The Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance Synopsis
The Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance and Partnerships portfolio is a flagship programme of Gender Links providing “links” to the organisation’s core programmes; contributing to holding governments accountable and empowering citizens to claim their rights using the SADC Gender Protocol with 28 targets to be achieved by 2015.  

Following the successful campaign for the signing of the Protocol in 2008, GL coordinates the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance. The Alliance is a “network of networks” which began as a loose coalition. It now comprises 15 country focal networks; eight theme and two interest group clusters led by organisations with comparative advantage in their respective area. The Alliance organisational chart and partners are attached at Annex A of this report. 

Objectives
The Alliance seeks to: 
•	Hold Southern African governments accountable for the achievement of gender equality through signing, ratifying, and implementating the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, a sub-regional roadmap for MDG 3 (gender equality). 
•	Lobby Southern African governments to be to adopt an Addendum to the SADC Gender Protocol on Gender and Climate change.
•	Strengthen the capacity of civil society, especially gender NGOs, to demand that governments deliver on commitments to gender equality. 
•	Empower citizens especially women, to become aware of the SADC Gender Protocol, engage critically with governments to claim their rights; and demand effective and responsive governance. 

Activities 
In 2011/2012 the Alliance:
•	Held eight reference group meetings to validate the findings of the SADC Gender Protocol Country Barometers. 
•	Produced the 2011 SADC Gender Protocol Barometer, introducing the Southern African Gender and Development Index (SGDI). The report also featured 44 case studies demonstrating the SADC Gender Protocol @ Work. The Alliance launched the Barometer in Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, and Zimbabwe and Angola.
•	Held the Alliance annual meeting in August 2011, conducted a SWOT analysis of the institutional mechanisms and Programme of Action. A strategy session identified two regional campaigns to focus on in 2011/2012: the Fifty-fifty as well as gender and climate change campaigns. The meeting elected an Alliance Think Tank to work with the Secretariat in guiding its work. 
•	Assisted two countries, Namibia and Seychelles, to develop costed Gender Action Plans aligned to the SADC Gender Protocol. Seychelle is the first SADC country to align its Gender Policy to the 28 targets of the SADC Gender Protocol.
•	Tracked implementation of the key provisions of the Gender Protocol through the monthly e-newsletter, Roadmap to Equality: Southern Africa Gender and Development Barometer.
•	Held 143 village meetings.
•	 Disseminated over 6000 simplified versions of the SADC Gender Protocol in SADC’s three main languages (English, French and Portuguese) as well as 23 Indigenous languages.
•	Strengthenied the institutional base the Alliance Network: Three more country networks signed MOUs. Strong lead organisations have emerged for the faith based and men’s sector. Theme clusters have started to take the lead in their areas (see ISS example below). 

Peace and security regional theme cluster

Since the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) took the lead on gender, peace and security within the Alliance, four national working groups have been established in Zimbabwe, Malawi, DRC and Madagascar. These are all countries experiencing characterised by political conflict and violence. Each of the country focal points has convened at least one meeting as part of replicating the structure at national level. In Madagascar, this culminated in a National Conference on Gender, Peace and Security in November 2011. Early results include increased awareness on Article 28 of the SADC Gender Protocol; successful lobbying and advocacy by clusters for development of national action plans on UNSCR 1325 by SADC countries; increased women’s representation in the peace and security sectors at regional and country level. ISS comments: “The Alliance needs more strategic planning exercises – one once a year is not sufficient. We will continue to work with Gender Links to strengthen the Alliance. The formation of an alliance think tank, when operative should go far in consolidating the work.” For full profile go to http://www.genderlinks.org.za/page/sadc-gender-protocol-partners

The SADC Protocol @ work – Gender and climate change 

At the launch of the 2010 SADC Gender Protocol Barometer, Alliance partners in Mozambique pointed out that the SADC Gender Protocol is silent on sustainable development and climate change. In 2011, the Alliance embarked on a campaign calling for an Addendum to the SADC Gender Protocol on Gender and Climate Change as a way of influencing regional policy building on past successes.


The October 2011 Gender Ministers meeting in Winsdhoek  noted the importance of integrating gender into climate policies. In November 2011 the Alliance regional Secretariat gave technical inputs at the Gender/Women’s Affairs Ministers and Senior Officials meetings to engender the SADC Regional Strategy for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework for the Convention on Climate Change (COP 17). Building on the momentum of COP 17 the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance has launched a petition calling on SADC governments to adopt, as matter of urgency, the principle of an Addendum or amendments to the Gender Protocol – see http://www.genderlinks.org.za/page/sadc-climate-change. The Gender and Climate Change petition campaign is up on the GL website as another way of enlisting citizens to support the campaign for an Addendum to the SADC Gender Protocol on Gender and Climate Change, with 100 signatures so far.  

Outputs
•	The 2011 SADC Gender Protocol Barometer.This features the SGDI and 44 case studies of the SADC Gender Protocol @ Work. 
•	A gender policy (Seychelles) and gender action plans aligned to the SADC Protocol in Namibia and Seychelles. 
•	An additional four MOUs between Gender Links as the Secretariat and Alliance focal organisations from Angola (Platform for Women Action), Tanzania (Tanzania Gender Networking Project) and Zambia (Women in Law Southern Africa – Zambia) and with Botswana Council of NGOs as regional theme cluster lead for the Education Sector. This brings the total number MOUs signed to 21.
•	A draft Addendum to the Protocol on Gender and Climate Change.

Outreach

Direct beneficiaries: GL held 143 village level workshops (three more than the target number). GL also held six country reference group meetings for the Barometer and five launches. In total the programme reached 5103 people directly: 3202 (63%) women and 1901 (37%) men.

Indirect beneficiaries: The programme reached an estimated 55,245 beneficiaries through indirect methods. These include: website hits (the alliance website (www.sadcgenderprotocol.org) received 35 701 unique hits from March 2011 and February 2012). The Alliance also used the GL list-serve, new media channels, media outreach, GL publications, ten issues of the Roadmap to Equality e-newsletter; the pamphlet on the Alliance in English, French, and Portuguese and 6000 additional copies of the SADC Gender Protocol in indigenous languages to reach a wide audience. 


Ripple effects: The SADC Protocol in Chiredzi 
A team of GL staff arrive an hour late for a meeting with the Chiredzi Centre of Excellence (COE) for Gender in Local Government, but the 46 women gathered under a tree continue with their monthly 50/50 campaign meeting. The community mobilisers in this sugar-growing hub of south east Zimbabwe are engrossed in the Shona and Ndebele pamphlet on the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development provided through the Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance. 

Several interest groups explain enthusiastically how they have been applying the sub-regional instrument with 28 targets by 2015 (the same year as the Millennium Development Goals) in their daily lives. They include aspiring councillors (Zimbabwe is due to hold elections later this year); widows; caregivers; informal traders; unemployed women; survivors of gender violence; those fighting trafficking to neighbouring South Africa and sex workers. The hot button issue is a petition led by the council’s gender champion, Bernadette Chipembere, for the release of dozens of women rounded up by police during a crack down on sex workers. The women argue that police should also target the male clients of sex workers. 

One of the winners in the 2010 Gender Justice Local Government Summit,  Councillor Chipembere (see profile:http://www.genderlinks.org.za/article/bernadette-chipembere-2012-05-28) has made sure her council develops a gender action plan; monitors local police action on gender violence, helps widows fight legal battles, and promotes women’s economic empowerment. Inspired by the national launch of the 50/50 campaign as part of the Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance governance cluster activities (http://www.genderlinks.org.za/page/sadc-thematic-clusters), Chipembere vowed to take the campaign door to door in her community, targeting the poorest neighbourhood (known as majarada) where families share rooms and toilet facilities. “As a councillor I cannot just sit there and say, ‘I do policy’ when things are not right on the ground,” says Chipembere. “If you do not get on the ground, you cannot be effective.” 

Outcomes
Commitment:  The SADC Gender Protocol officially went into force in August 2011 after South Africa ratified the Protocol. Malawi could be next. Tracking continues through the Annual Barometer and the Roadmap to Equality e-newsletter. 

Momentum to get the last two member states to sign:  The Gender Links Mauritius Office working with MWO-GEMSA, the Alliance focal network in Mauritius, played a pivotal role in the passing of the Local Government Act providing for a quota of 30% women in elections scheduled for July. This necessitated a constitutional amendment removing a key stumbling block to Mauritius signing the Protocol – see http://www.genderlinks.org.za/article/a-giant-step-towards-gender-equality-local-government-act-provides-for-legislated-quota-2012-05-29. The Alliance focal point in Botswana led by the Botswana Council of NGOs (BOCONGO) has crafted a strategy for putting pressure on the Botswana government to sign. 

Holding governments to account through the SGDI: The third Barometer produced in 2011 helps the region establish a monitoring and evaluation mechanism against which progress can be measured. The innovation, the Southern Africa Gender Development Index introduced in the 2011 SADC Gender Protocol Barometer provides a measurement towards attainment of gender equality against the SADC Gender Protocol 28 targets. Based on 23 indicators across six sectors, the SGDI puts SADC at 64% of where they need to be towards meeting the 28 targets 2015. 

Implementation: Seychelles developed a draft gender policy which is the first to be completely aligned to the SADC Gender Protocol targets set for 2015. Namibia officially adopted its policy. Namiia and Seychelles have blazed the train in SADC by drafting gender action plans that are aligned to the SADC Gender Protocol. 

Namibia realigns its gender policy 
By:  Emily Brown

Under the theme “Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures”, young boys and girls of pre-school age commenced proceedings to celebrate International Women’s Day, 8 March 2012, with a song conveying a message of love. Together with a strong representation of NGO’s, civil society, the Diplomatic corps and governmental agencies, Minister of Gender Equality and Child Welfare Doreen Sioka set the tone for the event when she said:  “This is no ordinary day!” 

Speaking at the launch of the revised National Gender Policy (2010 – 2020), President Hifikepunye Pohamba said that the Policy is one of the Namibian Government’s most important interventions to address injustices caused by gender imbalance in society. According to Namibia’s Head of State, the implementation of the Policy would create synergies for the achievement of national development objectives. The President informed the audience that it is his belief that the people’s enjoyment of freedom is compromised when threatened by gender-based violence. Lives, he said, are frequently disrupted by such acts. President Pohamba said, in light of this social reality, mechanisms have been put in place to empower women. This, he said, required of Government to ensure that the Gender Policy remains current.

Taking stock of what had been achieved through the previous Gender Policy (1997), President Pohamba pointed out that through its implementation progress had been made in terms of a significant increase in the enrollment of girls in primary and secondary school.  He said Namibia is on track with regard to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s), and that such achievements should make us proud.

However, the President cautioned that, despite the existence of progressive laws, the evil of gender-based violence continues in Namibian society. President Pohamba said that when women are empowered, nations are empowered and that this translates into a better and safer world.  He added that a gender perspective must consistently be reflected in all our policies and programmes. In this regard, he said, a gender Task Force/Advisory Board on Gender has been established.  Furthermore, he stated that the Policy must guide action and the mainstreaming of gender in the National Development framework.  This, he said, should lead to gender equality in Namibia.

Section 42 of the revised Gender Policy, which focuses on ‘Gender Education and Training’, states in paragraph 4.2.17 that the government shall “ensure that curricula, textbooks and all teaching/learning materials are free from gender–stereotyped references and illustrations at all levels of education, including teacher training programmes”. 

As a media trainer, the launch reminded me of how much we have to do to ensure women’s equal voice in the media. 

Prior to the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup in South Africa, governments in SADC, especially, started to assess the implications of such an event – especially for women and children. In the region we started to see a great deal more coverage of human trafficking and gender violence.  Namibia, for example, is one of the countries to have ratified the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, as well as the additional Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Humans, especially women and children, in 2003.   Act No. 29 of 2004 – The Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA) – which criminalises trafficking in persons was also enacted.  

According to the “Baseline Assessment of Human Trafficking in Namibia” (Ministry of Gender and Child Welfare, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, June 2009), limited reporting suggests Namibia may be a source and destination country for trafficked children.  But, the magnitude of this problem is not entirely known, even though it is suspected that most of the trafficking victims are children. In a US Department of State Report entitled “Trafficking in Persons” (TIP) (June 2008), Namibia has been designated a “Special Case” because there is insufficient reliable information on the country’s trafficking circumstances, even though a trafficking problem is suspected.  In terms of the Namibian Study, many of the respondents were completely unaware of any existing legal framework to deal with human trafficking, though some knew of the Labour Act. 


Pushing the envelope: Significant progress has been achieved towards the adoption of an Addendum to the SADC Gender Protocol on gender and climate change. The idea is firmly on the agenda of SADC Ministers responsible for Women’s Affairs/Gender. This is evidenced by the adopted minutes in November 2011 at a United National Conference of the Parties (COP17) preparatory meeting and per the White Paper prepared by the SADC Secretariat. The Alliance has drafted an Addendum that will be canvassed with civil society before taking to national governments to lobby for language. Gender Links led the Alliance partners in giving inputs into the SADC Regional Strategy on Climate as agreed by the SADC Climate Change Positioning Workshop to ensure that the strategy was gender sensitive. These suggestions were forwarded to the Senior officials meeting and adopted by the Ministers meeting.


Strengthening civil society: GL has contributed to strengthened capacity of civil society, especially gender NGOs to demand that governments deliver on commitments against the provisions of the Protocol through signing a total of 23 MOUs with Alliance focal networks in 15 SADC countries National Focal. Of these eight are sector MOUs as targeted in 2011.


Fact file: Civil society’s distinctive contribution 
•	In 2005 regional gender NGOS led by GL conducted an audit of the SADC Declaration on Gender and Development that led to a paper on why the Declaration should be elevated to a Protocol. 
•	Civil society joined the task force formed by SADC Gender Unit responsible for drafting the SADC Gender Protocol and made substantial inputs into the seven drafts of the Protocol. 
•	In 2008 the Alliance made a major push for the adoption of the Protocol by SADC Heads of State meeting in Johannesburg. 
•	Soon after the adoption of the Protocol, the Alliance developed a range of IEC materials including pamhplets in 23 languages, radio materials and posters. 
•	By 2010 all SADC except Botswana and Mauritius had signed the Protocol. In August 2010 South Africa became the ninth country to ratify the Protocol, resulting on the instrument going into force. 
•	Country focal networks of the Alliance have mounted campaigns for Botswana and Mauritius to ratify the Protocol. 
•	While governments have only submitted one set of reports on their performance agains the targets of the SADC Gender Protocol, the Alliance has produced three issues of the SADC Gender Protocol and Developed the SADC Gender and Development Index to press for change. 
•	The Alliance convened an expert group meeting together with SADC GU and UN Women to develop a methodology and process of costing the SADC Gender Protocol. This has been tested in two SADC countries – Namibia and Seychelles. At the time of writing six other countries had committed to aling their national action plans to SADC targets. 
•	The Alliance has single handedly put the issue of Gender and Climate Change on the regional gender agenda. 


Movement for change: The SADC Gender Protocol is creating momentum for change in many sectors across society, including Faith Based Organisations. 

Churches follow the government lead 
http://gemcommunity.genderlinks.org.za/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=14124 
“Church leadership is slowly realising that it is up to them to put meat to gender policies, operationalise them and demonstrate to political and other leaders how these issues of gender should be tackled. The church in Zambia is still grappling with how exactly to amplify its voice on issues of gender. We need to start with a baseline study of women in leadership in churches. Women are in churches and they are serving diligently, but we do not see them in leadership. Recently the church mother bodies in Zambia met to discuss how the church could take up MDG 3 on gender equality and specifically address GBV. The church has begun to actively engage on various thematic areas such as quota systems, GBV policy and gender policies.” - Reverand Rosemary Nsofwa, Zambia. Read more on: 
http://www.genderlinks.org.za/article/rosemary-nsofwa---zambia-2012-06-06

Challenges
The Alliance has remained a loose “coalition of the willing” meaning that commitments to the campaign are not binding and dependent on the will of the Network members. Because the Alliance is not a formally registered Network resource mobilisation is a challenge. While a number of theme cluster leaders have managed to raise resources for the work related to the cluster, much of the responsibility rests with the regional secretariat. 

Next steps
•	Work with five more countries to develop costed National Gender Action Plans in the coming year.
•	Rroduce the fourth edition, 2012 SADC Gender Protocol Barometer, as a measure of government’s progress towards realising the 28 targets.
•	Collect case studies of the SADC Gender Protocol @ Work.
•	Canvass the campaign for an Addendum to the SADC Gender Protocol on gender and climate change.
•	Produce 12 issues of the Roadmap to Equality e-newsletter.
•	Strengthen institutional mechanisms and partnerships within the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance and with other strategic partners.













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