African Unification Front
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AFRICAN WOMENS FORUM
Report from AWF in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
The 2nd Africa Women's Forum convened in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire from the 23rd to the 24th August, 1999 under the theme "Improving the Status of Women in Africa; Challenges for the Future". The main focus of the meeting was the Index on the Status of Women in Africa, an initiative of the Africa Leadership Forum designed to measure women's participation in the economic and political spheres in Africa, especially with respects to leadership positions. This was part of the recommendation was suggested by the 1997 ninth Annual Meeting of African Leaders held 1997 Accra, Ghana.
This meeting which a was hosted by the African Development Bank was convened by H.E Mrs. Graca Machel while the Opening ceremony was presided by H.E Mrs. Anne-Therese Ndong Jatta, Secretary of State of the Department of Education, The Gambia. In her Opening Statement, she express her grief at the unending procrastination and hesitant attitudes in both men and women with regards to the realisation of the goal of gender equality in leadership, even as she described women's integration as a critical factor of development for the next millennium an arrangement that cannot be compromised. Mrs. Jatta also shared some insights , on developments in the area of women and leadership in her country. In attendance at the meeting was also H.E Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo, Former Prime Minister of Portugal, who gave a brilliant Keynote Address to the tumultuous gathering of over 90 participants which included women leaders from various women networks in Africa, ministers and parliamentarians, politicians and professional women. In addition also Representatives of some international and intergovernmental agencies notably the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), The African Development Bank, (ADB), The United Nations Development Fund For Women (UNIFEM), Africa Recovery, the Joint Centre for Political and Economic Studies, Global Coalition for Africa (GCA), the International Commission of Jurists, and the Centre for Strategic Initiative were also not left out.
The major objectives of the meeting were;
· To identify strategies that might be established for broadening the support base for the Index on the Status of women in Africa, as a negotiation platform towards building a critical mass of women leaders in Africa, and for the advancement of the status of women in general;
· To identify strategies that might be used to further broaden and the Index on the Status of Women in Africa ;
· To identify possible modalities and strategies for effectively utilising the Index on the Status of Women in Africa as a strong negotiating platform for women and civil society organisations in Africa.
THE INDEX ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN AFRICA
The Index on the Status of women in Africa was submitted to the Meeting as presented by the Consultants, Sara Longwe and Roy Clarke, a comprehensive review was made by Mrs. Ruth Odhiambo Ochieng, Director, Isis-WICCE, Uganda.
1. The Index was conceived using existing baseline data as the framework for progressive improvement then, identify and distinguish between two composite indicators, for the purpose of establishing women's level of empowerment in Africa. The Women's Self-Reliance Index (WSI) is defined as women's individual capacity to advance, in terms of their education, training, and access to resources, a function of indicators such as level of education, share of earned income, proportion of women in industry, skills training, ownership of land and capital, and access to credit. According to its findings women's occupation of self-reliance positions may be accommodated within the existing patriarchal system of male privilege, and male control over the gender division of labour, and the allocation of resources, without a clear impact on women's collective empowerment.
2. Women's Empowerment Index (WEI) is defined as women's actual exercise of power over the allocation of resources and ability to control public policy, a function of equally weighted indicators on women's occupation of decision making positions in the public domain, such as seats in parliament, and top management positions. The Index reiterates that the strength of women's occupation of leadership positions lies in its potential to transform society, in the direction of equal rights for women. Empowerment extends beyond bringing women into existing structures of public governance as they are, to effectively transforming them, especially at decision-making levels, to be inclusive of just and humane forces that can guard against the perpetration of any kind of oppression or inequality on the society.
3. African countries are ranked in the Index in the order of their score on the WEI. Correlations between the two indices and between selected indicators are also made. However, the Index pointed out that a common yardstick for benchmarks and targets cannot be used for all governments, owning to variations in the 'baseline' starting points of different countries, and in other interacting obstacles to progress from one country to another. These variations are more clearly perceived after looking at the values for WSI and WEI for different African countries. A brief statistical comparison of the Africa region with other regions of the world, looking at women's level of representation in decision making positions confirms similarities in global trends in the status of women in leadership. It was observed that the African inter-country comparisons between the Women's Self-Reliance Index (WSI) and the Women's Empowerment Index (WEI) presented did not reveal any clear pattern of correlation between the WSI and the WEI. Some countries with high WSI were found to have high WEI while , others with high WSI have low WEI.
4. In contrast to the occupation of self reliance positions, women's occupation of leadership positions, it was noted, carries with it the key transformatory potential, to address the underlying discrimination and oppression which are the more fundamental and intractable aspects of gender issues, and the underlying causes of gender gaps. Women's occupation of leadership positions potentially enables women to address gender issues in all other areas of social and political life. For strategic benefits, it was recognised that the challenge for the women's movement is how to find the transformatory potential within the fairly high level of achievement at the self-reliance level, as a springboard into empowerment process. Participants however recalled that empowerment cannot be defined purely in terms of women's occupation of decision making positions in society, but rather as the process by which women collectively recognise their problems, and mobilise therefore to take action to achieve gender equality. Placed in a more or less chronological perspective, the women's empowerment process involves three focal engagements, namely conscientisation, mobilisation and control, all of which of were examined in considerable detail.
5. The WEI was presented as the central interest in the Index. Because women's empowerment in the Index focused on women's representation in higher levels of decision making positions in public institutions, it was recognised that it is a rather rough measure of women's empowerment as it overlooked the possibility of some women public office holders not actually exercising power, and the likelihood of impacts made by some women in background positions in shaping public policy. The Women's Empowerment Index was , however, retained as a basis for a simple, systematic and standardised method for measuring national progress, and for comparative purposes. Greater emphasis was also laid on the extent to which women occupy positions of higher levels of decision-making in society, so that they are in a position to challenge and change present structures of gender inequality.
6. The ensuing discussions stressed that political and electoral discourse and frameworks such as electoral laws and procedural norms and practices constitute core determining factors of occupation of leadership positions. Women's subordination, it was recalled is perpetuated by existing laws, regulations and beliefs of existing patriarchal systems, gender discrimination, gender oppression, patriarchal ideology, culture and coercion, rather than their education women's lack of enabling personal abilities and attributes. These questions would be considered in future editions of the Index.
7. Finally, four practical strategies, which are needed to promote the process of women's empowerment was also suggested in the Index. These are collective strategies of political action and negotiation to advance women's political representation, to gain increased control of public decision making positions, and to end gender discrimination through legislation, government policy, development policy and grassroots action, all examined with appreciable insight in the Index.
8. Participants were unanimous in then minimum on the relevance of periodical monitoring and evaluation of progress as an essential tool in supporting all strategies aimed at pushing political parties and governments to encourage the increased representation of women at the political and administrative levels of government. As it is undeniably recognised policy and planning with an understanding of gender does not come naturally to people, whether women or men. Therefore statistics in organisational, institutional and operational leadership will be required to foster gender-sensitive analyses and changes. While not underrating the importance of Government policies and action plans, actual numerical facts facilitate the setting of benchmarks, for the implementation of government commitments on women's participation. They provide concrete evidence of outcomes in terms of meaningful progress realised, or rather inconsequentiality and even regression as the case maybe.
9. The Africa Leadership Forum was highly commended for initiating and effectively developing the basic framework for measuring and monitoring State accomplishments towards women's empowerment in Africa. Participants underscored the value of the Index for gender equality agenda in Africa, while the same time and strongly urging various development partners and women networks themselves to support the Africa Leadership Forum towards the progressive deepening and strengthening of the Index. Coming just before the review of Addis Abeba meeting where African countries will evaluate progress achieved in implementing the Dakar and Beijing commitments, the Index was described as an innovative and opportune initiative for assessing progress and identifying gaps in women's participation in leadership and development in Africa.
10. On his part the Chairman of the Africa Leadership Forum, H.E Dr Mario Da Graca Machungo, Former Prime Minister of Mozambique thanked the leadership of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), BILANCE and the Global Coalition for Africa (GCA) , for their material support for the Meeting as well as the African Development Bank's readiness to support and host the Meeting. To participants, he expressed the deep appreciation of the Africa Leadership Forum for their co-operations in overcoming all odds to honour the Meeting with their presence. While reaffirming the commitment of the Africa Leadership Forum to greater gender equality, the ALF Chairman, observed that gender development has emerged in recent times as a major dimension of development efforts.In the light of this he observed that African women have demonstrated capabilities and potentials that extend far beyond domestic and reproductive tasks, that must be recognised and adequately tapped to fuel development efforts. He described the Index on the Status of Women in Africa, both in its conception and focus to be a negotiation platform and also, a social barometer intended to gauge the exact position of the African woman in the development continuum as a basis for appropriating urgent and result-oriented responses to the plight of women in Africa. It's appeal to collaborative rather than confrontational approaches to gender equality, he remarked, is a reflection of the African woman's apprehension of gender relations as conciliatory rather that combative giving various development actors an opportunity for constructive alternative approaches to gender development issues. Dr. Machungo challenged participants to correct the inevitable flaws when a appeared in the Index as normal occurrences common to all novel initiatives, in the fight to achieve gender equality Africa.
11. In a briefing on the degree of realisation of commitments made at 1997 annual meeting of African Leaders and the May 1998 inaugural Africa Women's Forum in Cape Town South Africa, the Africa Leadership Forum outlined progress made including the following; · The creation and launching of the Africa Women's Forum in May 1998 by the Africa Leadership Forum to be a regional network comprising organisations as focal points in each country, for the exchange of experiences and development of strategies to promote the access of women to critical positions of leadership; to accelerate the advancement of women and to promote solidarity and mutual reinforcement of concerns; regular exchange of experience and peer training, the holding of yearly conferences and the organisation of other activities.
· The effective development of the Index on the Status on the Women as a negotiation platform for women and civil society organisations in Africa, for the purposes of which a team of consultants was identified and engaged.
· The creation of the Africa Women's Forum website as an information exchange and discussion medium for African Women. The website presents amongst things, The Index on the Status of Women in Africa, information and pictures galleries on past AWF events,
· The creation of the AWF Monitor, an electronic newsletter on information including, announcements of gender-focused events, strategic partnerships and opportunities, book reviews etc · The strengthening of the Gender Desk at the ALF secretariat with a Gender Programmes Officer The Africa Leadership Forum also indicated that negotiations with donor agencies that that indicated interest in supporting the compilation of a directory of African Women Networks were unfortunately, not fruitful. A preliminary consultative meeting had also been held with Akina Mama wa Afrika on the Oral literature Project to properly document and disseminate the experiences of Africa women leaders.
· Akina Mama wa Afrika also presented a brief description of regional leaderships skills training programmes which hey had organised since the Accra and Capetown Meetings.
BUILDING THE CRITICAL MASS OF WOMEN POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IN AFRICA.
12. Participants recalled that women account for more than half of unpaid and unrecognised development contributions, and are at the core of most of African economies, contributing about 70% of total agricultural labour, and accounting for some 60% of informal sector activities. It was noted that women's marginalisation is, perhaps, most evident in the political sphere, and even though governments have declared their intentions to redress the imbalance in this area, has parity has not been effected anywhere? Women in Africa therefore, continue to be underrepresented in public governance and other institutions at both the local and national levels. Participation of women in Africa's leadership, it was reiterated, is a crucial element of good governance, which must be taken into consideration, by ensuring that the processes of policy making and resource allocation are undertaken in a just, gender-balanced, equitable and efficient manner.
13. While also recalling the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, participants reiterated that the equal participation of women and men in decision-making is the means by which a balance that more accurately reflects the composition of society can be struck, thus strengthening democracy, promoting its proper functioning and ensuring a solid base for the rule of law. Furthermore such parity, as Mrs. Pintasilgo stressed in her Keynote Address, is the only relation that could procure the full universality of human rights and as such compels the re-thinking of other relations, notably work and the family, human organisations, culture and politics. Equality of access to political decision making was therefore described both as "unpublished" and because in nature- subversive unpublished because it has never was never been fully attained and because its outcome is equally not known, and subversive, because it demands a radical change in the paradigm in the most fundamental areas of relationship between men and women, not only in the case of inter-personal relationship but also in the allocation of social functions. Clearly, the past and present disequilibrium in these relations, she observed are incongruent with the desired parity between men and women that enables possibilities of pluralism, transparency and greater responsibility in the exercise of the functions of elected persons in any democracy. The goal of gender equality, participants agreed , is not a technical and practical goal, but rather a political process in which each of us can make an appreciable contribution.
14. Bringing about meaningful actions towards greater gender equality, participants agreed would require new ways of thinking in which the stereotyping of women and men gives way to a new philosophy that considers people, irrespective of gender, as essential agents and beneficiaries of change. There is thus the critical and urgent need for eliminating the barriers that continue to obstruct greater access of women to leadership positions for sound and sustainable development in Africa. The relevance of the empowering of women for equitable and sustainable development in the next millennium, it was noted, is thus a matter of high priority and a joint and collaborative rather than confrontational responsibility of both women and men .
15. Participants noted that in spite of widespread mobilisation by women, strong poles of resistance still persist the need for more collaborative rather confrontational approaches to engage men toward greater gender equality. Women's organisations and initiatives must as a way out continue to initiate more transformatory actions, capable of eliminating the underlying causes of gender discrimination that are largely rooted in erroneous interpretations of cultural norms and values, such as female genital mutilation, some of which are unfortunately suffered by women.
16. In her Keynote Statement, Mrs. Pintasilgo also regrettably pointed out that regrettably, women were more often than not constrained to assimilate the masculine cultural values drawn from the public life as a result of the rejection by women themselves of women-specific values and culture, in their eagerness to work on an equality basis with men. Whereas when equality becomes synonymous to total integration of women to the world of men folk, it can create another form of inequality. The resultant invisibility and silence that follow further weigh down the women, resulting in an enormous loss of a vast unexploited potential in terms of innovation in social and political life. It was also pointed out that mechanisms employed to enhance the process of gender equality in the political field often have perverse effects that do not only negatively affect women but also indicate the non-existence of real agreement and commitment towards a new democratic framework and an adequate public policy that will meet the demands of today's society.
17. While not underestimating the relevance of legislation to improving the status of women in Africa, participants cautioned that countries must not be allowed to flag legislation just to pay lip service to improving the status of women, while making very few changes. It was noted that legally, most countries have been enshrining equal rights for women in constitutions or in legislation, while in reality equal rights are enjoyed by very few people. For the status of women to be improved, legislation must be backed by changes in former discriminatory views and in behaviour. Changes in laws are important but laws need to be effectively implemented for them to be meaningful for the vast majority of people. Participants noted that women's empowerment requires not only State enforced legal rules, but also socially-enforced norms and practices that go in the way of transforming, or where necessary eliminating patriarchal practices that impede the realisation of the goal of gender equality. Without this, there can not be real behavioural change. While also stressing the critical importance of structural and behavioural changes for the realisation of meaningful gender equality, Mrs. Pintasilgo observed that is rooted in the order of life which is impossible without change. This is because change is the driving force behind the human quest for adequate solutions to all the problems faced in the evolution of the human specie, she stressed therefore that the quest for responses to further address both the individual and collective needs of people, by bringing meaningful changes to their lives, must remain the key preoccupation of women in the political field.
18. Mrs. Pintaligo pointedly observed observed that thanks to the World Conference on Women and ensuing innumerable studies, the similarity of women's experiences irrespective of their legal status, geopolitical environment, age or culture has demonstrated beyond doubt that women emerged as a cross-cutting international social category in the new millennium. That means the presence of women in politics is no longer a marginal question. The centrality of gender equality to sustainable development and the social and cultural values inherent in women's participation in decision-making, participants agreed, would be decisive for the future. This is because of the resultant broadening of the collective imaginary mind, and the extension of the spectrum of possibilities will be more open in the management of public interests if society recognises the need to nurture and develop women's perspectives. She re-echoed the point that the removal of all the barriers against the equality of women, also translates into the elimination of deep rooted cultural taboos that relegate them to unrecognised private and domestic functions. The question of women's representation in decision-making therefore does not exist in isolation. It is constitutes only a subset of a larger and a complex socio-political ensemble of societal challenges whose global examination is a condition sine qua non to the question of gender equality. It is not a women's problem but a profound societal problem, and just as in the case of the multiplicity of deeper underlying causes of discrimination, participants agreed that there is no single solution to the while problem.
19 Describing the irreversible dawn on women's rights as synonymous with the end that is the social contract that centered on the sexual contract, Mrs. Pintasilgo warned that it would be illusive, to conceive the change of the sexual contract without touching the other components of social contract in which power poles within society are rooted. Many components of the social contract have to undergo serious transformation if women and men must participate in decision making. She suggested possible approaches to effecting changes in both the social and sexual contracts including ;
i. The revisiting of the processes of globalisation and regional groupings, a resultant consequence of which has been erosion of the citizenship strengths because of, which can become expanded sovereignties, whereby even smaller countries have to bear the responsibilities of becoming part of regional groupings and some other responsibilities vis-a -vis other societies.
ii. The revisiting of the global mechanisms and regulations of economic and financial power, expected to chart a new world order, that have inflicted unjust and strangulating misery on some societal categories of our times.
iii. The setting up of minimum standards of social rights capable of reducing the gap between this last right and what remains of our world.
iv. The re-definition of work in an active society characterised by transparency and accountability in the public.
v. The internal revival of the informal sector must merge in all aspects of labour, and greater shared responsibility for domestic tasks by both men and women, in such a manner that allows for the improvement of women's livelihoods.
vi. Associations and organisations must also be acknowledged not only as important components of civil society, but also as true social partners. A major challenge for the civil society is to extend to these organisations the status, which has been monopolized by syndicates and the employers' organisation, while ensuring the participation of the concerned organisations in the process.
20. In a statement of support for the Index on the Status of Women in Africa from the Global Coalition for Africa (GCA) Mrs. Aileen Marshall, Senior Advisor, strongly commended the Africa Leadership Forum for undertaking the innovative and fact-finding initiative. She described the Index as an action-oriented vital tool that will tremendously inform the dynamic process for addressing those underlying structural constraints that disadvantage women in Africa. She presented the GCA, an inter-governmental policy forum which is committed to promoting gender equity and the full participation of women in decision making process at national and our international levels, as she also expressed the hope that the Index will enable the Coalition to carry further its support for the advancement of the rights of women in Africa.
21. Mrs. Marshall however cautioned that the realisation of necessary changes will not be without difficulties. Changes, she said, will be variously resisted because this will require shifts in existing societal power poles and structures, in the course of which some will stand to lose. There will be ignorance-based resistance. There will also be the fear that is sometimes associated with change from usual or habitual societal norms and practices. Improving the status of women implies changing the balance of power in societies. This is not a linear process and achievement will not be made equally. However, achievements in legislation must be remain because other progress not backed by legislation and formal rules are easily revised and gains can very quickly be lost. She outlined various forms of discrimination and violence suffered by women, which in the end leave them with limited choices and access to vital resources such as land and credit, she expressed confidence that the Index on the Status of women provides the basic line against which progress can be measured, and also challenges countries and all of us to work toward narrowing the gap between men and women and the opportunities that they are provided.
22. In an brief statement, the Minister for Social Protection and Family Affairs for Benin, H.E Ramatou Baba Moussa commended the Africa Leadership Forum for organising the Meeting to address the pertinent questions on the issue of the Status of women in Africa. The Minister recalled past international efforts at improving the status of women while however regretting that their implementation in Africa has been hampered by environmental and man-made calamities, notably disease, fratricidal and global governance instruments and wars which compromise women and children's chances of progress and well-being. She called on all women in positions of authority to take concrete measures to foster women's development and leadership agenda and change the socio-cultural and customary barriers to resolving problems of discrimination. The Minister observed that the under-representation of women in politics is closely linked with their vicious economic difficulties, calling men to give up monopolised privilege for greater partnership and a new joint leadership with women for development in Africa.
23. Opinions were convergent on the point that several women have been able acquire considerable skills and resources guaranteeing their self-reliance but generally do not engage in politics. Attracting self-reliant women to politics therefore must be a crucial of goal of the women's empowerment process. Nonetheless, adequate strategies must be devised to move women in lower echelons of leadership to higher levels, and to help those already in leadership position maintain their positions for periods enabling them to effect meaningful changes. Most importantly, the mobilisation of support for women with interest and demonstrable leadership potentials is a key factor towards increasing the numbers of women rising to leadership positions. Women leaders must in turn, devise strategies for maintaining continuing collaboration with women's organisation, fostering women's agenda, and collectively concretely addressing women-specific concerns, without breaching loyalty to their respective political springboards or platforms.
IMPROVING SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS AND THE ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN
24. On their part, the various development agencies present reaffirmed their recognition of gender equity as a matter of high priority within development planning and operations. In his address, Dr. Cyril Enweze, Vice President of Operations at the African Development Bank informed participants that these objectives are sought by the Bank notably through the sharpening of the gender responsiveness of their operational instruments to foster greater gender equality, and the restructuring of both the qualitative and quantitative staffing requirements, as well as building working environments which respect the principles of gender equality to ensure gender balance both at the implementation and leadership positions. Mr Enweze described the ADB'S strategic objectives projects as striving to invest in women's economic capacity and productivity and to improve women's access to education, health and other basic social services.
25. On initiatives to further reduce to poverty reduction, he informed participants of the recent creation by the African Development Bank of the African Development Fund Micro finance Initiative for Africa, referred to as AMINA. The AMINA programme, he said, was established with the objective of increasing the capacity of existing micro-finance institutions to deliver an appropriate range of financial services to micro entrepreneurs and the economically poor, especially women micro entrepreneurs. AMINA, he said, has provided support to over 36 NGOs delivering savings and credit services, with 40 to 100% of their main portfolios entirely devoted to women in urban and rural areas with the clear objective of improving their quality of their life and promoting their economic empowerment. He further outlined that in the Bank's new vision where gender equality is of high priority, special attention will be given to projects that;
1. provide increased support to functional literacy and other issues such as women in business, agro-process and marketing, water management and sanitation, primary health care, nutrition and family planning
2. eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education and
3. reduce infant and maternal mortality.
26. In an address presented on behalf the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme who was unavoidably absent, The Deputy Resident Representative, Mr. Aurélien Agbenonci, described the improvement of the status of women and gender equality for Africa as constituting a major preoccupation for the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP. Re recalled that 1995 edition of UNDP world report on human development, that focused on sex equality sadly observes that there was no society in the world where women enjoy the same rights as men, an indication of the seriousness and depth of the issues in question. While further describing the participation of women at the decision making level in the political and economic areas as a critical facilitator a greater equality between men and women, he expressed the readiness of the UNDP to support Governments as well as civil society associations groups towards dismantling barriers which today prevent women from fully exercising their citizenship rights.
27. The full enjoyment of women's rights, he said, translates challenge into channeling the traditional and demonstrated dynamism of women in the economic, cultural and social life in their communities as well as in their associations in the informal sector networks to feed the creation of new models of participation in leadership and management in the public sector. He described the Africa Women's Forum as a unique framework for the tinkering and synchronisation of African women initiatives and potentials into such veritable leadership and development partnerships.
28. The UNDP, he said, ensures gender mainstreaming in all its operations by seeking to ensure that women and men are provided with equal opportunities to develop and utilize their skills and talents and to participate in decision affecting their lives. Mr. Agbenonci reaffirmed that in its relations with governments, the UNDP will continue to work upstream to sensitize policy makers, on the crucial issues and while also working to strengthen their capacity for gender analysis. This he said would include assistance towards the adoption of the country policy and institutional assessment in which women's empowerment constitutes an element of assessment on the basis of which decisions to allocate resources to regional member countries are made. This, he said, will also involve examining the quality of the member Countries' policy, legal and institutional frameworks for the advancement of women in areas such as education of girls, health services and the implementation of pro-equality legal reforms, thereby assessing the seriousness of Governments towards implementing international conventions and laws to enhancing gender equality. Downstream, development institutions present reaffirmed their readiness to improve women's access to education, training and credit, access that can reduce poverty and increase creativity. At operational level, Mr. Agbenonci revealed that the UNDP has committed itself to investing 20% of its budgetary expenditure in programmes on gender equality and advancement of women.
IMPROVING THE INDEX ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN AFRICA
Throughout the two-day meeting, participants unanimously underscored the of critical relevance of investing in the innovative process for developing and maintaining a comprehensive Index on the Status of women in Africa as initiated by the Africa Leadership Forum. The critical relevance of the Index lies amongst others things in the measurement of progress and achievements on the one hand, and the identification of gaps and obstacles to gender equality. It will be a useful tool for all the parties concerned to improve the status of women, in ways that will help them to define their own choices, to act on them and to participate more effectively in creating a prosperous society that offers better opportunities for the future for both men and women. To address the questions raised in the objectives focusing on modalities for improving and utilising the Index, participants examined the challenges involved in both plenary discussions and working groups. To extend its utilisation to a wider range of actors including governments, policy-makers, women's groups, civil society organisations and various development partners, a number of key measures would be undertaken under the auspices of the Africa Leadership Forum.
29. Participant recommended that AWF should establish as a matter of priority, a broad-based working group to coordinate the process of data collection and analysis to regularly update the Index. Representation within this group should be extended to include technical experts with experience in the collection and analysis of statistical data. Data collection at national levels should be conducted by team groups representing women's organizations, government representatives and technical experts amongst others, using the standard methodology developed by the working group. The establishment of national teams should be facilitated by the AWF. Adequate time should be allowed for a comprehensive data collection exercise. Nevertheless, this process should not be prolonged beyond a 6-month time-frame, so as to sustain the momentum of the initiative.
30. The data collection process would require a broadening of the indicators identified for measuring women's empowerment in Africa, to include economic, religious and socio-cultural indicators. This process should further identify a range of qualitative indicators, and introduce a system of ranking for the indicators. In situations where statistical data may be unavailable, the Index could serve to provide substantive analysis of structures and practices that restrict women's access and participation in leadership processes. The index should serve to provide clear, accessible and user-friendly analysis of data on the status of women in Africa, which in turn be easily and widely disseminated and targeted to audiences at various levels;
BROADENING THE SUPPORT BASE FOR THE INDEX ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN AFRICA: DEFINITION AND CONCEPTUALISATION OF WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT
31. On broadening the support and Improving the Index, Participants noted the need to extend the conception of women's empowerment as a process, to include the following three indivisible indicators which are:
a. Access, ownership and control over material, human and social resources as well as entitlements, and the recognition of the legitimacy of women's future claims;
b. Institutional and agency empowerment through active participation and concrete exercise of power and decision-making in State communities institutions and societies, broadened to various structures and realms of decision-making, including those also within the formal and informal economic sectors and within civil society.
c. Achievements as shown by the occupation of leadership positions in critical numerical strength, the indices) well-being outcomes including longevity and less measurable and qualitative achievements such as negotiation capabilities and other political utilities.
In this light, some of the concepts contained in the draft Index, such as the concept of "self-reliance", would need to be revisited and further clarified. The definition of leadership should underline a transformative process which ensures that women leaders promote the values of gender equality and social justice for all sectors and groups within African societies, to inform and broaden accountability requirements in their respective social and political constituencies and springboards.
DISSEMINATION OF THE INDEX ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN AFRICA.
32. Participants recommended that the final revised edition of the Index should be translated into the four languages: French, English, Arabic and Portuguese.
33. An Executive Summary of the Index should also be produced, in order to facilitate easy dissemination and utilization by policy and decision-makers in particular.
34. At national levels this process will be facilitated through a range of mechanisms, including national machinery, and women's organisations, and other institutions within civil society. Inter-governmental organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the African Development Bank (ADB), the Economic Commission For Africa (ECA) and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) should also be involved in the dissemination process.
35. To facilitate this process, it was recommended that an ad-hoc advisory group be established by the ALF to formally present the Index to the above organisations. COMMITMENTS OF THS SECOND AFRICA WOMEN' S FORUM Participants at the Meeting made the following commitments with respect to assistance towards data collection, more specifically financial assistance for this collection, revision or translation into some languages;
Ø The Women's Association of Tunisia-21 and AFTURO both of Tunisia will undertake research and make data to the Africa Leadership Forum for the improvement for the Index.
Ø Akina Mama wa Afrika promised to lend editorial and other supports to the Africa Leadership Forum for the writing and dissemination of the executive summary of the Index on the Status of Women in Africa.
Ø Institute for Gender Leadership and Democracy, Maputo, Mozambique promised to undertake the translation of the Index into Portuguese .
Ø The African Development Bank expressed its readiness to consider the support future activities of both the Africa Women's Forum and other women's networks.
Ø FEMNET undertook to disseminate the Executive Summary of the Index on its website.
Ø The Africa Leadership Forum will constitute the Committee for coordinating the collection of data for the index and its future Improvements. On local data collection representative would be identified by the forum at the national level.
Ø Furthermore, the ALF would also seek all the necessary support and draft standard working materials for the both the Committee and national local data collectors.
Ø The Africa Leadership Forum would also constitute a group to formally present the Index to the Organisation of African Unity
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