Gender Policy Review

(PANA) - Approaching key issues in a systematic and well-organised, coordinated and harmonised fashion remains a key challenge to the African continent, a senior official of the African Union Commission (AUC) said here Wednesday.

"Whether the challenge is poverty, disease, illiteracy, war, civil unrest or gender inequality, it is important to approach these challenges with a clear vision and well-developed plans on how to confront them," said Rosebud Kurwijila, AUC Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture.

Opening a stakeholders’ consultation on the AU gender policy formulation, Kurwijila noted that the process kicked off early 2006 and stalled for some time before it was revived in December 2007.

Representatives of African civil society organisations, regional economic groupings, the academia, gender experts and diplomats accredited to the AUC are taking part in the three-day forum with the aim of finalising the draft AU Gender Policy.

After its adoption by the AU Assembly, the Policy will be used to accelerate the execution of mandates of the AUC and its organs to promote the social, economic, political and cultural development for continental cooperation and integration.

According to sources at the AUC, the policy will give a framework to locate and address common gender issues and differences in impact of development on men and women, within the context of existing and emerging African development challenges.

Also, the gender policy will commit all AU organs to accelerate gender mainstreaming and make a paradigm shift from women issues to gender equality actions.

Some experts in gender issues argue that African women don’t have access to political power and are not equally represented in decision-making positions in many countries.

In addition, socio-cultural beliefs, norms and practices within patriarchal systems continue to relegate African women to a low status in society where they face marginalisation in access to and control over productive resources, including their own labour.

"We must now take up the far more difficult task of implementing strategies, policies and practices that can deliver for women and make a difference in their lives," said Florence Butegwa, representatives of the UN Fund for Women (UNIFEM) to the AUC and the Economic Commission for Africa.

"Human development is about empowerment of the millions of people, the majority of whom are women, who are still at the margin of decision-making yet are called upon on a daily basis to sustain our broken societies," Butegwa told the Forum.

The final draft of the AU Gender Policy will be submitted to another experts group meeting that will precede a joint AU/ECA Ministers of Gender Conference, scheduled for June 2008.

It is expected that the policy will by then have undergone the necessary steps of its formulation and be ready for adoption by the African Heads of State and Government Summit in July 2008.

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