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The Role of Law in Advancing Gender Equality

The Role of Law in Advancing Gender Equality . Sethembiso Promise Mthembu ICWSA smthembu@icwsa.org . Introduction. Value of laws regulating gender equality Some of the challenges Recommendations. The Value of Laws/Legislating Gender Equality . Guarantee Rights Claims

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The Role of Law in Advancing Gender Equality

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  1. The Role of Law in Advancing Gender Equality Sethembiso Promise Mthembu ICWSA smthembu@icwsa.org

  2. Introduction • Value of laws regulating gender equality • Some of the challenges • Recommendations

  3. The Value of Laws/Legislating Gender Equality • Guarantee Rights Claims • Defines rights as rights not as charity • Removes gender rhetoric, takes political commitment to the next level. • Sense of full citizenship and entitlement • National Consensus • Legislations may stay beyond regimes

  4. The Value of Laws/Legislating Gender Equality • Forges national discourse on the issue • Many entrench gender equality • Can be applied in different situations- economy, education, land rights etc. • May foster social transformation

  5. What are some of our the challenges? • Ideological Schrizrophenia: Laws promoting gender equality but also laws promoting culture and religion • Culture, traditional and popular culture are challenges as they promote and reinforce gender stereotypes and gendered roles and positions • These may be in disconcert with gender equality

  6. What are some of our the challenges? • Some gender specific legislation may be counter productive in terms of gender equality and women’s emancipation • For example: -HIV testing laws • HIV Transmission • - Rape in the context of HIV- Sexual offences Act, RSA

  7. The Value of Laws/Legislating Gender Equality • Patriarchy-fear of the word and inability of the laws and the movement to endevor to out-root patriarchy • Cooption • Of gender equality and • The Women’s Movement • Women’s bodies- minus gender- qoatas- • The dichotomy between practical needs and strategic interests

  8. What are some of the challenges? • Paper- rights- where gender equality in legislated but not prohibited • Where laws exist but not implemented- rights not enforced owing to structural challenges

  9. What are some of the challenges? • Level of awareness and sensitiveness of the judiciary • Community/Public awareness/perceptions and value changes • Marginalization of the gender oppressed

  10. Some Recommendations • Continue to legislate against gender equality. These should be informed by women’s experiences • All laws should have specific gender audit and mitigation strategies • Document impacts of gender oppression and inequality beyond women- • Socio-economic rights and impacts • Social cohesion • Consider ways and means to monitor the impacts and the failures of the laws

  11. Some Recommendations • Law Reform should be coupled with social transformation for gender equality • On-going discourse and debate on the issues • Promote critical engagement on religion and culture • Consider patriarchy as a worse crime against humanity • Enable and facilitate organization of women for gender transformation

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