…As Int’l IDEA, media practitioners lead discourse
To enhance participation and leadership of women in politics in Africa, there has been an urgent call to strengthen gender-sensitive policies, invest in education and leadership training, and address structural barriers including economic inequalities and societal prejudices. This will help women in Africa unlock their full potential, contribute to more inclusive governance, improved policy outcomes, and sustainable development across the continent.
This was the thrust at a two-day regional seminar organised by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) for media practitioners and journalists on ‘Advancing Transformative Gender Social Norms to Enhance Women and Youth Participation and Representation in Leadership and Decision-Making. It is a Women and Youth Democratic Engagement (WYDE) Women’s Leadership initiative, implemented in partnership with UN Women, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).
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The seminar which held in Nairobi, Kenya, brought together journalists from different parts of Africa including Nigeria, The Gambia, Malawi, Senegal, South Africa and Rwanda addressed topics on role of media in shaping gender norms; political parties and the intersectionality with gender social norms; Media approaches, advocacy and communication on transforming gender; Social norms and narratives on women in politics, leadership and decision making; Tackling violence against women in the digital era and; media approaches, advocacy and communication on transforming gender social norms and narratives on women in politics, leadership and decision.
Speaking at to The Guardian at the seminar, Principal Adviser, Democracy and Inclusion, International IDEA, Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, noted that the biggest challenge and real force behind women’s dwindling participation in politics is the patriarchal nature of our societies.
“Political processes, electoral processes, leadership decision making processes and positions, have been so commercialised in Africa, such that they’re no longer about representation. It’s now about who has the money – either to buy or pay for the nomination, that are decided not even based on competence or merit, but because someone has money or is connected to someone.
“Most of that tends to be an advantage to men, which is why you find that in many African countries, whilst we are just five years from the 2030 agenda, and in particular SDG 5 on Equal Participation and Representation of Women and Girls, none of our countries can attain this target because of patriarchy and stereotypes; this affects the girl child, and women are large.
In a few days, we head to International Women’s Day (March 8), what is the biggest message we are sending to the world about women and the girl child?
She noted that Africa needs a transformative approach that deals with societal norms. A lot of countries across the world, they have enabling and progressive legislative frameworks, constitutions promoting gender equality, they specify the right to participate and be represented, but the constitutions, electoral laws and political party laws are not translated into reality.
Kandawasvika-Nhundu stressed that there is such a gap between what the law says and what happens in reality and this is where we need concerted and sustainable efforts in terms of advancing transformative gender social norms in order for women and young women in particular to be able to participate and be represented.
“At the end of the day, if we don’t start debunking the social norms, and the effects of social norms, we will have all the campaigns, good laws, even the education – because a number of young women in this country in this current era, are educated, but they still face the glass ceiling. So, the world has to be prepared to really debunk the road blocks and the barriers that are caused by social norms, because they are social constructs that prescribe where the girl child should be and where the boy child should be.”
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On his part, Regional Director, Chief of Party, Southern Africa Political Parties and Dialogue Programmes, Dr. Augustine Magolowondo noted that the challenge is that a lot of protocols and treaties adopted in Africa are just to be a part of the process. ‘I also think the level of awareness in our society is of what our governments commit to, and the implications. The level of awareness is very, very minimal, to the point that our government and policy makers just get away with all that, because even the media practitioners believe this is what their leaders sign up to and this is what it means. There is not so much push from the law to hold those governments accountable. We need more media practitioners, civil society actors and even our parliament has to be more informed and more aware.”
Dr. Magolowondo added that not having many media practitioners in senior positions who are women, has hampered mentorship and coaching. He urged those who are already at senior positions to take it as an obligation to support others.
For, Sifisosami Dube, Programme Officer, WYDE Women’s Leadership project, International IDEA in Brussels, sources for political stories are quite few in terms of those coming from women, hence the need to change the narrative.
“Why is it difficult for the media to get sources from women politicians? But beyond that, why are we not looking at the substance in terms of what women have to offer in politics? We are also changing the narrative in terms of having male politicians as allies, and the men who are in the newsroom as agents of change in terms of transforming the newsroom to become gender responsive in terms of reporting,” she added.
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