefit Link general housing projects to homeless women with children  Develop housing strategies take consideration of permanent housing needs of abused women that 39 “Southern Africa: Homes become dangerous place for women and girls during COVID-19 lockdown”, Amnesty International, 2021 https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/02/southern-africa-homes-become-dangerous-place-for- women-and-girls-during-covid19-lockdown/ 40 S Charlton, An Overview of the Housing Policy and Debates, Particularly in Relation to Women (or Vulnerable Groupings) http://www.csvr.org.za/docs/gender/overviewofhousing.pdf 43 | P a g e 44 | P a g e STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 14: ADVANCING WOMEN’S EQUITABLE ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE Women’s improved health status have benefits beyond the individual - when women have adequate access to healthcare and health-related resources they are more likely to not only ensure better health for themselves, but also their families and ultimately their communities.
Healthier families and communities are able to result in a more productive labour force which, given the right conditions, contributes to economic and sustainable development.

The relationship between women’s economic empowerment and reproductive health is often mutually enforcing.

In every society and every household, women provide critical economic support to their families, whether in agriculture or by earning income in the informal or formal labour market.
Therefore, reproductive decisions and sexual health have a great impact on women’s ability to engage in productive labour and contribute to family well-being and that of the nation.

The World Bank highlights that investments in women’s health have multiple payoffs: in addition to improving women’s well-being and productivity, such investments also yield significant benefits for families, communities and the national economy.
Women’s health has a major impact on the health and productivity of the next generation.

Problem Statement: The Commission for Gender Equality indicates that a number of barriers exist in terms of women’s access to health care.

These include vast distances and high travel costs, especially in rural areas; high out-of-pocket (OOP) payments for care; long queues and disempowered patients.
It further notes that women need access to antenatal care during pregnancy, they need skilled care during childbirth and further care and support in the weeks after childbirth.

In some instances, women have access to the health facilities but are not attended to by a skilled health professional i.e.

doctor, midwife or trained nurse.


In addition, there are still barriers to accessing contraceptives which disproportionately impact on vulnerable and marginalised populations, such as adolescents, and persons living with disabilities.

Women are less likely to have access to most forms of health insurance that are based on formal employment, and to this end the provision of efficient and accessible primary health care is imperative for women’s development and empowerment.
 Equal, affordable and accessible health care services which meet women's specific health needs shall be provided.

 The health care system Shall provide antenatal care during pregnancy for women  Women have the right to control over their bodies which includes the right to reproductive decisions.

 Access to Information and knowledge to enable women to make informed choices about their bodies and about health care should be provided.
 Education about family planning and family planning services should be provided free of charge to both men and women.

 Every person shall have access to adequate nutrition.

 Appropriate and accessible mental health care services must be provided to women.

Priority Actions:  Government Shall implement the NHI and further for poor and consider its gendered implications, vulnerable women  The provision of health care services is directly linked to accessibility and availability.
Government Shall ensure that healthcare services are accessible to women, with adequate consideration of women in rural areas.

 The accessibility of services availability of proper therefore Shall Government.

infrastructure projects consider proper infrastructure, where women reside the infrastructure development.
that the provision of ensure linked to is  Government Shall ensure the provision presence of the appropriate medical equipment and human resources, to address women’s medical and health needs at health care needs 44 | P a g e 45 | P a g e STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 15: MEDIA Media today, from traditional legacy media to online media, still hugely influence our perceptions and ideas about the role of girls and women in society.
Research shows that from a young age, children are influenced by the gendered stereotypes that media present to them.

Research has found that exposure to stereotypical gender portrayals and clear gender segregation correlates “(a) with preferences for ‘gender appropriate’ media content, toys, games and activities; (b) to traditional perceptions of gender roles, occupations and personality traits; as well as (c) to attitudes towards 2 expectations and aspirations for future trajectories of life” .
Women are frequently portrayed in stereotypical and hyper-sexualised roles in advertising and the film industry, which has long-term social consequences.

Media can play an impactful and transformative role in achieving gender equality in societies.

By creating gender-sensitive and gender-transformative content and breaking gender stereotypes.

By challenging traditional social and cultural norms and attitudes regarding gender perceptions both in content and in the media houses.
By showing women in leadership roles and as experts on a diversity of topics on a daily basis, not as an exception.

The media industry needs to be encouraged to produce gender-transformative content and to develop self-regulatory equality policies, including access to decision-making positions.

Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms need to be set up to assess the progress within the sector.
Thereby creating gender equality in content, workplace and management.41 Problem Statement: In South Africa women do not enjoy equal access to, or coverage in the film, print and electronic media.

Very few women own or control media institutions or occupy executive or editorial decision- making positions.
The African Media Barometer highlighted the following challenges: South African media lacks diversity regarding offering content that addresses the gender, class, race and ethnic complexities of the country.

Voices of women, rural citizens, the disabled, sexual minorities, ethnic and religious groups are marginalised in the media.

There is also little diversity of styles, genres and formats.

Furthermore, women continue to be marginalised in the newsrooms.
Although the number of women reporters has increased, there are very few women at editorial and management levels.

Research has shown that creating gender equality in the newsroom is more than fulfilling a quota or being politically correct – it is good business as gender balance not only helps build readership and a publication’s impact but eventually, its overall revenue.

Women remain under-represented professionally in newsrooms, making it harder for women’s voices to be heard on certain issues.
Women also tend to be stereotyped in terms of topics and are rarely called upon by the mainstream media to discuss certain subjects (such as science).
Research conducted by Media Monitoring Africa found that media sources in South Africa give voices to women only 18-23% of the time in terms of news stories, while male voices remain dominant A 2018 Sanef/Genderlinks report on the glass ceiling for women in South African newsrooms indicated that there was an invisible yet real barrier to the advancement of senior women through pervasive sexism in media houses.
The report noted that challenges for women in the South African media are becoming less about numbers and more about the underlying sexism in the media, with new threats such as cyber-based misogyny emerging.

In addition, issues such as the impact of working hours on childcare, further compounds the unequal burden on women in the media.

Priority Actions:  Women Shall have equal access to all media and media institutions.
 Media houses Shall develop content that addresses gender stereotypes and patriarchy, including issues of gender based violence and femicide.
 Government shall put the appropriate monitoring systems in place, in order to ensure that women’s voices are heard, particularly on matters that advance gender equality government Shall ensure Through a social compact with media houses and the overall media industry (all role players and stakeholders), the production and distribution of media content that ends the portrayals and framing of women, in stereotypical family-focused), sexualised, or auxiliary roles, which often entrenches patriarchy and its various manifestations.
(home- and  As part of the social compact, industry leaders shall the development of social campaigns, ensure 41 International Media Support at el, 2020 “The crucial role of media in achieving gender equality” https://www.mediasupport.org/the-crucial-role-of-media-in-achieving-gender-equality/ 45 | P a g e 46 | P a g e education programmes, and more targeted training and awareness-raising industry decision-makers) to promote egalitarian values and practices (including for dignity and ensuring women receive equal pay for the work they do in the media industry  The contribution of women in all areas of public and private life must be reflected in the media.
 The promotion of equality, in employment must action, imbalances in the status of women in the media.

including affirmative redress current  Government Shall put the appropriate monitoring systems in place, to ensure the representation of women in senior management and decision making positions in the media industry to  This Charter gives expression the common experiences, visions and aspirations of South African women.

We are breaking our silence.


We call for respect and recognition of our human dignity and for a genuine change in our status and material conditions in a future South Africa.

 Government Shall put systems in place to address matters relating to sexism in media houses, including cyber misogyny and bullying of women across the media houses and newsrooms.

 Negative or injurious stereotypes of women Shall be eliminated, through sustained campaigns that are guides by gender equality precepts.
 A gender sensitive legal framework governing the media Shall be developed, to include laws which are to media companies, such as licensing specific for human system regulations, diversity, respect 46 | P a g e