1

Empowering Women for the 21st Century:

The Challenges of Politics, Business,
Development and Leadership
Summary Report of the 9 th Annual Conference
Of the Africa Leadership Forum
In Accra, Ghana
27-29 January 1997

By

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Cover Design & Typeset by: Ojo Abraham Taiwo

Printed by Intec Printers Ltd.

Km 8, Old Lagos Road, Ibadan

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 Table of Contents

Page

Conclusions and recommendations 1

Opening Session:
- Welcome Address
by H.E. Mrs. Graca Machel 13

- Keynote Address
by H. E. Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings 17

- Statement
by Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf 23

- Statement
by Mrs. Marlene V. Urbina de Breen 29

- Statement
by Mrs. Eva-Maria Koehler 33

- Empowering of Women As Part of the

New International Agenda: Comments on Behalf
Of the Global Coalition for Africa (GCA)
By Mrs. Aileen Marshall 37

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- Women, Political Participation and Empowerment:
An African Women’s Agenda for the 21st Century
By Mrs. Vivian Lowery Derryck 45

Session One:
- Limitations Faced by Women in Their Quest for
Political Participation & Ascendancy
By Mrs. Janat B. Mukwaya 61

- Women & Political Participation in Africa:

The Limitations of the Immediate Environment
By Mrs. Jeredine Williams Sarho 65

Participation of Women in Public Life

By Mrs. Elizabeth Akpalu 73

- The Electoral Process & Women Parliamentarians:

Identifying the Obstacles – The Congolese Experience
By Mine Martine Galloy 85

- Women, Law & Human Rights in Africa

by Mrs. Tokunbo Ige 91

Session Two:
- Women & Conflict Management in Africa:
An Experiential Perspective
By Mrs. Sylvie Kinigi 99

- Women & Conflict Management in Africa

by Mrs. Bineta Diop 107

- Challenges of the Private Sector

by Mrs. Evelyn Mungai 119

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- Access to Finance: The Micro- Enterprise Revolution
by African Development Bank (ADB) 123

- Access to Finance: Micro-Enterprise Revolution

by Mrs. Stephanie Baeta Ansah 137

- Evolving Gender Sensitive Policies & Programmes

by Amb. Idriss Jazairy 141

- Making Gender Policies: Challenges of a

Cross-Gender Approach
By Mrs. Kafui Kpegba Dzotsi 155

- Professionalism & Social Obligations:

Balancing the Scale
By Mme Marcelle Richard 161

- Professionalism & Social Obligations:

Balancing the scale
By Mrs. Angela Ofori-Atta 167

- Professionalism & Social Obligations:

Balancing the Scale
By Ms. Katy Diop 173

Appendices:
Appendix I – List of Participants 179
Appendix II – Agenda for the Meeting 187
Appendix III- Letter to General Olusegun Obasanjo 193
Appendix IV – Statement by Mrs. Stella Obasanjo 195
Appendix V – Background Note on ALF 197

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 Conclusions and Recommendations

1. The Africa Leadership Forum convened in Accra, Ghana, from 27 to

29 January 1997 its ninth annual international conference (Ota IX) on
Empowering Women for the 21st century: The Challenges of Politics
Business, Development and Leadership. It was attended by sixty-two
participants from twenty six countries, among them women leaders
from governments, parliaments, parties, NGOs, academia, the private
sector, civil society organisations, and regional and international
organisations (see list of participants in annex I). The conference was
chaired by Mrs. Graca Machel (Mozambique) and was addressed and
opened by the First Lady of Ghana, Her Excellency Nana Konadu
Agyeman-Rawlings.

2. At the outset, the conference participants unanimously paid tribute

to the leadership of the Forum’s chairman, General Olusegun
Obasanjo, and deplored his continued unjustified incarceration by the
Nigerian authories. The conference called on General Sani Abacha, the
Nigerian Military Head of State, to release General Obasanjo forthwith
so as to enable him to resume his selfless activities in promoting
African dignity, empowerment, leadership, good governance and
human rights. The conference agreed to field a small team with the
mandate to call upon General Abacha to convey to him the sentiments
of the conference and to press for freedom for General Obasanjo and
other political detainees in Nigeria.

3. The conference engaged in a frank and wide-reaching discussion,

exchange of experience and search for future action advancing the
empowerment of women as the world approaches a new century and
millennium, reflected in the attached programme of work (Annex II).
The forum provided by ALF allowed the participants to express their

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concerns, opinions, assessments and vision on the situation in Africa
and in the individual countries. At the conclusion of its deliberations,
the conference agreed on a series of recommendations, pertaining to
action and practical measures proposed for the international, the
regional, the sub-regional and national levels.

4. At the international level, a series of measures should be urgently

taken to disseminate the Beijing Plan of Action, to reinforce and
intensify the role played by international organisations in
implementing and promoting agreements reached through concrete
projects and to enhance the role of international organisations in
conflict resolution:

??An abbreviated, authoritative version of the Beijing Plan of Action

should be prepared by the United Nations Secretariat for further use
by countries regional and sub-regional organizations;

??To implement the agreements reached at the international level, the

budget of the United Nations should be increased above current
levels with the increase exclusively to be earmarked for women
empowerment programmes, including in the area of conflict
resolution;

??The organisations of the United Nations system engaged in

operational activities and the international financing institutions
should earmark progressively increasing portions of their project
budgets and expenditures for activities related to the advancement
of women and the implementation of the Plan of Action at regional
and national levels, which was unanimously adopted by all
governments in Beijing;

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??Resources should be channelled to the design and implementation
of programmes aimed at building capacity of women’s
organizations and their access to the rapid developments in the field
of information and communication technologies; this will help
avoid a further marginalisation of women and foster their
integration into societal and international activities;

??The specific needs of women and children in international projects

must more deliberately be provided for in various projects and
programmes by international organizations;

??to give practical meaning to the principle of collective security

enshrined in the United Nations Charter;

??to increase the number of programmes financed by international

organisations aimed at building capacity of women's organisations
in conflict prevention and. resolution as well as peace-building at
the national level;

??to codify the right of intervention in the case of uncontainable

domestic crisis and civil strife with the exclusive objective of
protecting civilian population.

5. The above recommendations should. be accorded highest priority on

the agenda of women's organisations who are invited to press their
respective governments and the international organisations concerned
for concrete measures in the directions advocated.

6. Civil society must play a key role in shaping the future of Africa on
the threshold to the next millennium. Local, national and international
NGOs will have to take the lead in this process especially with a view
to eliminating poverty and gender-based discrimination, which are
nothing less than denials of human rights. To underpin these activities,

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United Nations programmes and funds and other multilateral financial
institutions must move beyond the currently prevailing sub-contracting
arrangements of some of their project and programme components to
NGOS. They must begin to set aside substantial resources for funding
local communities to be intermediated by NGOs and to give high
priority to such endeavours, especially if they involve promotion of
gender equality. In the same vein, an increasing number of African
consultants must be retained and women must be accorded priority.

7. At the regional level for Africa, the conference agreed on the

following recommendations:

??African nations should be ranked - based on a progressively refined

set of indicators - to reflect their accomplishment as regards
women's participation in political and economic spheres, in
particular with respect to leadership positions, and the advancement
of women in general;

??
for these indicators, benchmarks should be determined below which
the performance of countries shall be deemed unsatisfactory;
indicators and benchmarks should also be placed within a
timeframe during which progress should be attained; they thus
would become targets for policy-makers, companies and society at
large, who would feel compelled to devise strategies for the
attainment of the targets;

??
given the palpable lack of progress in the implementation of the
Beijing Plan of Action, a message of concern should be addressed
to the next OAU Council of Ministers (Tripoli, February 1997)
deploring the absence of tangible progress and the apparent lack of
political commitment and will;

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??
moreover, at present, the structures, agendas and processes of the
Organization of African Unity (OAU) are male dominated; to
redress this unsatisfactory situation a series of affirmative gender-
sensitive measures must be taken by the OAU to give practical
meaning to various provisions and endorsements of international
action plans;

??
to drive this process and to build necessary commitment and support
throughout the Organisation and its membership, a small group of
independent experts - with a significant representation of women
experts - should be set up with the task of suggesting and
implementing a more responsive organizational structure and of
appointing a larger number of female staff, especially at senior
levels, in accordance with the provisions of Beijing and other
conferences;

??
as women's rights are human rights, the composition of the African
Commission on Human Rights - currently with only two women
among its members - must be improved to provide for a better
participation of women; to that effect African Governments are
urged to nominate qualified. women and to propose to the OAU
that they be appointed to the three upcoming vacancies.

??
the establishment of a meaningful early warning system on potential
intra- and inter-state conflicts, drawing also on inputs from
women's organisations and other civil society actors;

??drawing on the results of competent international research institutes

and institutions, to disseminate information on all arms trades
involving African countries so as to allow public scrutiny with a
view to curbing unnecessary purchases;

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??the production and deployment of landmines on African soil should
be banned and an international agreement should be concluded to
that effect;

??to reduce military expenditures as a whole and to introduce certain

measures whereby official development assistance would be cut or
frozen for countries exceeding agreed benchmark levels;

??the present availability of arms everywhere in African societies i,, a

subject of deep preoccupation; all necessary steps should be taken
to remove the basis arming civilians and thereby to demilitarize
societies as a whole.

1. For the sub-regional level, it is recommended that ALF identify and

connect organisations as focal points which should form one network
in order to advance the access of women to critical positions of
leadership and. to various sources of information in Africa.

The role of sub-regional organisations, such as ECOWAS, in

peacemaking and peacekeeping should be strengthened and. they
should also draw on the resources available in women's organisations.

2. At the national level a variety of measures should be initiated:

??the Beijing Plan of Action and its proposed abbreviated version

should be translated as quickly as possible into various languages,
in particular African languages, so as to deepen knowledge about its
provisions at the grassroots level and about the agreements entered
into by all Governments;

??progress in the advancement and empowerment of women requires

the close interaction of parliamentarians - who legislate--
governments -who allocate resources - and women activists and

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 NGOs for the purpose of defining a common vision based on shared
values;

??to provide a regular mechanism of feedback between all

parliamentarians and their constituencies so as to make them
accountable for action or inaction in advancing the cause of
women;

??given forecasts and projections that the next millennium will be

driven by advances in technology, the participants lamented the
present high rates of illiteracy, forty years after independence. They
urged governments to consider this as a first line of battle in the
preparation of future generations of Africans and to cope with the
challenges of the next century;

??given the critical role of education and the present low rate of
female enrolment, renewed and sustained efforts will be required at
the primary level in order to prevent a deterioration in literacy and
to lay the necessary basis for future empowerment at the secondary
and tertiary levels. A critical mass of qualified women is especially
needed for science and technology as well as manufacturing;

??the process of revising curricula should be broadened with a view to

mainstreaming gender/women in development issues, to give full
recognition to the rights of women and to highlight female role
models;

??to provide access to resources so as to enable women to enter and

compete in the political process with a view to increasing the
representation of women;

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??to accelerate the advancement of women and to promote solidarity
and mutually reinforcing concerns, regular exchanges of experience
and peer training will be invaluable; to that end cross-fertilisation of
existing networks of women leaders should be facilitated by ALF
including:

?? women parliamentarians

?? women in senior positions in the public service;

?? women in managerial and executive positions in the private sector;

?? women in academic and research institutions;

?? Women in NGO and CBO leadership positions;

?? Women in professional associations.

3. Such fora should lead to common agendas for the sustainable

Promotion of gender/women in development issues and the necessary
change in attitudes of societies as a whole.

??networking can be greatly facilitated through information and

communications technologies and especially access to e-mail and
the Internet; countries should ensure that connectivity be
established and offered at affordable levels.

??special attention must be paid to reach-out and linkages to the rural

level in terms of content, message and strategies; this poses a
special responsibility for women already occupying leadership
positions.

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4. As regards the involvement of' women in the private sector and
business activities, the participants underline the need to sensitize
African women to sources of information pertaining to business
activities. Women must also be educated, through capacity-building,
on how to make a transition from the informal to the formal sector.
Altogether, greater participation of businesswomen in the decision-
making process should be facilitated on issues related to trade,
investment and finance, including participation in intra-Africa trade
and trade missions. Ultimately, African businesswomen should be
encouraged to think big when it comes to economic empowerment so
as to be able to capture a bigger slice of the markets and business
opportunities. The African Development Bank and the Africa Project
Development Facility must play a more assertive role in enabling
women's economic empowerment. For their part, governments should
provide incentives for women to have access to credit.

5. The conference participants expressed their concern at the

worsening situation of the poor and in particular the poor women in
Africa. The Microcredit Summit, about to be held in Washington,
D.C. (2-4 February 1997) is therefore a most timely event to promote a
much wider use of this effective mechanism for the alleviation of
poverty. Indeed, the objective should be that by the year 2025 some
100 million families be the beneficiaries of microcredit and related
financial services. This is unlikely to succeed short of the full
commitment of Governments, local authorities and civil society as a
whole. Equally, multilateral institutions and UN programmes and
funds must provide financial and technical support to communities in
Africa for poverty-focused and gender-sensitive microcredit and
finance schemes at a much larger scale than is now the case. Such
support should be provided with sufficient flexibility and a minimum
of bureaucratic requirements and hurdles to place the schemes within
the reach of the poorest. Non-governmental organisations can play an
important intermediary role in the process.

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6. In the same spirit, donor governments should pledge additional
resources to multilateral institutions and funds specifically for the
direct funding of NGC) grassroots microcredit and finance initiatives.
All African ('Governments and NGCOs together with donors should
measure the efficiency of such schemes not merely on the basis of
traditional commercial banking criteria (such as rate of interest, level
of savings and default/non-payment rate) but should also take explicit
account of the poverty and gender impact. To that end, appropriate
base line surveys should be developed as should indicators to measure
impact.

7. The participants agreed to mobilize their own human resources and

other capacities to develop and reinforce the solidarity between the
African leaders present in Accra, men and women, especially poor
rural women. The ultimate goal must be the elimination of all gender-
based discrimination through research, advocacy and programme
funding.

8. The meeting acknowledged and commended the Africa Leadership

Forum (ALF) for the pioneering work it has done on the subject of
corruption - which was identified as a malignant problem that impacts
negatively on African development. It calls on the OAU to seize the
momentum created by the three regional conferences concluded by
ALF in 1995 on Corruption, Democracy and Human Rights in Africa,
and commence a continental initiative that would comprehensively
deal with the cancerous problem of corruption especially as it affects
its member nations in all fields of societal activities.

9. The meeting also calls on the countries of the North, multilateral and
bilateral agencies to concretise efforts toward the combat of corruption
through a global initiative.

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10. It was suggested that a forum should be created for young Africans
to facilitate an opportunity to exchange information among themselves
which could also serve as means of information gathering for the
leadership training and development in Africa and thus, may help
prepare the successor generation of Africans for the challenges of
leadership in the next millennium.

11. The meeting also recommended that the Africa Leadership Forum,
in consultation with other organisations, undertake to prepare a
leadership skills package which can be disseminated to organisations
in Africa concerned with leadership training. Preparing the successor
generation of leaders must be done with a view to making them remain
authentic Africans who can effectively engage and interact with the
rest of the world as African citizens of the world.

12. Parliamentarians, ministers, and other opinion leaders with track

records of integrity and honest achievements should take it as a matter
of necessity to address young people sharing with them their
experiences through lectures and symposia as an added means of
motivating the young to aspire to greater heights of leadership. An
participants at the meeting pledged to report back to the 1998 Forum
on progress made in this respect.

13. Concerted efforts should be undertaken at both sub-regional as well

as the regional levels to create a series of youth exchange programmes
for young Africans. Exposure to different facets of life and living in
Africa other than their countries of origin should enable them to
expand their horizons.

14. As a corollary of the need for literacy and education, the well-.
rounded development of children requires a stable family environment
capable of imbuing in the growing chi-Id a sense of emotional stability
- which is indispensable for developing the potentials of a child.

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15. The conference agreed to recommend to the Africa Leadership
Forum Executive Committee that, for its own part, it should assume a
prominent and ongoing role in facilitating and evaluating the
realisation of the above recommendations. To that end, ALF is called
upon:

??to establish within its existing framework the African Women’s’

Forum and to organize annually one international conference to
evaluate progress, exchange experience and stimulate concrete
action, building on the present Accra conference;
??to invite participants in the African Women’s Forum to identify
promising female participants below the age of 25 so that at least
1/3 of future participants can be drawn from among the youth;
??to ensure at all ALF conferences – manatorily – 50 per cent
women’s participation:
??to seek advice from women in the media and the press as to how
bets to communicate the concerns and recommendations pertaining
to gender issues;
??to support the formation and operations of a group of African
women leaders entrusted with promoting the African women’s
agenda.

16. The conference participants expressed their sincere appreciation to

the Government of Ghana for having enabled the holding of this
conference and their particular and profound gratitude to the First Lady
of Ghana, Mrs. Nana Agyeman Rawlings, for her abiding interest in
the conference and its progress and for her generous hospitality
extended to the participants at a specially orgnaised reception and a
series of private meetings.

17. The participants expressed appreciation to the Africa Leadership

Forum for having convened this important conference which provided
a unique opportunity for exchange and mutual enrichment.

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OPENING SESSION

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 Welcome Address
by
H.E. Mrs. Graca Machel1

On behalf of the Africa Leadership Forum, I am honoured and

privileged to welcome you to this meeting on “Empowering Women
for the 21st Century: The Challenges on Politics, Business,
Development and Leadership.

We thank you all for having accepted our invitation to participate in

what we expect is going to be a significant contribution to enhance our
common agenda.

Each one of you brings knowledge, accumulated experience and

expertise, vision and commitment which we believe will give renewed
impetus to the vast and broad chain of oppressed African women who
are struggling to assert their rights and elevate their profile.

The Africa Leadership Forum conducts its contribution to foster

security, stability, development and cooperation in our continent.

Within a diverse range of initiatives, we are committed to highlight

women’s issues, with the aim to improve the environment in which
they can take the place they rightly deserve in leadership.

Vision, leadership and commitment are dimensions of our action. We

dream and persistently engage our energy to effect change. These are
dimensions and qualities we learnt from our founder and leader,
General Obasanjo, who will always be an inspiration to Africa
Leadership Forum. He offered the forum to all Africans who strive to

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Member, Executive Committee, Africa Leadership Forum.

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promote our people in the continent to share the benefits of
development human kind has achieved.

Therefore, he offered this platform to African women, as citizens of

our motherland and of the world.

As we continue the work he started with us, we are keeping his ideals
in motion, we refuse to let his dream be locked, we cherish the
freedom of his mind and spirit with each one of us.

May I take this opportunity to thank the government of Ghana for

allowing the operations of Africa Leadership Forum from this country.

And now to you, First Lady and dear sister, we are proud to count on
you in the ranks of those who foster gender agenda. From the high
position you hold, you invest your energy and leadership to uplift the
living standards, of the floor, and particularly to enhance and promote
the status of women in this country. You are a role model we wish to
see replicated in our continent.

Thanks you for sharing your vision and experience with us today.

The meeting is expected to be a working meeting. Not a repetition of

diagnosis. It is expected to take stock of where we are now, and what
concrete and practical steps we need to take, to move forward.

The women’s agenda had been on for quite a number of years now.
While we acknowledge the progress already made, the truth is that the
progress is modest.

Today, I deliberately want us not to concentrate on the external

impediments for the advancement of women. I want us to analyse
critically the weaknesses from within the movement itself. How we

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have been orgnaised, how failed to build a powerful, connected and
persuasive movement.

1. For example, let us take three fields: politics, business, science,

technology and research.

??How are women promoting change, i.e. gender relations relate to

one another? Building partnerships, identifying common strategies,
fostering complementarity?

??Holding high political positions is meaningless if it does not relate

to the broadening of real opportunities for women to get access to
formal and big business – agriculture, mining, manufacturing,
financial institutions, information technologies, etc. Not simply in
the informal sector!

??How women in parliaments and government promote women to the

mainstream of the big business, so that they can influence the
economy of our countries and the redistribution of wealth?

??What about women in the scientific and technological fields? Do

they influence the academic and research community to foster
gender equity and to invest knowledge and research results for the
betterment of women in politics and in business?

??And more importantly, how women in politics, in formal business,

in scientific and technological fields relate and invest in uplifting of
women in grassroots?

??How do they invest in your generation? Do they exercise leadership

to the whole gender movement both with adult and young
generations?

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??Sometimes, even NGOs pursue narrow agendas and do not relate to
those who are in decision making positions.

??How can we ever dream to effect a solid, sound and sustainable

change, ignoring the power of working together?

2. Women’s movement in Africa never set short, medium, long term

goals. Its motion aims at the ultimate goal, which is ideal. But
without a proper planning process, we can hardly establish adequate
strategies and methodologies; we will not know how to evaluate
progress and failure; we lack indicators of where to strengthen,
where to improve, where to correct, where are the gaps.

3. Women’s movement in Africa has no institutional capacity to lead

its own process from within. For example, if we want to get
information on women’s status, we have to refer to UNDP,
UNICEF or some international NGO such as Human Rights Watch,
etc.

In my language, there is a proverb which says “a neighbour’s granary

will never fill your stomach”. I challenge African women to take
responsibility for their own destiny collectively. To stop playing
victims. To stop pointing fingers to men, to tradition, to culture, to any
other argument to explain our modest progress.

I do not underestimate the obstacles. I am saying it is up to us to

remove them. Men are our children, our brothers, our husbands, our
colleagues. Let us engage them to change gender relations.

Women are the guardians of tradition and culture. Tradition and

culture will continue to sow discrimination of women in the minds of
our children as long as we continue to preach it to them.

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I challenge all of us to take responsibility to change our own destiny by
organising and building chains of solidarity and networking; setting
comprehensive and achievable goals in different phases; raising
awareness; and challenging ourselves to fly high and master science
and technology of our times.

We can do it. We must do it. Let us work to make of this meeting a

positive step forward.

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 Keynote Address
by
H. E. Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawling2

It is most appropriate that so early in the year an invaluable

opportunity such as this one has been provided to re-focus our
attention on the crucial issue of African women in politics,
development and leadership.

I believe that the timing of this conference makes room for re-viewing
and re-dedicating ourselves to a practical agenda which will move
from the conference room to the field, so that at the end of the year, we
can assess the impact of our collective effort.

I am also most gratified that this meeting brings together women from
across the continent.

How many times has it been said that no single African nation in
today’s world can make any progress unless, as we say in Ghana, “she
ties her cloth end to end” with other nations of the continent.

I believe that many people find that idea tiresome because they have
heard it over and over again. Yet the concept has indeed come up
during moments of crisis and also of inspired leadership. We can think
of the rise of pan-Africanism in the early part of this century and
African unity in the mid-1960s.

At these peaks, when we became filled with active consciousness of

our vulnerability as a divided continent, we took a few tottering steps
towards cooperation. We established institutions and bureaucracies, we

2
First lady of Ghana, and President 31st December Women’s Movement Ghana

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signed agreements named after our capital cities, and name streets after
our heroes.

The problem is, what happens in between these peaks. I fear that we as
women do not pay enough attention to our role in fostering and
promoting the matter of closer interaction among Africans which is
critical to our development.

As women, we have established ourselves as a group of people who

take a practical approach to problems.

Madam Chairperson, it is my sincerest expectation that we shall apply

ourselves in the context of this forum to showing by action, the way
forward, towards closer cooperation among African women. Let us not
for once believe that this is a matter which is not of practical or
immediate importance. I wish to repeat that, as our visionaries have
reiterated time and again, it is a matter of survival for all our people,
for our fate is irrevocably joined together. I, therefore, welcome you
heartily once again as sisters and hope that unity will be a key area
around which we develop major strategies.

Madam Chairperson, I sincerely hope these realities are given all the
attention that they deserve.

There is someone in your family, village, town or city who falls in one
or many of these categories. It is something I believe we should take
personally because my vision of the African woman in the 21st century
is that of a well-informed, conscious and motivated person who can
make a distinct contribution to the development of her people and reap
the benefits of such development.

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I must explain that in looking forward into the 21st century, my vision
of an era of transformation, where African women with their energies
released and skills sharpened, will offer their families, communities,
people, and indeed the world at large, alternative approaches to
tackling the key problems plaguing the world today.

The transformative role of women is likely to become more and more

important because the prevailing approach of unbridled
competitiveness seems to be creating a spiral of reckless exploitation
of the world’s resources and deepening inequalities.

This must give way to greater solidarity and the nurturing of people
and resources, if the world is not to end up as a living hell for all but
very few of its inhabitants. I do not by this mean that I see the African
woman as a docile and passive person simply pleading to her menfolk
to stop fighting. Nor do I see her meekly begging rich nations to be
kind to her and her children. No! I see her as being committed to
struggle for the establishment of an era of solidarity, innovation and
responsible use of the resources of her continent and indeed the globe.

I am in this respect proposing that a new type of leadership is required

to set us all on the right path. This is not a cry for a utopian existence.
It is a call for a pragmatic approach towards conserving the dignity of
human existence. Since we seem to feel the effects of the present
system most acutely, should we not also be the ones to take some
leadership in resolving the problems posed?

I would to even further to suggest that no strategy for the

reinforcement of a positive human existence will succeed if it does not
involve the active participation of the African woman.

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Far from being the so-called marginalised, pitiable image of human
failing, African women can and must put themselves in their rightful
position – a position of strength.

African womanhood, in truth, is a symbol of resilience and strength,

both physical and emotional. Our women have confronted deprivation
of the worst kind with ingenuity. They have emerged from conflict
more determined than ever to rebuild their households and
communities. They have persisted in creating wealth even if only at a
subsistence level out of almost negligible capital and incalculable odds.
Our women pay their debts. They have also kept our history in order to
pass it down to our children. Above all, they have kept the irrepressible
song of our people whether it be a song of sorrow or of joy, they have
kept us inspired and comforted.

This is the other side of the coin. I am convinced that each and
everyone you can easily identify with at least some of these aspects of
the African woman’s experience.

I wish to submit that these are the bankable characteristics of our

existence. We will not only improve our existence as African women
by building on these assets, but we shall also be empowered to take our
rightful place in directing world affairs, not merely for the sake of it
but because global political economy affects us directly and often
negatively.

The way forward remains thorny and must be skillfully negotiated.

Peace must be established on our troubled continent in all its
dimensions, and here I speak both of physical strife as well as
conditions such as object deprivation which form the lingering basis
for the absence of peace.

28
Peace must be earned and maintained. This requires consistent and
united effort. The Africa woman must show leadership in this area.

As far as development is concerned, there is still the vexed question of

the access of women to information, facilities and credit which
currently has us at the bottom, of the ladder. Again, we must develop
the capacity to negotiate, form strategic partnership, and run larger
enterprises.

The social struggle are no less demanding. The bitter battle against
dehumanising prejudice and gender-based inequities must
unfortunately be pursued with renewed vigour. This can be said to be
the single most pernicious area where visible and invisible barriers are
erected affecting women in ways that are penetrating and difficult to
uproot. Here, the need is not only to free women but to free their social
partners, whether they be at home or at work.

Our whole society needs to exorcise itself of prejudice and once again
we are at the receiving end and must therefore take leadership in
resoling these matters. The 21st century is a frontier for us all. We are,
unfortunately, still pioneers but this offers us all rich opportunities to
bring to the fore the strengths and potential of our women.

I must say that I am bumbled by the opportunity which I have had to

experience the latent and true power and initiative of African women.
The framework for their participation in politics, development and
leadership has already been laid out and can be further fashioned from
their own experiences and strategies developed over centuries.

In the 21st century, I see the African woman finally reaping equitably
from the seeds sown by the millennia of unsung heroines. I envisage
struggle that will end in sustained fulfillment.

29
As we have done for centuries, let me recall for all of us
representatives of our ancestresses who have led the way. Let us not
forget Queen Nzinga, Moremi, Yenenga, Yaa Asantewaa Nefertiti,
Princess Amina, etc. I pray that we shall have an inspiring session
together and prepare a simple, workable set of strategies which we can
propose to our millions of compatriots for adoption.

May our efforts be crowned with success. I am once again most

privileged to have been given the opportunity to address you on this
auspicious occasion and I wish, on this note, to declare the Africa
Leadership Forum conference for 1997 duly opened.

Thank you.

30
 Statement
by
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf3

It is my profound regret that I am unable to join you today. I consider

this meeting to be of great importance, but was unable to change a
number of commitments made earlier on. I wish you well in your
deliberations and will be looking forward to a report on the meeting.

As some of you know, there has been a long partnership between

UNDP and the Africa Leadership Forum. From the inception of the
Forum, UNDP has supported its work as well believe the issue of
leadership is at the heart of many of Africa’s problems today. I want to
commend the Forum’s efforts, both under the leadership of its
Chairman, Olusegun Obasanjo, and as it continues to work under the
guidance of Francis Deng.

Forty years ago, sub-Saharan Africa was at the threshold of a new era.
In less than one generation, the irreversible force for independence led
to the political emancipation of most countries on the continent. In
1957, Ghana became the first country to attain independence, and
within the next 14 years, more than two-thirds of all African countries
had been liberated from rule by colonial powers. The quality of
leadership was a major ingredient in the progress made in African
countries during the 60s and 70s. The present crises should not make
us forget that progress was made on a wide variety of fronts, including
education and infrastructure.

3
Assistant Administrator & Director, Regional Bureau for Africa, United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP).

31
Today, we know that the vision exhibited by many leaders in Africa is
but a shadow of what drove the struggle for independence. In those
cases where we do have leadership grounded in integrity and
commitment to the welfare of people, it is viewed as an exception to
the rule. All too quickly after independence, focused vision has been
replaced by dispersion and diversion of goals; long-term strategies and
planning by myopic or short-term economic policies. Leader after
leader has exchanged inclusive social, political and economic policies
for partisanship, tribal allegiance and generally exclusive tendencies.
Excellence is no longer a normal criterion.

The challenge of development in Africa today is to identify and nurture

the kind of leadership that will move our countries from their present
state onto the path of peace and sustainable development. There are
already efforts for this – there is an African already demonstrating her
potential for success, even if the road to its realisation is long and
difficult. And there is an African which has reawakened to the
realisation that the responsibility and the promise for development lie
in the effective utilisation of her own resources, both human and
financial. In some measure, this Africa is right here in this room – it is
represented by all of you, who are together examining the means by
which Africa’s potential can be fulfilled.

Nurturing and supporting this Africa will require actions on many

fronts. When we look back at those years of progress, we know that
women contributed in many ways to the attainment of independence
and to confronting the challenges of that time. However, their
important contributions remained unrecognised and gradually, in many
cases, marginalised and disempowered. One of the most important
measures to be taken, therefore, is the need to invest in women’s
capabilities and to empower them to participate fully in the mainstream
of decision-making, at all levels. Many of us know the difference
women make at local levels, as they articulate and promote

32
development priorities which will benefit not only themselves but their
communities at large. If we are to transform our societies, it will be the
energy and vision of women which will give the momentum to the
necessary changes. I believe that women’s vision for their societies
often differ from men’s because they understand clearly the impact of
distorted priorities on their families and communities. The vision of
women is one of inclusion, not exclusion; peace, not conflict; integrity,
not corruption and consensus, not imposition.

In countries racked by armed conflict, where women and children

civilians have been Particularly targeted, women are still the major
interlocutors for peace. In countries where economic policies are
determined by the greed. of a narrow elite, women are calling for the
national resources to be used for all, regardless of ethnic or regional
considerations.

During the process leading to the Dakar and Beijing Conferences,

African women and conscientised men reflected on the situation of
their societies and the requirements to move forward. The Platform for
Action show clearly that there is an African and global consensus that
gender equality is critical to the achievement of peace and sustainable
development. The Platforms are comprehensive guidelines for future
action and all African governments have made commitments to
implement them. Let us be clear - the objectives of Dakar and
Beijing are not a "women's thing". They do include specific steps to
overcome the obstacles to women's empowerment and advancement.
However, if implemented, the benefits - peace, equality and
development - will be for all of us, men, women and children.

As I said earlier, UNDP has identified leadership as a critical issue for

African societies. Leadership and governance - governance based on a
partnership between civil society and the state - are integrally linked.
The emergence of governance as a topical issue must not be seen as

33
something fashionable or donor-driven. The call for sound governance
comes from within Africa, from the new Africa, because there is
abundant evidence to show that those countries which have
participatory, accountable and transparent governments, and which
respect the rule of law, have a much better chance of breaking the
cycle of poverty and conflict.

UNDP is the co-lead agency, with ECA, for the governance component
of the United Nations System-Wide Special Initiative on Africa. We
are committed to strengthening our partnership with the new Africa
and therefore, to a full partnership with African women. This
partnership has already moved us to promote new thinking on
development - a paradigm which places people at the development.
Defined as Sustainable Human Development it reflects the. three
themes of Beijing - Quality, Peace and Development. The new
paradigm, in large measure a response to the call to action by women,
is consistent with view that the full potential Africa can only be
realised when women become full participants in their countries’
development processes.

The sustainable Human Development Report initiated and produced by

UNDP is a multi-disciplinary tool which materialises the thinking of
the organization and its commitment to the empowerment of women.
This report constitutes the greatest contribution of UNDP towards the
conception of policies and adequate strategies which would lead
women into the effective and sustainable development of Africa in the
21' century.

The 1995 report which stresses the gender equity is unequivocal as it

says:
Human development must be: engendered. If development is meant to
u7iden opportunities for all people, then continuing exclusion of women
from many opportunities of life totally warps the process of development

34
This truth is sustained by analysis and appropriate data in 1995 report.

As a development partner, we have already begun to s women's quest

for political empowerment. In Zimbabwe, w provided funding for a
special project on assisting women to move into decision-making
positions. A critical element is “power mapping" - the identification
of key positions where women believe they need to be placed in
order to influence decisions. These can be anywhere from national
boards to local councils to the presidency! Identification of women
with the requisite expertise and interest is then conducted and those
women are supported for those positions. The support may include
advocacy, networking, financial, resources, etc. In some cases,
because women are disadvantage in their societies, there are often
women who have the potential for these positions but require some
leadership and skills training. Confidence-building and encouraging
other women to support their sister are also critical elements.

In Rwanda, UNDP is supporting the Ministry of Family and the

Advancement of Women and Women's Associations and NGOs in a
campaign for peace. Despite the horrors of genocide and rape, women
are envisioning a new society based on tolerance and an end to
impunity. UNDP is supporting them to build a consensus on peace and
to begin the long process - of rebuilding and eventually transforming
their society.

Our support for women in these processes is non-partisan. We are

supporting women to ensure that they reach to the cent-re of national
decision-making and are committed to neutrality and universality.

With or without the cooperation of other partners in development, the

UNDP is giving support to a lot of initiatives whose objective is to
make available new opportunities to women in the private sector.

35
African Project Development Facility is a specific example initiated by
UNDP together with the ADB and the World Bank. Worthy of
mentioning is also the discussions initiated by the ECA to support the
Africa Federation of Women Entrepreneurs for the Creation of an
African Bank for the Women on the same lines as that of the Grameen
Bank in Bangladesh.

We know that different strategies will be required for different

situations. The quota system, used so effectively in Nordic countries,
has been used in some African countries with good results. Let us
share strategies and see what works. Let us not limit ourselves - why
should the next UN secretary-general not be a woman? Why indeed,
should the future elections for OAU secretary-general not see a
number of women candidates?

Our struggle for the awakening of people to women's potentials and for
their rise to decision-making positions, brings back to memory the very
struggle sustained by our elders for the liberation of the continent from
colonial rule. I appeal to you, sisters, to stand up with determination to
seize every opportunity at this historic turning point. It is time to act.
This would win for us the gratitude of humanity and specifically that of
the young generation.

I am sure that your deliberations will be exciting. I am sorry to miss

them. I wish all of you well in your individual and collective efforts
and assure you of UNDP’s continued support on the journey to full
participation for women.

36
 Statement
by
Marlene V. Urbina de Breenf4

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak to such a

distinguished group of participants. It is indeed a pleasure to be with
you at the Africa Leadership Forum annual meeting on behalf of Mr.
George Moose, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs at the United
State Department of State. As you may know, Assistant Secretary
Moose has a deep personal and professional interest in Africa, its
development, the status of women, and fundamentally in the
advancement of equal human rights for women.

I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Africa Leadership

Forum in choosing such a timely and important topic for discussion at
this year’s annual meeting: Empowering Women for the twenty-first
Century. The United States has assigned great importance to women’s
issues, and in particular to the Platform for Action endorsed at the
Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. To the extent that we
can use gatherings such as this to foster greater understanding and
solidarity among African women and with their counterparts in
America, we will keep the spirit of the Beijing conference alive.

Although I did not attend the Beijing conference, I did follow the
proceedings very closely. I think the conference helped to advance the
interests of African women. The conference showed the world what
African women have to offer. The African delegations left a strong and
positive impression because of their unity of purpose and their ability
to negotiate and articulate their needs. We must keep this momentum
growing into the twenty-first century.

4
Representing Mr. George Moose, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.

37
Over the next three days, the Africa Leadership Forum will be focusing
on issues very important to women in this vast continent. Some of
these issues include:

??Promoting and protecting the human rights of women and, in

particular, eliminating violence against women.

??Expanding the participation of women in political and economic

decision making.

??Assuring equal access to education and practical leadership

training.

??Strengthening judicial systems to ensure women’s legal and human

rights.

??Developing effective strategies to encourage fuller understanding

and support of African men to gender equality between men and
women.

These are challenging issues which not only resonate with all of us as
women but equally as professionals – whether in the public or private
sector and as community leaders. These issues also have resonance
around the world, in particular the United States.

Over the past year, it has become clear to many of us in Washington

that the success of U.S. policy in Africa rests, in large part, upon
helping African women enhance their status in society, and increase
their participation in public and private life:

??We cannot promote democracy and respect for human rights

without taking into account the status and treatment of women, who
make up over 50 per cent of the population in Africa.

38
??In our efforts to prevent or resolve armed conflict, we must
recognise that women and children are the primary victims of
conflict in Africa. Women comprise the highest percentage of the
refugee population. They are the primary beneficiaries of
humanitarian assistance. For these two reasons, women can and
must play a critical role in conflict resolution throughout the
continent.
??For the vast majority of African women, political progress is
impeded by a lack of economic power. Although women are pre-
eminent actors in the agricultural sectors and the informal sectors,
more efforts are needed to empower women economically.
??The role and contribution of women in Africa's sustainable
economic development are profound. We believe African women
must have a role in all sectors, including developing democratic
institutions, building capacity, protecting the environment,
managing population growth, and developing the continent's
economic future through trade.

Our commitment to advance African women's issues is strong. We are

working on ways to incorporate Beijing's principles in our decision-
making process. For example, we are putting greater emphasis on
women's human rights and participation in democratisation when we
review our program proposals as well as in those institutions in which
the United States is a donor country. Through the various programmes
of the U.S. Agency for International Development, we are aiming to
build capacity of African women legislators, lawyers, and advocates.
Through the U.S. Information Service International Visitors
Programme, which bring African women political leaders to the United
States, we are exposing African women to democratic institutions.
Furthermore, each of our embassies in Africa is monitoring the follow-
up to the Beijing conference in their host countries. They are working
with African women to make the biggest difference, despite our
limited resources. Embassies are facilitating meetings among non-

39
governmental organisations. Further, we regularly encourage
government officials to include more women in policy discussion in
many areas. In the United States, we are also taking measures to
implement the Beijing Platform for Action and we would be happy to
share our experiences.

We are not the only ones beginning to view African women as critical
business, economic and political. partners. We are pleased to see that
key institutions such as the United Nations, the World Bank and the
African Development Bank are also recognising that African women
must be made an integral part of Africa's development. These
institutions are infusing their work with a gender perspective rather
than simply creating women’s projects. These institutions have come
to recognise that investments in women yield the highest returns to
society. We all know well that the educated woman is more likely to
have healthy children, to contribute more to her family’s well-being,
and to realise more of her unique potential. Where women enjoy equal
rights, equal protection, and equal opportunities, all society progresses.

There is much more we can accomplish and do. I am here today as

representative of my government to learn more about the problems
facing African women, and to find solutions which would tear down
the barriers that thwart active participation of African women in
government and deny them economies opportunities. For a such as this
offer valuable opportunities to exchange views as to other best means
of addressing the many critical problems which remain. As we enter
the twenty-first century, I think the real challenge for those of us
concerned with women issues is how to move more effectively on the
ground to bring about meaningful progress for African women. We, in
the United States and our embassies in Africa, see our role now and
into the future as one of fundamental support for the process that are
enabling African women to realise their existing potential.

40
 Statement
by
Eva-Maria Kohlerf5

Despite a friendly working atmosphere and progress in the work of the

IVth World Conference on Women in Beijing a little over a year ago, it
was a cliff-hanger right up to the end until agreement was reached by
the countries involved that:

Women’s empowerment and their full participation on the basis of

equality in all spheres of society in the decision-making process and
access to power are fundamental for the achievement of equality,
development and peace.

It has been a long struggle since the publication of the Work “A

Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1792 by an Anglo-Irish
woman, Mary Wollstonecraft, challenging the idea that women exist
only to please men and proposing that women should receive the same
treatment as men in education, work opportunities, and politics and
that the same moral standards should be applied to them.

We all know that the process of rooting out injustices against women
which are to be found in all societies, has unfortunately not come to an
end despite persistent efforts and we all know that there are still serious
imbalances concerning the self-actualization.

Therefore, it seems to me very timely that the Africa Leadership

Forum has taken the initiative to organise a conference on “African
Women in Politics, Development and Leadership” and the Friedrich
Naumann Foundation, a German non-governmental organisation
aiming especially at the Promotion of liberal ideas, gladly assists ALF,
our partner for many years, in this effort.
5
Representing Mr. George Moose, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.

41
On behalf of the Foundation, I wish to extend a very warm and cordial
welcome to all of you and in particular to the First lady of Ghana, H.E.
Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings and H.E. Graca Machel, Member of
the Executive Committee of the ALF, gracing this occasion as well as
to the distinguished resource speakers. They all kindly agreed to share
their experience with us to explore strategies for effecting grater
effectiveness of women in the participation in leadership. Yet I also
have to give credit to all the helping hands for their tireless efforts
rendered in arranging this conference.

There have been gradual changes for the better of the role of women in
society but all know that there are still tremendous shortcomings.
Most of the women who work outside the home are still heavily
concentrated in the lowest paying, least prestigious jobs. At home, the
male members of the family are often better fed than the females.
Illiteracy among women in sub-Saharan Africa as at 199,5 is above
50% as against slightly over 30% for me. Two figures illustrate the
low number of women in politics. Half of the world's electorate is
female and yet they hold just 10% of the parliamentary seats. And a
mere 6% of ministerial positions are held by women.

Experience has show time and again that women are equally capable as
men in many types of work, whether professional or nonprofessional.
In spite of this fact, in the treatment of women fairness and justice is
often not executed. Since the fundamental cause of the subordinate
status of women is deeply rooted in social, economic, legal. and
political structures, as well as in culturally determined attitudes,
solutions can only be found in far-reaching changes. Therefore,
prejudices on gender roles have to be further discussed, but to me it
seems particularly necessary to adopt policies of affirmative action to
ensure that women are given equal rights and opportunities to work
their way up through the ranks to decision and policy-making levels.
The real challenge is to implement what has already been agreed upon

42
in various action programmes.

It is hoped that this conference helps to set out the path for the
advancement of women in Africa, that this event stimulates you in a
spirit of self-reliance and self-realisation so that you formulate new
ideas, acquire new inspirations and chart a new horizon in an action
programme in order to support the striving of women for progress and
an improved quality of life.

Wishing that you will find the meeting and your task both fruitful and
enjoyable, once again, I cordially welcome all of your.

43
 Empowerment of Women as Part of the New
International Agenda: Comments on Behalf of The
Global Coalition for Africa
by
Aileen Marchall6

Firstly, I would like to thank the organizers of this meeting, the Africa
Leadership Forum, for inviting the Global Coalition for Africa (GCA)
to participate. It is indeed an honour for me to be here today
representing the GCA. We regret that the Executive Secretary of the
GCA, Ambassador Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, cannot be here
personally due to other commitments. Of course, we are without the
guiding light behind the ALF, General Obasanjo, and we will miss his
contribution. The topic of this meeting is one which is very dear to the
General, who has long been a champion of equal rights for women, and
remains convinced that Africa and the world would be better if more
women were involved in decision making and the political process.
This meeting is a step along the way, and he will be proud that it is
taking place, even though he cannot be with us. I join others in hoping
that the authorize in Nigeria will find it possible to permit the General
to take his rightful place among us soon.

I was asked to make some remarks on the empowerment of women as

part of the new international agenda for development. It is true that
there has been a change in our understanding of what is required to
make development work, and also of the role of various actor in the
process. However, the world we live in has also changed, and our view
of development, and of empowerment women to contribute to that
development, has to be in keeping with that changed - and changing -
world. I would like therefore begin by mentioning what seem to be

6
Senior Advisor, Global Coalition for Africa, Washington.

44
some aspects of the changing world in which we find ourselves at the
end of the 1990s.

Firstly, the environment is indeed international. Globalization is fast

becoming the defining term of our times. The world is increasingly
fast-paced and competitive, and money goes where there are
opportunities. Trade, financial. markets, information, and
manufacturing are all becoming more global, although African
countries remain the least integrated into these world markets. For the
first time, private investment flows are greater than official
development assistance, although once again African countries have
not been very successful in- attracting these flows. At the same time
certain issues have gained greater international attention - there is now
more concern about human rights and political freedom throughout the
world, and the internationalization of the media and the
communications revolution mean that abuses of human rights no
longer go unnoticed.

The trend towards democratization is also global. Although there are

certainly variations in the degree of political liberty which pertains,
there are very few wholly authoritarian, closed I regimes left in the
world today. Along with the general breakdown of authoritarianism,
there has been a move toward more pluralistic political systems, with
more emphasis on participation representation. This is as true in
Africa as in other regions world throughout the African continent,
there is less repression, a greater degree of political freedom and civil
liberty than a ago.

The agenda for development is part of this changed world. Old

concepts and ideas have given way to a more integrated approach
which seeks ways to help countries fit into the new international
environment, and to take advantage of it. This is not to say that there
was no development as a result of past efforts - a look at some of the

45
basic indicators will show that there have been considerable advances.
But it is now accepted that, for a variety of reasons, the results have
generally been far less than were anticipated, and greater efforts have
to be made to address poverty and improve the living standards of the
majority of people on a sustainable basis.

The new development paradigm emphasizes partnership, and the

importance of countries taking charge of their own development. Thus
there has been a shift from donor-driven development policies toward
donor support for country-defined strategies and programmes. At the
same time, there has been increased emphasis on participation. Just as
it was realised that development could not be defined by donors, so it
has been realised that development win not come from government
actions alone. The active participation of all citizens, in partnership
with governments, is crucial if sustainable development is to be
achieved and a better future created. In addition, there is now a greater
understanding of the role played by women, and of the importance' of
gender in the development process. It is now more clearly understood
that women's rights have to be protected and respected, policies have
to afford women opportunities for participation and advancement, and
the effect of government actions on women have to be taken into
account. The new development paradigm thus recognizes that women,
every bit as much as men, have to be empowered to participate in the
changing world.

The challenge of course is to turn the theory into practice, and to move
beyond talking about empowering women to ensuring that it actually is
done. It would appear that choice and voice are what empowering
women is really all about -- giving them a choice in how they live their
lives, and a voice in decisions which affect them. In spite of the
tremendous changes which have taken place, we still have to accept
that many women today are choiceless, and many more have extremely
limited choices. Their lives are almost entirely contingent on decisions

46
made for them by others -- decisions in which they have little voice.

In African countries, as in others, there are a range of factors working

against women -- legal, social traditional, cultural, and it is very
difficult for women to overcome all of the barriers. Changing socio-
cultural attitudes is probably the most difficult and it takes a long time.
This notwithstanding, however, there is a role for public policy and
government action in creating an environment in which women have
greater voice and choice. Legislation and regulations can negatively
affect women to the extent that they deny them equal rights and
opportunities. They can also provide the basis and 9 basics on which
to build, even though legislation can be ignored an government
regulations can be circumvented. Public policy can help create a
normative environment which is conducive to women’s voice and
choice, and which provides a check on the social values and attitudes
which would otherwise deny them. It also redress in cases of abuse.

One of the most fundamental means with which public policy can give
women a degree of choice and voice is to provide them with legal
rights. In most countries in Africa constitutions afford basic human
rights and freedoms to women. But constitutions are only good as the
legislation which turns their provisions into reality, and in too many
instances laws which effectively deny women equal rights, or which
undercut their rights and freedoms, remain on d statute books.
Although legislation obviously cannot overcome customary laws or
cultural mores which prevail in many instances combating the legal
restrictions on women is an important first step to protecting them
from abuse. Thus addressing legislation which deals with property,
inheritance rights, land ownership and tenure, marriage and divorce
can go a long way toward empowering women. Of course, cultural
values and social mores have to be taken into account, but it should be
possible to address those areas which negatively affect women and
restrict their ability to define their developmental priorities and act

47
upon them for the betterment their societies.

Legal rights and protection, along with basic health and reproductive
health, are at the beginning of empowering women. Beyond these, two
things which have an enormous impact are education the ability to earn
money. Once women get these, the whole structure - both within the
family and within society – changes. This is why literacy programs,
and. basic education are so empowering - they facilitate choice by
providing women with information and voice by allowing them to
articulate their wants and needs

The benefits of education have long been known, women are still
disadvantaged in terms of education in most African countries. Female
enrollment rates are frequently lower than male enrollment rates, even
for primary school, and female school dropout rates are higher. As a
result, women often lack the basic educational qualifications and skills
which are needed for them to obtain employment or to begin
businesses of their own. Although governments cannot ensure that
girls remain in school, government policies can at least ensure that
adequate educational facilities are provided, and that all measures are
adopted to help women benefit. In many Asian countries, the
multinational companies which have been largely responsible for
bringing private investment into the countries tend to primarily employ
women, who can move on to other forms of employment once they
have learned skills. There is no shortage of labor, yet for the most part
only those who have a high school education are employed. No such
educated female labor force exists in most African countries.

Government policies can also help to create an enabling environment

in which women can help themselves. It is almost universally
acknowledged that money which women earn goes to improve the -
quality of life of their families and communities, and vet very little is
done to either help them to earn it, or to save it. In many countries,

48
women cannot obtain credit either because they do not have access to
financial institutions, or because such institutions require collateral
which they do not have. Ensuring better financial intermediation,
particularly in rural areas, would go a long way to helping many
women lift themselves out of poverty. The ability of women to make
business transactions, obtain credit, and enter into contractual
arrangements without the permission of their husbands can help
women make choices and then protect those choices.

With regard to employment, in African countries, as in a lot of others,

there are still many professions from which women are virtually
excluded. In part this is because of social attitudes which consider
certain professions as unsuitable for women. In part also, it is because
women do not have the necessary skills and qualifications. But there is
an issue of cause and effect - if women know that it will be difficult to
get employment, there is no incentive for them to obtain the skills and
qualifications. There is also in African countries, as elsewhere in the
world, a tendency for women to be employed in professions and at
levels which are already dominated by women.

Once women become predominant in certain professions, those

professions appear to become devalued by men, and relatively few
men enter them by choice.

In many African countries also, the informal sector is where most

women - through their own efforts - are able to work. However,
because it is informal, they are unprotected and largely without rights,
and often have to work in extremely difficult physical and
psychological environments. The informal sector is obviously outside
of government. But governments could at least improve the physical
conditions in which market women, for example, work, and ensure
them a minimum of security. Also, although governments cannot
legislate that women should be employed in certain professions they

49
can adopt inclusionary and equal opportunity policies and by so doing
help to break stereotypes. For example, in very few African countries
are women employed in the military or civil security services, except
as civilian office workers at low level-

This is not to say that there has not been progress. There is obviously a
lot which is being done right in African countries in terms of
empowering women. We have to acknowledge the tremendous gains
which have been made over the last twenty years or so and build on
them. But we also have to be somewhat strategic, and define
exactly what we want to achieve in concrete terms and then work
out what it will take to get there. This will require clearly identifying
what the barriers are, and how they can best be broken down. In some
instances it could also be helpful to "unbundled problems -- to take
them apart and see their components. For example, why is education
not as valued for girls as for boys, or why do more girls drop out of
school than boys? Is it because people see education for girls as a
waste of time, effort, and money, because they will just grow up, get
married and have children and thus "waste" their education? Or is it
because girls in many instances do a lot of work in the home, and their
labour is required?

Our discussions over the next two days will help us to better define the
problems, and thus the strategies we need to adopt to overcome them.
Promoting dialogue, fostering understanding of the problems, and
building consensus on what needs to be done and how it can be done,
are all necessary if African women are to be truly empowered. And
empowering women and ensuring that they become equal partners in
development are essential if opportunities for a better future are to be
realised. The international community has a role to play in supporting
it, but the process, along with development itself, has to be African-led
and African-owned. This meeting provides an opportunity for that
process to begin.

50
 Women, Political Participation and
Empowerment: An African Women’s Agenda
For the Twenty-first Century
by
Vivian Lowery Derryck7

Africa stands poised for the new millennium. Vibrant economies and
robust democracies dot the continent from Ghana to South Africa. But
hovering on the horizon are endemic poverty, refugees, isolation from
the globalization of the world’s economy and failure to resolve
ongoing intrastate conflicts from Liberia to Sudan. Women can help
stave off the negative indicators. The total involvement of women can
strengthen the continent in the post-Cold War, post-apartheid, post-
feminist new millennium.

At the start of the new millennium, the picture of Africa is not

encouraging. The promise of the 1960’s has given way to the debt
crises of the eighties and sober belt-tightening in the nineties. After
major advances in education, health care, life expectancies in the last
two decades, recently, many social development indicators have begun
to move the wrong way. Life expectancy in Zimbabwe has decreased
from 64 years in 1979 to 60 by 1991. 8

The continent is beset by global challenges: ongoing conflicts; 5.4

million refugees, the highest percent of any continent; fragile
economies whose weaknesses are exacerbated by endemic corruption;
HIV/AIDS; peripheral involvement in the information superhighway
and other technologies that guard the entryway into the global
economy; egregious human rights violations in some countries; and
7
Special Advisor, Africa Leadership Forum.
8
“Zimbabwe’s Leader Scoffs at Critics of Iron Rule,” New York Times. April 27, 1996. P.3.

51
looming food insecurity.

Africans women and men, must tackle these challenges in the context
of continental poverty. Poverty is the biggest impediment to
development on the continent. Not only is Africa the poorest continent,
but it is getting poorer by the year. Moreover, it has the highest
population growth rate, 3.2 percent per annum, more than any region in
the world. The two combine to result in environmental degradation,
especially through deforestation, and growing food insecurity, often
leading to famine in conflict situations.

Other problems bear mentioning, even though they aren’t the focus of
the discussion. Environmental degradation and HIV/AIDS are major
impediments to developments, while the genocide in Rwanda and
recent massacres in Burundi have underscored the need for greater
attention to human rights and human rights education.

OAU Secretary-Feneral Salim Salim spoke about three major

challenges facing the continent in the near-term: conflict resolution;
economic and social transformation; and consolidation of democracy.
This paper first puts Africa in political and economic context, then
proposes a seven-part agenda to increase African women’s economic
and political participation and empowerment.

Conflicts

The continent is beset by conflicts. Key leaders now commonly

acknowledge that conflict resolution is the first priority for the region.
Currently six major conflicts roil the continent: Algeria; Burundi;
Liberia; Rwanda; Sudan; and Zaire. Nigeria continues to repress major
segments of its population with arbitrary detentions, mock trials and
disappearances. Somalia and Chad remain essentially failed states.

52
Worldwide, more than 100 intrastate conflicts have broken out since
the end of the Cold War. Unfortunately, the majority of the new
conflicts are in Africa. Not only are there more conflicts in Africa than
in any other continent, but younger solders are involved. Liberian
soldiers as young as 11 have been interviewed. In Sudan, young boys,
all but naked, roam from oasis to oasis.

Refugees

Conflicts are producing refugees; indeed, Africa has the largest refugee
population of any region in the world. Refugees represent the extreme
human costs of political economic and ecological collapse. According
to the definitive UNHCR annual report, State of the World's Refugees:
1993, there were 18 million cross-border refugees worldwide and 24
million internally displaced persons as of December 31, 1992.
Approximately 5.4 million refugees roam Africa: 1 million
Mozambicans in Malawi; 700,000 Ethiopians in Sudan; 400,000
Somalis in Ethiopia; 300,000 Somalis in Kenya; 200,000 Angolans in
Zaire, 100,000 Sudanese in Zaire; 150,000 Burundians in Tanzania;
100,000 Sudanese in Uganda; and 250,000 Rwandans in Burundi.
Since 1992, the continent has been convulsed by Rwanda with at least
500,000 refugees still unaccounted for. The number of internally
displaced persons has risen to almost 20 million, bringing a new, but
yet under-reported group in need to visibility.

We should also add 300,000 Liberians in neighboring countries,

300,000 Sierra-Leoneans in Guinea, and 1.25 million Rwandans in
Zaire and 700,000 Rwandans in Tanzania to Africa's growing refugee
population.

53
In addition to the human anguish that each of us feel for Africa's nearly
six million refugees, refugee crises have severely hampered sustainable
development efforts, exacerbating stress on the environment,
contributing to food insecurity and to the spread of disease.

Weak states and weak economies present a dual challenge to social and
economic transformation. Kwame Nknimah said, Seek ye first the
political kingdom and all thing, shall be added unto you. Hemade that
statement almost a half century ago-when the nation-state was all
powerful. Now less able to ensure physical security or guarantee the
economic well-being of its citizens, the state is vulnerable to
challenges.

In all too many countries, the state is failing to fulfill its fundamental
mandates: ensuring internal security, guarding national frontiers,
safeguarding impartial administration of justice. Nevertheless, the
state is still the dominant actor in African institutional life.
Unfortunately, rather than strengthening the state as the organizer of
society, strong and ruthless leaders have weakened the African state
and broken its covenant with its citizens.

Authoritarian leaders not only suppressed the state, they also created
weak national institutions. From the legislature to the judiciary to
churches and religious organizations, governments systematically have
siphoned talent and thrown up obstacles to the effective, autonomous
functioning of key institutions of both government and civil society.

In many African countries, the army is the only major institution that
still functions. Most militaries are in need of drastic reform and
introduction to the concept of civilian control of the military, and
gravely in need of human rights education. Bereft of supporting
institutions, in many countries citizens have bandied together to form
their own local governments and create parallel social institutions that

54
can exist without the national government. In Zaire, for instance,
government in Shaba Province is virtually in the hands of non-
governmental parallel institutions.

More and more, states are yielding power to civil society, particularly
NGOS. This is an area of enormous potential influence for women and
women-focused NGOS.

Weak states and weak institutions invariably result in weak economies.

Africa is the weakest economic region in the world. With external
debt service charges surpassing GDP per person in some countries,
Africa is the continent attracting the least foreign investment, with net
private capital flows of less than $2 billion annually since 1990.

Debates rage as to what would make Africa strong economically. The

conservative Heritage Foundation in its 1996 Index of Economic
Freedom asserts that economic freedom is the only way to economic
growth and participation in the global economy. The essence of the
argument is that countries who have great economic freedom are the
richer countries. "...economic freedom is a critical factor in the relative
wealth of nations.”9

The Index rates 142 countries from around the world. It s view of
Africa is rather disheartening:

While some countries like Uganda, Botswana, Mozambique and

Swaziland have moved toward increase economic freedom, Africa
as a whole remains the most economically unfree, and by far that
poorest, continent in the world… of the 16 countries categorized as
“repressed, “the majority are in Africa.

9
1996 Index of Economic Freedom. Bryan T. Johnson and Thomas P. Sheehy, eds, Washington,
D.C. Heritage Foundation, p.vii.

55
The authors conclude, “the main cause of poverty in Africa is a lack of
economic freedom, embodied in the policies which African nations
have imposed on themselves”10

One may not agree with the ideological thrust of the Heritage
Foundation, but one must examine seriously their conclusions. The
continent is virtually ignored in international economic discussions.
The three largest states of the continent, Nigeria, Sudan and Zaire are
unstable. Sudan and Zaire are mired in runaway inflation, declining
exports and debt servicing costs per person that exceed GNP per
capita. In Nigeria, the second largest economy of the continent, per
capita GNP has skidded from $1250 per annum, to $250 per annum in
1995.
Consolidation of Democracy
Challenges abound for women in countries that are not wrought by
civil war and conflict. Since 1990, more than 25 countries have had
multi-party elections since Benin began the democratic revolution in
1990. Consolidation of democracy involves safeguarding the
independence of judiciaries, fostering a free press, supporting non-
governmental organizations – including political parties – and building
civil societies. Consolidation means affirmative action to include all
segments of the population, particularly women, in all the institutions
of democracy.

Women have not had an easy time gaining political acceptability.

Democratizing states have rarely encouraged women to contest for the
highest political offices, presidencies and prime ministerships. Sylvie
Kinigi of Burundi became the first female prime minister of in all of
Africa, but her tenure was short lived as she escaped coup plotters’
bullets in Burundi’s failed coup of 1993.

10
1996 Index of Economic Freedom, pp. x, xi.

56
Challenges for Africa

There are daunting obstacles confronting the continent. Women cannot

tackle all of them, so we must prioritize. Conflict resolution, refugee
support, post-conflict reconciliation and consolidation of advances in
democratic governance are key challenges which, if thoughtfully
addressed, could transform the continent. What follows is a women-
centered political and sustainable development agenda.

1. Women’s greater involvement in conflict resolution

African women did not start the wars that plagues the continent.
Women did not produce, purchase or plant the land mines that despoil
the continent. Women have neither had access to national resources to
siphon off and stash in Swiss accounts, nor are women financial
decision-makers.

Women’s involvement can occur through several avenues, though two

seem urgent. First, through participation in the actual processes of
resolution, i.e., cease-fires and negotiations; and second, through
women assuming greater and more visible roles in national militaries.

Traditionally women have not been players and certainly not decision-
makers at peace accord discussions. But African women have realized
that they are the victims of conflict and recently have taken steps to
involve themselves in the processes of peace-making and peace-
keeping from grass-roots to policy levels. Several NGOs have been
formed. The African Peace Tent was a prominent feature of the
November 1994 Dakar Preparatory Committee meting for the 4th
Beijing Women’s Conference in Beijing, China.

57
Women’s involvement in conflict resolution is encouraged when
visible women join the quest for peace. Graca Machel, former Minister
of Education of Mozambique, widow of former Mozambican President
Samora Machel, and co-convenor of this conference, heads a special
UNICEF Committee to look at the effects of war and related violence
on children.

African women might also examine a small sidebar in the Chechen

conflict and follow the example of the widow of slain Chechen leader,
Dzhokhar Dudayev, as she asked for safe passage to Moscow to plead
for peace with Russian President Boris Yeltsin to negotiate an end to
the Chechen crisis. Shouldn't the wives of leadership in Liberia,
Rwanda, Burundi and other African war-tom societies initiate
similar meetings before more killing takes place?

Efforts to gender-integrate African militaries must become systematic.

Women were fighters in the national struggles in Zimbabwe and South
Africa, more recently as EPRDF and EPLF fighters in Ethiopia.
However, in virtually every country, at the end of armed conflict,
women are not included in the armed forces. The most recent example
is Mozambique, whose leader-s in conjunction with UN officials, made
a conscious decision not to integrate women into the newly formed
Frelimo/Renamo armed forces of Mozambique.

An integral part of conflict resolution has been the integration,

downsizing and demobilization of previously warring armies. As
conflicts are resolved and new governments emerge, large armies must
be reduced and former combatants merged into smaller, integrated
fighting forces. Women need to petition to join armies, taking
particular note when armies are restructuring.

58
Another aspect of the military demands women's close scrutiny - arms
purchase. According to the World Bank, 4.8% of African GDP is used
for defence-related expenditures. This is compared to 3.6% in South
Asia and 1.6% in Latin America; development is advancing more
rapidly in both regions. Moreover, $15 billion worth of armaments
was shipped to Africa between 1985 and 1989. African military
expenditures need to be reduced for the sake of development.

The World Bank funds many of the demobilization projects and

directly or indirectly provides funds for anus purchases. African
women, individually and through their organizations, should write to
World Bank President James Wolfensohn, urging that women be
included in any military restructuring and downsizing effort, and
asking that future loans be conditioned on countries' ratio of
development to defense expenditures.

2. Women's involvement in post-conflict reconciliation activities

Even after conflicts are resolved, daunting problems of rehabilitation

rear up. Social and psychological costs are enormous. Most African
wars are civil wars, often meaning neighbour against neighbour.
Nowhere can women make a greater difference than in trying to bring
together former neighbours.

Women's involvement is especially important because we are the

widows left behind to rebuild after the exhaustion of war. Moreover,
studies have found that women have different ways of approaching
conflict and can more easily build bridges to restore confidence.

Rwanda provides an opportunity to fully integrate women in

reconciliation efforts. With 85,000 accused killers cramped together in
crowded jails and a clear need for a dazed population to come to grips
with the worst genocide of the past 50 years, reconstruction cannot

59
effectively take place until Rwandans feel it is safe to return to their
homes and there are national acknowledgment and reckoning with the
horror of neighbour killing neighbour.

The tribunal which will operate from Arusha should provide a rational,
orderly process for addressing the tragedy. Given the recent
administrative difficulties, the tribunal is now looking for lawyers and
trained investigators to work for the court. Women should be
aggressively recruited.

A similar tribunal is underway in Ethiopia, while in South Africa, the

Truth and Reconciliation Commission seeks a vetting and public
disclosure of the misdeeds of the apartheid era. Women must demand
their inclusion in all of these efforts at all levels.

There is another aspect of post-conflict reconstruction that needs

women's voices: land mines. Africa, Asia and Central Europe are the
areas primarily affected by this scourge to humankind. They maim and
kill, render productive agricultural land unusable. It's estimated that
50, percent of Angolan farmland in heavily fought areas is unusable.
Angola has a population of 11 million and an estimated 15 to 20
million mines. At current rates of demining operations, it will take
1,000 years to clear existing mines worldwide.

There is no more damning evidence of the state versus the people.

Although the weapons have outlived their usefulness, 23 countries still
sell the mines. Only eleven governments have outlawed this scourge.
African governments should renounce the use and purchase of these
heinous weapons. Every woman should unite behind a land mine ban
as her issue. join a non-governmental organization working on this
issue, or form your own committee-to-ban-land-mines.

60
3. Women's involvement in the political process

To really change the African state, women must become involved in

electoral politics. The numbers of women so involved is increasing as
evidenced by the well-attended Beijing workshops where hundreds of
African female politicians met and dialogued on issues of participation
and empowerment.

Many women may be inspired to withstand the odds by the example of

Zimbabwean parliamentarian Margaret Dongo. In 1995 she was
battling to regain her seat after a 1994 Zimbabwean legislative
election.

She recounted her story earlier this year to a group of parliamentarians

assembled in Addis Ababa by the African Leadership Forum to discuss
the roles of parliamentarians in emerging democracies. Margaret
Dongo was a loyal member of ZANU-PF, even serving on the party's
Central Committee. When she saw corruption and unfair practices
within the party and was ridiculed for her efforts to promote
transparency and accountability within the political grouping, she ran
as an independent. When she was declared the loser, she sued in court.
After uncovering unassailable evidence of vote fraud and tampering, a
judge ruled in her favor. She now serves as the only independent
member of parliament in Zimbabwe.

To Margaret Dongo, the lesson is clear: Don't be intimidated by male

threats or harassment. 11

11
(In a wide-ranging interview with journalists reported April 27,1996, President Mugabe is
quoted as referring to her as 'a disgruntled little girl." ("Zimbabwe's Leader Scoffs at Critics of
Iron Rule,' New York Times, April 27,1996, p.3) she refers to herself as a revolutionary warrior
and an independent member of Parliament.

61
Electoral politics is an arena that brings African women together,
wherever they may live. In meetings across the globe women have
distilled lessons to share:

1) Run for elective office across the board, from local constituency
offices up through the chief executive.

2) Take heart from other women running.

3) Share strategies and tactics that work.

4) Know that the quest for political office is an uphill fight being
waged by women around the world. Indeed, in the U.S., women
hold only 11 percent of the 535 seats in the Congress and the
Senate. That translates to 51 women in the 435 seat House of
Representatives and nine women in the U.S. Senate. Twenty-one
percent of state office holders are women.

4. Strategic alliance-building for effective lobbying and change

Women must forge alliances with other women, particularly elected

officials, NGOs and women entrepreneurs.

Alliances can unite African women all over the world. For instance,
African women in the U.S. must urge their American colleagues to
lobby Congress so that Africa retains foreign policy visibility. Insist
that Africa gets the same foreign policy and foreign assistance
consideration as other regions of the world. The U.S. will put 1.3
billion into Bosnia reconstruction efforts over the next year. Granted
that Bosnia is a nightmare of ethnic hatred, bitter grudges and
implacable foes in the heart of Europe, but it is one country. U.S. aid
to all of sub-Saharan Africa is likely to total $619 million for fiscal
year 1996. Urge your ambassadors to demarche U.S. Senators and

62
Congresspersons, requesting that aid to Africa be commensurate to the
challenge of reconstruction and rehabilitation in the continent's own
war-tom countries.

5. Support the United Nations

Virtually all thoughtful world citizens appreciate the UN, but different
nations appreciate different aspects of the world body. The U.S.
focuses on the Security Council, but African nations focus on the
Economic and Social Council and the specialized agencies such as the
United Nations Development Program, UNICEF, UNIFEM (the
United Nations Fund for Women), and the World Health Organization.

The United Nations System-wide Special, Initiative on Africa, a ten-

year $25 billion unprecedented commitment to Africa, is fresh
evidence of the world body's commitment to Africa. Support for the
UN is a case where the Diaspora can work for us. It is in our best
interest to see all of the countries we call home support the United
Nations as an organization that provides peacekeepers, substantive
technical assistance and serves as the human rights watchdog of the
world.

The second phase of the agenda addresses the social and economic
needs of Africa.

6. Economic well-being

Perhaps Nkrumah should have said, Seek ye first the economic

kingdom, for technological advances have revolutionized financial
transactions and turned national economies into global ones. With
insufficient infrastructure and short of trained personnel, Africa suffers
in global competition for investment dollars. Women suffer more.

63
"Women's work sustains men's power." This observation from the
1980 Mid-Decade Women's Conference Platform of Action is still true
today. The 1995 UN Human Development Report estimated the non-
monetized, invisible contribution of women at $11 trillion a year. 12
Women's labor force participation has risen only 4 percent in 20 years.
We comprise less than 7 percent of administrators and managers in
developing countries.13 Women must study well, then enter the market
economy.

This is an optimal time, for Africa, after 15 years of being mired

economic stagnation, is on the edge of an upturn. There are enormous
opportunities, but outside investment and technical expertise are
needed.. There is general acknowledgment that if Africa is to be even a
minor player in the new boundariless world economy, the international
financial community, led by multilateral banks, international donors
and the private sector, must be major players. But the upturn will
require African discipline and outside support, including a major role
for the private sector, and a national commitment to education, health
and sanitation.

7. Demand large investment in the education of girls and boys:

There is universal agreement among development professionals that

education and training are keys to accelerated economic development,
greater agricultural productivity, lower population growth rates and
maintenance of political liberalization.

Women should support capacity-building through education, training

and technology transfer. Studies from the Asian successes indicate
that investment in formal education was a key factor in raising their
GDPs dramatically. To be a player in the twenty-first century, Africa
12
1995 Human Development report, New York: United Nations Development Program. 1995. P.
13
1995 Human Development Report. P. 4.

64
must dramatically increase its access to and ability to use computers
and other advanced technologies.

More important for our women's agenda, recent studies, including

investigations by the World Bank, have confirmed that investment in
the education of women and girls is the most cost-effective investment
to insure development advances.

Educate both girls and boys. Girls' education at the expense of

schooling for boys simply replaces one problem with another. Young
boys between the ages of nine and 15 have become menaces to
civilians and threats to society in several African countries. They have
been gang-pressed into war, seduced with drugs and dollars. When
they are a few years older, they will become thieves -or even
murderers. We need to reestablish the role of and respect for mothers
as carriers of the cultural creed and values.
We have moved through a complex, seven-step agenda:
1) active involvement in conflict resolution;

2) active involvement in reconciliation initiatives, including efforts to

increase the numbers of women in national militaries and to ban
land mines;

3) a strong embrace of the political process;

4) building of strategic alliances that can unite women across

ethnicity and socioeconomic classes;

5) sustained support of the United Nations at current levels of

funding;

6) robust economic activity in the market economy; and

65
7) heightened demand for greater national investment in
education.

If we can manage conflict, reduce and humanize armies reconcile

neighbors and ban land mines, we will find the wherewithal to focus
on education and economic development. This is an ambitious agenda.
We have three days to reflect on it and other ideas, and then focus a
program of action. Success would change the governance policies of
some countries, as well as improve the overall public perception of
Africa. Success would mean a new paradigm: every woman in support
of the state.

66
SESSION ONE

67
 Limitations Faced By Women in Their Guest for
Political Participation and Ascendancy
by
Janat B. Mukwaya 14

Excellencies, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, it is a

great honour and privilege for me on behalf of the vice-president of the
Republic of Uganda, H.E. Dr. Specioza Wandira Kazibwe to deliver a
paper on the limitations faced by women in the quest for political
participation and ascendancy and to proffer solutions on how to
overcome these limitations.

I would Eke to thank the organisers not only for organizing such an
important conference on African women's leadership which is very
important for addressing women's position in politics but also for the
warm reception we have had since we arrived in this beautiful country.

Ladies and gentlemen, equality in political participation is one of the

major priorities for the advancement of women throughout the 1990s
and into the 21' century. Political participation provides the
opportunity for articulating, promoting and defending interests of the
various groupings especially the marginalised, like women, children
and people with disability.

Lack of it means denial of opportunities and platforms to articulate and

defend those interests at the highest echelons of governance. The
exclusion of women from political life has the danger of not fully and
efficiently utilising that vital human resource.

14
Minister of Gender and Community Development Uganda.

68
The political challenges that Africa has faced over the past three
decades when politics was and still is male-dominated are all well
known to us.

Political unrest, civil strife, ethnic wars that have resulted into
horrendous massacres, persistent drought and famine and many others
are among the many challenges that continue to plague Africa today.

However, when one critically examines the effects of these challenges

on human kind, one realises that it is the women and children who
suffer most from effects of homelessness in the case of war,
malnutrition in the case of famine and heavier burdens of meeting
household consumption needs in terms of fuel, water and food.

Suffice it to say that women should not be party to those political

decisions to engage in war but they should actively be involved in
negotiating for peaceful means of conflict resolution. Such negotia-
tions require political economic and social awareness of the women for
them to materialize. It is on the basis of such knowledge that their
voices shall be heard. Women should be actively engaged in research
and updating themselves with current affairs all over the world by
making use of the available media. This is why the literacy of women
and education of the girl child must be emphasized across our mother
continent.

Africa is tired of wars. Let women hold the mantle for peace by
actively participating in those vital political decisions that affect many
African countries.

In Africa, the number of women in politics is low compared to that of

men despite the fact that women constitute more than 50% of the total
population. Low levels of literacy among women and negative cultural
practices are among some of the factors that have militated against the

69
participation of women in the political arena. Africa being a
patriarchal society, political leadership has for a long time been male-
dominated; a factor that may be attributed to the social system and
structures that govern societies at the household, kinship and
community levels. This social system has been relegating women at
the periphery of corridors of power and putting men at the centre stage.

Kingship, chieftaincy, clan headship and household headship have

traditionally been a male-domain in most parts of Africa. With recent
developments, however, a number of women have been involved at the
forefront of revolutions; and this is possibly why most revolutionary
governments in Africa have women playing crucial roles in political
leadership.

Why fewer women in politics?

As pointed out above, the low education level of women compared to

men is one of the most crucial factors limiting women's participation in
politics in Africa. On average, the female illiteracy rate in Africa is
over 60% compared to 40% for males. In 1991, Participation of
females in higher education in Africa accounted for 31%. This
situation is a serious obstacle to the real integration of women into the
political systems. As we all kn6w, knowledge is an empowering factor
in one's quest for political ascendancy. Education is therefore an
important factor in empowering women in politics. Supplementary to
this, increased political, economic and social awareness is a necessary
impetus for their advancement in this area.

The traditional/cultural stereotyped perceptions that politics is a male-

domain is another major constraints Women are considered home
makers. When they venture into politics, they are harassed by
everyone for venturing into an arena not meant for women. In Uganda,
for example, during the 1996 campaigns for parliamentary seats, some

70
women candidates were labeled prostitute to intimidate them and to
discourage them from seeking elective seats. Other women had to
indicate who they were married to in order to prove that they were
"suitable" candidates. It is interesting, to underline here that in some
instances, women were seen to be reluctant to vote fellow women who
contested against men possibly due to the stereotypes that women were
not able to perform better in leadership than their male counterparts.
This poses a greater challenge for confidence-building amongst the
women in order to acknowledge and make use of their potentials.

The domestication of women and the heavy workload confines women

to the private sphere yet politics is in the public sphere. The heavy
workload of women takes up their time and often leaving them no time
to participate in politics. The woman politician has to learn to balance
her time between politics and her traditional gender roles of social
reproduction and housekeeping.

In addition, some female politicians lack the needed support from

husbands/partners spouses. Some female politicians have had to
choose between their political careers and their marriages. It is also
evident that some abuse the freedom and support extended by their
spouses by being wholly taken up into political. issues and completely
neglecting their matrimonial obligation. This has caused
dissatisfaction on the part of their spouses and often led to poor
domestic relations. As a result, some abandon their political ambitions
to save their marriages, while others choose their political careers, at
the expense of their families.

Leadership skills and confidence building are also still lacking, and
therefore, an inhibition to female participation. The majority of
African women do not feel confident enough to take up political roles.
Further still, there is a general. feeling of apathy and lack of motivation
towards politics among many women; especially considering the

71
unstable nature of governance that has been characteristic of most
African nations. The frequent change in leadership and the resultant
effects of such charges have created an element of fear and insecurity
among most women - who may seek stable and secure environments.

Women also lack the finances which are much needed during
campaigns. Lack of finances often make women dependent on
men/husbands for support. This limits their participation in politics
since they can be easily manipulated by the person who controls the
purse. This is especially so considering that elections in the world over
usually influenced by the "money factor" more so at the lower levels
due to poverty.

Dividing up the family income to meet one's political ambitions is a

challenge that many of us face in our quest for political ascendancy.
Achieving this as an individual needs money while the required
income for household consumption might be little thus creating a need
for a firm capital base if one is to be successful.

72
 Women and Political Participation in Africa: The
Limitations of the Immediate Environment
by
Jeredine Williams Sarho15

I bring you greetings from the courageous women of Sierra Leone,

who despite the devastation of a 5-vear civil war still have enough
strength left in them to hope and trust that our new democracy will
bring us social justice; and partnership with our men will enhance the
goal and spirit of equity on all levels of national activity.

Permit me, Madam Chairperson, to express my appreciation to the

distinguished Chairman and Executive Members of the Africa
Leadership Forum for giving me the honour to join this honourable
body in deliberations for a workable 21st Century Agenda for African
Women's empowerment. This initiative is extremely comforting, and
would consolidate the milestones of Declarations and Action Plans
accomplished in Mexico, Copenhagen, Nairobi, Vienna, Dakar, Cairo
and the new Bill of Rights earned in Beijing. Furthermore, it is
becoming increasingly clear that gender issues are recognized as
human rights issues, and there seems to be an increasing consensus on
partnership with men as a guaranteed channel of achieving equity of
participation.

I have no doubt that we shall mutually benefit from the deliberations

and interactions to merit us a practicable 21st century agenda, so as to
strategize sustainable programmes to meet as equitably as possible, not
only the needs of our current generation but those of posterity, in order
to remove the obstacles to achieving equity, development, and peace in
our continent. Women and men should and must sit side by side in
decision-making without making their biological make-up a condition
15
Leader, Coalition for Progress Party, Sierra Leone.

73
or pre-requisite for participation. Political participation provides the
opportunity for articulating, promoting and defending interests. Lack
of it is a denial of inalienable rights and freedoms, a denial of
platforms to articulate and defend interests affecting the very existence
of women.

I have the honour to share with this assembly concepts on women's

participation, their limitations, my vision, and my experiences, and
those of other women on 'Women and Political Participation in Africa,
paying due regard to the limitations of the immediate environment”.

Conceptual Framework

First, we must agree on a definition of political participation, which in

a broad sense includes the involvement of individuals and groups in
policy-making; their participation in decisions which affect them
directly, making bureaucracy and legislation responsive to their needs
and rights, with a view to improving the quality of policy. Political
participation may thus be defined as the effective involvement in the
formulation and implementation of public policy at all levels of society
- community, local, national or international. Public policy constitutes
decisions on ideals or goals for what is good for the populace and a
plan of action for achieving these goals. Every individual has a
fundamental right to participate in the making and implementation of
such decisions, directly or through people genuinely elected. It is
proven that where political situations do not allow for such
involvement protests and other forms of resistance or agitation for
greater roles would constitute political participation. So the traditional
restrictive application of political participation to the exercise of voting
Tights by women is insufficient, and does not fulfill their involvement
in public affairs of their countries.

74
Women constitute over 50% of the continent's population and provide
over 60% of the agricultural work force on our farms. At the same
time, they are saddled with bearing children, nurturing them and
managing the home. They are the first educators of our children and
the acclaimed natural defenders of children's Tights. These women are
involved in all these activities and responsibilities, but are denied the
tight in majority of cases, sometimes in the face of articulated
legislation, to mal<e decisions on all these matters that so critically
touch their lives. A culture of ages and tradition to protect the
dominance of our forefathers have only engineered an historical divide
in power sharing between African men and women, and rendered the
majority of women anonymous and virtually void of human freedom,
guaranteed human rights and personal self-esteem. This phenomenon
has clearly hindered effective involvement in public affairs roles as the
women lack the necessary educational and motivational preparedness
which has fundamentally undermined the process of development
growth and women's input in political stability. It must be recognised
that empowerment of women is a human rights issue and a human
resource development issue, and cuts across a variety of interrelated
areas which should and must be targets of fundamental reforms.

It is, thus, counter-productive to I<eep women marginalised by

depriving them of the enabling environment crucially necessary for
participation in the process allied to accessing social, economic and
political structures.

Consensual opinion and international law tells us that political

participation is a fundamental right of every woman. The Interna-
tional Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ratified by over 25
African countries guarantees every citizen a right to participate in
public affairs, vote or be voted in to office, and have access generally
to public services within his or her country. Many African
constitutions do not deny women this right but, to a great measure, the

75
enabling environment is absent.

The right of every woman to participate in the affairs of her country is

further reaffirmed by the African Charter on Human and People'
Rights, ratified by over 49 African states, and the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women ratified by
over 35 states. Article 7 of the Convention guarantees women on
equal terms with men, the right:

??to vote in all elections and public referenda and to be eligible for
elections to all publicly elected bodies;

??to participate in the formulation of government policy and the

implementation thereof and to hold public office and perform all
public functions at all levels of government;

??to participate in Non-Governmental Organisations and' associations

concerned with the public and political life of the country.

It is paramount that for the liberation of millions of African women,

women must vie for political ascendancy not only in the executive,
legislature and judiciary, but also in other prominent arms of the public
service where they can successfully advocate a initiate policies for
equitable access for other women, not only because they are women,
but just because it is their entrench constitutional rights to enjoy equity
on all levels. Secondly it mal enormous economic sense to employ all
the human resource that be mobilised in a nation, so that the volume of
human capital nee in developmental growth will be easily accessible.
Furthermore equitable access to social, economic and political
structures reduces, and to a large extent, diminishes the threat of
conflict.

76
It is timely to remind the male-dominated governments of Africa that
the balance of payments of their national economies w@ improve
considerably, if the women who constitute the majority c their
population can have full access to social economic and political justice.
If such access is guaranteed, it will soon be discovered that the social
indices reflected in the UNDP global annual human development
index, which rank some of us at the bottom of the index, can be
transformed to successful stories if women are granted of participation.

Permit me to observe that with the various international human rights

instruments, the spate of international conferences demanding
cessation of violence against women, mandating education for girl
child, reaffirming the rights of women to decision-mal positions, more
and more women are coming forward on national front to fight for
women's rights, contesting for election, parliament and even the
presidency, contesting seats in the government, lobbying through their
various movements for posts parastatals and other bodies in the public
service, and they breaking new ground. However, statistics show that
we are still way behind the target of 30% women in parliament by
1995, set by the U.N. Economic and Social Council. In 1992, for
instance, countries where women had more than 10% representation in
parliament included Algeria, Cameroon, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi,
Mozambique, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Uganda,
Tanzania and Zimbabwe. In countries with relatively higher
percentage of representation it was mostly on account of presidential
nominations rather than fought-out elections.

On the ministerial level, a handful of women have held portfolios in

non'-social affairs ministries such as, in 1994, Uganda's Vice President
and Gender Minister, Liberian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Burundi's
Prime Minister, Ghana's Minister of Trade and Industry, and
Botswana's Minister of Foreign Affairs. More recently, we have had a
woman appointee as Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

77
Minister in Sierra Leone and a Woman Interim President in war-tom
Liberia.

On the administrative level, according to a 1994 UNDP report, the

percentage of female administrators and managers for 1980 -89 was
13% for sub-Saharan Africa. Senegal tops the list with 44% female
administrators and managers; Botswana 36%; South Africa 17%; The
Gambia and Zimbabwe 15%; Egypt 14%; Seychelles 12%; Zambia
11%; Sao Tome and Principe 9%; Ghana 9%; Togo 8%; and
Cameroon 6%.

Such statistics mirror the dire constraints and limitations in the way of
women in accessing political participatory roles.

Limitations:

The limitations that face African women in political participation are

deep-rooted and many inherited cultural and traditional constraints
subordinate us and exclude us from the decision-making process.

Among the constraints are:

1) The traditional lack of access and control over resources and

benefits including education and property.

2) The myth and tradition that certain jobs such as decision-making

are not for women. Women are supposed to follow rather than
lead.

3) Where there is institutionalization of equality, in some cases, men

only pay hp-service to power sharing.

4) Conflict situations.

78
5) Religious and customary beliefs.

As a result of these traditional barriers, few women rather end up

seeking political office than they should. From my personal
experience, as a former Presidential Candidate in Sierra Leone, and the
experience of other women who have entered the political arena with
or without success, here are the common problems we are faced with:

??Political parties rarely support women candidates

??Women have difficulty of obtaining campaign funding

??Few women have political campaign skills

??Women do not vote for women

??Women cannot cope with violence

??Negative media

I have suggested in my recommendations in this presentation how

these barriers can be managed, but I would like to share with you an
excerpt from the text of a statement by the President of the World
Bank, Mr. James Wolfensohn, which I believe carries a realistic
message on women's empowerment. I quote:

It will require not just the liberation of women, but also the
liberation of men - in their thinking, attitudes, and willingness to
take a fairer share of the responsibilities and workloads that women
carry on their shoulders. To bring about real improvement in the
quality of women's lives, men must change. And action must begin
at home, For each of us, change lies in the kind of household we
live in, the society we help to build, and the institutions we work for.

79
 Recommendation and Visions

In the light of these challenges emanating from stark inequities

facing women to access social economic and political power, I would
urge the assembly to examine the following recommendations which
will be useful to Gender Sensitive Lobby Groups organising action for
removing obstacles to gender inequities:

1) Consolidate action plans to remove traditional gender-based

subordination which limit women's access to and control over
productive resources such as land and labour.

2) Ensure adequate funding, to guarantee enforcement of relevant

provisions of constitutions and where there are no such provisions,
ensure that the constitutions are gender sensitive.

3) Promote the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of discrimination

Against Women.

4) Institute continuous dialogue not only with different arms of

government including the chieftaincy institutions and political
leaders but 'gender dialogue' to sensitise men must be promoted
from primary, school upwards to place greater emphasis on the
human capabilities other than the sex and custom of the individual.

5) Advocate for decentralization of political authority where it does

not exist and intensify action for women's participation.

6) Intensify the lobby on affirmative action in the distribution of

parliamentary seats and council seats in local government so that
women can participate and influence decisions which affect their
daily lives.

80
7) Action to reduce the gender gap and increase women's capacity
should include encouraging and supporting girls to join traditional
male-dominated fields.

8) Organise civil education campaigns on the importance of women's

participation on all levels of government, and why women must
use their vote to guarantee victory to women candidates who are
sensitive to the many needs of women, such as. improved
education, sanitation, health care, employment for their husbands,
illiteracy rate of women, etc.

9) Advocate for compulsory education for girls and injecting a

peace curriculum at all levels of schooling.

10) Organizes workshops to train women in political skills on the

national, regional and global level.

11) Support capacity building of NGOs and non-traditional projects

for women.

12) Encourage and support business women in accessing credit,

pursuing joint-ventures with overseas investors, particularly in
the manufacturing sector and in this regard support women's
investments groups either through the Chamber of Commerce or
on their own. Facilitate exchange visits with overseas chambers
of commerce with the help of the Gender Ministry and or Trade
and Industry Ministry, where possible.

13) Meet regularly with the gender minister so she remains on the
same wave length with the Women Lobby Groups and vice versa.

14) Meet other democratic challenges besides women's issues,

brokering compromises and settling deadlocks.

81
15) Network and build solidarity with parallel women's lobby groups
in the African region, and outside to improve their skills and
mutually benefit from each other in building equity milestones for
themselves.

16) Inspire women to build equitable and respectful relationship with

each other and support each other.

This forum is a handy channel to facilitate many of these visions, and

we the participants must use the opportunity effectively to progress our
cause on behalf of millions of other women so that the 21st century
will constitute a legacy and an inheritance of our preparatory work in
the 19th century.

I would at this point like to salute the Women's Lobby Groups which
have demonstrated great leadership in difficult transitions, and effected
noticeable change in their countries such as Uganda, Tanzania,
Botswana, Zambia and Sierra Leone. Discussions on the lessons
learned, I am sure, will follow during the debate.

Madam Chairperson, I look forward to the vibrant discussions that this

topic will capture, and truly believe that our final recommendation will
make their mark on the 21st century agenda for African women's
empowerment.

82
 Participation of Women in Public Life
by
Mrs. Elizabeth Akpalu 16

My presentation will be based on research findings conducted in

Ghana in 1995 under the auspices of the ODA – funded project;
Women in Public Life with the main objective of enhancing and
increasing the participation of women in public life.

The research investigated women’s participation in a wide range of

public and political organizations.

Highlights of the research findings of women in public and civil

services conducted by Dr. Amina Mama of Nigeria and Ms. Dodzi
Tsikata of ISSER, Ghana, indicated that Ghana is not substantially
different from most other countries in the world when it comes to the
overall number of women at the top of the political ladder or
occupying leadership positions.

Of the 20 ministries, only 3 are headed by women Ministers, and of

these two were appointed and one was in Parliament. There are 6
women Deputy Ministers out of 30 and none of the 15 Chief Directors
are women. Out of a total of 153 Civil Service Directors, 16 are
women.

Gender analysis of the senior ranks of the civil and public services
organizations show similar disproportions.

The executive and clerical grades too are male-dominated, mostly

made up of male school leavers who enter the services as junior
clerical and executive staff, and work their way upwards.

16
Project Manager, Women in Public Life, Ghana.

83
The secretarial class is almost exclusively female. The female school
leaver is likely to start her civil service career as a receptionist or
junior typist progressing into stenography and secretarial work, but
seldom (no one in the study) transferring into the administrative class.

Dr. Amina Mama’s which covered 76 women and 20 men drew

conclusions which could throw more light on the problems confronting
African women in attaining and occupying leadership positions.

Senior Women

In her findings she state that women at the top- Ministers, Deputy
Ministers and Directors share a constellation of background factors
which suggest that whereas men may be able to rise through the ranks
by dint of a combination of diligence and brilliance, women may only
reach the top when these attributes are combined with the class and
familial advantages that many describe as ‘good background’.

??
Good schools

??Elite background

??
accomplised in their own fields

Middle Level Women

Women in the middle levels of the public and civil services have
worked often in a steady and committed manner most of their adult
lives. Their experience outweighs their qualifications, but it is often the
lack of qualification and training which is given as the reason for their
lack of progressing further up the hierarchy.

84
The study indicated that there are gender dynamics inside the
organisations. The question is, are there features of Ghanaian women’s
lives which prevent more of them attaining senior and top leadership
positions? Or are there undiscerned factors and dynamics within and
around these organizations which make it difficult for women to
advance in their careers?

Dr. Amina Mama made mention of what she termed the Familial
ideology at work which she stated accounts for workplace
relationships where senior women are cast in material roles by
subordinates. Being a mother in the workplace is something of a
double-edged sword. Maternalising a female boss may not be
disrespectful but it is hardly a formal relationship, and core of kindly,
nurturing instincts that is assumed to he beneath a woman's
professionalism. Younger women are cast as daughters - apart from
incipient sexual undertones there is also unsolicited paternalism. There
is also the tendency for women to be regarded as wive's in the
workplace. For instance in a committee she is immediately cast in a
role of a secretary or expected to do the organizational housework of
taking minutes and making tea. The onus is on individual women to
correct this practice. The familialising of workplace relations can also
be advantageous, can be conducive to team work and platonic
friendliness.

Sexuality at work is another gendered form. In her study, sexual

harassment was found to be more prevalent in the middle and junior
grades.

Gender Dynamics in Training and Promotions

The study observed that the processes are not always transparent and
information is not always either available or in circulation. Women
are, always insufficiently informed as to the possibilities for training.

85
Lobbying and Networking

The study also indicated that, informal factors have an influence on

career progress. These informal factors are highly gendered, most
often through the cultural vector of "social acceptability". Simply put
in Ghana, men go out to drink, eat pepper soup after working hours
and women do not. Men can therefore get to know who is who and
gain access to information about the organization climate, what jobs
are coming up, who is likely to be doing what, and who is pleased or
displeased with who and why. This social constraints on interaction
applies to single as well as married women in the study. Women do
not feel comfortable lobbying senior men because of possible
implications.

Ms. Dzodzi Tsikata carried out primary research which targeted

members of parliament and political parties. In addition she
interviewed selected independent and retired politicians, members of
the three main political parties and opposition parties such as the New
Patriotic Party, the People Convention Party and the People National
Convention. In all 66 party officials and leading members 42 female
and 21 male, 16 members of Parliament (11 female and 5 male).

Ms Tsikata's research focused on political parties since they are crucial

for shaping the political will of the people and for putting up
candidates for election to public office among other things.

The Challenges facing Women

1. The challenges of gender inequality in society at large

In Ghana as in many other countries, women’s life chances are

hampered by inequalities in gender relations. Although not all women
are uniformly affected by this situation, only a minority of women are

86
able to break into male dominated professions and activities. The
absence of women from political structures is serious because they
represent the most important sites of decision making in society.

The inequality between men and women in the sharing of power,

family responsibilities and decision making at all levels; is one the
twelve critical areas of concern adopted in the Platform for Action at
Beijing. The power relations that impede women's attainment of
fulfilling lives operate at many levels of society from the most personal
to the highly public sphere.

Three areas of gender relations in society are worth mentioning

??the sexual division of labour and its implications for women's time
and nature of their contribution to the creation of wealth.

??differences in access to, ownership and control of resources such as

land and its implication for women's wealth.

??a gender ideology which supports these processes by promoting the

notion that women are inferior to men and therefore could never
aspire to equality with men.

2. The History

Ms Tsikata indicated in her research that it is important to study the

history of women's participation in politics. The history is important
because it is an indication of how difficult it has been for women to
penetrate power structures and also make difference to women's lives
by knowing the problem and therefore serve as a guide to what women
who aspire to membership of those structures can expect. Women in
the first republic as individuals did striking things but without much
power. Concern for absence of women in power structures prompted

87
the Nkrumah regime to reserve 10 seats in Parliament for women.
From 1981-1992, 3 political women's organization emerged but only
one of them survived, The 31st December Women's Movement.
Their efforts did not improve the absence of women in political
structures although they raised women's participation as a concern.
Only a few women were appointed to the Assemblies and even fewer
were elected. Between 1988 and 1994 there were 486 women in the
district Assemblies out of a total 6448 (8% of membership). Of these,
only 31% were elected.

The fourth republic saw 16 women in parliament out of 200 seats (8%)
three female ministers (9%) and five deputy ministers (11%). The
council of state 4 female members out of a total of 24 (17%). Not
much has changed since independence.

In 1980 there was one female minister out of 26 Ministers (4%) in

198,9 there was one out of 29 (3) and in 1990 there was 0 out of 29
ministers. In the council of state in 1980 there was 1 woman out of 15
members (7%). There was no parliament between 1982-1992. In the
first republic there were 10 women in the Assembly in 1960 and 19 in
1965, all members of the CPP. In the second republic, there was only I
woman in Parliament.

In the third republic, there were 5 women in Parliament, 4 PNP and 1

ACP.

The record of political parties in putting up female candidates for

elections have been crucial in how these figures came to be generated.
In 1969, the PP fielded 1 female out of a total of 138, 2 women stood
as Independents; NAL had 4, UNC has 1 and AORP had 1. In the third
Republic there were 20 women candidates 6 from PNP, 3 from the
ACP, PFP1 UNC3, Third Force Party 3; Social democratic Front 4.

88
3. Profile of Women in Politics in the 4th Republic

The Challenges of Education and Life Cycle Situation:

As documented by Dr. Amina Mama in her study of public institutions

the few women in the executive have some similarities in educational
background and age, between late 40s and early 50s. They comprise
mostly women with grown up children, widows, single/divorced or
married to politician husbands. Class background varied. Majority of
parents are from the peasantry, a few working class and a small
minority middle class. Low educational attainments, coupled with
reluctance of husbands to allow wives to do politics were some of the
characteristics.

4. Nature of Initial Involvement

From the study, Ms. Tsilkata observed that most members of the
executive had no history of activism. Among the MPs, initial
involvements ranged from District Assembly, The 31st December
Women's Movement to the 4th Republic. Only a minority spoke of
activist work in the second and third republics. Initial involvement in
traditional office, community activism and trade unionism; leadership
roles m schools and in various social institutions. the study found a
significant number of MPs describing their involvement in parliament
as accidental and therefore the women tended to be outsiders.

5. The Political institutions and Women

Political Party structure is male dominated. The issue of women's

wings and the rationale to organize women for the party. Although
some approve of the wings, a few felt that they tended to marginalise
women and their concerns. Some noted that "they are a dead end, our
women get stuck there and they cannot join the mainstream of the

89
party" observed one respondent. Ms. Tsikata observed that the
majority of female MPs are not active in the women's wings. The
issue of the pragmatic posture taken by many parties in relation to
women's participation was also analyzed. Some party officials are of
the opinion that the electorate would not vote for women, women do
not want to present themselves as candidates. It is the view of most
political parties that the results of the elections are not based on gender
but on popularity. There are the others who think women have stood
against men and had won because the electorate finds them more
trustworthy than it does male politicians. She also observed that ethnic
compromises are more the norm than gender compromises. Political
parties are eager to reach out to particular ethnic groups by appointing
MPS from those groups. The issue is how to ... a political process
which gives higher consideration to gender.
On the issue of participation in party activities women like to do the
nitty - gritty ground work, but when it comes to speaking on party
platforms, women feel shy mainly due to lack of confidence,
knowledge of issues and educational limitations. The workshops held
for the prospective women parliamentarians addressed some of these
issues.

6. Other challenges as perceived by women in politics include:

??Economic Obstacles

?? Financial problems

?? Canvassers and volunteers do not stick without money

?? Expectations from those who help you win are often enormous for
women
?? Women have additional problem of financiers sometimes expecting
sexual favours.

90
??Gendered abuse from opponents.

?? Most often women are accused as being loose, prostitute and have
no business to be in politics. Men in the study, mentioned that they
had been accused by opponents as being corrupt etc. The
challenges for women has been to putting the negative images of
women to positive use.

??Intimidation, physical violence and the threat of it

??Fear of maltreatment in case of violence overthrow of government

??Religion/Culture

?? Both men and women have been socialized to believe that the
woman I s primary role is to be a wife and mother and not a
political activist or leader in the community. A respondent stated
"Islam does not support the idea of men mingling with women".
??Male party colleagues

?? It is not easy to work with male politicians. They decide on issues

before informing you sometimes. The never select women to
represent region at national meetings of the party. They want to
keep women away from the money and they do not want you to see
everything.

7. Views about gender issues

Gender inequality, poverty, marital problems etc. were mentioned by

the respondents, a significant number put the blame on women
themselves. Sometimes as a factor or in some cases as the problem.

91
 Women are their own enemies". This is interpreted to mean
that women are low achievers and do not want to strive hard,
The main challenge is how to get women to vote for women as
a strategic issue.

8. Views about qualities of a good politician - advice to women who

want to cater politics:

The qualities that were enumerated are as follows:

?? Courage

?? Modesty

?? Respectable/moral uprightness

?? Sympathetic.

?? Selflessness - service oriented

?? Education

?? Knowledge of current affairs

?? Initiative

?? Leadership

?? Resourcefulness/financially sound

?? Self reliant

92
?? Ability to cope with insults

?? Closeness to members of constituency and responsiveness to their

needs.

?? Respect for people

?? Good speaker

Good educational background was the one requirement most

mentioned. Some male party officials have either no or very little
education. Education may be important, but should not be used to
disempower women aspirants.

Onclusions /Recommendations

There is now a global consensus that women should play a more

active, more direct and more visible role in decision making,
particularly in politics. The desire was included in the final Platform
For Action in the Beijing document which had the objective of
bringing about the necessary change in society and at the same time
contribute to the transformation of politics itself. A Global network of
women in politics was established with the holding of the first
Congress of Women in Politics during the NGO Forum on Women in
Beijing in September 6, 1995. The Congress discussed the Regional
Women in Politics Platform for Action, the mechanism and structures
needed to implement the Global Platform for Action. The Africa
Regional Congress of Women in Politics held a two day Congress in
Beijing September 3-4 1995 and discussed global governance and the
challenges facing women and issues of political empowerment among
others.

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All international Conferences up to Beijing point to the fact that
education is important for empowerment to take place. In Ghana and
in most African countries, there is a gender gap in education - in Ghana
out of 6 million adults without formal education 63 percent of them are
women. Similarly, although 48% of registered voters in 1992 were
female only 16 women were elected into parliament out of 200. The
empowerment of women in politics is stagnant. 'Gender myths form
the basis for most discrimination against women. These beliefs
legitimize male domination and perpetuate the subordinate status of
women. Some of myths are:

??Patriarchal theology which denotes that male supremacy is ordained

by God

??Patriarchal misogyny which indicates that women are morally

inferior and the cause of men's ills and ill doings.

??Patriarchal Tradition/culture says that men are physically and

mentally superior to women and should therefore control political
power.

??Patriarchal language refers to the use of the "generic" man to

represent all human beings.

??Patriarchal democracy claim that men take care of women's interest

whilst they control power and that there is therefore no ender
discrimination, serves as basis for patriarchal democracy.

Patriarchal politics entails the belief that men as the ordained head of
the households should naturally be responsible for public leadership.
Women therefore need their permission to play any role in public life.

94
It is necessary to isolate these myths and debunk them. This requires
self evaluation or as Prof. Dumor of the Electoral Commission aptly
put it "Psychic mobility" must take place in women's minds for
empowerment to be possible. There should be a change in women's
perception of themselves as inferior in order to get society to change
their views on women.

To improve women's participation in politics an immediate first step

will be to tackle the structure of the political party itself and to institute
positive action or affirmative action. The objective of positive action
or affirmation action is to encourage the exercise of rights to equal
treatment and opportunity in all spheres of life. It is designed with the
intention of eliminating discrimination and promoting equality.

Having more women in politics and decision making positions in

government and legislative bodies contribute to redefining political
priorities placing new items on the political agenda that reflect and
address women's gender specific concerns, value and experience and
providing new perspective on mainstream political issues.

The following specific actions need to be taken by both political

parties, government institutions and NGC)s to assist women in politics
and public life,

Adequate Resources to:

?? Support leadership training;

??Creating a fund to support women in politics;

??Organizing workshops on political campaigning and financing

??Training in public speaking;

95
??Continuing civic education to improve political opportunities of
women, especially in the rural areas and;

??most importantly established networks at local regional and

continental levels to serve as a data bank on women with relevant
skills as the basis for networking which must involve men as
partners in development.

96
 The Electoral Process and Women
Parliamentarians: Identifying the Obstacles – The
Congolese Experience
by
Martine Renee Galloy17

My presentation will be based on my observations during several

election monitoring missions in Africa: the 1992 legislative elections
in Congo, the August-September 1993 Central African Republic
general elections, the 1995 legislative election in Benin and Ivory
Coast, etc, etc.; although women constitute the bulk of voters in all
African countries (and elsewhere), their number amount to almost
nothing as candidates, let alone as elected political leaders. Many
studies carried out on women’s participation in elections or on their
representation in elected positions corroborate this observation
(Buijtenhuijs, Thiriot: 1995). The latest Ghanaian elections showcase
and support this observation for, only 57 candidates out of 786 were
women. Of those, only 13 were elected. Why are there so few women
candidates in electoral competitions? Why do women score so low
when 52% of voters in almost all countries are women?

To understand and address this issue requires first, an analysis of the

nature of the democratic transition and the impact of democratization
on gender relations in politics as well as the electoral process in Congo
since the beginning of the democratization process. This exploration
will help to analyse obstacles to women’s eligibility.

17
President, GERDDES-Congo

97
Democratization and Gender Roles

The late 1980s have been a landmark in the history of Africa which
manifested in several tremendous institutional changes. Congo was
not spared by this wind. of change and witnessed the end of the one-
party system in 1990 and its replacement by multipartism. A National
Conference was held from February to June 1991 which laid the
foundations of the democratic system. A transitional government and
democratic institutions were set up. Local, legislative and presidential
elections were organised a year later, in 1992. Two months after the
President was sworn in, a difference over power sharing between the
opposition and the ruling led to the vote of no confidence in the
National Assembly, consequent dissolution of the government, and the
organisastion of legislative elections. Unfortunately, a dispute over the
elections results brought the country to a civil conflict and political
instability between 19931994. Although a peace agreement was
signed in late January 1994, and strengthened with other agreements
on the dissolution of private political militias and thugs and the
collection of weapons and rehabilitation of militiamen. The tattered
socioeconomic canvas is hard to mend and the erected psychological
barriers need to be disrupted as they will likely affect the coming
elections.

Evaluating the nature of the democratic transition in Congo reveals a

transmutation of the one-party system and its decentralization with the
foundation of numerous tribe-parties styled after the former system,
where men indulge in internecine hegemonic "wars" for power. What
then are the outcomes of transition and the impact of democratization
on gender relations?

The first observation is that the phallocratic pattern of the Stalinian

system, whereby women were confined into a "department for
women's affairs or social affairs", as a continuum of the one-party's

98
women's branches" has been preserved.

Secondly, women constitute the bulk of the civil society which is not
well-organised and not yet very conscious of its weight as a political
force, a situation which further makes them vulnerable.

Consequently, women are poorly represented in elected positions and

in decision making position s (2 members of parliament out of 125 are
women, 2 scouters out of 60 women, 15 out of 426 regional councilors
are women, etc).

Women's representation at decision-making levels is unacceptably

negligible. This political background clearly highlights the roots of
women's low political representation. A tentative identification of the
obstacles to women's participation to electoral competition shows that
they are socio-cultural economic and political.

Electoral Processes and Women Parliamentarians: Highlighting

the Obstacles

Socio-Cultural Obstacles

a) The Candidate Herself:

As a result of sexist education, women's self-perception and perception

of other women is often negative and inhibiting. Party women often
turn down proposals to contest elective positions.

b) The Family and the Community:

The family and community environment is often hostile and tries to

discourage women from seeking elective positions. Hopefully, this
reluctance generally collapses with time and the candidate's

99
determination. Some women politicians 'interviewed were blessed
with very understanding husbands who were quite supportive and
helpful. After all, they too take pride in their wives' success. But these
are exceptions rather than the rule.

c) Political Illiteracy:

Because of ignorance, women also tend to lack solidarity to such

extent that many women voters are still reluctant to choose women
candidates when they are not behind their exclusion. The best
illustration is the election for Prime Minister at the end of the National
Conference in Congo where the only woman candidate gathered 2
votes when 60 participants were women. But is woman-hood enough
to give candidates the monopoly on women's votes?

Economic Obstacles

Fund-raising for the campaign is a critical issue for candidates. Many

male candidates will resort to a loan from the bank to finance their
campaign, but women tend to concentrate too much on the risks first
before committing themselves. Now, one of the main features of this
stage of the democratization process in Africa is the institutionalization
of corruption and vote buying. Ours is still an elementary democracy"
and in the merciless struggle for power, political darwinism is the rule
and only the "fittest" can win. The fittest here being the candidates
who can canvas for votes in their constituency, offer T-shirts with their
logo, and shower all sorts of gifts on voters. However, according to
their political affiliation, women's lot differs. Thus, a woman
candidate representing the ruling party is usually better equipped than
an opposition candidate. The independent candidate is obviously the
one who suffers most from this financial inequality.

100
Political Obstacles

a) The Government

Most governments' refusal to setup an independent and permanent

electoral commission that can minimize elections rigging affects all
candidates, irrespective of gender. In addition, they have failed to
promote and implement all the national and international laws
favourable to women and despite campaign promises, not much has
been done to boost women's participation to decision-making.

b) Party Politics

Parties gender-proof politics, discriminatory distribution of roles and

responsibilities between men and women account for women's
invisibility. Women candidates are often sent in constituencies where
they are not likely to win. Besides, even in constituencies where
women have a comfortable position, they always risk being discarded
for a male candidate. 18 According to a UN statement, women are not
fielded as candidates as a result of their poor representation in party
leadership. In fact, women as a group became involved in Congolese
politics much later than men and they seem to contend themselves with
background roles instead of being assertive, aggressive, which would
have conferred on them more visibility and make them genuine
partners, not courtesans for their male counterparts.

c) The Civil Society

On the ground of their nonpolitical nature, women's NGOs and

associations usually fail to support women's candidates. This situation
is exacerbated by the lack of a non-partisan women's lobby (gathering

18
Interview of Mrs. Mountou-Bayonne, Botoka, Ngollo-Lembe, Galloy, 1996)

101
all women irrespective of their creed or political choices), which
deprive women from a mechanism which could have helped support
and promote their candidates.

d) Legal Obstacles

The mode of voting is often not favourable to women. Another issue

to address is whether to adopt the quota or parity system.

e) Insecurity

Despite peace agreement, mutual confidence has been greatly affected

and needs to be restored. - In addition, although physical barricades
have been dismantled, the psychological ones still remain a detractive
factor for the coming presidential election and the legislature in 1998.
Therefore, the conflict resolution issue must be addressed and paid
thorough attention to for peaceful elections.

Women and Electoral Processes: Strategies

??Literacy, political and civil education are of ultimate importance in

order to progress from passive to enlightened voters. The youth
also must be taken into account to end the use of under-aged voters
by politicians. National and international texts must be localised
and disseminated.

??Individual economic empowerment of women is necessary, but

collective actions are also necessary. The ideal and long-term
solution to the fund-raising issue would be pushing government to
take a law on party-funding to end financial inequality and do away
with mobilisation of national logistics by ruling parties. Yet, a
short- or medium-term solution would be to experiment American
women's initiative when they created the 'Women's Campaign

102
 Fund" in 1974 or "Emily's List" in 1985 in order to raise funds and
help women candidates. Why not try traditional mechanisms such
as women's revolving credit?

??Setting up peace committees in all districts and educate women on

peace culture so that every family will turn into a peace committee.
Conflict resolution programmes must be developed to empower
people to anticipate or stop conflicts themselves.

??Parties' gender-proof programmes must be addressed by women

themselves. The civil society must network for peaceful and
transparent elections. Target grassroots women, traditional
authorities and religious bodies.

??Make independent, permanent electoral commission an issue where

it does not exist for transparent and peaceful elections.

??
Indulge in research-action to regularly evaluate the progress in the
legal and equality fields. This evaluation will be based on our
vision for the 21st century.

These are the pre-requisites to meet the challenges of the 3rd

millennium and lay the foundations for a democratic, non-sexist Africa
and sustainable development.

103
 Women, Law and Human Rights in Africa
by
Mrs. Tokunbo Ige19

Common problem which hinder the enjoyment of human rights by

African woman have been well documented and discussed over the last
two decades. Following the Nairobi and leading up to the September
1995 Beijing Conference, African women have been involved in a
sustained campaign towards their recognition as human beings under
the law. Unfortunately however, it seems that rhetoric has been given
greater priority than the implementation of strategies and decisions
taken to enhance the status of women.

With the predominance of competing interests between received laws,

religious and customary laws operating in many African states, legal
problems continue to manifest themselves. As a result, there is a wide
gap between de jure and de facto equality. Little or no recognition is
given to these problems as human rights issues in order to find a
solution using the “human rights approach.” Violations of women’s
rights occur in all spheres of life. In the areas of family, property,
labour and social welfare, laws they occur through inadequate
definition of marriage, inequity in the division of property, a system of
custody of children which favour the male, inadequate and
inappropriate inheritance laws, inhibited access to land and other
factors of production, unequal treatment of male and female workers
and lack of adequate legal protection of women from violence.

The judicial and legal systems in most African countries remain largely
male dominated. They do not provide the necessary protection for
women especially because most of their problems fall within the
family sphere which is considered domestic. Ignorance, poverty, and

19
Legal Officer for Africa, International Commission of Jurists, Switzerland.

104
fear of reprisals in cases where legal protection is sought within local
legal systems also hinder, women's access to justice.

Review of the content and enforcement of laws which are in most

situations discriminatory, have been the target of women's campaign
efforts. Active participation of women in decision-making and
uninhibited access to leadership positions in governance have been
identified as important if there is to be a change in the status quo. Of
course, as expected in a male dominated society, this will not come
easy in the face of "unchangeable" cultural and traditional beliefs and
practices.

Even in situations in which a woman has a right to a leadership

position - a cultural reason will be found to deprive her of the pleasure.

The increased global concern for the restoration of women's status to a

position of equality with men has informed many government policies
to reform the position of women. Though most African governments
are involved at the notional level in the formation of such policies, it is
the women through organized action that have taken the initiative in
researching their position. The use of legislation as a veritable tool in
the process of women's development has encouraged the demand for
reform and legislation amendments in favour of women and their
rights.

In spite of constitutional provisions and governmental adherence to

international norms such as CEDAW, structural discrimination against
women continues unabated. CEDAW was adopted in 1981 as a
framework for ensuring the full and equal participation of women in
the global development process. Its articles spell out the meaning
equality of the sexes and how this can be achieved. The ratification of
CEDAW by almost all African states has not led to a proportional
improvement in the status of women. Most of the ratifying states have

105
done so with reservations which render the implementation of the
Convention almost useless for women within their jurisdiction.

As stated earlier, there are ongoing national efforts to combat

discrimination and to enhance the participation of women in leadership
and decision-making, what is probably lacking is the synergy required
to create a continent-wide impact. Few women occupy high positions
in public decision-making fora. While their numbers have been
increasing slowly in some countries like Uganda, there has been little
qualitative change in the real life situation. The proportion of women
in public decision making offices has not been reached a point where
their influence on public policy can be comparable with that of men.

Empowerment programmes through non-governmental and some

governmental efforts focus on leadership training, campaigns for the
enlargement of political space for women and affirmative action
policies amongst others. This is not to say that women have not
acquired leadership positions, on the contrary a few women in many
countries have at different times in history struggled for positions of
leadership. Many of these women demonstrated their capabilities and
made their mark in the political, social and economic spheres of life.
What is important to note is the notion of struggle and this is where
there is a human rights problem. The more common pattern of
governments in African be they military, dictatorial, military
democracies or civilian democracies have worked to abridge the rights
of women to equal participation. Whichever pattern is chosen, the use
of force, violence, governmental might and other forms of intimidation
in securing or retaining political power also affects the participation of
women. This combined with cultural restrictions on women's
participation in public life and the economic disadvantages of women
have contributed to the apparent decline in the percentage of African
women in leadership position today.

106
At the regional level, mainly through the intergovernmental structures
of the OAU and the ECA and existing NGO networks, attention is
being drawn to women's human rights issues of concern.
Intergovernmental, structures such as the OAU have not been as
responsive to the concerns of African women as it should. Again, this
is understandable (but not acceptable), the secretariat is male
dominated. works directly with an Assembly of men who's priorities
do not include ensuring equal treatment for women. The agenda of the
OAU ministerial meetings and the Summit speak for themselves.
Little is known about the activities of the women's division in the OAU
secretariat or of the Women's research unit/centre based in Addis
Ababa or of other activities for the implementation of the Beijing
Declaration at a regional level. There doesn't seem to be much cause
for celebration in regard to regional action as most of this is visible in
periods leading up to world Conference such as we have experience
between 1994 and now.

Taking into consideration all the existing realities, this meeting I

believe provides us with a much needed opportunity to ask ourselves a
number of questions and to try to find other practical ways harnessing
our efforts at the regional level. How can African women increase
their involvement in decision-making without falling prey to state-
cum-male machinations of co-option? How can national and regional
efforts be harnessed to provide the required momentum for change?

In view of the foregoing, one is not convinced that what we need to

concentrate upon in answering these questions is the need for legal
reform. Women must be encouraged to develop and exhibit public
confidence in their abilities. What seems to be most needed is a set of
strategies which can be translated into practice and realized by women
of all categories within a definite time frame. For example, Women
lawyers should be encouraged to step up their assistance towards
challenging the status quo in favour of women. Furthermore, a call for

107
education of women on participation should be supported with
concrete proposals such as who should be doing the education and
how? how and within which period should an evaluation be carried out
and by whom? This and any other strategy will require effective co-
ordination at the regional level, may be through the Beijing Follow-up
committee or other regional networks. There should be linkage
between regional and national actions.

Regarding the inadequate representation of women in OAU structures,

an organized representation by women to the next Council of Ministers
meeting should be considered. This could be further reinforced by
representation during the next summit. The report of this meeting may
be a good working document for developing a process in which the
OAU and its organs are held accountable for their action towards
promoting the rights women.

There is need for an organized strategy to lobby African government to

place women's concerns high on their agenda. In this regard it is
important to mention the efforts being made by some NGOs working
on women's rights issues with the African Commission on Human and
People's Rights, Participants at the seminar on the African Charter and
African Women organized by the commission in March 1995 after
discussing extensively the situation on the continent called for,
amongst other things, for the drafting of a protocol to the African
Charter. The protocol is to deal specifically with women's human
rights issues and emphasise the concept of non-discrimination.
The commission at its 20th session held in Mauritius in October 1996,
resolved to support the preparation of the protocol, which will require
political will. of the African governments for its coming into existence
and implementation. The elaboration of this protocol coupled with the
plan to integrate women's human rights concerns into its work will
make the African Commission relevant to women.

108
Finally in regard to the African human rights systems, the participation
of women on the implementing organs can only be realized if women
candidates are put forward during the nomination process. For
example with the African Commission, the only two women out of the
11 members they have today were nominated and eventually elected as
a result of pressure by NGOS. The goal of these NGOs is to continue
to push for more women on the Commission such that by the time of
the OAU Summit convened in Harare additional post would have been
filled by women. Lobbying for this purpose is to be done at the
national level with the appropriate ministers to get them to forward a
woman's name to the OAU secretary-general for serious consideration.

109
SESSION TWO

110
 Women and Conflict Management in Africa: An
Experiential Perspective
by
H. E. Sylvie Kinigi20

The leadership of a nation and a people is no doubt a very difficult but

ennobling task, when one is able to harmonize her own ambition with
those of the people.

The management of socio-political conflict is generally more

demanding given the unpredictable nature of conflicts which are
sometimes beyond reason and control. This was the type of socio-
political crisis that I witnessed and was compelled to manage in my
country, Burundi, a Prime Minister.

Dear sisters, to understand the complexity of managing the crisis in

Burundi; I consider it important to share with you the then prevalent
condition at the time I assumed power as Prime Minister.

Assumption of Office

My assumption of office as Prime Minister would have marked a

turning point in the political history of my country. It was the first time
that a women was appointed Head of Government. Before then,
women and social matters. Personally, I was in charge of the
coordination of “PAS” until my nomination to the ministerial post.

My government was the product of democratic elections which also

gave an opportunity for the Hutus to have access to power with a
civilian president for the first time, after 30 years of a Tutsi military
rule.
20
Former Prime Minister of Burundi.

111
The winning party in the presidential elections also won the legislative
elections with an overwhelming majority of 80%. I was not a member
of this party and I was also not from the same ethnic group with the
President.

For the benefit of those not conversant with the history of my country,
a brief background information may be necessary. It is a country that
has witnessed a recurrence of socio-political conflicts with ethnic and
regional implications, which has planted seeds of resentment in the
minds of the people since independence. President Buyoya had
attempted to transcend these divisions and to reunite the socio-political
fabric with the hope of creating a favourable atmosphere for the
democratic process. In this regard, he pursued a deliberate policy of
national unity with an equitable distribution of posts among the two
ethnic groups and the mobilization of the people toward national
reconciliation. Unfortunately, the process was threatened by ethnic
sentiments during the electoral campaigns.

The result of the presidential elections of June ’93 exploded like a

bomb in President Buyoya’s camp. Unfortunately, the result also
sparked off inordinate ambitions on the part of the winning party
members. It was this circumstances that compelled the new president
to include the opposition party in the government with the intent of
merging the competing interests on both sides of the political divide.
As far as technical competence, socio-cultural, socio-political and
economic factors influenced his choice of prime minister as well as
other members of his cabinet.

112
From the Crisis

Your Excellencies and dear sisters, coming back to the topic of my

presentation, the running of a state does not squarely and solely rest on
the shoulders of an individual alone. It actually rests on all the pillars
that jointly constitute the state apparatus: the people, the institution of
state power, instruments such as laws and their rules of procedure,
fundamental national or universal values (social, cultural, democratic)
that form the basis for national cohesion and of its people. The
responsibility of the leadership in this regard is basically to seek to
harmonise these components for welfare and the preservation of the
heritage. The socio-political crisis that struck my country like
lightening caused the collapse of these pillars. As lamented by the
Psalmist what would the just do when the fundamentals have
collapsed?

With the assassination of the Head of State, the President and Vice
President of the National Assembly, Vice President of the Assembly,
the highest institutions of the state were decapitated. In addition, two
ministers were also killed. This triggered off inter-ethnic killings.
Hutus systematically killed Tutsis to avenge the death of the president.
They were incited to this effect by a call made on the Rwandan Radio
by some ministers and relayed on the field by certain parliamentarians
and local authorities. Flaws on the part of the military in their
operations intended to pacify the crisis rather worsened if in the areas
affected. Those who survived were dispersed. Some fled to
neighbouring countries, others sought refuge in churches and other
public buildings, while others ran to the bush and the outskirts.

Both from within and outside, appeals were strongly made for the
cessation of the hostilities, which was actually stopped after four days
leaving behind them the catastrophe, I was the only symbol of a
surviving legitimate institutional authority, and as provided for in the

113
constitution, I was obliged to assume the interim leadership of the
country.

From the Management of the Crisis

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, dear sisters, anyone faced

with such a situation would have been overwhelmed by despair. I was
faced with a very difficult task which I accomplished. Encouraged by
all the forces that emerged as the pillars of legitimacy I had to
denounce the massacres, I was determined to fight the battle. This was
necessary and urgent. Consequently, I devised a plan to:

??Define the priority objectives;

??Come up with measures to be taken and means to attain such
objectives;
??Arrange the implementation of this plan. The announcement of these
measures created a lot of hope;
?? The priority objectives were basically:
?? to stop the killings and revive the distressed;
?? to resume dialogue between existing institutions to support the
restoration of order;
?? to prepare and organise to resuscitate the institutions.

The achievement of these objectives was to be strictly based on the

provisions of the legal instruments regarding our powers as defined
therein in such circumstances. However, the law itself was
incapacitated, given the depth and magnitude of the crisis. Certain
measures planned to be taken turned out to be inapplicable, as they
were either beyond our powers or inappropriate.
Some examples:

114
1) The powers of the Prime Minister in the interim administration of
the state was to be limited to the management of its day-to-day
activities. The situation during our crisis, however, required more
than running the day-to-day activities because there was war and
sometimes, there was need to take measures that needed to be
backed by law to normalise the situation.

2) To assume office of a president, the constitution did not provide

any means other than through elections by universal suffrage. The
critical situation in our country at this time was not conducive for
organising elections.

3) The magnitude of the crisis called for the adoption of exceptional

emergency measures. According to the law, the military was
supposed to automatically assume control in such situation,
whereas the nature of socio-political crisis was not ideal for these
measures.

There were numerous legal constraints. H6wever, laws are made for
humankind and so we had to apply them in a manner that enabled us
overcome constraints of the crisis. In some cases, it became
necessary to violate them in order to move forward!! It was
nevertheless through dialogue and in concert with people from all
sections and shades of opinion that solutions could be found to these
constraints, though not without difficulty. We mobilised the civil
society among whom were religious denominations, human rights
groups and various independent personalities to support campaigns in
sensitising the people, relief operations and in the distribution of aid.
We sensitised the military and political parties on the need for them to
assume their responsibilities and contribute to the initiatives of the
government. Crisis committees were set up at all levels.

115
The most difficult, but most important task was to reestablish dialogue
between the institutions, since it was on this that the achievement of all
the other objectives and above all the normalisation of the entire
situation depended. It was necessary to have a minimum level of
confidence between myself and my ministers, the government and the
army, the national assembly and the people and the two dominant
political parties in the parliament. We pursued this delicate task
through formal and informal meetings. With the informal meetings
combined with intelligence committees made up of select people of
wisdom, and imput from female personalities, results were achieved.

As soon as dialogue was reestablished, we quickly embarked on

addressing the delicate question of resuscitating the institutions of the
state, particularly the presidency. This was important and urgent for
the following reasons:
1) even though I symbolised the survival of legitimacy, the
constitution did not give me more than three months for interim
administration with very limited powers;
2) because I was not from the ruling party, the demand by the
supposed ruling party to reclaim its mandate was clear4y
expressed;
3) collective administration of government has some limitations
(even where there is a head, he cannot necessarily impose his
decision at all time and in all situation);
4) given the fact that monarchy has been part of the tradition in
Burundi and that this tradition still conspicuously feature in the
ways of its people, the absence of the highest state authority
created an unwholesome atmosphere fraught with speculations
capable of provoking a drift.

It was a difficult task getting the mandatory acceptance of an

amendment to the constitution for the National Assembly to elect a
new head of state, since elections through universal suffrage were

116
impossible. The opposition parties blocked this process in the first
place and secondly, the constitutional court also questioned the legality
of the amendment and the elections.

Once again, it became necessary to initiate dialogue in a forum

sufficiently representative of all groups: political parties, civil society
and the government. We were only able to succeed because of the
neutrality of the civil society. An agreement was reached within a
period of one month and a half of consultations, and a new president
was installed two weeks after. Some observers had also commented
that I also played "the woman" to overcome these constraints, but this
is not true.

Lessons and Recommendations:

1. As I highlighted much earlier, institutions, organised structures,

laws and regulations are indispensable in the good governance of a
state both in times of war as well as in times of peace, but what is most
important is human values. Yes, it is necessary to have men with
leadership qualities, technical and managerial competence, sense of
responsibility, devotion, moral integrity, respect for sociocultural
values that account for the cohesion of a society. Yes, it is necessary
to have men who exhibit the willingness to carry upon themselves the
life and acts of their subordinates. Men who are capable and
determined to conduct themselves as fathers of the family to the nation.

The fact is that, as it has been observed:

?? these qualities are becoming more and more lacking in male

politicians, but they are found in a lot of women;
?? the deterioration of fundamental social values is the origin of the
fratricidal conflicts witnessed by humanity, and above an the
anarchy going on in Africa. The current political class attaches less

117
 importance to human dignity, development, patriotism and wisdom
of experience;

Dear sisters, the destiny of humankind generally rest in your hands. As

it has been said, "when you educate a woman, you educate humankind;
but when you educate a man, you educate an individual". It is an
appeal! You must assume your responsibilities and revitalise the right
values to save this continent and create hope to the generation of
tomorrow.

It is not by isolating yourselves from government activities that you be

able to carry out this noble mission. In the past, the society, at least,
protected women and children from the impact of war. Today, they are
the major victims. This is why you need to rise up as “defenders of
peace” without which the foundation of the future can not be laid. The
woman has to be ready to fight and to seize the opportunities offered
by the democratic process to occupy positions of their choice to decide
their future. You have enough cards to win. What are these cards?

2. Women that come out to occupy positions of responsibility are

rather few, but more competent than men. This is a pride on which
there is need to build. The demands upon the woman in the society are
numerous: she has to be more than doubly qualified to be promoted
because no error from her is pardonable. She must always be able and
willing. There is a positive value in this high expectation, because the
society would want the woman to maintain an exemplary and ideal
image whether as mother or wife. It is also for this reason that I
consider her more suitable in the management of conflicts. In effect,
her capacity as mother makes her prone to giving priority to the
interests of others whom she regards as her children and to be patient
and tolerant. As a woman, she symbolises unity between families,
between people and peace in the family, the nation and she supports
dialogue and consultation. Besides these natural and universal

118
qualities, women in Africa today have another advantage, that of
constituting the majority of the electorate and sharing same needs and
priority for development.

These are the choices on which women need to capitalise to increase

access to political leadership.

The contribution we need to make to the political process as elders is

to serve as apostles and to campaign for the cause of women
leadership. We are here for this purpose. We could call for the
Organisation of political training for women at all levels to be
involved in activities that affect their interest in the society, and
also to develop self-confidence and to be involved in all the ranks
Of political party leadership and thus have the chance of
participating in open competition for leadership m the institutions.
Furthermore, we must continue to play the role of pressuring
governments to translate the resolutions adopted at the Beijing and
Dakar forums into concrete strategies and tangible objectives.

It is also necessary to firmly support women NGOs that are emerging

and women entrepreneurs because they are testimonies of the
recognition that women are agents for development in general. They
also call for the appreciation of women's contribution to economic
growth on one side and social well-being on the other.

Finally, it is important to encourage the, establishment of mechanisrns

to facilitate the revitalisation of positive sociocultural values and
conflict prevention at national levels with provisions giving priority to
women.

Your Excellencies, dear friends, the path is still long and the battle
tough, but there is need to dream of equity as Martin Luther King did
about freedom for blacks and we-will win.

119
 Women and Conflict Management in Africa
by
Bineta Diop 21

The year 1990 brought a ray of hope, the end of a long and exhausting
war: the Cold War, which led to the belief that the world had entered a
new era during which internal troubles and international differences
would be resolved through peaceful negotiations.

Sadly, just a few years later, these hopes have faded. While it is true
wars between states seemed far less probable, conflicts and internal
strifes have nonetheless multiplied. In 1996, according to UN sources,
about fifty countries were involved in major crisis.

In Africa, some conflicts such as the case in Southern Sudan are

legacies of colonialisation and the decolonisation process. Others, for
example Angola, are products of the Cold War. Yet others such as
Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan are largely attributable to ethnic and
inter communal differences. One should also remember Algeria,
Liberia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Eastern Zaire, where rival groups are
fighting to take over political power and legitimacy within the state.

Beyond their differences; these conflicts show common trends some of

which are:

The massive migration of the population: all armed. crisis inevitably

lead to an influx of persons who are fleeing to the interior in their own
country (internally displaced persons) or towards neighbouring
countries (refugees); today, Africa has the largest number of refugees;
30 African countries produce or accept refugees or do both at the same

21
Member, Executive Council, Synergies Africa, Switzerland.

120
time, a third of the total refugee population in the world estimated at 20
million are Africans out of which between 60 and 80% (per cent) are
women;

Media coverage: this channel is either used or neglected by the

protagonists. Our media today is influential, and do not take into
account the context of the reality on the ground and even are
sometimes the determinants of the chart and the on-going of hostilities,
depending on the attitude of the international community; for example,
Somalia has been significant to that effect;

Civilian participation: most of the victims of war are civilians,

especially the vulnerable groups such as children, the aged and the
women, with the latter as victims of rape or sexual violence, as the
family support and protection mechanism breaks down;

Lack of a clear solution: fights end in a place, break out in another,

war and peace co-exist for a very long time and the conflict is never
resolved;
The solution to the latent crisis: are meant to be important
humanitarian needs affecting nutrition, health and welfare, habitat,
education, etc. and prevent all efforts in favour of social and economic
development of the States in question.

Women are the main victims of crisis on the continent and are aware of
the important role they have to play for peace and actively organize at
the national, regional and international levels to promote tolerance and
peace.

121
Women: Peace and Development:

Non-discrimination and equality of sexes are some of the principles

proclaimed in the international instrument drawn up since the end of
the Second World War. The International Women's Movement,
punctuated by world conferences of the United Nations on Women,
has for a long time attracted the attention of specialized agencies which
take care of development as well as government for the need to
integrate the woman’s dimension in the development process.

The result is thus the proclamation by the General Assembly of the

United Nations of the year 1975 as the International Year of the
Woman with a threefold objective: equality, development and peace.

In the early 70s with the concept of "Women in Development" (WID)

emerged a thought process aimed at tying the question of the feminine
gender to development by showing the advantages which exist in this
link, especially at the level of economic growth, to "invest in women".
This approach lays emphasis on the contributions that women could
offer to development, rather than how development could improve the
lifestyle of women.

Furthermore, we passed on from the concept of "Women in

Development" to "Gender and Development (GAD)" the term "gender"
being understood in the sense of social rapport between the women and
men.

If any progress was made in the integration of "gender" in de-

velopment policies, at all, it is hard to understand why the participation
of women who represent more than half of the world's population, in
decision-making for peace is practically non-existent.

122
In Africa, long-term development cannot be realized without
sustainable peace, and peace cannot be attained without the active
participation of women.

We are therefore at the stage of "Peace, Gender and Development" and

the next Pan African Women's Conference scheduled to take place in
Kigali from the l' to the 3 d of March, 1997, organized by OAU, ECA
and the Rwandese Government, would be a great cornerstone in the
great building that women are about to erect for peace and
development in Africa.

The Position of the Woman in Conflict Areas/Zones

The living conditions of the woman even in times of peace, are very
often low to that of men on the educational, health and nutritional
levels, as outlined in the Human Development Report of 199,9
published by the UNDP. Besides, they are often the objects of
violence within their own family, their society or part of the State.
In times of war, men are recruited as soldiers or become prisoners of
war, women are often faced with the growing responsibilities towards
their children or their aged parents. They become the sole and final
guarantors of unity and survival of the family, thereby carrying the
economic burden at the same assuming the role of father and mother.
These additional loads are furthermore aggravated while the family
finds it an obligation to move to another region or to seek refuge in
another country.
During an armed conflict or internal strife, the woman is not exempted.
She endures the same suffering as the whole population be it mass
execution, torture, arbitrary imprisonment, forced migration, taking of
hostages, threats and intimidation. She equally is subjected to direct
and indirect effects of hostilities such as bombings, famine and
epidemics.

123
Besides, she is the single target for all kinds of sexual violence such as
rape, sexual mutilation or sexual enslavement,

The truth is becoming fashionable that the belligerent use of rape as an

integral part of the war strategy. Although such acts are considered as
serious violations of human rights, culprits often go unpunished. The
Human Rights Watch/Africa on the genocide in Rwanda showed that
rape was programmed and used as an arm of genocide; but up till
today, the International Tribunal for Rwanda did not include in its list
of offences rape crimes and sexual violence against women.

At present, no advertisement is made on the principal role that women

play in the daily management of conflicts and their abilities and know-
how in the area of mediation to resolve conflicts, for the restructuring
of family life to help in healing wounds. They are marginalized in all
circumstances of decision-making and their preoccupations are not
taken into consideration in the prevention, management and resolution
of conflicts. This is why women mobilize' and organize themselves to
make their contributions effective and efficient in management,
prevention and resolution of conflicts and take part in decision-making
for peace.

The Role of Women in the Peace Process

War is a man’s affair we often hear. In fact, world history shows that
decisions taken for a State to take off full force is hardly done by
women. However, this does not mean that women are not concerned
with armed conflicts.

During wars, men are recruited as fighters and sometimes become

prisoners of war. During this period, women again find themselves
taking care of the family, even their community, shouldering the
economic load and especially the survival of children and the aged.

124
These responsibilities are most of the time multiple when the family or
community are forced to flee from their homes, region or country.
Consequently, if "war is a man's affair", it must certainly be reaffirmed
that "peace is surely a woman's affair".

To treat women as victims goes back to relegating them to an inactive

role and ignore their impact in the reconstruction of peace, the
rehabilitation of the community and national reconciliation.

Women are mobilized in many African countries with the aim of

promoting the peace process in conflicts. These activities which are
most often than not carried out in isolation and limited, does not
benefit from effective wide media coverage.

Women have used different strategies in order to reinforce the abilities

of existing structures; to rehabilitate, reconstruct and reconcile; and
protect refugee and displaced women. They have used education and
health programmes, taught peace through education, human rights and
the knowledge of law.

It is necessary to evaluate the deeds of women's movements for peace

in Africa in order to ensure that they form pressure groups to make
themselves ' heard, by organizing marches, to proclaim messages, and
call upon the fighting factions to halt their carnage.

In the armed conflict areas, such as Burundi, Liberia, Rwanda, and

Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan, women's movement for peace have
been known to make spirited efforts at reconciling waning factions.

For example, in Liberia, even if women had no chance to take part in

negotiations and in meetings held by the different parties, all the
women's associations and groups were mobilized and have succeeded
in making declarations to the United Nations, the OAU and ECOWAS.

125
Women have equally organized peace marches and printed posters and
brochures with slogans on disarmament and peace.

At the International level the Pan African Organization of Women, in

June 1976, presented to the United Nations Commission on the
Condition of the Woman a convention containing 25 articles. This has
largely influenced the write up of the final text on the Convention on
the elimination of all forms of discrimination towards women adopted
on 18" December 1979 and put in force on 3" September 1981. It is
necessary to recognize the importance and the value of work done by
this organization in the drawing up process of the Convention on the
elimination of all forms of discrimination.

They are for dialogue which is in favour of peaceful settlement of con-

flict,,;, especially by the use of traditional methods of calling for
mediation and negotiation and not by aggression.

The organization Sudanese Women Voice for Peace has organized

different meetings with the aim of restoring dialogue between
Sudanese women of the North and South.

During the United Nations Conference on Peace in Somalia, in Addis

Ababa in 1993, the Somalian women who were not admitted formed an
official delegation. They however, achieved their aim in favour of
peace, by composing native songs and poetry which moved the
different delegations present.

They organized fora aimed at analyzing the areas through which they
could influence the settlement of conflicts.

The regional conference on women and peace which was held in

Kampala, Uganda from 22 to 25 November 1993, gave women the
chance to reflect on the reasons for which they have played such a

126
marginal role on issues which bear upon their very survival, their
families and the society as a whole. The Action Plan of Kampala
which was drawn up recommends the formation of an appropriate
structure aimed at promoting feminine leadership in the prevention,
management and the resolution of conflicts.

They unite and work together at the national, regional and interna-
tional levels, in order to evaluate the activities that they have done
towards the peace process, to create a network of women § movements
for peace.

A Tent of African Women for Peace was erected during the NGOs
forum and the fifth African regional Preparatory Conference on
Women, in Dakar (1994) by UNIFEM/AFWIC. The Tent of Peace
gathered together women's movements for peace in Angola, Burundi
Burkina Faso, Congo, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique,
Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa and Southern Sudan, as well as
militants of peace. This mobilization did indeed demonstrate their
determination, to spend time to review their actions, and elaborate
common strategies to include in the agenda for the Women's Beijing
Conference.

The fourth conference on women in Beijing in 1995 was the

demonstration of mobilization for the struggle for equality, devel-
opment and peace. Not only did 50,000 persons take part, but no
United Nations conference had until then whipped up so much interest.
About 30,000 Non-governmental Organizations world-wide took part
in this forum where workshops, exhibitions and other activities were
organized. The African NGOs , well prepared and organized were able
to effectively contribute to the drawing up of a regional action plan.

127
The remarkable in of Beijing was the handing over of the flame of
peace, symbolizing the daily struggles of women in Africa to promote
the settlement of conflicts, appeasement, peace-building and the
sustainable existence. This flame was handed over by the leader of an
African group in Beijing and was lighted in Senegal and would travel
across Africa to deliver the message of peace.
They form appropriate structures aimed at the promotion of leadership
by women in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts.
The ad hoc meeting of the Committee of Experts on the leadership of
women in matters of peace, which took place in Johannesburg, South
Africa, in November 1996 under the auspices of the OAU and the ECA
had as participants members of African governments, experts as well
as feminine NGOs. It set up a mechanism for the promotion of
leadership of women in the peace process. Thus, the putting in place
recommendations of the earlier meeting in Kampala.

In conclusion, feminine initiatives on peace is growing in Africa. The

need is becoming urgent to include through training, the emphasis on
their capabilities, technically as well as financially to make visible
their clear actions through the media. In that way we would supervise
to see that they play an important role in the prevention, management
and resolution of conflicts, i.e. the formation of feminine leadership at
all levels.

The Role of Regional Institutions

Since the formation of the Organization of African Unity in 1963, the
civil society had exerted pressure on member states of the OAU for the
latter to consider the question of the conflicts prevention, peace-
building and security as priority on the regional organization agenda.
However, until the beginning of the year 1990, only ad hoc measures
existed.

128
In June 1993, faced with the seriousness of the situation in Africa, the
Assembly of Head of States and Governments took a decision to
establish a mechanism for conflict prevention and resolution. The
Mechanism developed would install a central organ made up of
member states in charge of the process.

The principal objective of this Mechanism is about the rapid alert and
the prevention of conflicts. In case of tensions, the Mechanism must
allow the support of preventive diplomacy and the maintenance of
peace.

One can only lament, that during the long debate on the role of the
OAU on peace, the pre occupation of the woman was totally ignored
and their presence rendered ineffective. Already in the case of peace
in the OAU, it seems that the personnel is made up of 30% of women,
including the regional office. The top officials who are female
represent only 17%. On the other hand., in general service where the
personnel is less qualified, the women have a larger population of staff
- 40%. It is important to note that these persons have never occupied a
post in any political setup.

OAU is at the moment undergoing a serious review, taking into

consideration the future of the SG's mechanism for conflict prevention
and resolution. Feminine NGC)s must be included in the discussions
on the outcome of the peace mechanism where most of the attempts at
reconciliation have failed up ti.1-1 today. The plea of the feminine
NGOs to decision-making bodies of the OAU is a condition sine qua
non.

At the OAU, the women section is particularly committed. to

promoting African women and their participation in the decision-
making process, by organising conferences for groups of female
members of governments as Well as female related NGOs. This is

129
done in collaboration with other bodies, especially Women's units of
the Economic Commission of Africa (ECA) and the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP),

The ECA actively participated in the preparation of the Beijing

Conference. It ensured the follow up 'm Dakar, by organizing a
meeting of the fifth bureau for the regional conference on women as a
source to draw up an African regional action platform for the Beijing
Conference.

The ECA made efforts towards the active mobilization of resources for
the implementation of different sections and platforms of action. To
this day, a project in relation to a special fund has been drawn aimed at
establishing some activities which have traits of promotion of the
leadership qualities in the area of public decision-making; economic
autonomy and the promotion of legal and individual rights of the
woman.

The meeting in Johannesburg, in November 1996, being a follow-up of

the Kampala meeting and initiated by the ECA, OAU and the UNDP,
pleaded for the promotion of leadership of African women in decision-
making in the peace process. It is happy to realize that the feminine
NGOs were included.

This typical example shows that the Organisation of African Unity

(OAU) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in
collaboration with the United Nations Programme for Development
(UNDP), have for many years dedicated themselves to the promotion
of the African woman and her participation in decision-making, among
others for the establishment of peace, resolution of conflicts and
national reconciliation. Their action programme gives more attention
particularly to women.

130
Women-Africa-Solidarity

Most attempts at reconciliation tip today have failed. The association

of feminine NGOs must therefore be involved in the discussions on
peace, as much as the efforts of the consolidation of peace encountered
with much success in some countries recently which is from their own
initiatives.

It is therefore vital and more as an evidence that the settlement of

conflicts in Africa necessarily go through the use of endogenous
forces, hence the urgency to put them in place.

This is what Synergy Africa is involved in carrying out. This

International NGO, formed by Africans based in Geneva, aims at
reinforcing the abilities of NGOs and other African institutions for the
prevention, management and resolution of conflicts in Africa. Synergy
Africa is the founder of "Women-Africa-Solidarity" (WAS), which has
formed, established and promoted leadership of African women in the
prevention, management and resolution of conflicts.

Women-Africa-Solidarity wants to hit directly at the roots of conflicts

and not to take only into account the abilities of men; but also fully use
women as important resources. That is why WAS aims at promoting
and reinforcing leadership in African women in the process of peace
by creating a Foundation which also supports the action of women
occupying responsible positions, such as in feminine NGOs founded
on the basis of the peace process.

Women-Africa-Solidarity sets up the mobilization of women leaders

identified at the national regional and international levels which
constitutes potential resources for activities to be carried out on the
ground.

131
In order to avoid the overlapping and strengthening of endogenous
capabilities, WAS works within the frame work of existing structures
at all levels.

Thus, Women-Africa-Solidarity is for the strengthening of abilities

through the techniques of training and political negotiations. The
training is particularly for the channeling of resources and the
strengthening of skills in the woman.

The organization supports the exchange and collection of information

in order to promote the effective collaboration at the continental level.

Conclusion:

The formation of a favourable environment for peace and development

would be through well defined actions using the large potential of
resources both human and financial which Africa has, by giving the
African woman a leading position.

All activities of WAS are set up in order to support the initiatives at the
grassroots and to promote the leadership of women in positions of
decision-making at the local, regional and international levels. The
following strategies are adopted to achieve this objective:

??
The organization of training courses to enable the strengthening of
the capabilities of women leaders in the different techniques of
negotiation, including traditional methods, management methods,
knowledge of the international human rights as wen as other
international instruments, regional or national relative to human
rights;

??
Holding of seminars and conferences for the exchange of
experiences, to sensitize public opinion, and inform the media;

132
??
Sending out evaluation mission to the conflict or conflict prone
areas i-n order to promote peace in that area;

??
Promotion of study activities and the search for a better
understanding of problems in order to find appropriate solutions to
them;

??
The distribution of publications such as information bulletins and
liaison;

??
The mobilization of resources at the African level and at the
International level with the aim of supporting initiatives of women
in favour of peace.

133
 Challenges of the Private Sector
by
Mrs. Evelyn Mungai22

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am indeed grateful to have this opportunity to

address you here today. The topic of Women and the Private Sector is
one that I hold dear to my heart having been a player for almost the last
quarter century. There is not doubt that women have come a long way
as entrepreneurs and business-women in the 20th century. They have
overcome in many ways obstacles of cultural, political, economic and
perception nature to curve an independent niche in the world of
business. Though for a long time they were simply dismissed as men'’
appendages in whatever they undertook, in the 1980s, their
contribution was so outstanding that governments and development
organizations could no longer simply bypass them as a by – product of
anything of anything but their sole initiative and hard work.

Are there gender specific challenges confronting African women in

attaining critical positions of leadership in the private sector? – goes
the question!

Whereas I may not say that the problems faced by the woman in the
private sector are totally different from those faced by the man, I am
vow to the fact that the gender factor has been the number one factor
that has exacerbated everything in the differentiation of the
experiences of the two genders.

Women in several countries of Africa, are the majority or at least make

up half of the total population. They produce 60 to 80 percent of all the
food in Africa. They head 30% or more of the households which is
monumental!! Their entrepreneurial contribution can only be valued by

22
President, All Africa Business Women Association (AABA), Kenya

134
the millions. However, when it comes to large scale operations at the
national, regional, and international levels in business and in the
economy in general, they occupy a marginalized position and are
alarmingly under-represented.

Cultural factors are basic to the gender issue. Women in Africa have a
maternal role to play which unfortunately cannot be delegated in any
way. Almost universally, every African woman is concerned about and
determined to expand their lineage. Childlessness or small families are
in some instances regarded as the work of evil spirits. Most women
seek to have as many children as possible. It is not until very recently
and only among a small group of Africans that the attitudes that lead
women in other continents like America, Europe and Japan to defer
childbearing so as to further education career ambitions, and desire for
independence are catching on in Africa.

The above problem is compounded by the fact that women are

generally poorly educated as compared to their male counterparts. A
parent with a girl and a boy child once accosted by a school fees
problem will opt for the boy to continue with school where as the girl
can stay home and help as awaits to mature to marriageable age.
Although this trend now is slowing down, the effects are still felt far
and wide on the continent this means that girls miss out on some
fundamentals of necessary entrepreneurial training. This naturally
relegates them to the lower echelons of performance in the private
sector in the long run.

Most Traditional land tenure systems in Africa prohibit women from

inheriting property. Therefore women have no legal right to such
assets. Unfortunately, there are the assets that are traditionally accepted
as collateral for bank loans.

135
Consequently, such traditions discriminate against women in credit
policies as they favour males who can inherit the invaluable assets. It is
estimated tat only 18% of the Third World women gain access to
credit. While I do admit that availability of credit is not the elixir for
solving women’s entreprenual problems, and catapulting them into the
21st century. It does give them a push in the right direction. Studies
have shown that women are generally better at fulfilling obligations
than credit their male counterparts.

Though not a direct problem of gender. I wish again to point out

though at the risk of repeating myself all over again, that for a long
time, women have been relegated to the background of their various
economies on their farms, kitchens and small scale marketplaces. This
has been to the extent that with the new awakenings and with more and
more women trying to penetrate the upper echelons of the private
sectors, they are realizing that they have a lot of catching up to do.
First, women are realizing that they lack basic information on for
example what products, goods and services are selling and where and
how? How and where can they get funding? Most of them feel
overwhelmed by the mere thought of where to begin let alone proceed.
Since there are not that many established women who can serve as
“guinea pigs”, whereby fellow women can look and say “if so and so
have done it why not me? Many women simply give up.
Lack of strong women lobby groups to empower women with the
confidence that goes with conquering new lights and fields is a
contributing factor to there being not so may established women in the
private sector. For women to emerge as victors in the 21st century, they
must down their fears, abandon “the me myself’ attitude ad gang up to
the best in the sector. We cannot afford to sit back and lament the
effects of gender biases that we have undergone forever. The time has
come for us to say, “yes we have come this far, now let us reach for the
sky”.

136
Tell me even as we are seated in this room this today … and here are
some of the women that I consider the “Crème de la Crème” of the
women private sector participation in their various countries, if I may
ask how many of us have some to grasp with things like the stock
exchange markets ad shares? How many of us have invested in them?
How many have a clue as to how they function and of what benefits
they can be to our businesses?

With the liberalization of the global economy, (and as far as I know

African countries are trying their level best to partake of the process),
information can no longer be hidden or kept away from others
unnecessarily too long. One problem that women in Africa face is that
of networking information. Women need to form networks through
bodies like AABA. In the 21st century, speed in gathering and
disseminating and the alacrity with which the information is acted
upon by the recipients are going to be of utmost importance. Such
organization should serve as business women’s watchdog’s; providing
up to the minute information on business and trade around the
continent and where possible worldwide and around the clock.

In short, ladies and gentlemen, yes we do admit that there are gender
specific problems that have hindered the full participation of women in
the private sector and which if not checked may spill into the 21st
century. We do however say that the women have to come out strong
and overcome.

137
 Access to Finance: The Micro-Enterprise
Revolution
by
African Development Bank23

A large proportion of the African population today is engaged in

micro-entrepreneurship as subsistence or small producers whose major
pre-occupation is production for survival rather than for growth. These
micro-enterprise operate mainly outside the formal economy. By their
nature, they have little or no access to formal lending sources. Under
the current set-up of lending institutions, it is often very uneconomical
for formal commercial lenders to extend credit to micro-entrepreneurs
because of the high costs and risks of administering small loans to
usually sparsely placed borrowers. In spite of their “invisibility” in the
mainstream formal economy, micro-entrepreneurs have a very
important role to play in the economy and in the overall development
process. It is estimated that the informal sector accounts for about 60
percent of the urban labor force in low-income Africa and contributes,
in many countries, as much as 20 percent of GDO. There is, therefore,
a need to facilitate the development of this sector of the economy by
opening up new channels of credit delivery to the poor.

On a cautionary note, it has been argued that credit has its limitations
as a tool for alleviating poverty, notably among women-headed
households. Results from evaluations of the impact of credit support to
micro-enterprises are mixed. Some have praised the programmes for
their indirect training benefits for the participants, for example, in
relation to acquisition of loans and negotiating contracts, while others
have criticized them for their high cost and failure to create
employment. For women-specific projects, favourable socio-economic
23
Delivered by A. Beileh, Chief. Operations Policy and Procedures Division, ADB, Cote d’Ivoire

138
results have been found: stabilizing impacts on incomes and enhancing
women’s status within the households.24

It is important that the new credit initiatives must first study the
informal sector lending schemes that exist today. In spite of their cost,
they are still used by the poor women. This indicates that the latter are
willing to pay for credit and that formal institutions might be able to
reach similar groups. This would be cheaper for the lenders, but will
not affect the profits of formal financial institutions.

The Role of Financial Intermediaries

Financial intermediaries act as middlemen between savers and

investors. They play an important role in mobilizing savings and
providing credit to entrepreneurs for development. In most of Africa,
the financial sector is still underdeveloped by the standards of other
developing countries. One limiting characteristic of financial systems
in most African countries is the overwhelming dominance of banks
over financial intermediation which reflects the underdevelopment of
non-bank financial institutions.

Another limiting factor is the dominance of government owned or

controlled banks. The dominance of the government ownership and
control were associated with control exercised over bank activities,
interest rates, the volume of credit and the allocation of credit. Often
the motives for establishing such institutions were worthy, but the
consequences were adverse. Real lending rates were low, and often
negative, reflecting nominal interest rate ceiling enforced by
government. This meant that government could finance their
expenditure cheaply, but it also encouraged low productivity
investments, it necessitated credit rationing by the banking system, and
24
See the example, Both et al., Social and cultural Change in contemporary Tanzania – A People
Oriented Focus, Stockholm University, Sweden, 1993.

139
it meant that real deposit rates would also be low (or negative) if banks
were to make a profit. Low, or negative, real deposit rates discouraged
financial savings and impeded financial intermediation Governments
invariably insisted that banks maintain a high level of reserves,
averaging 20 to 25 percent of assets, compared to 5 –8 percent in
developed countries. Such high requirements led to a wide difference
between deposit and lending rates which damaged financial savings
and investments at the same time. The difference was some measure of
the implicit tax that governments levy on the banking systems by
requiring such high reserve ratios. Furthermore, in many African
countries, the government became the major borrower from the
banking system, owing to the large fiscal deficits which need
financing.

It is from this background that financial sector reform in Africa is

taking place within the context of structural adjustment programmes.
Despite notable progress with financial intermediation, the
performance of the financial sector in Africa in providing funds for
entrepreneurs needs to be improved. Banks still predominate the
financial system and non-bank financial institution are generally
underdeveloped. The development of non-bank financial institutions,
such as stock exchanges, is crucial since they are the institutions that
can provide the longs terms funds and risk capital required for the
private sector to fulfill its mandate as the engine of growth of the
economy. Africa needs sustained efforts to diversify its financial
institutions and instruments in favour of non-bank financial
institutions, while at the same time continuing with the strengthening
and restructuring of banks. In this regard, the necessary legal and
institutional frameworks will need to be put in place, particularly those
pertaining to the development of the capital markets. Understandably,
small, medium and micro-enterprises cannot be delayed until such a
time when non-bank financial institutions are developed. Hence the
existing institutions that have the potential capacity to finance small,

140
medium and micro-enterprises, will need to be strengthened.

Strengthening Micro-finance

While substantial progress has been made with reform of formal

financial sector, credit delivery to small and medium enterprises
(SMEs) remain inadequate to meet their financial needs. Formal
financial arrangements are, often, not well suited to the needs of SMEs
as their loan requirements are small and the costs of processing the
loans tend to be high relative to the loan amounts. It is also difficult
for financial institutions to obtain the information necessary to assess
the risks of new, unproven ventures, especially because small firms
often depend heavily on the abilities of the entrepreneur.

There are indications from a number of countries that there is a

substantially larger demand for credit than banks would like to believe,
but fewer creditworthy projects than potential borrowers believe they
have. Indeed the high demand for credit among existing firms is
strong, expressed by the high percentages of firms that have not only
expressed a desire for loans at market rates of interest but have
persistently applied to banks or sought other sources ff rejected. While
successful growing micro-enterprises often can meet working capital
needs from internal finance, they need external finance to expand.
Stagnant firms are more likely to need working capital to offset weak
cash flow or investment capital to replace obsolete equipments.
Despite the evidence of little use of bank credit, many studies of
enterprise finance suggest that medium - and small-sized firms that
seek credit are likely to turn first to a bank. - Among the reasons for
going to the bank are a greater perceived chance of success and a lower
interest rate. Those that do not first apply to a bank consider their
chances of receiving bank loans low or do not have a bank account.

141
Under competitive financial market conditions, it is expected that when
firms fail to secure formal loans they would replace these with
informal finance. However, when SMEs fail to obtain formal credit,
which is what they initially seek, they do not substitute formal finance
with informal finance. The usual response to unavailable formal credit
are to scale down planned investment to equal received formal credit,
if any, utilize personal savings of the entrepreneur, and that of the
enterprise, when they can be separated, to finance part or all of planned
investment; and delay or abandon planned investment. The less-than-
expected use of informal finance, apart from start-up capital from
family and friends, reflects the highly segmented nature of financial
markets. Many firms tend to view borrowing from informal
commercial sources as a measure of last resort rather than a preferred
means of regular finance. Since loan applications to informal sources
are almost always successful, the reluctance of SMEs to use informal
finance indicates that its terms are unattractive for small manufacturing
business.

The credit gaps in various countries capture borrowers who cannot

enter the circles of informal lenders because they do not find the
packages of those lenders attractive for their purposes, and yet cannot
gain access to the formal circles as they are considered ineligible. This
does not mean small borrowers who want the types of loans that
informal lenders provide are adequately taken care of. But if they have
not received credit, it is mainly because the nearest informal lenders
(for whom they are eligible) do not have enough from their limited
resources to provide to them for any reasons. For the others no one
can meet their demand cost effectively without significant revision of
institutional structures.

In searching for alternatives to formal sector finance, attention is

increasingly being paid to strengthening informal and semi-formal
finance, including micro-finance, for meeting credit demand by SMES.

142
There has been increased pressure on informal units to provide
appropriate supporting finance. But the difficulties of making informal
finance play a modified role quite different from the one it was used to,
in terms of loans characteristics and uses, became apparent with the
failure of these institutions. It is now obvious that while SMEs enjoy
considerable goodwill among informal lenders, current informal
market conditions are generally not suited to the type of finance
required by a large number of SMEs.

Sources of finance for SMEs

An assumption underlying the characterization of growth and

dynamism among small and microenterprises is that they are
potentially efficient users of capital and that their capital needs, and
how these are satisfied, are related to their size. As enterprises grow
through different stages i.e. micro, small-, medium- and large-scale,
they are also expected to shift financing sources from internal sources
to external sources, generally starting with informal finance. While
many microenterprises may find informal sources of credit and
personal or family savings adequate, their financing needs can no
longer be met by these sources as they become larger. Thus, a shift
from informal to formal external sources would be expected as
enterprises graduate to larger sizes, and would fall back on informal
finance only if cheap formal finance is not available.

The reality of business start-up and operation in Africa, however, does

not portray such a linear progression. The domination by internal
sources of funds as against external sources, even long after businesses
have been established is generally observed. The typical situation is
observed where, on average, about 65 percent of start-up capital in
Africa businesses comes from owners' savings and most of the
remainder are loans from family and friends. Few firms can draw
regularly from external sources, including loans from Development

143
Finance Institutions (DFIs), equity issues, advances from parent
companies. Also, while bank loans are used by some firms for
working capital, the amounts involved are often far less than desired by
the firms. Even for the finance of capital investments by manufac-
turing firms, internal sources of funds, mainly retained earnings or
personal savings, dominate for small and medium sized manufacturing
firms, while bank credit and suppliers' credit tend to be important for
large firms. Indeed, while there is some bank credit in most financial
systems, there is considerable evidence from a number of countries
that it is not the decision factor in enterprise development. Bank
finance is used mainly for large investments by large firms.

For small medium sized enterprises, trade credit overwhelmingly

dominates finance of operations. Clients pre-payment is often more
important than suppliers 'credit for some micro-enterprises. The use of
client pre-payment for goods as a major way of financing small
businesses varies considerably among the different industrial sectors
and by sub-region. However, micro-enterprises are generally more
likely to give credit to their customers than receive from their
suppliers. Suppliers' credit is more important to medium-sized
enterprises (11-50 employees, usually) than it is to small and micro-
enterprises. This structure of financing reflects not only the
inefficiency of longstanding lending programmes targeted at small
enterprises through formal banking institutions, but also suggests the
futility of firms-size targeting when large firm may be precisely the
best conduit to increase liquidity among medium and small scale firms
through trade credit linkages.

Considering the relatively large number of rejected bank loan

applications, there is clear evidence of little spill-over into fragmented
informal segments of the financial market. Indeed, the absence of
spill-overs is characteristic of the fragmented markets of Africa. Spill-
over's do not occur because, even though the borrower has an

144
unsatisfied demand for finance, none of the offers made by the
informal sector would provide an income benefit in excess of that
which is available by not borrowing.

Recent Development with Microfinance

To counter the effects of credit market failure that result in frag-

mentation and the exclusion of many potential borrowers from
markets, a variety of credit schemes have been introduced. Innovative
credit-retailing schemes are usually community-managed credit and
savings schemes that are established to improve members' access to
financial services, build a community self-help from innovative
schemes generally, are more likely to be born out of donor projects,
and are not necessarily community-based. Indeed, over 80 percent of
enterprise development programmes that donors sponsor throughout
Africa have a microfinance component. For more than a half of such
projects, the focus is solely on microcredit. For many innovative
scheme, however, credit provision may not be the only operational
objective. Even for those that perceive credit provision as the ultimate
assignment, the extent to which direct supply of credit is present in
their programmes, depends on whether they adopt the I minimalist' or
'Integrated' approach. By the "minimalist approach", the organization
concentrates only on lending. AU activities that it engages in are
designed to facilitate lending. These include the training of staff and
also beneficiaries to the extent that they can comprehend how the loan
programme works. Under the "integrated approach", training and
other forms of technical assistance are regarded as integral components
of a whole scheme for assistance. Most of the acclaimed innovative
schemes have been based on the I minimalist' procedures. A recent
trend in some of them has been the emphasis on market principles.
Innovative credit schemes and micro-finance activities are far better
known in Asia and Latin America than they are in Africa. Apart from
there being fewer Programmes in Africa, their occurrence among

145
countries varies considerably also. There are countries with a good
number of micro-finance programmes, including Mali, Guinea,
Burkina Faso, The Gambia and Guinea Bissau, and others with very
few, including Sao Tome, Chad, Mauritania and Sierra Leone.

Through donor participation, many African micro-finance ar-

rangements have benefited from best-practices developed in other
developing regions. They have drawn some ideas from more
successful projects elsewhere, including the following:

1) the issuing of short-term loans;

2) starting with small initial loans;

3) concentration on small working capital to firms with proven tract

record;

4) specialized services without targeting;

5) simplified services;

6) localized services;

7) shortened turn-around time for loan applications;

8) motivation of repayment through groups solidarity or joint

liability;

9) savings mobilization from the poor; and

10) charging of full-cost interest rates.

146
Village Banks, for example, emphasize loans to finance income
generating activities and savings. In establishing joint liability group
lending mechanisms, their members are expected to overcome
collateral requirements. They lend on unsecured bases using five--
person group guarantees, whereby each individual is responsible for
the others and future access to credit is determined by all members
repaying loans. This is a principle borrowed from the Grameen Bank.
There are a number of micro-finance projects in Africa, however, that
provide credit to individuals and projects. A number of the schemes in
Francophone African countries have a mixture of groups and
individual arrangements. The loan characteristic of micro-finance
schemes indicate that their loans are comparable to those of most
existing informal arrangements. Loan sizes for Village Bank range
from $160, with an average of $60. The relatively small loan sizes are
to discourage the rich from seeking Village Bank credit. While interest
rates are higher than most formal lending rates in Africa, they tend to
be lower than the rates of moneylenders. The characteristics of these
loans suggest that a large segment of Africa’s private sector cannot use
such facilities to finances investments. They are useful for the very
poor micro-businesses, similar to those finance by the informal sector.

Assessments of the achievements of the credit programmes of micro-

finance programmes are centered on repayment rates, loan sizes
savings level programme costs, and income from interest. Evaluations
of repayment in Village Banking programmes have been high,
averaging 90 per cent in many places. Projects that have high
repayment rates often have the following characteristics:

??more training Programmes for participants than others;

??interest rates were not subsidized;

??they have integrated formal written membership requirements and

147
 screening measures into their bye-laws to ensure discipline among
members;

??a savings programme accompanies lending;

??an appropriate socio-cultural environment, e.g., population not

being transient, helps to: reduce default as social sanctions are
strongest in that environment.

A number of recent evaluation of microfinance Project have examined

the extent of their outreach activities and their drive towards self-
sustainability. Financial self sustainability is achieved when the return
on equity, net of any subsidy received, equals or exceeds the
opportunity cost of funds. Out-reach is measured on the basis of the
type of clientele served and the variety of financial services offered,
including the value and number of loans extended, the value and
number of savings accounts, the types of financial services offered, the
number of branches and villages sub-branches, the percentage of the
total rural population served, the real annual growth of the institutions
assets over recent years and the participants of women as clients.

Comparing the models of the innovative schemes and ascertaining

their compatibility with known practices and attitudes in African
countries, reflected in informal systems, introduces a better
understanding of their difficulties. Various evaluations suggest that
while innovative and other micro-finance projects are performing
creditably in making credit available, local environments often
constrain their ability to bring costs down much lower than they
presently are. They cannot go where the informal sector can with their
present set-up, hence providing a justification for a link between them.
Evidently both microfinance and informal finance try to reach the same
target groups, but with different structures.

148
Towards improving Finance for SMEs

It is evident that the problem for financial development in most

African countries remain how to ensure that institutional development
and innovation leads to a filling of the "credit gap" facing SMEs.
While they lack access to bank credit, their requirements exceed the
limits of informal agents as well as many micro-finance programmes.
There is currently limited scope for enhancing the allocation of credit
equitably and efficiently outside of a closer relationship between the
formal and informal sectors. As seen earlier, fragmentation of the
financial. system can be very wasteful. Closer linkage between
different segments can improve the efficiency of the system by
enabling different agents to specialize for different market niches and
by facilitating the flow of savings and credit up and down the system.
Filling the credit gap may require incentives to the formal financial
sector to establish conditions and support for informal and semi-formal
institutions to move up to this market following an integration of the
financial markets. The approach to a greater role for informal finance
and micro-finance on the achievement of integrated financial. markets.

The suggestion for integrated financial markets is based on the fact that
a number of recent studies applying concepts from the 11 "
institutional economics, stressing information asymmetry, transaction
costs and risks have provided useful analytical tools for understanding
the constraints that explain the persistence of fragmentation in African
financial market even when financially repressive policies have been
reformed. In an integrated financial market, direct and indirect
linkages between the formal and informal sectors are evident and
significant. The flow of funds among them is dictated by the
awareness of their respective specializations that allow each segment
to utilize the information and structural advantages of the others to
enhance their own activities. Information flows are a major component
of such market integration.

149
There is the obvious need for national policy framework that have
appropriate levels of incentive and regulatory policies as a context for
achieving integrated financial development. In addition to using such
frameworks to provide a development platform for financial
institutions by helping them to reduce and share risk with an
acceptable incentive structure, the framework should draw on broader
economic relationships by ensuring that the approach is truly demand-
driven by the real sector. Hence, while avoiding a crowding-out of the
private sector, the maintenance of steady growth of the real economy is
very essential. The strong revival of informal finance in a number of
countries after reforms provides a good testimony to the influence of a
vibrant real sector on financial sector developments.

ADB and Microfinance

In the past, the African Development Bank group has rendered support
to small and medium scale enterprises in RMCs through lines of credit
channelled to Development Finance Institutions in the respective
countries. Using this lending instrument, the Bank group committed a
cumulative value of about US$3.1 billion in. lines of credit to
Development Finance Institutions in RMCs by the end of 1993. Of
this amount, contributions from ADF window amounted to US$348.6
million, representing about 11% of total Bank Group cumulative
commitments in lines of credit to Development Finance Institutions in
RMCS.

In as much as the Bank Group has undertaken to serve small-scale

entrepreneurship, no systematic intervention in support of micro-
enterprises have been made so far using ADF resources, although
during the ADF-VI period some initiatives were made towards
addressing the needs of micro-enterprises in some limited way. These
initiatives related mainly to assisting women in undertaking income
generating activities through training, capacity building, and. extension

150
of small. loan. In general, however, it suffices to say that the ADF
funding process in the past has concentrated more on bigger
organizations.

In spite of this imbalance, it is well acknowledged that a large

proportion of the African population today is engaged in micro--
entrepreneurship as subsistence or small producers whose major
preoccupation is production for sustenance rather than for growth.
These micro-entrepreneurs operate mainly outside the formal
economy. By their nature, they have little or no access to formal
lending sources. Moreover, under the current set-up of lending
institutions, it is often very uneconomical for formal commercial
lenders to extend credit to micro-entrepreneurs because of the high
costs and risks involved in administering small loans to usually
sparsely placed borrowers. In spite of their 'invisibility' in the
mainstream formal economy, micro-entrepreneurs have a very
important role to play in the economy and in the over-all development
process. It is estimated that the formal sector accounts for about 60
percent of the urban labor force in low-income African countries and
contributes, in many countries, as much as 20 percent of GDP. There
is, therefore, an urgent need to facilitate the development of this sector
of the economy by opening up channels of targeted assistance to
micro-enterprises. A credit delivery mechanism would constitute
one of such channels of assistance to the poor and vulnerable
groups engaged in micro-entrepreneurship. It is in this area of
intervention that the Bank Group's micro-enterprise programme is
expected to focus.

The Bank Group's micro-enterprise programme during the ADF-VII

period will entail putting in place a credit delivery mechanism to
support micro-enterprises, mainly in the informal sector, with the aim
of generating increased employment opportunities and providing more
income generating micro-project. The programme will involve non-

151
governmental organizations (NGOs) and other selected national
institutions in the delivery of credit to the disadvantaged groups of
micro-entrepreneurs. To be included in the programme is technical
assistance for training and/or institutional building for intermediaries
and targeted beneficiaries, especially women would be included in the
programme. The micro-enterprise programme in ADF-VII will be
tailored towards complementing the Bank's Private Sector
Development Strategy and to augment the Bank's Poverty Alleviation
Strategy and Action Programme. Appropriate operational linkages
will, therefore, have to be made in order to ensure affective execution
of the Bank Group's micro-enterprise programme.

Finally, it should be noted that this initiative being advanced by

management on a framework for credit delivery to micro-enterprises
during the ADF-VII period, sets up a new sphere of intervention. In
order to effectively carry out this programme, it will be necessary to
increase the Bank's internal capacity to design, implement, monitor and
evaluate micro-enterprise projects and programmes. The additional
activities and workload will require more ADF staff-time and.
presence.

152
 Access to Finance: Micro-Enterprise Revolution
by
Mrs. Stephanie Baeta Ansah25

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to take this

opportunity to thank the African Development Bank (ADB) for putting
in place a scheme in providing funding for micro-finance enterprises in
Africa. However, in my view, the $22m, even though a pilot scheme, is
most inadequate for the needs of Africa.

There is the need for solutions to the problems of credit and to

mobilise domestic savings on a large scale. There must also be an
enabling regulatory framework to ensure safety of those savings that
are mobilised. Recently, we have had in Ghana, a spate of fraud
through pyramid investment institutions mobilising vast resources
from small savers and subsequently literally disappearing with the
monies. They were able to raise these large sums by offering
unrealistic rates of interest which of course could not be sustained.

We should be careful in Africa in importing to the continent, schemes

that have succeeded in other developing countries like Asia and Latin
America particularly because of the cultural and socio-economic
differences. What we need to inculcate in the people of Africa is the
willingness to repay loans when they are taken and also to critically
study the reasons why banks have not lent support to micro, small and
medium size enterprises. When we know the reasons why they have
failed to deal with these levels of people, then we can work to close the
gaps and persuade the financial institutions to go into these lines of
business.

25
Managing Director, Home Finance Company Limited, Accra, Ghana.

153
I strong recommend for this forum’s consideration, collective
investment schemes in Africa which are managed by licensed
institutions who have professionals able to manage the funds honestly
and profitably. Collective investment schemes are known all over the
world and includes in Africa our Susu or Stockveld groups. Home
Finance Company Limited (HFC’s) recent experiences with the
management of the Unit Trust has enabled it to mobilise substantial
sums from people who before now had no regular saving habits.
Initially, we had to go to the market women at the 31st December
Market to take their small contributions of $10,000.00 (approx.
US$5.8) and above. Within one year, we were able to extend the first
mortgage loans to one of the market women who is a regular saver and
had saved with us the minimum required deposit of 20%. This
particular lady in question has since taken the loan and expedited
repayment schedules and is expected to finish paying the loan within a
very short period.

This is to encourage others to develop a more serious attitude to saving

with the Unit Trust. We no longer have to go after them. They come to
our offices and are able to lodge amounts of about $1million (approx.
US$588.00) a day. These people are mostly small traders, pepper and
vegetable sellers who are accessed through the market queens, their
leaders. We put them through various educational seminars. Even
though HFC is a wholesaler of funds we have been satisfied with our
first approach to the micro-enterprise sector.

The micro-finance revolution is very much under way in Ghana,

through the establishment of various savings and loans companies
which operate mainly in the market areas of the main cities. These
companies differ from banks in two respects:

??
that they do not maintain chequeing accounts and
??
that they do not deal in foreign exchange

154
The savings and loans companies were established and are regulated
under the Financial Institutions (Non-banking) Law with supervision
provided by the Central Bank as is done in the case of banks.
Parliamentarians are urged to sponsor laws that provide an enabling
environment for such small financial institutions to operate honestly
and profitably.

In Africa, interest rates are high mainly because of our inflationary

environment but at the same time savings rates are also relatively high.
We do not agree with the theory that micro-entrepreneurs earn so little
that they are unable to save. In this country, each time, there is a major
fire outbreak in the markets vast amounts of foreign currencies and
local money are lost. But somehow, the entrepreneur are able to revive
their businesses. There is the need to encourage this sector through
educational programmes undertaken by NGOs.

There is also the need to de-emphasise gender, in this exercise because

families should be encouraged to save and not only women. We need
the resources of the men as well to provide credit facilities to
encourage growth in the micro-enterprise finance sector.

155
 Evolving Gender Sensitive Policies and
Programmes
by
Idriss Jazairy26

As we stand at the threshold of the -third millennium, poverty and

gender discrimination persist as stark denials of basic rights.

Nearly five ears ago, the Summit on the Economic Advancement Of

Rural Women, under the 1residencv of H. M. Queen Fabiola of
Belgium, jolted the prevailing complacency about the worsening
position of poor women. The situation, it underlined, could no longer
be tolerated as the winds of democracy blew across the world. Some
systematic denials of human rights based on ideology or race, spanning
areas with clear geographic boundaries had by that time been swept
away or were about to be. But gender-based discrimination persisted if
only because patriarchy remained boundless, entrenched as it was in
the hearts and minds of many. Yet, as The Beijing Declaration
proclaimed unambiguously in 1995: Women's rights are human
rights.

Women now represent over 60% of people living in absolute poverty

and that proportion is growing. So are their numbers, by about 15
million a year. While the majority live in rural areas overall, women
living in absolute poverty in urban areas in Latin- America are already
more numerous than their sisters in the country side. If present trends
remain unchecked, that may also become the case in other parts of the
world early into the next millennium.

26
Ambassador, Executive Director of ACORD, a consortium of international NGOs working in
Africa, Former President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (UN specialized
Agency).

156
At the international level, pressures on developing countries for the
implementation of structural adjustment programmes without previous
gender-based impact assessment have particularly hurt poor women.
This is in addition to the deterioration of tern-Ls of trade or the debt
overhang which have accentuated poverty overall.

In developing countries themselves, while at the legislative level the

recognition of some degree of gender equity if not equality is growing,
customary law maintaining women in a subordinate position continues
to hold sway. At best, gender issues are equated with women's
issues as if the values held by men in society were to remain the
norm, subject to mitigating adverse consequences for women gender-
blind land reforms, settlement and resettlement policies even tend to
worsen the situation. So does the generalization of conflict and civil
strife where, despicably, the rape of women and the looting of
households have become part of war strategies.

It is anybody's guess as to what the outcome will be of religious

fundamentalism now claiming to convince 1 billion people that the
restoration of patriarchy is not only legitimate and mandatory but is a
divine right.

Discrimination Against Poor Women Is Not just A By-product of

Underdevelopment:

It is difficult to compare the condition and position of women between

developing countries as a way of measuring their material and non-
material. deprivation. The reason is that there is a dearth of gender-
based data which has to do with the social invisibility of women 's
work. As a first approximation, a women's status index has been
developed 27 for 114 developing countries which combines the
27
The State of World Rural Poverty – An Equiry into its Causes and Consequences by Idriss
Jazairy et al.

157
following proxy indicators: material mortality, adult literacy, primary
and secondary enrolment rate, role in labour force, female/male wage
ratio, headship of household, and the use of contraceptives (Annex 1).
To be complete, this index should also have included some such
elements as an assessment of participation in decision-making or
ownership of assets. Comparable information on these, however, is
still scanty.

According to the methodology devised, the higher the status of women,

the closer the value of the index is to one. Comparing rankings on this
basis and on the basis of GNP per capita shows there is no obvious
correlation between the relative position of women and men and GNP
per capita. In fact, Tanzania and Mozambique, while among the
poorest countries, are among those who score the highest relatively in
terms of women's status.

How can one explain that women, who account for 35-40% of GNP,
have their access to assets limited to 10%? How can one explain that
while women in Africa account for 70-80% of food production, four
out of five do not see an agricultural extension officer even once a year
and that the overwhelming majority of such staff are male? Why is it
that female small-holders or women in homesteads get 10 times less
credit funds that their male counterparts? How is it that only 3% of
women farmers use fertilizer and less than 5% modem irrigation when
a mere increase of 15% of women's productivity could eliminate the
scourge of famine from Africa? This is unfair and does not even make
sense either in terms of needs or of economic effectiveness.

The fact that a number of destitute women are likely to belong to tile
poorest fifth of humanity, which accounts for 1.4% of world GNP, as
against the richest fifth which receives a full 82.7%, only gives the
beginning of an answer. The reality is that poor women in the
developing world are -up against a triple handicap, because:

158
??like their male counterparts of course, they are poor;

??
they are women and consequently suffer from cultural and policy
biases which undervalue their contribution to development and
prevent them from increasing their productivity and because on
average, one in four households, one in three in Africa, is headed by
a woman;

??
they have to shoulder the full burden of reproductive and productive
functions without being recognized as having a corresponding role
at the community level. This is seen as the preserve of men.

Thus, women are disenfranchised three times over. By virtue of their

being poor, of being women and of being de facto heads of households.

Migration to urban areas as a result of a push factor form the lack of

opportunities or of the insecurity of the countryside is an aggravating
factor. It leads to further impoverishment and family break-ups and to
the further feminisation of poverty.

The immediate impact of conflict is also to make thin s worse for poor
women in view of their reduced mobility and of the migration or death
of their menfolk. Thus in Rwanda, 70% of households are now headed
by women. They are struggling unaided to provide a livelihood for
their families. It is also women and children today that constitute 80%
of the world's refugees as stressed iii the Beijing Declaration.

These multiple handicaps confronting women can be tamed into

multiple opportunities for women of course, but also for their
household,,,, the community and future generations. The required
social alchemy calls for an overhaul of conceptual tools for assessing
the role of poor women and for the fine-tuning gender sensitive
programme strategies.

159
Discrimination Against Women Which Leads to Undervaluing
Their Contribution to Society is the Result of Peoples Attitudes

From a flowchart on strengthening the role of poor rural/urban

women.(Annex II), one can infer the following:

First, the time has come to shed the welfarist 'bleeding heart' approach
invoking vulnerability and helplessness of poor women as if it were
something that was biologically determined. Not that welfare is
irrelevant. Life expectancy continues to 'be lower for women than for
men in many developing countries. Infant mortality in Ethiopia is
nearly 20 times as high as in the industrialized world. Only one third
of women in the South are literate as against half the men. Household
food security itself remains a half empty shell as the female members
growth is stunted. from infancy through malnourishment and
malnutrition.

What has to be shed, however, are the social constructs which

overemphasize the reproductive role of women with their attendant
social needs at the expense of their effective role in production and of
the role in decision-making they can.-legitimately aspire to. For these
constructs are but an expression of biases aimed at perpetuating the
subjection of women.

Likewise women are not victims or vulnerable because they do not

have the capacity to protect themselves. It is the social setting in
which they find themselves which, through suppressing them or
placing them a subordinate position or by making them a target of
violence, renders them vulnerable, turns them into victims or rather
survivors". What one needs to address is not the vulnerability of poor
women through additional protection but the social processes which
single out women in exposure to risk.

160
Second, it is high time to look at releasing the potential of poor women
as economic and social agents in order to help them out of the poverty
trap and not just to concentrate on their plight as targets of welfare.
Women hold central positions in society and in the economy even if
these often go unrecognized. Not only are they the key link between
the present and the future, but also between production and
consumption, between the present and the future, but also between
production and consumption, between savings and investment and
between improved -living conditions and environmental preservation.

Sixty million Indian households below the poverty line are dependent
on women's contribution. There are many similar cases across Africa
which has the highest percentage of female headed households in the
world. Across the developing world, the breakdown of traditional
solidarity systems and the nuclearisation of the family at a time of state
retrenchment brings out in a crude light the role of women as crucial
food providers.

Removing Materials and Institutional Obstacles to Women's

Empowerment

The institutional obstacles were placed by male-dominated societies in

the path of women's empowerment, itself an expression in need of
being de-sloganised by defining it in terms of equality of access to
resources, position and power.

Enabling poor women to achieve their full potential means changing

traditions that prevent them from owning land, from having power of
attorney Or doing away with traditions that uphold wide inheritance. It
means giving poor women access to education, extension, technology,
training, employment or self-employment. It implies giving them
access to credit which may provide the economic opportunities and
authority they have been denied.

161
Indeed, the Beijing Declaration calls on bilateral and multilateral
institutions to support financial schemes that serve low-income small-
scale and micro-scale women entrepreneurs. The micro-credit Summit
scheduled for 2-4 February 1997, proposes to do just that. The hype
with which it is being launched has led some to fear that there might be
a switch in focus from innovation to public relations. This may be one
pitfall. It is clear that credit is only one of the avenues to be followed
to address female poverty, But it is a central one. In the light of
demonstrated performance, it is patronizing to claim, as stated recently,
that the poorest women cannot avail themselves of credit and that it is
only the World Bank ideology which sees them as "budding
entrepreneurs". Group-based lending accompanied. by an emphasis on
outreach, awareness promotion and training have contributed to setting
up viable credit schemes for the poorest women as well as the less poor
in all parts of the world. By helping them to earn income outside the
home, it has tended to enhance their status within their household and
neighbourhood. A gender approach to credit is also one which deters
men from confiscating the income that women derive from it.

One could be led into another pitfall here, however, if one takes, say,
the Grameen Bank blueprint and runs with it to address any situation
where the lack of credit turns out to be the key constraint for poor
women, or where credit availability is not even the problem.

There is a variety of ways of providing beneficial services to poor

women, from rotating savings and credit association to schemes where
retail credit activities are run by local groups while the wholesale
function is handled. by a bank or to banks for the poor. Their main
common features are that they are home grown that they are tailor-
made to meet the specific needs of their low income female clientele
and that they are not durably dependent on subsidies.

162
Changing attitudes to enhance social harmony towards a cross-
gender approach

It should be clear by now that welfare and economic approaches are

not sufficient to challenge gender-based discrimination and that what
has to be addressed is the dysfunctioning of society itself. This calls
for a cross-gender approach.

It has since come to be recognized, of course, that establishing the right

balance between the productive and the reproductive role of women
could only be achieved through obtaining men's acceptance of a fairer
distribution of gender roles. This is the Gender-and Development
(GAD) approach which paved the way for cross-gender approaches.

It was the 1992 Summit on the Economic Advancement of Rural

Women and later the Beijing, Conference, however, that addressed
gender in the broader context of societal dysfunctionng. This analysis
proceeds from the recognition of the fact that poverty is not only about
women's material deprivation. The problem is not just about
unbalanced division of labour between poor men and women it also
encompasses non material destitution resulting from women's inability
to challenge their subordinate status, to control their own life and to
participate in community decisions.

Social, economic and institutional changes interacting on another can

be made to reverse current processes leading to the impoverishment of
women. This not just a development but a cross-gender challenge. It
is not therefore simply a GAD issue. What is called for is a Gender
in Society approach as a necessary entry point into national policies
as well as programme and project strategies. It cans for further study
and action research into the linkage between poverty, gender
discrimination and governance at the household, community and
country levels. This approach applies not only in peace-time, but in

163
conflict situations where civilian, and in particular women whose
protection used to be a key aim of combatants, are becoming fair game.

The challenge facing cross-gender approach in this case has to do with

the dilution of traditional male values as well. Why is it that
masculinity, which used to be about courage chivalry and the defence
of the community is now tantamount to cowardice and tearing
communities apart? The picture provided by the conflict in Sierra
Leone or Liberia may offer the beginning of an answer. The resort to
violence is seen by the idle youth brought up in street culture as the
affirmation of manhood because it is force, disconnected from
traditional values.

Ultimately, the challenge of cross-gender approach is to claim,

through training the youth in particular, the authentic values of
womanhood as well as of manhood in each culture. Sometimes
culture itself is invoked as an obstacle to gender equality. While
culture and tradition should remain the basis for any sustainable cross
gender approach, neither are written in stone. They evolve as do
societies themselves. The challenge therefore is to seek, through
research and dialogue, those entry points that do exist in any culture or
tradition to promote gender equality and build from these. Surely this
and not the insensitive attempt to impose an alien gender blueprint is
the ultimate challenges to cross-gender approaches. Translating a
cross-gender approach into the field reality of Africa calls for the use
of Gender-in-Society (GIS) tools to devise, monitor and evaluate
gender - sensitive programmes

Guided by this declaration, the international consortium of de-

velopment NGOS, ACORD recently carried out a review of the gender
impact of its programmes in the light of the conceptual tools that I

164
have just outlined28. It was relatively easy to assess the progress
achieved in terms of increased welfare and satisfaction of basic needs.
Less so for participation. Thus, reported women's attendance in mixed
group activities could be deceptive either because they were too
overawed to talk or because they attended only to be told. by men to
fulfil menial tasks. The degree of control of women over their lives
was even harder to assess as in some cases men were simply using
women as fronts to access credit funds.

ACORD has also drawn humbling lessons about the necessity of

demonstrating added sensitivity to the cultural context. Thus the
highly prized notion of autonomy, as we saw it, was not shared by the
widows we were trying to help in Rwanda as they were competing to
find husbands after the genocide reduced the number of eligible men.

Carry out a base-line study as to marriage practices of different

communities in a multi-ethnic society for its part proved to be useful in
programme design.

As cultural biases have often been entrenched over centuries and while
women become aware that t are instrumentalised by their menfolks,
they may choose a timepath to meet their practical and strategic needs
which differs from ours. They are better aware of the degree of
resilience they can expect from society and from their partners and
their choice must therefore be respected.

Advancing the position of women also involves promoting dialogue

between men and women rather than setting the stage for them for a
pitched battle. Where in one of our programme, men would rather
listen to women, groups were split on a gender basis on a given them,
28
The following examples are taken from The Final Report to the Board of the Gender Research
Project. Angela Hadjipateras, May 1996, commissioned by ACORD’s Research and Policy
Programme (RAPP).

165
say health. Comparing outcomes when groups reconvened brought out
many suggestions by women that the men had not thought about.
Promoting dialogue does not however mean playing down gender
impact for the sake of consensus building.

It is not useful, more generally in any development programme to seek

to redress the exclusion of women by attempting to exclude men, even
if this means occasionally opening women’s groups to the participation
of men.

Promoting exchange visits and role models often yielded positive

results. Thus a woman adult literacy teacher in a programme in Tchad
included her illiterate husband in her class, triggering the attendance of
a large number of other men. This reversal of conventional roles
radically changed perceptions of women’s capacities in the whole
community.

ACORD and its member organizations such as the Oxfam Network are
now better equipped through gender disaggregated baseline surveys
and through our fumbling for gender-sensitive indicators and data to
measure the differential impact of programme activities of men and
women’s status in the home and in society.
Conclusion:

Through participatory field M & E involving women as well as men,

one needs better to learn and understand the specific institutions,
traditions and practices of each group of partners we work with. Only
from this starting point, can one offer adequate gender sensitive
responses in social as well as economic terms.

The fact remains, that no society today can afford durably to neglect
the needs, rights aspirations and contributions of half of its population.
Or get away with it, as education progresses and as communications

166
become global. For both reach out to the hearts and minds of the
Youth, thereby undermining the boundless but hopefully receding
empire of patriarchy and oppression whether by race, creed or gender.
For any institution whose grip on reality is based on force and
arrogance, the Youth are the problem. For those who have vision, for
those who believe that humility is the threshold of insight, the Youth
are the solution, the irresistible force that will break open the prisons
that constrain the mind of the oppressor and the body of the oppressed.

167
 Women’s Status index and GNP per capita rank
Order by country, mid 1980s

1988 GNP
Country Women’s status index Per capital Difference
Value Rank from lowest Rank from lowest In rank
Afghanistan 0.222 1 3 -2
Ethiopia 0.227 2 2 0
Yemen (Former Yemen AR) 0.233 3 54 -51
Pakistan 0.272 4 29 -25
Somalia 0.251 5 6 -1
Oman 0.295 6 112 -106
Bangladesh 0.296 7 9 -2
Mali 0.298 8 18 -10
Chad 0.304 9 4 -5
Nigeria 0.334 10 23 -12
Sudan, The 0.338 11 47 -36
Turusis 0.347 12 81 -69
Guinea 0.351 13 43 -30
Mauritiaus 0.372 14 48 -34
Yemen (Former Yemen PDR) 0.375 15 42 -27
Benin 0.379 16 34 -18
Zaire 0.394 17 7 10
Bhutan 0.403 18 13 5
Ghana 0.406 19 35 -16
Maldives 0.406 20 37 -17
Equatorial Guinea 0.425 21 36 -15
Zambia 0.425 22 23 -1
Algeria 0.439 23 101 -78
Burkina Faso 0.447 24 17 7
Morocco 0.448 25 64 -39
Djibouti 0.448 26 41 -15
Sierra Leone 0.449 27 24 3
Nepal 0.452 28 12 16
Niger, The 0.457 29 25 4
Gualemala 0.465 30 68 -38
Liberia 0.472 31 46 -15
Haiti 0.474 32 32 0
Guinea-Bissau 0.475 33 15 18
Iran, Islamic Republic of 0.478 34 87 -53
Burundi 0.478 35 20 15
Indonesia 0.482 36 44 -8

168
 1988 GNP
Country Women’s status index Per capital Difference
Value Rank from lowest Rank from lowest In rank
Malawi 0.485 37 8 29
Syrian Arab Republic 0.485 39 93 -55
Papua New guinea 0.486 40 62 -23
Comoros, The 0.490 41 45 -5
India 0.491 42 25 13
Lesotho 0.492 43 40 2
Egypt Arab Republic 0.493 44 58 -15
Cameroon 0.493 45 73 -29
Bolivia 0.494 46 51 -6
Iraq 0.498 47 80 -34
Angola 0.501 48 50 -3
Myanmar 0.503 49 19 29
Cote d’Lvoire 0.505 50 61 -12
Senegal 0.508 51 57 -7
Central African Republic 0.510 52 33 18
Sao Tome and Principe 0.516 53 49 3
Rwanda 0.517 54 26 27
Paraquay 0.520 55 77 -23
Hundurus 0.521 56 67 -12
Mada gascar 0.521 57 14 42
Gambia, The 0.527 58 16 41
Nicaragua 0.529 59 65 -7
Botswana 0.529 60 74 -15
Dominican Republic 0.531 61 60 0
Kenya 0.533 62 30 31
Congo, The 0.534 63 69 -7
Uganda 0.537 64 21 42
Berlize 0.543 65 88 -24
Cape Verde 0.547 66 59 6
Mozambuque 0.550 67 1 65
Togo 0.557 68 31 36
Jordan 0.562 68 85 -17
Western Samox 0.570 69 55 14
Swaziland 0.572 70 63 7
Fiji 0.576 71 90 -19
Peru 0.533 72 83 -11
Lao, Peoples Democratic
Rep. 0.596 73 11 62
Ecuador 0.599 74 76 -2

169
 1988 GNP
Country Women’s status index Per capital Difference
Value Rank from lowest Rank from lowest In rank
Tonga 0.601 75 66 9
Gabon 0.605 76 105 -30
Seychelles, The 0.611 77 111 -34
Tanzania 0.617 78 5 73
Suriname 0.620 79 102 -23
El Salvado 0.636 80 70 10
Guyana 0.643 81 39 42
Brazil 0.644 82 100 -18
Chile 0.645 83 69 -6
Zimbabwe 0.645 84 56 25
Turkey 0.645 85 52 3
Colombia 0.645 86 75 8
Mexico 0.649 87 96 -9
Mauritius 0.656 88 97 -9
Philippines, The 0.659 89 53 36
Panama 0.661 90 77 -9
Viet Nam 0.663 91 10 -1
Uruguay 0.669 92 103 -11
Veneniela 0.672 93 107 -14
Solomon Island 0.675 94 52 42
Grenada 0.632 95 95 0
Antigua and Barbuds 0.664 90 110 -14
Sri Lanka 0.684 97 35 59
St Christopher and Nevis 0.639 98 105 -7
Lebanon 0.672 99 84 15
Corts Rica 0.694 100 94 6
Malaysia 0.695 101 95 3
St Lucia 0.699 102 91 11
Argentina 0.705 103 102 -1
St. Vincent and the Greensdines 0.710 104 76 25
Trirudad and Tobago 0.716 105 105 -3
Dominica 0.723 106 92 14
Barbados 0.752 107 114 -7
Cyprus 0.740 108 115 -7
Korea, Democratic Peoples Rep 0.744 109 71 38
Thailand 0.750 110 72 38
Malta 0.775 111 113 -2
Korea, Republic of 0.777 112 109 3
Jamaica 0.799 113 75 38
Cuba 0.805 114 56 28
China 0.825 115 27 85

(Source: the State of Rural Poverty – Idriss Jazairy et al. N.Y. University Press 1992)

170
 Making Gender Policies: Challenges of a
Cross-Gender Approach:
by
Kpegba Dzotsi29

Between the 14th and 18th February, there will be a special conference
of the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU) on the theme Towards
Partnership Between Men and Women in Politics.

This conference aim at examining the benefits of a new political

contract based on partnership to the entire society.

For example, it is required that government delegations taking part in

this meeting should be evenly composed.

According to the organisers of this parliamentary forum the concept of

democracy would not achieve any concrete results, unless political
orientations and national legislations are commonly adopted by men
and women, taking into consideration equity in the interest and
specific talents of both components of the population.

If we all admit that in the modern era, there is no better political

system other than democracy to ensure good governance, with equity
in protecting the interest of everyone and considering gender related
matters as strategic components of sustainable development, then we
duly realise the significance of this initiative.

As our countries are passing through the period of transition from civil
or military dictatorship towards the rule of law, it is fundamental and
indeed indispensable to seek to build an institutional framework of all
29
Depute/ Secretataire General de IUTD, Togo.

171
existing structures that are involved in the promotion and development
of women.

This is where a re-evaluation of the parliamentary institution becomes

important. While there is need to have a powerful state, there is also
need to maintain a clear separation of powers. Parliamentarians whose
paramount responsibility is to regulate government activity have a
unique role to play in the new society we all aspire to.

It is true the substantial progress has been made on the issue of

women’s rights through laws and regulations. But looking deeper and
more carefully into these instruments (constitutions that make
provisions for equality of the two sexes, family and persons code), it
would be easily observed that these instruments have left so many
loopholes and traps here and there that do not facilitate the
achievement of the objectives set by those laws.

The ratification of these instruments fall squarely on the National

Assembly. The effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration
and the Cairo Plan of Action on population and development call for
adequate laws that will take into account the realities (particularly
economic realities) of each country.

In order to address the problems of illiteracy among women, education

for young girls, child health and poverty that is gradually assuming
some female perspectives everyday, there is need to have a strong
political will in the financial policy (commonly called the state
budget), passed at the National Assembly, and which forms the
fundamental basis for every government activity. This is necessary
because it has been observed that members of parliament pass financial
bills mindless of the implications, as we can see in the cases where
military expenditures, for example, increases considerably every year
whereas the social responsibility (education, health and the

172
advancement of women) is relegated to a second place).

Access by women to credit should be clearly addressed to avoid the

speculations and exploitation which further worsen their situation.

On the other hand, we should note that many men, even though present
in their homes, are not able to assume their responsibility.

As a result, a considerable number of women have by circumstances

become the heads of families without the legal rights attached to it.

The need to have a larger number of women at the parliament is

therefore indispensable.

We must encourage and support the election of women at all levels of

society (municipal councils, national assemblies). We must sensitize
men to accept this change in our society. For this to succeed, we need
to place particular emphasis on building partnership and
complementality so that they (men) would not see women as usurpers.

Organisation and aid at the informal level is not intended to address

just the issues of rural exodus and juvenile delinquency that constitute
an impediment to the education of the young girl, but above all to
support and consolidate the family which is the ideal framework and
the most appropriate structure for educating our children.

The responsibility of changing the mentalities of young girls need to

start at the level of the family. We, therefore, must place special
emphasis on the protection of the family in all our activities in the
society.

173
It is true that culture and tradition related problems also exist in large
proportions in our environment, but for me, I am of the opinion that
apart from judicial modalities for resolving these problems, we can
also address them through education, training, information and
sensitization of both men and women.

We are leaders and we represent in this forum examples and role

models, talking about themselves. It is a contribution, with no doubt, to
the change of mentalities and behaviour in our circles so that we can at
least undertake to be actively and practically involved and always in
support of the people.

For this reason, it necessary to point out that women involved in this
process need to adopt new strategies. If we are seeking for leadership
roles just to replace men or to aggravate the bad situation we are in,
then I think that it would be more useful for us to continue to stay at
home and at least to take care of the upbringing of our children so as to
make them better citizens.

In the case of education a review of school curriculum and that of the

universities is essential. These programmes must compulsorily include
civic education, with emphasis on a culture of peace, rule of law and
equality of both sexes. Many school curriculum would have to be
revised and corrected to eliminate the stereotypes for the young girl.
But above all, it is at birth that we need to start inculcating gender
issues into our children.

Even if our children love playing with baby toys, we should develop
the habit of giving them toy tractors and electronic games if we would
want them to later become scientists and architects.

174
If we would want to eliminate poverty so as to facilities and accelerate
the improvement and rehabilitation of women, we must start to
mobilise towards pure and simple reduction of armed forces in our
countries. Few armies in Africa are practically operational today,
whatever may be their strength and equipment at their disposal. That is
why they resort their energies against the civil society which pays
every cost for their maintenance.

For me, I strongly believe that a well structured, well trained and
adequately equipped para-military forces and police can sufficiently
provide security for people and property in our countries.

In this way, the army, internal and inter-state conflicts would cease to
exist in Africa. But in order to arrive at that point, we must work
towards placing an embargo on arms on the whole continent. I am
convinced that we must have taken a very giant step forward if this
idea is implemented.

As we observed during the three days of our discussions and exchange

of ideas, the challenge to overcome is considerably enormous and the
end of the tunnel very far away.

We must act swiftly and with pride, like wounded lionesses, to give
ourselves a helping hand in order to take our destiny into our hands. In
this regard, we must reject the idea that you stay there, I will develop
you and become more aggressive, even at the risk of being offensive
sometimes.

Men are our children, our husbands, our brothers and our partners. It is
therefore together with them that we need to build the new world based
on peace, dialogue, complementality, mutual understanding in the
elimination of all forms of discrimination and at all levels.

175
We are women and proud to be women. As women, who account for
more than half of the populations of our countries, we refuse to be cut
off in the development of our dear Africa, still lagging behind after 30
years of independence for most of the states.

My dear sisters, our cause is noble, but victory is certain at the end of
the struggle and sacrifices.

Together, united and in solidarity, we will succeed.

176
 Professionalism & Social Obligations:
Balancing the Scale
by
Marcelle Richard

It gives me great pleasure to be chosen in my capacity as an African

woman, and head of an institution, to take part in this high level
meeting. The main theme raises the problem of how to skillfully strike
a balance between the competing demands on an African woman with
family life and the attendant social obligations and constraints imposed
on her by society and her personal desires of attaining excellence in her
professional life. This is necessary if we would like to participate at all
levels of decision-making concerning the living conditions in our
respective countries.

The ultimate aim of this meeting is to bridge the gap between the
generation of African women leaders who are about to leave the active
stage of political participation and leadership and that of the younger
generation of women who would need to be prepared to assume these
roles and would be confronted with the attendant challenges in the 21st
century.

As the 20th century comes to an end, one can sadly say that Africa has
been completely marginalised both economically and socially.
However, our gathering here is an indication that African women
together with our male counterparts are determined to fully participate
and make Africa relevant in the globalization process.

Our participation in the globalization process can only be effective and

productive if we are able to produce a generation of African women
prepared and ready to face several challenges.

177
The first and certainly the most important, will be to help the children
from our different countries to have access to education which will be
at a level with that received by all children of other countries world-
wide. This education would yield the following results:

??
acquisition of relevant knowledge about the dynamic of
globalisation;

??
easier access to good jobs as members of the working class;

??
acquisition of knowledge necessary for our citizens of tomorrow to
be able to take certain decisions. For me personally and
professionally, one such issue that will remain central to our destiny
in Africa tomorrow is the issue of family health and population
growth.

It can never be overemphasized that the economic and social

development on our continent cannot take effect without active
competition of the African woman to which our governments must
give enough chance as is given to men to attain the highest educational
level. This also includes the pursuance of an aggressive policy tom
make of them professional in various aspects through carefully
designed school curriculum and university programmes.

It is with much effort that I make this remark and it would be

necessary that our governments, our law makers, our doctors,
midwives and social workers help the African woman to be the master
of her reproductive capabilities in order to be able to sustainably play
their nature imposed role of child bearing.

178
After this introduction to some common challenges, let me go back to
the main theme of my expose. A topic that you willingly entrusted to
me “Professionalism and Social Obligations”. Please permit me to
rather take an experiential approach.

I would start by saying that for me, the ownership and management of
a business goes beyond just work and profession in the first place.
Between the firm and the entrepreneur, a very tight and affectionate
link is created.

The firm becomes like a child after birth. It must grow, develop and
prosper. In analytical terms, this is what can be said of a firm one sets
up.

The enterprise in return gives you the owner:

??trustworthiness;

??material welfare for you and your family;

??it allows for the creation of jobs;

??it brings joy to the unemployed who would be duly employed. This
therefore gives you the feeling of participation in the development
of your country.

We should however note that at every stage of the business enumerated

above, you are confronted with peculiar challenges and obligations
which you have to reconcile with the rest of the society or at least your
immediate society. "Keeping in line with regards to the subject of my
expose, i.e. professionalism and social obligations", I would therefore
try to restrict myself to the challenges linked with some of the financial
and administrative aspects. These challenges are great especially in

179
Africa where the social aspect of managing firms is as important and
delicate for the African woman as it is, in my own opinion, for the
African man too.

Looking at our cultural backgrounds, it seen-Ls in the African society,

the establishment or creation of structures such as businesses has been
the preserve of men. It is common knowledge that in some societies
and in many cases in Africa, even if girls are allowed to go to school at
some times, their parents later withdrew them, thus destroying their
chances of individual development and increasing the disparity
between boys and girls. It is sad to note that in some cases parents
prefer to marry out or "trade out" their daughters, sometimes as 2nd, 3rd
or 4th wife, rather than to allow them to pursue there studies. This is
because most people believe that a woman can only become successful
through marriage.

While it could happen that the woman may fail in her marriage and
that this problem has some impact on her life generally, this is also the
time when some women find the strength and the courage to become
productive to and by themselves.

The woman, thus enters the business world in trying to meet her
material needs and even for the needs of the whole family.

For this woman, the following are indispensable for her to succeed:

??Improving her basic education

??preparation for management (introduction to computer for

accounting and management control) all of which will be necessary
and instrumental for her to launch into success in her professional
life.

180
In any case, for you to set up a business, you require the qualities of a
fighter. I often had to pity myself while I had to wait among a number
of men (more often than not being the only woman) in the executive
director's or minister's waiting room in my country. The mere
presence of a woman in such places quickly raises the suspicion by the
men who, like yourself, are waiting to be attended to.

From the moment your presence becomes usual and your credentials
are established, you would. be considered with a modicum of respect.
At best, some gender references would be made about you wondering
why you have bothered to meddle in such an affair.

However, the formative stage of a business is not filled with

difficulties alone. There could. also be some favourable surprises too.
The cases I am going to share with you are very crucial in the
understanding and appreciation of the entire experience I am sharing
with you.. The Bank Manager, who granted me the loan to open my
clinic surprised me. When he said, to quote him "I have confidence in
a woman who is capable of taking risks, she is very often more
responsible than the men in similar situations. I am sure she knows
how to honour and respect her deadlines".

And true to his word, I got a second loan after I had finished paving the
first one.

In my case I was very lucky, my husband, was the first to give me his
blessings. My husband has been there and continues to be there by my
side. He has never lacked understanding for me; anytime I needed
encouragement he was there. He helped me dissipate all my anxieties
which were very frequent from the start. Imagine that this was the
very first maternity clinic to be set up and run in Mali and you would
understand the arduous task involved. My husband completely took up
certain steps. He is familiar with and understands intricacies of

181
administration and this facilitated the openings of certain doors. The
Minister of Health at that time, a woman, was proud to see a fellow
woman take the initiative to open the first clinic in Mali. This was a
source of encouragement and also
made things easy as much as possible for me.

As a female director of a firm, a woman must be able to reconcile her

professional family and social life and be able to have a balanced life.

Let us consider first of all a woman who is a director of a firm, who

has to marry professional and family life. The running of the home
would become of primary importance to supercede that of the firm.
Each one at home would have daily chores to take up. She needs the
husband's cooperation and understanding in this regard.

The woman would need the help of all in the family, the children and
grand children and even domestic help. Each person's task will be
clearly defined, which is of primary importance so that the woman and
the entire family takes shape. The woman director would continue to
be for her husband: charming, elegant and seductive. As time goes on
it is hardly easy to keep one's husband. I am sure that the men here
present know what I mean and would agree with me.

The children must not lack motherly care despite their mother's
occupation:

??the children have the right to lots of attention

??supervision of their homework
??for the grown ups, their mother must be available at any time that
they need her help. Then also she must pay attention to all the
problems and must know how to resolve issues with them, her
being available must be total

182
The female director must continue to entertain friends and accept and
give invitations of all kinds, and also meet with friends. She must be
in a harmonious relationship with her husband and children when it
comes to entertainment, cinema, theater, holiday or vacation periods.

The woman director should not be exempt from taking part in family
matters. On the other hand, it would be requested of her despite her
work load as of any other woman from family member-s to find time
to attend baptisms, marriages, funerals, association meetings. Even
though she would not be able to take part in all these ceremonies, she
could be represented and if the need arises send a parcel because even
among the other women present, her absence from social gatherings
would be felt and criticized.

I may certainly not be able to exhaust all the obligations which the
woman must assume despite her busy working schedule in this
presentation. My general advice to all of us here is that no matter the
challenges, obstacles and obligations, being a woman is not a
weakness. In my opinion, I do not see myself otherwise, but as a
human being.

And I strongly believe that is the crux of the matter.

It is true that I have spoken about the 'seductive' aspects of a woman

and the need for her to be conscious of her looks. I also spoke of the
attitudes of men who are in the same professions too, but faced with
different problems from the, ones we may face. I spoke of children
who are not able to go to school, sick people who are not able to
receive medical attentions, women who die during delivery. As
professionals, we are human beings in the first place and we need to
find solutions to these problems. These are not issues of men or
women, but of human beings.

183
We must transcend the men-women rift. It is true that we have our
differences and we interpret some situations differently, but these
differences are part of our richness, and put together, the differences
make us complete human beings.

Finally, let me wish all of you, men and women present at this
meeting, taking place in the lst month of 1997, particularly our
younger generation of African women, happiness, good health and
success.

Dear younger generation of Africans, our beloved children, please bear

in mind that we expect that you will be able to overcome most of the
fundamental challenges confronting Africa, and above all to move the
continent to her rightful position in the concert of nations. Be of
courage and good luck.

184
 Professionalism & Social Obligations:
Balancing the Scale
by
Angela Ofori-Atta 30

I am a clinical psychologist and I teach at the University of Ghana,

Legon. I also attend to patients, I am a mother and a wife and I am
also into a number of other things, so much so that I am not always in
balance. Some things get done at the very last minute. So, I shall be
drawing on my personal experience in my short presentation here
today. I feel deeply honoured to speak before big sisters who have
done it all before and have done it their way.

Professionalism, as I see it, consists of many different things which

may be specific to our individual fields of endeavour. For instance,
professionalism in my field includes being punctual, being conversant
with new development and new information in my practice, being
continually qualified to talk about the issues I wish to talk about or
deal with. Professionalism also means keeping confidentiality of my
clients; it means respecting the rights of the people that I deal with.
For someone in law enforcement, it might be other things, but being a
professional person goes beyond being well qualified, it includes and
involves knowing what is expected of you. Professionalism sometimes
goes against the social expectations and obligations of our social
milieu.

The social obligations that we have consist of several things. Two that
are important to me right now are the roles that we play. We are
expected to play the role of the mother, wife, traditional leader or
spokesperson. We are also supposed to acknowledge our social
30
Clinical Psychologist, University of Ghana, Legon.

185
obligations in our attitude. As women, we are expected to, among
other things, be respectful, humble and kind.

Some of these expectations and social obligations constitute the

sources of our imbalance. These behavioural expectations more often
than not conflict with the very basis and essence of our professional-
ism. For instance, as a woman, you are not expected to speak loudly in
public and you are not expected to conflict with people publicly and
you are not expected to point out issue publicly when people go wrong
publicly. In all, you are not expected to make anybody around you
uncomfortable. However, if your professionalism must come to the
fore, you will need to go against the grain of all these expectations.
There are many cases around us in our societies, where we see things
being done improperly, be it people's rights being trampled upon,
people not doing their jobs properly, and we need to intervene in our
professional capacities, but for fear of conventions or practices that
constitute our social obligations we refrain from acting or speaking. If
the major goal is to meet social obligations, then we need to be
"traditionally" quiet, kind and nice about such unwholesome practices.
However, if we are going to meet our professional obligations, then we
have to speak out. In consequence, we may find ourselves conflicting
with the people around us and we are not going to be in balance.

The second source of imbalance for us is letting gender-related insults

slide. Sometimes, the comments are as benign as suggesting that
certain practices are typical of women. There might be other
comments which are not so benign around you which might make you
feel rather uncomfortable. A typical example is the common place
derogatory comment and generalization about all women using their
trumps to move up the ladder. Such comments are degrading and
should not be allowed to slide simply because we do not want to fight
or because it is not womanlike to do so. This is a constant source of
harassment and imbalance. Even if we do not want to be drawn into

186
the gender battle; and we do not want to be feminist and we do not
want to be thought of as a militant, we will be doing ourselves a grave
injustice and will remain harassed because We have not responded to
the insult and we will be in constant imbalance with ourselves.

Thirdly, in our relationships, both in our primary relationship with our

lovers spouses our brothers and uncles, we, have a tendency to
constantly hold back our ability and our capacity mainly because we
are afraid of being so successful or being pointed at, or afraid of being
very lonely up there (and it is very lonely for us up there because there
are not enough of us.) But then, if we get up there, and if we did not
hold back and are unafraid to get there and if a lot of us do get there, it
would not be so lonely. So, we are constantly juggling with what
"they" or "he" will feel about our success. We are afraid that they
might be unwilling to share the platform with us. Faced with this
dilemma we must try and transfer the following poses, is it your social
obligation to always be one step behind your husband and mainly to
complement him? Can I be comfortable-and balanced by having
platform to ourselves? should he not learn to love me as a sister or a
wife who is doing really well? Are we interpreting on social
obligations correctly? Are we obliged to constantly make men feel
good about themselves? Where is our obligation to ourselves also and
to our professionalism? These are some knotty questions we need to
grapple with.

There is also the question of our attitude to work place tradition. If you
are the only woman in the Boardroom, and you know gender balance is
possible and you say nothing about this and you do not even notice that
you are the only woman on board, that is a source of imbalance. When
real issues come up and you attempt to assert yourself, it is not unusual
to get labelled. Ultimately, you will be forced -to fight alone. It is
then you will realize that there is force in numbers. That is an issue
that needs to be addressed, not just in the boardroom but at other levels

187
of the Organisation ladder. I will illustrate with a few examples. For
instance, you are a director of passports or you are at the middle level
of management for passports and you find that, in the legislation, a
man has to sign a woman's form or even a loan or land document. If
we are in professional positions, we should be the first person to see
and point out the anomaly and the injustice of such a provision. We
should be able to say to our male colleagues "I am a woman and I am
your colleague at -work and I am just as qualified as you, but when I
need land why must a man sign for me? That, for me, is part of being
professional and it is a social obligation as well.

There are other insidious practices especially in the work place that we
may not be immediately conscious of as women. To illustrate, there
are times when decisions are taken without our legitimate
administrative input and involvement even within our official
jurisdiction. When such occurs, It is important that we endeavour to
point out the inappropriateness of such practice and point out the
overall consequence of such a breach of due administrative process and
procedure. To do otherwise is analogous to allowing the game to be
played in another field while you are left waiting for all the players to
come to your presumed field. It is our social obligation and our
professional responsibility to restore balance. We must know where
the game is being played and ensure that we are part of it. We do not
have to think that we are being militant or combative when we do this.
We are just doing what we need to do to maintain our professional
balance. In maintaining balance and reducing the stress on ourselves,
we need to be part of that driving force that says the firm is going this
way or the NGO is going that way; and whatever we represent, we are
part of it and we have lent our voice to it.

188
What I have mentioned. above may be described as negligence. It is
almost pardonable but not really excusable. There are other really bad
practices. Some of such practices are prevalent in medicine especially
as it affects women's health issues. Again, drawing on my field,
experience in the Northern part of Ghana, a woman needs permission
from either her husband or from her family head to go to hospital, for
certain or all medical procedures to be done on her own body. This
has severe consequences for the woman. I will illustrate the
implication of such a practice with a case example. A woman had
three spontaneous abortions and the doctor advised against further
pregnancies as the consequence may be fatal. The doctor
recommended that the woman's womb be tied. The woman in question
agreed, the woman's mother agreed but the doctor insisted on the
husband's permission before the operation. The husband was invited
and he simply refused to honour the invitation and the necessary
operation was not carried out. Three months later, the woman became
pregnant and died in the process. The doctor's social obligation was
allowed to outweigh his professional obligations. It is doubly sad that
a woman who needs to undergo a medical procedure is requested to
bring her husband. Yet, there is no law to this effect but it happens and
we allow it.

Another example is the sort of counselling that is given to young

married couples. In most cases, our older sisters are seen to perpetuate
the status-quo by simply dismissing fundamental grievances as typical
of men. The usual dialogue/advice bothers on whether the man is
feeding the children, giving enough money, and paying school fees. If
he is doing that, then one is strongly admonished to close her eyes to
the fact that he might, through his conduct, bring AIDS home to the
woman. She is usually advised to forget that he insults her so that she
has no self-confidence, forget the fact that he is actually the most
despicable person she could be partner to. Our older women are wont
to advise us that marriage is a long process and we need to be patient.

189
If we know that fundamental structures in marriage are being tampered
with even traditionally and we do not say so I believe we are
maintaining a state of imbalance. Christian counsellors, older
traditional people in the village, and even ourselves promote and
accept such mind-set and tutelage.

Having dwelt on the sources of imbalance, what then are the sources of
balance for us. Work expands to fill the time allotted it. The more
time you give to work, the more time you need to do it. Sometimes, to
maintain balance, I personally resort to dealing with the fundamentals
conceptually. In my case, I tend to conceptualize my children as
projects. f see my 3 year old kid as a project and the 1 year old as a
project that I have to nurture to maturity. I also think of work as a
project and decide that what has to be done absolutely will be done
now. Thereafter, I take a long-term perspective of these projects and
allot maturity time to each of them.

For instance at the moment, I merely seek to be an average professor

for the next five years. This is to allow my other projects reach
maturity. Thereafter, when those projects have gone through the
pipeline and are in school I shall be an excellent professor and there
will be no stopping me.

Effective response to gender issues is equally important. If you can't

say a word, step on the person's toes and that gets them thinking and
don't apologize for it. At times, you may blink with a big frown and
turn your back to the person. Do something. Remember, gender
perspective is not something to be ashamed of. I think it helps the
balance.

190
 Professionalism & Social Obligations:
Balancing the Scale
by
Ms. Katy Diop 31

Going by the figures that have been presented to us in the preceding

sessions of this meeting, it can be observed that the number of African
women who have access to education is not high, and out of this
number, the percentage of professional woman is rather minimal. It,
therefore, becomes necessary for us to address ourselves to the
challenges that we need to overcome in order to prepare the grounds
for a higher number of these women.

First of all, I will like to make some preliminary remarks before

advancing to the different aspects of the professional and social
spheres of the topic, the distinction between which forms the basis of
the topic.

By social obligations, we refer to the personal, family and community

responsibilities as well as professional social. obligations the woman is
confronted. with. Mrs. Marcelle Richard presented us with a detailed
picture of it. However, it is very crucial to understand that the list is
not exhaustive.

Mrs. Marcelle Richard based. her presentation on her personal

experience, as a professional woman, married and having children. It
would be -useful and indeed necessary to extend the parameters to
focus on women with professional aptitudes generally without laying
emphasis on marital status (single, married, divorced, with or without
children) because nowadays, more and more young women are
31
Regional Representative, ASHOKA Innovators for the Public, Dakar, Senegal.

191
entering into this position, even though not within the context of the
above parameters.

Another issue raised in Mrs. Richard's presentation is the manner and

tactics adopted by women to manage or in anticipation of obstacles.

One more important element in the presentation is time management

by professional women, stress and its attendant impact on them, even
though this may have not been specifically mentioned by the presenter.

In addition, one outstanding peculiarity of professional women is their

individual and personal approach to questions relating to work and
society. This is due to the existing practice in society that seems to
regard work and family problems and their eventual solutions as purely
personal and private matters. The searchlight and strategic actions to
be taken must seek to allow the correction of these deficiencies,
systematise the solutions and seek more often to analyse these issues in
this mechanism.

In a general sense, one other characteristic of the life of an African

professional woman is her relationship with and dependence on the
house helps. This forms one of the greatest challenges facing
professional women. Here, it is not a matter of theoretical debates, nor
the quest for empowerment of women or the management of power. It
is a matter of concrete actions to be taken in the interest of their fellow
women, commonly called "maid servants". They are the kingpins of
the homes for the professional women and could actually positively
shape their destinies, contribute to the education of the children of the
professional women as well as their own children if they are prepared
accordingly.

192
We will now proceed to tackling in detail the question of separation of
professional and social spheres in order to throw more light on the
observations made earlier on.

Firstly, it can be observed that problems related to the harmonious

integration work and social obligations seem not to have any gender
considerations. Nevertheless, the consequences on men and women
are often different depending on the roles, expectations and gender
related social experiences. In effect, these attitudes are that women
stay at home, that it is the men that have to go out and work and. that
society is better of this way. These phenomena are still very much in
existence and do considerably influence social and organizational
practices. People - women and men - who go out of these gender
related "beaten tracks" and who want to assume other roles face a lot
of problems. Mrs. Richard has shown us the number and. diversity of
actions that a woman heading a company takes, within the home as
well as within the family, community and professional activities. This
also goes for all the professional women generally.

This may have not been explicit in the presentation of Mrs. Richard.,
but the fact is that women are confronted with a dilemma; the working
world and. culture associated with it expects the woman to take care of
the family; but at the same time punishes her because she takes care of
the same family!

When a professional woman is openly or discretely requested to

provide information about her private life, it is purported that one is
trying to quantify her family responsibilities in order to be able to
tackle them "in case of'. However' it is on the basis of these same
responsibilities that she could be disqualified from office, since "she
cannot face all these at the same time. If she insists, her official or
professional responsibilities could be entrusted to her, but her
antagonists would be watching out for the least mistake, no matter how

193
inconsequential and not relating to cause and effect. If she has any
marital, family or social misfortunes, the harmful impacts on her
professional activities are immediately drawn.

Men also face similar reactions when they try to come out of these
beaten tracks and their traditional social roles: that is why it is very
difficult for them to avail themselves of policies and regulations about
the family (paternity leave, for instance).

So, the separation of work and family along gender lines rather draws
out obstacles for the woman whilst pretending to be giving them
support. Also, this separation does not take into account the legitimate
issues about men but maintains their over-identification and their
presently questionable role as "bread-winners".

We need to go back in history to establish that this separation of work

and social activities has never existed in the African agrarian societies
and elsewhere in the world, where women played and have continued
to play a very important role. The social norm for separation of these
spheres was only exacerbated when men, with the development of
cities, started to be employed in factories, companies, the public sector,
etc. They become the main breadwinners whilst the women stayed at
home with the main responsibility of taking care of the family and
other members of the community. This social norm and tendency to
necessarily separate work and the family came from this division of
work.

Men as well as women often talk about the difficult and often divisive
choice between their careers and their families, but the majority do not
address the underlying factor, which is the presumed separation
between work outside the home and the family, something that
encourages men to consider their career more important while for
women, it is their family.

194
In effect, these gender related roles seem to be accepted, to a larger
extent, even subconsciously by every man and woman. Where it is a
matter of career or "role of a man", it seems that the tendency for most
men is to choose their careers if they have to make a choice. For
instance, someone will say "I would like to spend more time with my
kids, but if I want to keep them in the best conditions, I will. have to
make the same choice as my father and take from the time to spend
with them and devote it to my career".

In the same vein, a woman who has just had a promotion to a position
of responsibility and who has plenty children says to herself that "this
is really not reasonable on her part" to accept this position and to want
to bring up her children. As more researchers and professionals in this
domain have shown in the two instances, the way the woman sees
herself, her perception of womanhood and present choices at her
disposal makes it that she is obliged to choose the family. As a result,
women have difficulties in fully succeeding in their professional
activities, whereas, the men too have similar difficulties concerning the
family and community.

Consequently, work (outside the home), family and other social

obligations are often perceived not only as separate elements, but also
as antagonistic - a gain or advancement on one side is capable of
causing conflicts, and loses on the other.

We should reexamine in proper perspective, the presumptions that tend

to convince us that success in organization, individual and society is
related to the distinction between the professional and family spheres
of activities and social obligations by relating them and Establishing
bridges between them.

195
It is, however, important to note that this link is not something that can
be easily established just because we wish to or because we had earlier
on highlighted the negative consequences of their separation. It is
much further than that and it has to do with our attitudes and beliefs in
our societies about success, about manhood and about womanhood.
The issue of the presumed separation in the private and. non-private
affairs of every man and woman is not a matter of a difference but of
inequality. Practices, structures and prevailing policies at all levels and
in all aspects of the society tend to lend more and more weight in
support of the economic aspect as against the private aspect. From this
fact, job related issues take precedence above other considerations.

Hence, to succeed professionally, is taken to be a major boost of self-

esteem and part of success as a person. This is why the attempt to
balance these spheres is not an easy task. It is not only a matter of
bringing the two together, but that of advancing towards a more
equitable society, in which the family, the community, citizens'
participation - both male and female in community work and in the
civil society are equally appreciated just like paid employment. It is,
therefore, a matter of advancing towards a society in which men and
women have equal opportunities to realise their dreams within the
three instead of the two elements, namely; the family/community, the
career and the self.

196
 Appendix I
List of Participants

1. Nana Koiiadu. Agyeman, Rawlings, First Lady of Ghana &

President, 31st December Women's Movement, Accra, Ghana.

2. Graca, Machel,. Av. Eduardo Mondiane, 1170, Maputo,.

Mozambique, Tel: Tel: 258-1-43-04-30, Fax: 258-1-42-25-95,
49 21 92, E.Mail fdc @ Zebra.uem.mz.

3. Ayodele, Aderinwale, Project Manager, Africa Leadership

Forum, 28 Solapost, Sakumono, P. M. B. Sakumono, Accra,
Ghana, Tel: 233-27-558-078, Tel/Fax: 233-21-779-333.

4. Oluwatosin, Aderinwale, 28 Solapost, Sakumono, P. M. B.

Sakumono, Accra, Ghana, Tel: 233-27-558-078, Tel/Fax: 233-
21779-333.

5. Elizabeth Q, Akpalu, Consultant, Gender and Development,

P.O. Box 6955, Accra-North, Ghana, Tel: 233-21-400755, Fax:
233-21-400948.

6. Marie-Thjrjse, Avemeka, Ministre Charge' de l'Integration de la

Femme au Developpement, B.P. 1606 Brazaville, Congo, Tel:
242-837919, 837641; Fax: 242-837951, 242-832040.

7. Adejumoke, Badejo, Highrise Block B, Flat 11, University of

Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria, Tel/Fax: 234-1-825287.

8. Stephanie, Baeta Ansah, Managing Director, Home Finance

Company, 2nd Floor, Tower Block Pension House, Private Mail

197
 Bag, Accra, Ghana, P. 0. Box 2228, Accra, Tel: 664802, Fax:
664430.

9. Babafemi, Badejo, Senior Political Adviser, UN Political Office

for Somalia, P. 0. Box 48246, Nairobi, Kenya, Tel: 254-2-
622695,
Fax: 254-2-622697, E-mail: babafemi.badejo@unep.org.

10. Zaiiiab Hawa, Bangura, Campaign Coordinator, Sierra Leone,

29 Liverpool Street, P. 0. Box 301, Freetown, Sierra Leone,
West Africa, Tel: 232-22-228454, Fax: 231-22-228-896.

11. Eimar, Barr, Deputy Representative, UNICEF, P. 0. Box 5051,

Accra-Nortli, Ghana, Tel: 772524, 773147, E-mail:
ebarr@ttnicef.org

12. Ama, Benyiwa-Doe, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Employment

and Social Welfare, P. 0. Box M.84, Accra, Ghana, Tel: 662781
(off), 778074 (res).

13. Christine Churcher, Member of Parliament, Parliament House,

Accra, Ghana.

14. Margaret, Clarke-Kwesie, Deputy Minister of Education,

Ministry of Education and Member of Parliament, P. 0. Box
603, Accra, Ghana, Tel: 665610, 669972.

15. Grace, Coleman, Member of Parliament, Parliament House,

Accra, Ghana.

16. Akua, Dansua, Deputy Features Editor, Weekly Spectator, P. 0.

Box 2638, Accra, Ghana, Tel: 028-21-3203, Fax: 229-398.

198
17. Veronica Olubunmi, Daryanani, P. 0. Box 7654, Accra-North,
Ghana, Tel: 221307.

18. Vivian Lowery Derryck, Special Adviser, Africa Leadership

Forum & Academy for Education Development (AED), 1875
Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20009-1202, USA,
Tel:202-884-8362,Fax:202-884-8400,
Email:vderryck@aed.com.

19. Mrs. Bineta, Diop, Executive Director, Femmes-Africa,

Solidarite, c/o Synergies Africa, P. 0. Box 2100-1211 Geneva,
Tel: 4122-7888590, Fax: 4122-7888590.

20. Katy, Diop, Regional Representative, ASHOKA Innovators for

the Public, B. P. 15090, Dakar-Fann, Senegal, Tel/Fax: 221-
25434,3, E-mail: ashokagenda.sn.

21. Hans, d'Orville, President, Africa Leadership Foundation, Inc.,

1255 Fifth Avenue, Apt. 7K, New York, NY 10029, USA,
Tel:2125342355,Fax:212-5340637,Email:lians.dorville@undp.
org.

22. Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, Katryn Benjamin & Transparency

International, 92 Adeniran Ogunsaiiya Street, Surulere, Lagos,
Fax: 234-1-2691285, Tel: 234-1-5851573.

23. joana, Foster, Regional Coordinator, Women in Law and

Development in Africa (WILDAF), 2nd Floor, Zambia House,
Union Avenue/L. Takawira St, P. 0. Box 462-2, Harare,
Zimbabwe, Tel: 263-4-752105/751189, Fax: 263-4-781886, E-
mail: wildaf@mango.ZW.

199
24. Martine Renje Galloy, President, GERDES-CONGO &
Lecturuer, Universitj Marien (Ngouabi-Brazzaville, BP 2621,
Brazaville, Congo, Tel: 242-826467, Fax; 242-826467, E-mail:
MEG11@calvacom.fr.

25. Dorothy K., Gordon, Consultant, P. 0. Box 106, University of

Ghana, Legon, Ghana, Tel: 233-21-400960, E-mail:
dorotl-iy@gn.apc.org.

26. Olatokunbo, Ige, Legal Officer for Africa, International

Commission of jurists, P. 0. Box 160, 26, Chemin de joinville
CH-1216 COINTRIN, General, Switzerland, Tel: 4122-788-47-
47, Fax: 4122-788-48-80.

27. ldriss Jazairy, Executive Director, Agency for Cooperation and

Research in Development, Francis Huse, Francis Street, London,
SW1 PIDE, United Kingdom, Tel: 44-1-718287611, Fax: 44-1-
719766113, Telex: 8954437 ACORD G.

28. Therese, King, Parlementaire, Assemblje Nationale, B.P. 86,

Dakar, Senegal, Tel: 221-233630, Fax: 221-236277,215004.

29. Sylvie Kinigi, Representant Resident du PNOD en Guinee

Equiatoriale, Malabo, B.P. 399.

30. Cecilia, Kinuthia-Njenga, Environment Liaison Centre

International, Kenya, P. 0. Box 72461, Nairobi, Kenya, Tel:
254-2-562015,Fax:254-2-562175,E-mail:
ckinuthia@elci.gn.apc. org; ckinuthia@elci.sasa.unon.org.

31. Theresa Koroma, Minister of State, Government House,

Freetown, Sierra Leone, Tel: 224812.

200
32. Anne-Edith, Kouassigan, Translator-Interpreter, c/o Mrs.
Marcelle Richard, B.P. 813, Bamako, Mali, Tel/Fax: 233-22-52-
49.

33. Eva-Maria, Koehler, Director, Anglophone West Africa,

Friedrich Nauman-Stiftung, P. 0. Box C2656, Accra, Ghana,
Tel: 778066, Fax: 773111, E-mail: fnf@ncs.com.gh.

34. Kafui Kpegba-Dzotsi, Djputj/Secretataire General de l'UTD, BP

12703, Lome, Togo, Tel: 228-218808, Fax: 228-217314.

35. Vera Kpetoe, Ghana Association of Professional and Business

Women, Accra, Ghana.

36. Charles Leyeka, Lufumpa, Senior Economist Statistician,

African Development ]sank, B.P. 1387, Abidjan, Cote d'lvoire,
Tel: 225-205367, Fax: 225-204948,
E-mail: Itifiimpa@africom.com.

37, Meliri, Madarshahi, Senior Management Analyst, United

Nations Secretariat, 866 UN Plaza, Room A-6036, New York,
N.Y. 10017, USA, ]'el: 212-963-54,36, Fax: 212-534-0637.

38. Aileen, Marshall, Senior Advisor, Global Coalition for Africa,

1750 Pennsylvania Avenue. NW Washington DC 2006, USA,
Tel: 202-458-4266, 202-522-3259.

39. Christabu Stella, Mensah-Brown, Librarian, National Council

on Women and Development, P. 0. Box M53, Accra, Ghana,
Tel: 233-21-229179.

40. Ahmed., Mohiddin, Africa Foundation, P. 0. Box 1936, Accra,

Ghana.

201
41. Gertrude I., Mongella, 11. 0. Box 31293, Dar-es-Salaam,
TaiiZania, Fax: 255-,Iil-113272 or 255-51-75132.

42. Zeii-ta Morgabel, Head of Department, Renj Mouawad

Foundation, Lebanon, HazmichBrazilia, Moritia Building,
Ground Floor, Beirut, Lebanon, Tel: 961-1-429007, Fax: 961-1-
429056, E-mail: zeinamu@cyberia.net.eb.

43. janat Balumzi, Mukwaya, Minister of Gender/Community

Development, Ministry of Gender/Country Development, P. 0.
Box 7136, Kampala, Uganda, Tel: 241034, Fax: 256374.,

44. Evelyn Mungai, President, All Africa Business Women

Association (AABA), P.O. Box 10988, Nairobi, Kenya, Tel:
254-256804.1,, Fax: 254-2-560420.

45. Dragoljub, Najman, Member of the Executive Committee,

Africa Leadership Forum, 6, Rue Borromee, 75015, Paris,
France, Tel: 33-1-4734-6802, Fax: 33-1-4734-7486.

46. Yvonne, Ngolo Lembe, Djputje B I'assemblje Nationale,

Prjsidente de la Commission permanents Affaires EtrangPres et
Coopjration de I'Assemblje Nationale, B.P. 13060, Brazaville,
Congo, Tel: 242-831904.

47. Stella, Obasanio, 19 Onijaiye, Sokori, Abeokuta, Ogun State,

Nigeria, Tel: 039-241771.

48. Pearl, Ocloo, Executive Director, Career Women Ltd., P.O. Box
5154, Accra-North, Ghana, Tel: 233-21-772458, Fax: 233-21-
772458.

202
49. Angela Ofori-Atta, Clinical Psychologist, University of Ghana,
Legon, Medical School, 11. 0. Box 3859, Accra, Ghana, Tel:
23321-665258, Fax: 233-21-669100, E-mail:
Databank@ncs.com.gh.

50. Obafemi J. A., Olopade, Chairman & Chief Executive, Fay

Paper Products (Nig.) Ltd., '122/124 Broad Street, Lagos,
Nigeria, Tel: 234-1-2664495, Fax: 234-1-2662137.

51. Comfort, Owusu, Deputy Chief Whip, Parliament House,

Accra, Ghana, Tel: 021-664181.

52. Elizabeth Randolph Barcikowski, P. 0. Box 23016, Windhoek,

Namibia, Tel/Fax: 264-61-227140.

53. Marcelle, Richard, Directrice, Clinique Farako, B.P. 813,

Bamako, Mali, Tel; 223-225387, Fax: 223-225249.

54. Sorosh, Roshan, Managing Director, President, Int. Health

Awareness Network, #310 MAC, 33 Overlook Road, Summit N.
J., USA, Fax: 908-598-0188.

55. Jeredine Williams Sarho, Leader, Coalition for Progress Party,

10 Richard Street, Freetown, Sierra Leone, Fax: 232-22-224-
439, 232-22-223091.

56. Carolyn, Sherry, 1 Glenwood Avenue Yonkers, NY 10701 OR

P.O. Box 76.54, Accra-North, Ghana, Tel: 914-476-9422.

57. Maja, Stadius, UNV Programme Officer, UNDP, Accra, Ghana,

Tel: 773890, Fax: 773899.

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58. Mafoula Sylla, Directrice Adj Enfance, Guinee, MAI,;pFE, B.P.
527, Tel: 41-25-10 or 41-46-60, Fax: 41-46-60.

59. Therasa Tagoe, Member of Parliament, President-UNIWAF,

Consultant in Secretaryship and Women in Politics, P. 0. Box
12697, Accra-North, Ghana, Tel: 233-21-223612, 027-542730,
Fax: 021-780019, 400948.

60. Marlene V., Urbina de Breen, Financial Economist, United

States Department of State, 2202 C Street, NW Room 5242A,
Washington D.C. 20520, USA, Tel: 202-647-4098, Fax- 202-
7364583.

61, Hawa, Yakubu, Former N4ember of Parliament, P. 0. Box

19001. Accra-North, Ghana, Tel: 028-212243.

62. Ngtiele Rose, Zang, Parlementaire, B.P. 7541, Yaounde

Cameroon, Tel: 20.8.48.

Interpreters /Translators

63. Etiphrasie Akouetey, P. 0. Box 128, Lome, Togo, Tel: 228-

2258.06, Hotel-Ecole le Benin, Lome, Togo.

64. Niyi, Alabi, Interpreter/Translator, Friedrich Ebert foundation,

P. 0. Box 9722, Airport, Accra, Ghana, Tel: 772687/401486,
Fax:772990, E-Mail: fesghana@iics.com.gh.
65. Theophilus, Seddoh, P. 0. Box 7866, Accra-North, Ghana, Tel:
233-21-30106@.

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Media:

66. Evelyn Abayaah, Journalist, The Guide, -Box 8253, Accra-

Nortli, Ghana, Tel: 232760, Fax: 232760.

67. Cyril Acolatse, Editor-in-Chief, Radio News, Ghana

Broadcasting Corporation, P. 0. Box 1633, Accra-Ghana,
223012, Telex: 2114 GH.
68. Cynthia, Akuamoali, Reporter, Ghanaian Chronicle, P. O.Box
Private Mail Bag, Accra, Ghana, Tel: 021-232713, 227789.

69. Stephen, Asumaiig, Jotirnalist-Reporter, Ghanaian Chronicle,

Ghana.
70. Charity Binka, Editor/Head of Women's Desk, GBC Radio
News, P. 0. Box 1633, Accra, Ghana, Tel: 221165/223012, Fax:
401556.

71. Gina Ama, Blay, Managing Editor, The Guide/Sun, P. 0. Box

8253, Accra, Ghana, Tel: 232760.

72. Joyce Boeli-Ocansey, Editor-in-Chief, Career Woman Magazine,

P.O. Box 5154m Accra-North, Tel: 233-21-772458, Fax: 233-21-
772458.

73. Poiney Ike Idaii, Esi, Ghanaian Times, Accra, Ghana.

74. Ebenezer, Josiah, Deputy Editor, Business & Financial Concord,

No. 3, Hearts Lane, Kokomlemle, P. 0. Box 022, Osu, Accra,
Ghana, Tel: 232446.

75. Theresa, Owusu Ako, Assistant Editor, Women’s Desk, Ghana

Broadcasting Corporation, Radio News, P. O. Box 1633, Accra,

205
 Ghana, Tel: 221165/223012, Fax: 221165

76. William, Phillips-Addo, Reporter, Ghanaian Democrat, P. O. Box

63527, Accra, Ghana, Tel:668142

77. Peter Quayson, Weekly Spectator, Ghana, Tel: 228282

78. Kwaku Sakyi-Addo, Correspondent, BBC, Box 6398, Accra-
North, Tel: 028-212286/771039, Fax:771038

79. Albert Salia, Reporter, Daily Graphic, P. O. Box 742, Accra,

Ghana, Tel: 228177.

80. Barbara, Sam, Assistant Editor, Ghana Television, P. O. Box

1633, Accra, Ghana, Tel: 229387

81. Vincent t’Sas, Correspondent, Reuters, 20 Bird de Closee

Abidjan, 15, Osu Avenue, Accra, P. O. Box 3248, Accra, Tel:
224782, Fax: 224782, 225879.

82. Francis Xah, Staff Reporter, Weekly Spectator, P. O. Box 2638,

Ghanaian Times Corporation, Accra, Ghana, Tel: 228282.

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 Appendix II
Agenda for the Meeting

Date & Time Activity Speakers

Day One: 27 January 1996

Opening Session: Session Chair: Mrs. Graca Machel

9.00am Opening and Welcome

Address H. E. (Mrs.) Graca Machel

Member, Executive
Committee, ALF

9.15am Keynote Address H. E. Nanakonadu Rawlings

First Lady of Ghana

9.35am Coffee Break

9.55am Statements
- Friedrich Naumann Foundation
Mrs. Eva Maria-Koehler
Resident Representative, Friedrich
Naumann Foundation, Anglophone
West Africa

- Global Coalition for Africa

Mrs. Aileen Marshall
Senior Advisor, Global Coalition
for Africa

207
 - U. S. Department of State
Ms. Marleen Urbine de Breen
Financial Economist, Bureau of
African Affairs, US Department of
State

10:25am Empowering Women: The New

Intentional Agenda for Development
Mrs. Ellen Johnson – Sirleaf
Asst. Administrator & Director
Regional Bureau for Africa,
UNDP

CSSDCA: An Imperative for the

21st Century Mrs. Vivian Lowery Derryck
Special Adviser, ALF

SESSION ONE: WOMEN & POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN AFRICA

SESSION CHAIR MRS. SYLVIE KINIGI
Former Prime Minister, Burundi

10.30am-12.00 Beijing Revisited: Lessons and Strategies

for African Women Lead Speaker
Mrs. Gertrude Mongella
Secretary-General, UN Fourth
World Conference on Women

Lead Discussants:
Mrs. Joana Foster
Regional Coordinator, Women in
Law and Development in Africa

Mrs. Cecilia Kinuthia Njenga

Consultant, Kenya

208
 Discussion

12.00-1-30pm The Limitations of the Immediate

Environment Lead Speakers:
Mrs. Specioza Wandira Kazabwe
Vice-President & Minister of
Gender & Community
Development, Uganda

Mrs. Jeredine Williams Sarho

Former Presidential Candidate,
For the Coalition, For the
Progress, Sierra Leone

Discussion Session

1.30pm-3.00pm Lunch Break

3.00pm-4-30pm The Electoral Process and Women

Parliamentarians: Identifying
The Obstacles Lead Speakers:
Mrs. Elizabeth Akpalu
Project Manager, Women in Public
Life, Ghana

Ms. Martene Renee Galloy

President, GERDES, Congo

Discussion Session

4.30-6-30pm Women, Law & Human

Rights in Africa Lead Speaker
Mrs. Tokunboh Ige
Legal Officer for Africa, ICJ
Geneva

209
 Lead Discussant:
Mrs. Pauline Nyamweya
Public Law Institute, Nairobi,
Kenya

Day Two: 28 January 1996

Session Two: Identifying the imperatives for the future

Women & Conflict Management
In Africa Lead Speakers:
H. E. 9Mrs.) Graca Machel
Member, Executive Committee,
ALF

Mrs. Bineta Diop

Synergies Africa, Geneva

Mrs. Vivian Derryck

Special Adviser, ALF

Mrs. Sylvie Kinigi

Former Prime Minister of Burundi

Lead Discussant:
Mrs. Zainab Hawa Bangura
Executive, Campaign for Good
Governance, Sierra Leone

11:30-12:00noon Coffee

Session Chair: Mrs. The Theresa Koroma

Minister of State, Sierra Leone

210
12.00-1-30pm Professionalism and Social Obligations:
Striking A Balance Lead Speakers:
Madanie Marcelle Richard
Mali

Mrs. Angela Ofori-Atta

Psychologist & Lecturer, University
Of Ghana

Lead Discussant:
Ms. Katy Diop
Regional Representative, ASHOKA
West African Office, Dakar

1.30-3.00pm Lunch Break

Session Chair: Mrs. Theresa Yagoe

Member of Parliament, Ghana

3.00-4-30pm Challenges of the Private

& Public Sector Lead Speakers:
Ms. Evelyn Mungai
Nairobi, Kenya

Mrs. Vera Kpetoe

Ghana Association of Professional
And Business Women

4:30-5:00pm Coffee Break

Session Chair: Dr. Joana Foster

Regional Coordinator, Women in Law &
Development in Africa

211
5.00-7.00pm Access to Finance: The Micro-
Enterprise Revolution Lead Speaker:
Mr. A. Beileh
Chief Operations Policy &
Procedures Division, ADB

Lead Discussant:
Mrs. Stephanie Baeta Ansah
Managing Director, Home
Finance Company Ltd (HFC,
Ghana

Day Three: 29 January 1996

Session Three: Preparing for the future

Session Chair: Martene R. Galloy
President, Gerdes, Congo

8.00-9.30am Evolving Gender Sensitive Policies

& Programmes: (Challenges of Cross
Gender Approach) Lead Speaker:
Mr. Idriss Jazairy
Executive Director, A.C.O.R.D.
Agency for Corporation

Lead Discussants:
Mme Kpegba Dzotsi
Member of Parliament, Togo

Mrs. Theresa Koroma

Minister of State, Sierra Leone

212
 Session Chair: Mrs. Janat Mukwaya
Minister of Gender & Community
Development, Uganda
9.30-11.00am Preparing the Successor Generation for Leadership
Lead Speaker:
Mme Marie Therese Avemeka
Ministre Charge de l’Integration de
la Femm dans le development,
Congo

Lead Discussants:
Mme Lembe Ngolo
Member of Parliament, Congo

Mme Mafoula Sylla

Ministry of Social Affairs, Guinea

11.00-11.30am Coffee Break

Closing Session Session Chair: Mrs. Graca Machel

Member, Executive Committee, ALF
11.30-1.30pm Summary, Recommendations, and Follow-up Actions

3.15pm Press Briefing Mrs. Graca Machel

Mrs. Sylvie Kinigi
Mrs. Gertrude Mongella

213
 Appendix III
Letter to General Olusegun Obasanjo

29 January 1997

Dear General Obasanjo,

Letter of Sympathy and Solidarity

We, participants at the above named meeting of African women, held

in Accra, Ghana 27-29th January, 1997, feel passionately saddened and
depressed by your present circumstances, in particular the parlous
condition under which you are kept in a common prison without access
to either running water or electricity. Your dedicated service not only
to your country, but also to Africa and indeed to humanity at large, has
been widely acknowledged and internationally acclaimed. Your
incarceration is a sad commentary on the reward of dedication and
leadership in Africa and indeed in other parts of the world where finer
principles of decent human conduct is the norm.

We want to assure you of our solidarity with you and our resolve to do
all we can to secure your unconditional freedom. We also want to
convey to you our commitment to continuing the work you so
effectively began through the instrumentalities of the ALF. Our
gathering in Accra to discuss the theme “Empowering women for the
21st century. The Challenges on Politics Business Development and
Leadership” is testimony to our commitment.

General, please be reassured that many in Africa and throughout the

world stand with us in their thoughts and prayers for you. We hope that
the assurances of our sympathy, indeed solidarity, and prayers will

214
give you encouragement and strength to endure and withstand the
hardships of your painful trials.

Please accept, Dear General, the assurances of our highest fraternal

esteem and affection.

Your Sisters and Brothers,

Participants in the African Women Meeting

Accra, Ghana, 27th – 29th January 1997

215
 Annexure IV
by
H. E. Mrs. Stella Obasanjo32

Mama Graca, H. E. Mrs. Graca Machel,

Mama Beijing, Gertrude Mongella,
H. E. Mrs. Sylvie Kinigi,
Excellencies,
Ministers,
Dear friends,
Sister – and of course our brothers,

I am deeply moved and encouraged by this extraordinary meeting. Let

nobody say again that women cannot address and deal not only with
their own issues, but with issues of state, with issues of war and peace,
with issues of our communities! We are ready and eager to assume our
rightful place in our African societies – individually and collectively.
The incredible quality of the discussions thus far has proved this point
eloquently.

Let me thank you all for having come to Accra, some from across our
continent or even further, to strategise what can be done to give
practical meaning to empowerment – how to wrest political and
economic power from the all-too dominant male establishment and
how to advance our own agenda in practical terms in all walks of
African life. We have been waiting long and patiently to see our
partners, sons, brothers and husbands take effective steps to involve us
and share not only duties but responsibilities with us. Maybe we have
waited too long. No doubt, the time is now! Let us think BIG, as the
First Lady of Ghana yesterday suggested.

32
Wife of General Olusegun Obasanjo, former Head of State of Nigeria.

216
And it is appropriate that this uplifting experience happens under the
auspices of the Africa Leadership Forum. No doubt, my husband
would have been thoroughly impressed by the presentations and
discussions. True, he was a late convert to the pivotal role women must
play in all aspects of societal life. But better late than never. Before he
left office, he came around to appoint the first Secretary of State for
Women Affairs in the Nigerian government. True, it was not a
ministerial portfolio, but it was a beginning. And since he left office he
tried to give practical meaning to his growing conviction of the
leadership potential of women. And maybe that caused then Mama
Beijing to appoint him to an International Advisory Committee for the
Beijing Conference.

My husband firmly believed that Africa cannot make the progress it

needs to make if we do not harness all our resources for progress.
Unless that happens, the African continent of ours will not only be
marginalised, it will be ostracized. We cannot fall back further behind
other countries that are making strides in the legal and practical
empowerment of women. Hearing and seeing the leadership potential
of African women at this Accra conference is most encouraging -–and
am sure when I will visit my husband again in a few weeks time, he
also will be deeply impressed and moved by what transpired here.

He will be especially moved, as I have been, by your humanity and

your concern for his plight. Your decision to try to reach out to
Nigeria’s President, General Sani Abacha, to seek freedom for my
husband caught me by complete surprise – and I am deeply gratified.
Your solidarity song in which you wished that General Olusegun
Obasanjo is released with others detained in Nigeria and the rest of
Africa made me speechless and caused me goose pimples. I just wish
that I could get the text, if not the tape to try to replay it to him in
prison, if at all possible.

217
You all have made this conference a turning point in the future of the
Africa Leadership Forum. I am sure that women will henceforth have
to play a lead role in all its activities.

I pray for your individual success, I pray for our collective success and
I pray for the early release of my husband to savor personally your
dynamism, humanism and solidarity.

Thank you so very much!

218
 Annexure V
Background Note on the Africa Leadership Forum (ALF)

Despite over a quarter of a century of political independence Africa’s

aspirations and hopes remain today largely unfulfilled. This has not
been, however, a period of unmitigated failure in the history of the
continent; there have been successes in education, public health,
import substitution industries, and in the continuing process of
decolonization. The problems of development, peace and security, the
health of the world economy, and improving the environment are
interrelated global issues; they do not admit of piecemeal solutions.

And yet all countries find that in the absence of true global
cooperation, they have to tackle particular aspects of them. At the
national level in Africa, the inadequacy of information, data, and
resources render the problems daunting. Regionally they are
overwhelming.

African leaders have frequently come to their positions with limited

experience. Though most of them have battled on, confronting their
awesome problems of development and nation-building essentially not
only unprepared but unaided, their efforts have been at best only a
qualified success.

Africa cannot afford to continue with ill-prepared and unassisted

leaders. Those on whom the burden of leadership will fall in future
must fully comprehend their responsibilities, duties, and obligations.
They must, that is, have exposure and carefully planned preparation if
they are to meet the challenges that will face them.

219
The leaders of tomorrow, however, today have to be pursuing their
professional careers. They have little time to devote to gaining a
comprehensive knowledge of their own countries and their region, nor
of the cultures their diverse peoples. Nor even to learning about and
understanding the actions taken by their present leaders where they do
not impinge on their own areas of expertise.

Most young potential leaders have focused primarily on single issues,

lacking time to look at wider, critical regional and world challenges.
Time for comprehensive study and reflection, for sharing experiences
with persons inside, let alone outside, their countries, region, and field
of concentration is very limited. Opportunities for such detached
discussion and contemplation are even rarer.

There are no private institutions in Africa devoted to preparing

potential leaders with a global outlook, leaders who will be able to
cooperate within and across national, regional, and institutional
boundaries. Further, it is difficult, if not impossible, in many African
countries to gain access to relevant and timely information on most
national, regional, and global issues.

Experience in and out of Government and in international for a bears

out this situation, one which poses a challenge to address and remedy.
One solution is to launch the “Africa Leadership Forum” – conducting
a series of meetings which may be national, sub regional, regional and
international in dimension and may vary in duration. The purpose will
be to enhance the knowledge and awareness of current and young,
potential African leaders, placing special emphasis on diagnosing
apparent failures of the past; on understanding multiple dimensions
and complex interrelations of local, national, regional, and global
problems; and on seeking possible approaches to solutions.

220
Objectives

The purpose of the Forum is to encourage diagnosis, understanding,

and an informed search for solutions to local, regional and global
problems, taking full account of their interrelationships and mutual
consequences.

To that end, the Forum will develop, organize and support programmes
for the training of young and promising Africans with leadership
potential so as to expose them to the demands, duties and obligations
of leadership positions and to prepare them systematically for
assuming higher responsibilities and meeting the challenges of an
interdependent world.

The Forum will also endeavour to generate greater understanding and

enhance the knowledge and awareness of development and social
problems within a global context among young, potential leaders from
all sectors of society, cutting across national, regional, continental,
professional and institutional borders. This may foster close and
enduring relationships among participants, relationships promoting
life-long association and cooperation.

Further, the Forum will support and encourage the diagnosis and
informed search for appropriate and effective solutions to local and
regional African problems and to global problems from an African
perspective – within the framework of global interdependence,
including consideration of phased action programmes that can be
initiated by various countries, sub-regions and institutions.

In additions, there will be specific weekend seminars organized as

Farm House Dialogues to be held quarterly.

221