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Frederick Sumaye, the former Prime Minister of Tanzania.
African countries should engage more women in decision making organs in order to promote peace and security in the continent, it has been observed.
The observation was made yesterday by former Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye, when presenting a paper at the Wellesley College in the United States.
In his paper entitled: Role of Women in Promoting Peace and Security in Africa and their participation indecision making processes, Mr Sumaye highlighted women’s role in the peace process.
According to a statement availed to this paper, the former PM stated that there is a clear realization that women have been left behind too far and too long.
“There is also a realization that a lot of our most serious problems facing African countries arise because those touched most, women, are left out in the process of dealing with the tribulations,” he said.
Citing examples, he said, women are the main producers of food, hence it is difficult to fight food shortage if they are not engaged in the decision making on programs and processes of producing food.
Sumaye said it becomes difficult to fight poverty if those who are key to family incomes are not involved decision making programs and processes of improving incomes.
He said because of this realization, various groupings in Africa and the African Union itself have come up with various declarations and protocols on gender and development.
He noted that the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), a group of 15 countries, in 1997 passed a “Declaration on Gender and Development” and in August 2008 adopted a “Protocol on Gender and Development” which basically looked into what was in the declaration and make it more binding and with a timeframe.
The protocol has 23 targets with major ones include attaining 50 percent gender parity in positions of decision making in the private and public sectors by end of 2015.
Member states were urged to make revision, amendments and repeal all gender or sex discriminatory laws by 2015 and member states mist ensure equal participation of women and men in economic formulation and implementation of policies by 2015.
He said the African Union (AU) on its part has given gender issue the seriousness and the weight it deserves.
“There is an Article of the Constitutive Act which is enshrined in the parity principle, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and Rights of Women in Africa and the solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa,” he said.
Sumaye noted that Africa has realized the mistakes that were committed for too long and their cost of in today’s life in the society.
“As we have noted there are a lots of efforts that are being made to correct those mistakes and we realize that a lot of efforts have been put into assisting women to get the rights they deserve,” he stated.
The declarations have been made a long time ago, the protocols are in place but the difficult part is the implementation which is lagging behind, the former premier indicated.
“We have to appreciate that some things have to be implemented in a careful manner so that nothing backfires,” he pointed out.
When those declarations and protocols are implemented to the fullest there will be minimal conflicts on the continent, he added.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
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