#FollowTheProtocol: Why all African Women should be paying attention to this campaign
At Dhako Media, we know it’s important to be aware and to promote causes that directly affect our daily lives as East African women. That’s why we were immediately drawn to the #FollowTheProtocol campaign!
#FollowtheProtocol is a powerful social media campaign launched by FEMNET and partners to urge all our Heads of States attending this week’s AU Summit to honour promises to women and girls by implementing the Maputo Protocol.
This document, which was adopted by the AU is 2003, guarantees comprehensive rights to African women including, for example, the right to take part in the political process, and better autonomy in our reproductive health decisions. Given what it aims to do, the Maputo Protocol is likely the most important piece of legislation for the African woman.
We talked to FEMNET to find out more about the #FollowtheProtocol campaign, and what we can do to ensure our leaders remain vigilant in its implementation.
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity
Why does #FollowtheProtocol matter at this particular time?
The theme for the 27th AU Summit is African Year for Human Rights with a Special Focus on Women’s Rights and we believe this is an opportunity to call on implementation of women’s rights policies, and to move away from rhetoric to practical implementation for the betterment of women’s and girls lives.
We envision a continent that is fulfilling, respecting and protecting the rights of women and girls. This is the Africa we want!
We envision a continent that is fulfilling, respecting and protecting the rights of women and girls. This is the Africa we want!
This is definitely the Africa we want! What results do you hope this campaign produces?
We hope to mobilize hundreds and thousands (if possible, millions) of women and girls who are aware and understand their rights as articulated in the Maputo Protocol and then collectively hold their governments accountable to implement it. Doing so can transform their lives
Sometimes ideas like this feel very far away from our personal day-today lives as women. Can you put this into context, on the ground level, as how this matters to women like you and I?
Following the Protocol matters to you and I because it calls on our leaders to keep the promises they have already made on paper. This is important!
A country like Rwanda, for example, has 64 percent women in parliament — making it a global leader on gender equality among public service and legislative appointments. What stops the other African countries from enacting legislation and having the political will to ensure public institutions have a 50/50 gender balance?
The Maputo Protocol is likely the most important piece of legislation for the African woman.
What particular areas, understanding there are many, need dire attention when it comes to the AU’s attention to women’s rights?
Yes, many areas need the attention of the AU. But for starters, how about just walking the walk, not just talking the talk? Having themes dedicated to women’s empowerment is a good starting point, but it needs to be backed by real action like providing financial resources to implement the gender equality policies and agenda on a national and regional level.
2015 was dedicated by the AU as the year of “Women Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063”, and 2016 as the year of “Human Rights, with Special Focus on Rights of Women.” So we have basically had 18 months of the AU putting a specific focus on women. What concrete results have we seen from this, if any?
Having these two themes has definitely put gender equality and women’s rights at the top of the agenda of the highest decision-makers in Africa.
Some achievements we saw include heightened advocacy in 2015 that ensures gender dimension is an integral part of the efforts to strengthen domestic resource mobilization by ensuring progressive taxation systems that treat women fairly.
Also, the first “10-Year Implementation Plan” of the ambitious and visionary Agenda 2063 was adopted in 2015, identifying priority areas, required to realize the Africa We Want in the first ten years. In addition to promising socio-economic transformation of the continent, Agenda 2063 commits to key changes important to women including ending gender based violence and harmful traditional practices like child marriage and FGM; promising women equal rights to own land and property; allowing women to occupy at least 50 percent of elected public offices and managerial positions in the public and the private sector etc
Also, in line with advancing accountability for gender equality, the AU developed a Gender Scorecard to track progress made in achieving gender equality. This is critical in measuring national progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment in core areas. Moving forward, all actors must intensify efforts in data collection, analysis, storage and dissemination of sex and gender disaggregated data to support analysis of policies and programmes within the framework of the data revolution in Africa.
Specifically in Kenya, how does “following the protocol” affect women here?
Article 9, for instance, states that women have the right to participate in the political and decision making process. If the Maputo Protocol was implemented to the letter, the government would ensure and facilitate that all political parties adhere to the Consitution’s two-third gender principle in the upcoming 2017 elections. The two-thirds gender principle is a requirement clearly spelt out in our Kenyan Constitution that emphasizes the importance of gender equality. Article 27(8) requires that the government takes measures to ensure that not more than two-thirds of the members of elective or appointive public bodies shall be of the same gender.
Kenya, to give another example, has been successful in enacting laws and designing policies to fight Sexual and Gender based Violence (SGBV). But sadly the SGBV crimes continue to escalate and are actually a national endemic. If the government decided to #FollowtheProtocol, they would create and fully fund comprehensive care centres in all hospitals to offer services survivors, and set up ways to collect and record evidence necessary for police and law enforcement to convict and punish perpetrators.
Thanks to FEMNET for answering our questions and pushing forth this important campaign. To support, go on social media let your leaders know to #followtheprotocol.
For more information, you can check out the FEMNET website or follow them on twitter.
Paula Rogo is the CEO and Founder of Dhako Media which aims to create innovative media content from the millennial East African woman. Sign up for our pre-launch newsletter at http://www.dhakomedia.com.
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