Regional Southern Africa Gender Analysis

GENDER ANALYSIS FOR USAID SOUTHERN AFRICA REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION STRATEGY

Introduction

USAID has recently launched an effort for its missions to complete Country and Regional Development Cooperation Strategies (CDCS/RDCSs) in keeping with the strategic planning processes traditionally conducted in the Agency. These CDCSs/RDCSs, are forward looking documents that will take into consideration input from other USG agencies, host-country governments, other donors, the private sector, and local civil society stakeholders. The aim of the CDCS/RDCS is to ensure that USAID resources follow a strategic vision and that critical development goals are achieved and needs are met in the most efficient manner. The USAID Southern Africa Regional Mission is in the process of writing a RDCS and this gender analysis will inform their proposed future programming.

The Mission had a gender analysis conducted in 2003 covering the period 2004-2010,[endnoteRef:1] that reviewed the literature pertinent to the areas that more clearly fall under the purview of the Mission’s interests and mandate. That gender analysis is thorough and provides a substantial overview of the most important gender issues in the areas of interest. Taking this into consideration, the Mission and the Africa Bureau agreed that an update of their Gender Analysis of 2003 would be sufficient to fulfill the ADS requirements. [1: Gender Analysis – Fiscal 2004-2010 Strategic Plan, Nathan and Associates, Inc., June 2003.]

With this in mind, we have conducted a review of the literature starting where the last analysis stopped, and have tried to include recent information and data, and address new development within SADC and other important regional entities with which USAID works, and new or more recent thinking and approaches within the Agency.

DO1. INCREASED SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH IN TARGETED AREAS

Under this DO, the Southern Africa Regional Mission will consider several issues that are deeply interrelated but that were treated separately in the previous strategy. In separate IRs but under the same DO, it will consider Improved Agriculture Productivity, Increased Trade with an Emphasis on Agriculture, Integration of Measures to Address Climate Change in Policy and Decision-making, and Improved Management of Trans-boundary Natural Resources.

IR.1 Improved Agricultural Productivity will be addressed through regional food policy analysis, as well as research and dissemination of results on improvement of crops. These agricultural pursuits aim to improve commodity outputs and will be directly anchored on Feed the Future Strategies of the countries serviced by the Regional Mission. These efforts will be directly linked to supporting the agricultural programs of those missions and to the value chains that are important for trade among the SADC countries. These will most likely include maize and beans, among others. Regarding research, an example of the importance of gender considerations, is the issue of aflatoxin poisoning the groundnuts in Zambia and Malawi. Groundnuts are mostly cultivated and traded by women, so the effect of this scourge weighs heavily on them.

The efforts related to IR.2 Increased Trade with an Emphasis on Agriculture will address increasing trade capacity in strategic value chains, as well as improving the efficiency of trade corridors and promoting sound regional trade policy in the region.

IR.3 Integration of Climate Change into Policy and Decision-making will strengthen the regional capacity to use clean energy technologies and expand stakeholder’s capacity to adapt to anticipated climate change.

And, IR.4 Improved Management of Trans-boundary Natural Resources will aim to improve capacity for sustainable use of water and decrease the threats to biological diversity, both critical to the economic well-being and prosperity in the region.

TRADE CORRIDORS AND TRANS-BORDER TRADE

Traditional economic perspectives tend to be very narrow. Conventional macro-economic policies and perspectives tend to be gender blind and fail to recognize that women’s potential contributions to economic development is systematically discouraged, adversely affecting the economic health of the region and that women’s contribution to the economy is systematically underestimated. These macro-economic perspectives also overlook the fact that there is an informal and hidden economy made up mostly of women, and that there is an unpaid care economy in which women do most of the work of maintaining the labor force and keeping the social fabric in good order. [endnoteRef:2] [2: SADC Gender Protocol 2010 – Barometer, edited by Colleen Lowe Morna and Loveness Jambaya Nyakujarah, South Africa: Gender Links, 2010.]

The SADC Trade Protocol , the SADC Trade Protocol on Gender Development and the COMESA Simplified Trade Regime, are trying to address these issues and reverse the trend, but the environment continues to be difficult for women cross-border traders.[endnoteRef:3] [3: Cooperate to enhance cross-border trade: SADC, TradeMark Southern Africa, November 2, 2010.]

Although most of the trade protocols and agreements seem to be written with the idea of large commercial traders in mind, official sources report an average value of informal cross border trade in the SADC region of US $17.6 billion per year, which represents 30-40% of intra-SADC trade. Seventy percent of informal cross-border traders are women, mainly trading in foodstuff including maize (97,000 MT), rice (6,500 MT) and beans (10,000 MT).[endnoteRef:4] Women cross-border traders play a huge role in the economies of SADC countries. Apart from revenues related to buying and selling commodities, they also contribute with taxes, license fees and duties.[endnoteRef:5] [4: Tonnage traded in 2006/07. UN Women. Unleashing the Potential of Women Informal Cross Border Traders to Transform Intra-Africa Trade, n.d.] [5: No decent work for African cross-border traders, Street News Service, Gender Links, March 7, 2011.]

Women traders are rarely taken into consideration in programs geared to improving regional trade, and as African countries make huge strides to improve and harmonize regional trade policies, these women have no voice or stake in something that is truly important in their lives. [endnoteRef:6] [6: Masinjila, Masheti, Gender Dimensons of Cross Border Trade in the East Africa Community, 2009. ]

Women cross-border traders are subjected to many constraints and dangers, some of which pertain to the system and to the fact that they are trading in small amounts, and some are related to their sex.[endnoteRef:7] [7: No decent work for African cross-border traders. ]

Related to the trading system, the cost to women cross-border traders to do business is much higher than the cost to larger commercial traders. They spend more on the product because they purchase small quantities, and their costs of transportation, duties, taxes and bribes are higher.

Among the barriers that small cross-border traders face, one of the most onerous is the lack of access to financial and payment services; they are forced to carry cash and must convert their currency to US dollars at the border, and then to the other local currency. The financial and currency conversion costs are quite high. So, women cross-border traders not only face theft, but they also face the exchange losses and conversion costs, which add to their cost of doing business.[endnoteRef:8] [8: Fundanga, Caleb M., Small-scale cross-border trade and payment services in Southern Africa, Official opening remarks by Dr. Caleb M. Fundanga, Governor of the Bank of Zambia, at a rountable sumposium on small-scale cross-border trade and payment services in Southern Africa, Lusaka, March 21, 2011.]

Women are marginalized in trade and entrepreneurship. The removal of protectionist trade policies can have a negative effect on the participation of women in trade, as local female producers are challenged to compete with foreign products sold at lower rates. As women’s access to markets is restricted and they are largely represented in the informal sector, this creates an impediment to women’s economic participation.[endnoteRef:9] [9: SADC Gender Protocol 2010 – Barometer, p. 117.]

Constraints and dangers of women cross-border traders related to their sex, include more frequent demand of bribes at border crossings and check points, sexual harassment, rape and other forms of gender-based violence. A recent UNIFEM Report surveyed 700 cross border traders in Southern Africa and found that most women traders had reported sexual abuse and harassment.[endnoteRef:10] [10: No decent work for African cross-border traders.]

Women cross-border traders are treated as prostitutes and as women of bad character because they travel long distances and spend nights away from their families. These stereotypes seem to give license to members of society to subject cross-border traders to gender-based violence with impunity. Sexual harassment , rape and abuse of women cross-border traders by police and customs officials goes unpunished on many regional borders.[endnoteRef:11] [11: No decent work for African cross-border traders.]

The SADC Gender Protocol 2010 --Barometer recommends:

· adopt policies and enact laws which ensure equal access, benefits and opportunities for women and men in trade and entrepreneurship, taking into account the contribution of women in the formal and informal sectors;

· review national trade and entrepreneurship policies, to make them gender responsive;

· introduce affirmative action measures to ensure that women benefit equally from economic opportunities , including those created through public procurement processes;

· review all policies and laws that determine access to, control of, and benefit from, productive resources by women.[endnoteRef:12] [12: SADC Gender Protocol 2010 – Barometer, p. 105.]

Other Recommendations:

The World Bank is conducting a study in 2011 of five countries: Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia – related to enhancing trade through lower transaction costs for trade payment and improved access to financial services for small scale traders.[endnoteRef:13] It would behoove the Mission to stay abreast of this study and the conclusions reached, and try to include some of the results in the policy debates and other efforts engaged in and supported by USAID to improve cross-border trading conditions. [13: Fundanga, Caleb M., Small-scale cross-border trade…]

We recommend promoting programs to help improve the situation of cross-border traders, especially related to access to land, credit and other assets. Also, promote programs at the higher ends of the value chain that will remove constraints related to financing, licensing, and other costs and hurdles to engage in cross-border business.

We recommend the support of changes to the policy environment that take into account the added constraints that women face.

We also recommend that efforts be made to include programs and training opportunities for police, customs officials, and other elements involved in the transactions related to cross-border trading to curtail gender-based violence and stress the responsibilities for officials to respect the human rights of the people to whom they provide services.

We agree with the SADC Gender Protocol 2010 --Barometer recommendations and support their implementation through the Mission’s programs.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

These two IRs, Climate Change and Natural Resource Management are integrally connected, so we will discuss them together. The Strategy proposes to strengthen multi-sectoral, stakeholder forums to analyze, debate, and coordinate responses to climate change; improve evidence-based and analytical strategizing and implementation of plans in key river basins; and provide technical assistance for energy efficiency and demand side agreements.

The Natural Resources efforts will concentrate on the water resources of the region, particularly two river basins, the Okavango and the Limpopo. The strategy proposes providing technical support to the river basin organizations, training in water resources management, biodiversity conservation, improved environmental governance, and monitoring resources and climate change effects.

Regarding climate change, no one really knows how or when the effects of climate change will be felt in the area, but evidence shows that erratic rainfall and unseasonal temperatures already challenge some farmers, especially small land-holders who have less capacity to adapt.

Impacts of climate change are expected to exacerbate poverty and inequalities. Social impacts will vary, depending on factors like age, socio-economic class, occupation and gender. The world’s poorest inhabitants will be the worst affected. For example, the loss of life is expected to be 500 times greater in Africa than in developed countries. [endnoteRef:14] [14: The Lancet and University College of London Institute for Global Health Commission, Managing the Health Effects of Climate Change, 2009.]

Men and women will be affected differently by climate changes due to existing inequalities such as their roles and positions in society, access and use of resources, and power relations that may affect the ability to respond to the effects of climate change.

For women small holder farmers, the lack of access to land and to credit will compound the effects of climate change. Deforestation will also affect women radically, since many depend on non-timber forest products for income, medicinal use, and nutritional supplements in times of food shortage.

Women will have even heavier household burdens than they already have: currently only 58 percent of Sub-Sahara Africans live within 30 minutes walking distance from safe water and only 16% have household connections.[endnoteRef:15] Collecting water will become increasingly burdensome with global warming. Since it will take more time to collect water and fuel, the available time for education and for economic pursuits will decrease, jeopardizing women’s economic endeavors and young girls school attendance.[endnoteRef:16] [15: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rural Women and Food Security: Current Situation and Perspectives, 1998.] [16: UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children, 2007.]

Some diseases that women and children are especially vulnerable to, such as malaria and diarrhea, are also expected to increase as temperatures rise. It is estimated that temperature increases of two or three degrees Celsius may increase the risk of malaria by three to five percent.[endnoteRef:17] [17: WHO, Climate Change and Human Health: Risks and Responses, 2003.]

Water shortages are also linked to increases in diseases, especially among children and the elderly, since hygienic conditions will deteriorate with the scarcity of water, which will have to be conserved for drinking and cooking.[endnoteRef:18] [18: WHO and UNICEF, Meeting the MDG Drinking Water and Sanitation Target: The Urban and Rural Challenge of the Decade, 2006.]

Recommendations:

The participation of women and gender experts in the climate change process is crucial for developing just, effective and efficient measures of climate protection. Climate protection needs women’s expertise, their perspectives, their political support and their engagement as key agents of change.[endnoteRef:19] [19: UNCSW, Gender Perspective on Climate Change, New York: United Nations, 2008.]

DO2. HIV AND AIDS

The Southern Africa Regional Mission’s role in the efforts to curb the AIDS epidemic is to strengthen regional networks and institutions to respond to HIV/AIDS, to improve mitigation services for migrant populations, and to provide support in curbing the spread and impact of HIV/AIDS in non-presence countries.

The gender issues related to HIV/AIDS are pervasive at all levels. Women are more susceptible to becoming infected and the proportion of women infected in Southern Africa is higher than the proportion of men. Women also have the burden of caring for sick relatives, they may infect their babies if they are HIV positive and become pregnant, and in older age, many are caring for the children and grandchildren of their deceased relatives. [endnoteRef:20] [20: Urdang, Stephanie, “The Care Economy: Gender and the Silent AIDS Crisis in Southern Africa,” Journal of Southern African Studies, 32:1, March 2006.]

There is strong evidence that gender and poverty are strong markers to becoming HIV/AIDS infected. In a quantitative study conducted in South Africa with a large representative sample (6,338 men and 10,057 women), the conclusions were that age and gender are related to HIV infection, and poverty is a social determinant for HIV infection across all age groups. And, among adult females (25 years old and older) single women had a significantly higher HIV prevalence than married, divorced or widowed women. Finally, the findings showed that young women who headed households are extremely vulnerable relative to other women.[endnoteRef:21] [21: Shisana, Olive et al, “Gender and Poverty in South Africa in the Era of HIV/AIDS: a Quantitative Study,” Journal of Women’s Health, 19:1, 2010.]

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 60% of those living with HIV are women. In the nine countries in Southern Africa most affected by HIV, prevalence among women 15-24 is on average about three times higher than among men of the same age. These disparities are the result of biological, structural, and cultural conditions that place women and girls at greater risk for acquiring HIV, such as gender norms that impact expectations and behaviors, as well as differences in access to resources that limit prevention and mitigation of the disease. Men and boys are also affected by gender expectations that may encourage risky behavior, discourage accessing health services, and that narrowly define their roles as partners and family members.[endnoteRef:22] [22: PEPFAR: Addressing Gender and HIV/AIDS.]

PEPFAR’s Programming Guidance includes technical considerations for gender that incorporate five strategic approaches stipulated in the PEPFAR legislation by which missions are encouraged to address the nexus between gender and HIV/AIDS. The five approaches are:

· Increasing gender equity in HIV/AIDS programs and services

· Reducing violence and coercion

· Engaging men and boys to address norms and behaviors

· Increasing women’s and girls’ legal protection

· Increasing women’s and girls’ access to income and productive resources, including education Gender-based Violence (GBV) increases the spread of HIV/AIDS because it limits women’s and girls’ ability to negotiate safe sexual practices, to disclose HIV status and to access services due to fear of GBV. GBV inflicted on women is extremely high throughout Africa. The Demographic and Health Survey for Africa, provides evidence that over 50% of women in Zambia, Uganda and Zimbabwe declared experiencing GBV from partners and husbands in the year previous to the survey.[endnoteRef:23] [23: Gender-based Violence in sub-Saharan Africa: A review of Demographic and Health Survey findings and their use in National Planning, p.18, USAID, Africa’s Health in 2010, March 2008.]

Recognizing the enormous impact that gender-based violence has on the spread of the disease, PEPFAR is concentrating on combating GBV in a sustained and systematic way in all their programming. DRC, Tanzania and Mozambique have been selected as plus-up countries to receive added funding so they can explore different ways of addressing GBV in relation to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The FAO, recognizes the “close and proven relationship” between gender inequality, food insecurity, and risky sexual behavior which reproduces and exacerbates the spread of HIV and AIDS. For example, one study in Botswana and Swaziland has shown that women who cannot find sufficient food have an 80% higher rate of engaging in intergenerational sex, and a 70% higher rate of having unprotected sex.[endnoteRef:24] [24: FAO, Information note for the technical consultation on gender, property rights and livelihoods in the era of AIDS, November 2007.]

Mobility adds to HIV risks: In Tanzania, women who travelled away from home five or more times in the previous 12 months were twice as likely to be HIV-positive (12%) as those who did not travel.[endnoteRef:25] And, consistent with evidence from earlier in the epidemic, recent studies suggest that men in high-mobility occupations (such as truck drivers) are more likely than other men to purchase sex.[endnoteRef:26] [25: Tanzania Commission for AIDS et al, 2008.] [26: Lowndes et al, 2008.]

Recommendations:

Given how interrelated the factors of the HIV/AIDS epidemic are with the other programmatic areas of the Southern Africa Regional Mission, including trade corridors for the commerce of agricultural production and issues of water resource conservation vis-à-vis the possible effects of climate change, we strongly recommend that:

--gender issues be considered at all times, and that care be given to ensure that women’s conditions be placed at the forefront of any programmatic agenda. These should include: issues of counseling and testing, PMCTC, care-giving burdens, and responsibilities for support of themselves and their families.

--the curtailment of GBV be a primary concern at all levels of all the programs the Mission is involved in.

DO3. IMPROVED RULE OF LAW AND RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Under this DO, The Southern Africa Regional Mission will strengthen the regional legal framework necessary to uphold and promote the protection of socio-economic and human rights. To do this, The Mission will help strengthen both the SADC tribunal and civil society and regional legal organizations.

This DO is relevant because while all SADC member states have adopted constitutional provisions on sex discrimination and gender equality, there is variability in the levels of protection women receive in each state.

Furthermore, most states lack the capacity to enforce such protections.[endnoteRef:27] Recognizing this discrepancy, Article 4 of the SADC Gender Protocol proposes that by 2015, “all countries shall endeavor to enshrine gender equality and equity in the Constitutions and ensure that these are not compromised by any provisions, laws and practices.”[endnoteRef:28] The Mission’s programming related to Improved Rule of Law and Respect for Human Rights will fall within this framework, by strengthening the SADC Tribunal to enforce gender equality findings, assisting with the review and amendment of certain member states’ constitutions, and promoting the dissemination of benchmark rulings in the region that apply to other states or can be used to support litigation in neighboring states. [27: Regional Cooperative Development Strategy. 2010. Southern Africa Regional Mission.] [28: SADC Gender Protocol 2010 – Barometer, p. 19 ]

Below is a review of how the intermediary results (IRs) subsidiary to Improved Rule of Law and Respect for Human Rights relate to the literature review and priorities in the SADC Gender Protocol 2010-Barometer.[endnoteRef:29] [29: SADC Gender Protocol 2010 – Barometer, edited by Colleen Lowe Morna and Loveness Jambaya Nyakujarah, South Africa: Gender Links, 2010]

STRENGTHENED SADC TRIBUNAL THAT WILL UPHOLD THE RULE OF LAW

This IR will be addressed by developing the SADC Tribunal’s capacity to plan and enforce judgments. The Mission will offer capacity building for Court members and help the Court develop a five-year strategic plan. Additionally, The Mission will support regional legal organizations to provide stakeholder input on the role that the SADC Tribunal plays in the upholding of SADC treaties.

Strengthening the Tribunal is beneficial to member states because there is an opportunity for the SADC Tribunal to serve as a judicial and democratic framework for the region, especially in regards to Angola, DRC, Swaziland, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, which are back sliding or stagnating in terms of judicial reforms.[endnoteRef:30] The five countries are particularly relevant to Southern Africa Regional Mission because they either lack a bilateral Mission or have Missions that are unable to directly promote programs in democracy and governance. [30: SADC Gender Protocol 2010 – Barometer ]

The Tribunal has been especially active in land ruling cases in Zimbabwe since 2007 when Mike Campbell sued the Government of Zimbabwe over control of his farm.[endnoteRef:31] Since the Tribunal’s ruling, there have been 77 similar cases filed by farmers against the Government of Zimbabwe. However, in 2009, the government of Zimbabwe ruled that they did not have to adopt the Tribunal’s findings. [31: “Human Rights Report: Zimbabwe” in Country Report on Human Rights Practices. 2009.]

In addition to the Zimbabwe land reform cases, there is the potential for the Tribunal to promote and enforce regional laws that protect women. Regional legislation on the practices of marriage and inheritance would be particularly advantageous as discussed below:

· Age of Marriage: In eight SADC member countries, women cannot marry before the age of 18. In the DRC, Malawi, and Tanzania women can marry at 15 with parental consent. However there is no fixed age with customary law. Often marriage is allowed at the time of puberty. Numerous studies have shown that women who marry at the time of puberty are at greater risk to experience economic, physical and sexual abuse. Young marriages have also been linked to the transmission of HIV and AIDS.[endnoteRef:32] [32: SADC Gender Protocol 2010 – Barometer, p. 43 ]

· Consent to Marry: In all SADC member states, excluding Tanzania, civil marriage requires the woman’s consent. In Tanzania, the parents of the bride can approve the marriage. However, in the case of customary law, parental consent is enough.

· Inheritance Law: While a number of member states provide protection for widows, in some southern states customary laws do not allow land to be inherited by the widow. In Lesotho, girl children and unmarried women are unable to inherit property.[endnoteRef:33] Additionally, in some states, like Zambia, customary laws in the rural areas require widows to undergo “sexual cleansing” before inheriting land. According to a 2006 Gender Based Violence survey, 43% or Zambians reported that “sexual cleansing” was practiced in their community.[endnoteRef:34] [33: SADC Gender Protocol 2010 – Barometer, p. 38 ] [34: Sexual and Gender Based Issues in Africa: Key issues for Programming. 2008. Ed. by The Population Council. South Africa.]

INCREASED PROMOTION OF RULE OF LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS BY REGIONAL NETWORKS AND INSTITUTIONS This IR will be addressed by supporting constitutional reviews in selected member countries. The Mission has hired Freedom House to work with local NGOs and legal associations to review and amend the legal systems in these states. The reviews are needed because while most of the SADC states include anti-discrimination language in their constitutions, there is a discrepancy in the type of protection offered. Furthermore, in some constitutions there are claw back clauses, which erode the protections by providing exceptions, related to national security, public interest and/or public morality.[endnoteRef:35] One such example is in Swaziland, where the national constitution protects against discrimination on the basis of sex, but does not offer provisions on the basis of pregnancy or marriage.[endnoteRef:36] [35: SADC Gender Protocol 2010 – Barometer, p. 24] [36: SADC Gender Protocol 2010 – Barometer]

In addition to constitutional reviews, The Mission will empower regional legal and civil society groups to promote judicial transparency and advocate for the development, adoption, application, enforcement, and monitoring of judiciary standards. Affirmative Action is one such advocacy subject. According to the SADC Gender Protocol 2010—Barometer, 12 of the 15 SADC member states address affirmative action in their constitution. Hence, there is an opportunity to work with the citizens and governments of the remaining states: Angola, Botswana, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique and Zambia to adopt affirmative action policy in order to meet the “50/50 gender representation in decision-making by 2015.”[endnoteRef:37] There is also a need to continue working with states that already have quota legislation. [37: SADC Gender Protocol 2010 – Barometer, ]

There is also a need to advocate for the elimination of dual legal systems in Southern Africa, namely the recognition of both customary and codified laws. In fact, the Barometer lists the dual systems as one of the greatest impediments to legal protection of women in Southern Africa.[endnoteRef:38] [38: SADC Gender Protocol 2010 – Barometer]

This pluralism is problematic because while there are constitutional articles protecting and promoting the rights of women in Southern Africa, in many member states, there are customary laws that are practiced and recognized by the state that directly contradict the protections and services offered in the civil laws. Zimbabwe is a prime example of this. In 2005 the Zimbabwean constitution adopted Amendment 17, which addresses non-discrimination on the basis of sex, pregnancy and disability. However, there is a back clause that permits discrimination under customary law.[endnoteRef:39] This dual legal system prevents women from accessing formal legal rights and also weakens the government’s ability to enforce gender equality and protection within the state. [39: SADC Gender Protocol 2010 – Barometer, p. 28 ]

Recommendations Despite the adoption of gender and sexual equality rights in all SADC constitutions, women still experience discrimination. Thus, in order for the Southern Africa Regional Mission to reach its development goal of Improved Rule of Law and Respect for Human Rights, the following steps are recommended:

· Address legal loopholes associated with customary laws that enable gender discrimination practices. Perhaps the greatest impediment to equal rights in Southern Africa is the practice of dual legal frameworks are practiced simultaneously. In some cases, the customary laws goes against human rights and gender protection laws.

· Protect inheritance and property rights for women. Despite recent advancements in the rights of land ownership for women in the region, there are still cultural and legal obstacles for women owning land. Land rights are essential to ensuring economic security for women.

· Publicize notable rulings in the region that promote gender equality that can strengthen current cases before the court. For example, the following cases are notable in their protection of women against discriminatory practices:

· Bhe and others v. Sithole and Minister of Justice (2004): Mother challenged the constitutional validity of the principle of primogeniture in the context of the customary law of succession in which her daughters were denied inheritance

· Shilubana v. Nwamitwa (2008): Court case allowing chieftaincy to go to late chief’s daughter

· The Republic of Botswana v. Unity Dow (1995): Relates to the Citizenship Act of 1984: if the father is not a Botswana citizen, the children are not granted citizenship. (Even if the mother is a citizen and the children are born in Botswana).

· The hotel intercontinental v. Longwe (1984: Longwe claimed that the hotel's refusing entrance to women unaccompanied by a male escort violated the anti-discrimination provisions of the Zambian constitution.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

We have not suggested indicators because the mandatory indicator list related to the Foreign Assistance Framework is being reviewed and will be available in the next few months.

We expect that there will be specific gender-sensitive indicators (both quantitative and qualitative) that can capture the Mission’s efforts in it’s various programs.

As per the ADS, indicators pertaining to people need to be sex-disaggregated.

Regarding evaluations, the Mission needs to explore areas they may want to evaluate considering the new agency Evaluation Policy, and for those in which an impact evaluation is proposed, baselines data must be secured at the start of the program.

Acknowledgement:

This report was written by Sharon Phillipps, Gender Advisor for the Africa Bureau and Emily Rupp, Program Officer. We also wish to thank Roy Geiser and Richard Strickland for their help.