EAST AFRICA: Women Want Visibility in Regional Union

As the East Africa Community (EAC) gradually moves
towards a political confederation, women's rights groups from the
five member states are pushing for an East African Protocol on Gender and
Development to bridge the gender gaps within the integration process.

The protocol, which is currently in draft form, aims to create equal
opportunities for women and address the implications of the EAC Treaty -
including the formation of a customs union, common market, monetary union
and free movement of persons - from a gender perspective.

Established in November 1999, the regional grouping seeks to deepen
social, economic and political cooperation among its five member states -
Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. EAC members established a
customs union in 2005 and are looking towards a common market this year, a
monetary union by 2012 and a political confederation by 2015.

Although the Treaty recognises gender as one of the cornerstones of the
EAC integration, many gender gaps still exist, says Marren Akatsa-Bukachi,
Executive Director East African Sub-regional Support Initiative for the
Advancement of Women (EASSI), a women's organisation that is
spearheading civil society activities in drafting of the Protocol in the
five member states.

"The EAC is coming to federate in politics, trade and customs, but in
terms of human rights, they are not talking about those issues. And
especially on women's rights, there is a lot of disparity among the
East African countries. On women's participation in political
decision-making, for example, Rwanda has already achieved 56 percent women
representation, Uganda stands at 33 percent and Kenya at 18 percent.

Bridging the gaps
"That (disparity) motivated us to see if we could have a unitary
document that could be used to lobby for uniform treatment of women in all
the five countries. We want every country to be like Rwanda. That is our
ideal," Akatsa-Bukachi says. The protocol aims to come up with a
regional commitment to 50-50 percent representation of women in
leadership.

The gender gaps in the EAC's decision making organs is another area
of concern. The summit of the Heads of State and the East African Court of
Justice are male dominated and although the council of ministers for East
African affairs is headed by a woman, the rest of its members are male.

"It is notable that no woman was appointed judge to the EAC Court of
Justice despite the fact that there are qualified female judges in the
member countries," Akatsa-Bukachi says.

Other issues common to the EAC member states the protocol seeks to address
include violence against women, economic empowerment and food security. It
will also focus on women's health issues, marginalised groups
– including people with disabilities, the youth and the media.

A binding agreement
Once approved, the protocol will become a binding legal agreement which
all member states commit to implement.

"Our binding agreements in terms of the gender responsive and
integration process will be bound by international instruments which we
are all signatory to but also our national gender policies and our
constitutions. We are going to work within the frameworks that exist but
improve them to meet the standards of EAC integration process," says
member of parliament and chairperson of the Gender Committee and the
General Purposes Committee at the East African Legislative Assembly
(EALA), Lydia Wanyoto.

While East African countries are lagging behind in terms of gender
responsive legislation, Wanyoto is optimistic that this will not affect
the aims and objectives of the Protocol because policies are more vital
than laws.

"The biggest gaps are actually not in the laws," she says.
"The grounding strategic interventions on gender really are policies.
It is the policy that is going to do the implementation of what you want.
Therefore, the laws you put in place are just to enable that policy to do
its work."

Mainstreaming Gender in the EAC
Wanyoto says there is need for a gender audit at all the four stages of
the EAC integration process so as to avoid missing out on women's
rights: "We do not want to have the traditional gender mainstreaming
where everything has already been done. Therefore, at every phase, we do a
gender audit, to check whether we are meeting the national and
international legal requirements of gender parity in the integration
process.

"We have been doing things the other way round and that is why we
have not been achieving. So, for every stage, we must have an audit,"
she told IPS.

Partnerships
So far, governments of all the five partner states are supportive of the
protocol drafting process and committed to ensuring equal opportunities
for women in all sectors. They have also taken note of the need to
mainstream gender issues in the development agenda, says Alphonse
Ojja-Andira, representative of the Common Market Protocol at the EAC on
behalf of the Ugandan government.

Wanyoto agrees: "The Ugandan government is very responsive. Of course
like any other governments they are a bit slow. That is why it our
responsibility as Members of Parliament is to push it (the Protocol) and
make it our priority… If the will is there and the mindsets are
right, there is no doubt that we will get things right. I am not only
hopeful. I am working on it. I am an activist on that matter."

Akatsa-Bukachi acknowledges that the EAC protocol was inspired by the
Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and
Development that was approved in August 2008.

Wanyoto feels the legislative powers contained in the EAC draft make it
more definitive and direct than SADC's protocol.

According to Akatsa-Bukachi, the target is to have the EAC protocol
approved during the Heads of State meeting in November this year.