Introduction

It is vitally important that all structures of government, including the President himself, should understand this fully: that freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression. All of us must take this on board, that the objectives of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) will not have been realized unless we see in visible and practical terms that the condition of the women of our country has radically changed for the better, and that they have been empowered to intervene in all aspects of life as equals with any other member of society.

These words, spoken by President Nelson Mandela at the opening of South Africa’s first democratically elected parliament, underscore the seriousness with which the government of South Africa takes the issue of gender equality.

During the apartheid era, the struggle against racial discrimination took centre stage. Redressing the deep-seated racial legacies of apartheid remains one of the government’s most daunting challenges. But the parallel struggle for gender equality has revealed another dimension of inequality which the government is determined to redress alongside the racial imbalances .

In this report, a Judge of the Constitutional Court is quoted as saying: "it is a sad fact that one of the few profoundly non-racial institutions of South Africa is patriarchy." All women in South Africa have, at some stage of their lives, experienced discrimination. Yet most black women - and especially those in the rural areas - have suffered from three forms of discrimination: on account of their race, gender and class. Black women with disabilities have suffered a fourth form of discrimination. Special emphasis is placed in government policies and programmes on reaching those women who have been most marginalised.

The starting point for change is the new Constitution which specifically outlaws discrimination based on sex. It makes other important provisions, such as the right to security of the person, and socio-economic rights, both of which have a special significance for women who constitute the majority of the poor and dispossessed, and who are subjected to gender based violence.

In the three years since South Africa held its first democratic elections, a number of laws have been reviewed in an effort to expunge any remaining discriminatory laws from the statute books. Efforts are being made to ensure that gender is taken into account in all new legislation, such as that relating to land tenure.

The new constitution provides for affirmative action. The Public Service has set transformation targets that include race and gender. Equal opportunity legislation soon to be enacted will oblige both public and private sectors to work towards a labour force which is truly representative of South Africa.

Many of the legislative changes have come about as a result of pressure from women parliamentarians and members of provincial legislatures. Thanks in large measure to the thirty percent quota for women by the ruling African National Congress in the 1994 elections, women constitute approximately one quarter of law makers both at national and provincial level. Women also constitute 30% of ministers and deputy ministers. The government is determined to ensure that the numbers of women in decision making positions increase until such time as gender parity is achieved.

To ensure that gender equality is advanced in all spheres, the government is committed to integrating gender considerations systematically into all government policies and programmes. To this end, a comprehensive Gender Management System which fans strategically through structures in government; the legislature and independent bodies is being established (see Article 1).

As part of this initiative, an Office on the Status of Women (OSW) has been established in the Deputy President’s Office. Provincial OSWs have, or are being established in the offices of most premiers. These structures will coordinate gender units in all government departments- at national and provincial level. The OSW is currently overseeing the development of a National Gender Policy. Some departments and provinces have already started drafting their own gender policies (see Article 2).

The Constitution provides for an independent Commission on Gender Equality (CGE) which reports to parliament. The Commission, which began work in April 1997, is responsible for advocating and overseeing the advancement of gender equality in both public and private sectors. One of its tasks is to monitor, and make recommendations to parliament, on the implementation of CEDAW. The Commission also faces the enormous challenge of mobilising public opinion around the many aspects of gender discrimination which stem from custom, tradition and religion; practices and beliefs which seldom respond to mere legislative reform (see Article 5).

The women’s movement has played a crucial role in drawing the attention of government to issues of gender inequality and advocating the measures which have been taken to date. The government is grateful to the many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that commented on the first draft of this report, enriching its contents, and highlighting the many tasks that still remain. The government is firmly committed to continuing to work in partnership with civil society in these and other matters.

In its efforts to advance gender equality, South Africa has benefited enormously from its contacts with regional organisations, such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as well as the broader international community. The advent of the new South Africa coincided with preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. This conference hastened and reinforced the efforts being made within the country to get gender issues on the agenda.

South Africa has continued to benefit from the support and advice of the United Nations and its many agencies now represented in the country. The government is also indebted to the Commonwealth Secretariat for the valuable technical assistance it has provided in establishing a Gender Management System; developing gender policies at national and departmental level; and in the preparation of this report.

This report - South Africa’s first - establishes a baseline of information; assesses progress to date, and identifies areas for further action. Because violence against women constitutes a major problem in South Africa, and one that clearly violates the Constitution, the report addresses this issue specifically under Recommendation 19 of CEDAW. South Africa supports the inclusion of this recommendation as an Article of the Convention.

The government is committed to ensuring that when South Africa next reports to the CEDAW committee, far greater progress will have been made in ensuring that women’s rights are recognized as human rights, and that women participate fully and equally in every facet of life.

DEFINITION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN

For the purposes of the Convention, the term "discrimination against women" means any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.

The Women’s Charter for Effective Equality

In February 1994, the Women’s National Coalition- an umbrella body of over 90 women’s groups countrywide- convened a Convention which adopted the "Women’s Charter for Effective Equality." The Charter was the culmination of one of the most extensive participatory research and consultation projects on the needs and demands of women ever to have been undertaken.

The preamble to the Charter stated that South Africa’s women were "committed to seizing this historic moment to achieve effective equality in South Africa. The development of the potential of all our people, women and men, will enrich and benefit the whole of society".

Women presented the Charter to the parties then engaged in negotiating an end to apartheid. They also insisted that every party to the Multiparty negotiations have at least one woman on their delegation.

The Constitution

South Africa’s first democratic elections took place in April 1994 under an Interim Constitution based on principles of equality, justice and freedom. For the next three years, a Constitutional Assembly, consisting of the National Assembly and the Senate, debated the final form of the Constitution. The new Constitution (1996) came into effect on 4 February 1997.

This new Constitution, which has been widely acclaimed internationally, entrenched equality even more firmly in the country’s value system. The founding provisions, set out in Chapter 1, assert that the democratic state is founded on the values of:

1. Human dignity, the achievement of equality and advancement of human right and freedoms; and
2. Non-racialism and non-sexism.

Among the important clauses of the Constitution for the advancement of gender equality are:

• The equality clause in the Bill of Rights, which says that "the state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth."
• Affirmative action, provided for in the clause which states that "legislative and other measures" may be taken to "protect or advance" people who have been disadvantaged.
• The clause on freedom and security of the person, which states that everyone has the right to "bodily and psychological integrity". This includes the right to make decisions concerning reproduction, and to security and control over one’s body.
• While the Constitution acknowledges the right to property, it states that "no provision may impede the state from taking legislative and other measures to achieve land reform or equitable access to natural resources in order to redress the results of past racial discrimination". This clause is crucial to one of the most disadvantaged groups of women - rural African women dispossessed of access to land by both apartheid and tradition.
• The Constitution states that where there is a conflict between customary law and the Constitution, the Constitution will take precedence.
• The Constitution provides for socio-economic rights by committing the state to take "reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation" of the right to adequate housing, health care services, food, water and social security.
• The Bill of Rights states that everyone has the right to both basic education and further education which the state "must take reasonable measures to make progressively available and accessible".

The Constitution is written in plain and non-sexist language so as to make it accessible to all South Africans.

Definition of discrimination

South African law does not provide a definition of discrimination against women. Many of CEDAW’s provisions have not yet been directly included in South African laws. However, section 233 of the Constitution states that:

When interpreting any legislation, every court must prefer any reasonable interpretation of legislation that is consistent with international law over any alternative interpretation that is inconsistent with international law.

The provisions of CEDAW are therefore relevant to the interpretation of all South African laws even where there is no explicit legislation.

Recent cases illustrate the way in which the South African legal system is interpreting equality and discrimination.

In Brink v Ritshoff 1996 (4) SA 197 (C) the Constitutional Court ruled that provisions which discriminate against married women are illegal and must be abolished.

In George v Western Cape Education Department 1996(2) BLLR 166 (IC), the Industrial Court of the Western Cape had to decide on the issue of housing subsidies for married women. The Court looked to the Constitutional prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex and marital status. It ordered that the applicant be granted the subsidy and that the discriminatory provisions be amended.

In Professional Teachers and Rademan v Minister of Education and Governing Body of Primrose Hill Primary School 1995(9) BCLR 29 (IC), the Industrial Court found that the housing policy in the Public Service Staff Code directly discriminated against a class of women on the basis of their sex and marital status. It said the provision must be amended.

This last case was decided before the Labour Relations Act (1995) came into effect. This Act now specifically provides that unjustified discrimination constitutes an unfair labour practice.

Public Education

The Constitutional Assembly has distributed a pocket sized copy of the Constitution, a simplified version, a comic strip about the Bill of Rights, caps, badges and other materials promoting the Constitution and encouraging people to become aware of their rights. The new Commission on Gender Equality (see Article Two) will be launching major public education campaigns on gender equality.

International Conventions and Treaties

South Africa has signed and ratified two international conventions central to women’s equality:

1. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (ratified 15 December 1995); and
2. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (ratified 16 June 1995).

South Africa has also signed or acceded to, but not ratified, a further range of international conventions and treaties which affect the rights of women. These include the:

International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (signed 3 October 1994);

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (signed 3 October 1994);

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (signed 3 October 1994);

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (signed 29 January 1993);

Convention on the Political Rights of Women (signed 29 January 1993);

Convention on the Nationality of Married Women (29 January 1993);

Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages (acceded 29 January 1993);

Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 (acceded 12 January 1996);

Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1967 (acceded 12 January 1996);

Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (acceded 12 January 1996);

Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Convention Governing Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (acceded 15 December 1995); and

African Charter of Human and People’s Rights (signed 9 July 1996).

South Africa unequivocally supported the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at an event commemorating the 60th anniversary of its adoption in Warsaw in January 1997.

ARTICLE 2

OBLIGATIONS TO ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION

States Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms, agree to pursue, by all appropriate means and without delay, a policy of eliminating discrimination against women and, to this end, undertake:

a) To embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation if not yet incorporated therein and to ensure, through law and other appropriate means the practical realisation of this principle;

b) To adopt appropriate legislative and other measure, including sanctions where appropriate, prohibiting all discrimination against women;

c) To establish legal protection of the rights of women on an equal basis with men and to ensure through competent national tribunals and other public institutions the effective protection of women against any act of discrimination;

d) To refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against women and to ensure that public authorities and institutions shall act in conformity with this obligation;

e) To take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women by any person, organisation or enterprise;

f) To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women;

g) To repeal all national penal provisions which constitute discrimination against women.

ARTICLE 3

DEVELOPMENT AND ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN

States Parties shall take in all fields, in particular in the political, social, economic and cultural fields, all appropriate measures, including legislation, to ensure the full development and advancement of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with men.

Legislation and administrative procedures

South Africa began to repeal discriminatory laws even before the 1994 elections. At the general level, the General Law Fourth Amendment Act (1993) repealed a number of discriminatory laws regarding citizenship, attendance at trials, dismissal of female employees on marriage, and prohibition of women performing dangerous or night shifts.

At the sectoral level, departments are largely responsible for initiating legislation. Where departments are aware of discriminatory provisions, they generally address these in drafting their White Papers (see section on Policy below). The department’s of Labour and Public Service are redressing discriminatory legislation relating to women and work (see Articles 4 and 11).

The Department of Land Affairs has identified the following as discriminatory:

• Black Administration (1927): The Act regards women as minors who cannot own property or conclude contracts in their own right. A male relative has to do so on their behalf;
• Natal Code of Zulu Law: According to this law women are perpetual minors irrespective of their marital status. Married women are the subjects of their husbands. Those whose marriages are dissolved become the responsibility of their male relatives;
• Common African Law and Custom: Customary Law does not accord women the rights and powers to own property. The kraal head, husband or a male relative has to do so on her behalf.

In drafting its land reform policy, the Department has attempted to give women security and equal rights with men regarding ownership, control and use of land. The Communal Property Associations Act (1996) provides for communal tenure in accordance with the principles of democracy, accountability and equality.

Most departments continue to review existing legislation on an ongoing basis to ensure that gender equality is not violated. The ad hoc Committee on the Quality of Life and Status of Women in parliament, and the Commission on Gender Equality (see below) are tasked with reviewing all existing and upcoming legislation to ensure that it is gender sensitive.

Administrative problems hinder the implementation of some legislation. For example, the problems experienced under the Maintenance Act severely disadvantage women and children and allow men to escape financial responsibility for their children.

Similarly in Health, while the laws do not discriminate against women, practices sometimes do. Health officials sometimes insist that men give consent before their wives can be sterilised or receive contraception. Artificial fertilisation is only available to married women; thus discriminating against unmarried women.

National Machinery For Advancing Gender Equality

South Africa’s National Machinery for Advancing Gender Equality is made up of a "package" of structures which fan strategically through:

• Government: structures in Cabinet, in the national and provincial government departments, and in the Office of the Deputy President and offices of the provincial premiers
• The Legislature: national and provincial parliaments;
• Independent bodies: statutory bodies which are independent of government but report to parliament
• Civil Society: all the above structures link closely with, and are supported by civil society.

Structures in Government

Apex Structures at National and Provincial level

The Office on the Status of Women (OSW) is located in the office of the Executive Deputy President. The OSW co-ordinates the work of the gender desks in the line departments, and of provincial OSW’s, as part of the "gender management system" of government. The first national OSW officials began working in March 1997. Provincial OSW’s have, or are being established in eight of the nine provinces.

Gender desks in departments

Government departments formulate policy, plan budgets, implement programmes and projects and deliver goods and services to the public. The primary goal of the National Machinery is to ensure that a gender perspective is integrated into all departmental work. In May 1996 the Cabinet approved the establishment of gender focal points in all government departments.

By early May 1997, 11 of the 28 departments had some form of gender unit, although many were located in the human resource divisions, rather than policy divisions. Six of the 28 had staff specifically assigned to working on gender issues, although some of these were Equal Employment Opportunity Officers. By early May 1997 two provinces reported having gender units within departments of health, welfare and education.

The functions of gender desk officers include:

• reviewing departmental policy and planning in line with the National Gender Policy;
• developing strategies to ensure the integration of gender policy and planning;
• coordinating gender training and education of all staff within departments;
• monitoring and evaluating projects, and
• establishing mechanisms to liaise with civil society, to facilitate intersectoral collaboration, and to utilise the skills and support of non-governmental organisations

The Department of Justice has taken the idea of gender units further and is in the process of establishing gender desks at all magistrates courts. One of the functions of these desks will be to receive complaints from the public on poor treatment of women in courts. Desk staff will also give legal information to women and, where necessary, refer them to other agencies such as women's services or legal aid organisations

Structures in the Legislature

Parliamentary Women’s Group (See Article 7)

Approximately a quarter of those elected to the new parliament of 1994 were women. They have established a multi-party Parliamentary Women’s Group (PWG) to assist them in their work as parliamentarians.

Select and Other Parliamentary Committees (See Article 7)

Select committees play an important role in policy formulation and in reviewing draft legislation. Since the 1994 elections, all meetings of these committees are open to the public. Most select committees are responsible for particular sectors. All committees have several women members. An ad hoc committee on Improving the Quality of Life and Status of Women was established in 1991. This Committee is responsible for monitoring the implementation of CEDAW.

Independent Bodies

Commission on Gender Equality (See Article 7)

The Commission on Gender Equality (CGE), which began work in April 1997, is an independent body reporting to parliament, provided for in the Constitution. Its functions include:

• monitoring and reviewing gender policies of all publicly funded bodies;
• advocacy, information and education;
• reviewing legislation to ensure that it protects the equality of women;
• recommending new legislation;
• conducting gender research;
• investigating complaints on any gender related issue and, where necessary, referring them to the Human Rights Commission or the Public Protector; and
• monitoring and reporting on compliance with international conventions, including CEDAW.

Human Rights Commission

The Human Rights Commission is concerned with the advancement and promotion of human rights. Since women’s rights are human rights, this is another important mechanism available for women.

Public Protector

The Public Protector receives complaints from the public against government agencies and officials and investigates cases of unfair conduct. Women can take up grievances against government officials through this office.

Public Service Commission

The Public Service Commission is responsible for overseeing the Public Service. The Commission is committed to achieving greater race and gender representivity in the public service.

Commission for Restitution of Land Rights

Women’s access to land is a critical component of economic empowerment. The Commission for Restitution of Land Rights and the Land Claims Court are concerned with the restitution and redistribution of land. Both are committed to upholding the constitutional rights of women to land.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has exposed the many dimensions of apartheid violence. The voice of women was heard in many of the hearings conducted throughout the country. Women spoke both as direct victims of the violence, and as mothers, wives, sisters, partners, children and grandmothers of those who suffered. Two hearings with a specific gender focus gave voice to the particular experiences of women as victims of violence during the apartheid years.

Financial and Fiscal Commission

The Financial and Fiscal Commission advises government on the allocation of government revenue. It is particularly concerned with the distribution of funds between the different functions and levels of government. The Commission’s allocation formula, which favours the more rural provinces where women predominate, has an implicit bias in favour of women.

Judicial Authority

The Constitutional Court is the ultimate guardian of the Constitution. The High Court also has jurisdiction on a wide range of constitutional issues. The lower courts are responsible for everyday matters, many of which are of special importance to women; for example parental maintenance, sexual assault, and family violence interdicts. The Labour Court resolves disputes over issues such as retrenchments, dismissals and strikes. It can order employers to reinstate employees dismissed on discriminatory grounds or award compensation.

Women's Organisations In Civil Society

National Machinery established by government cannot on its own change public policies. It can only do so through the participation of women outside government. One of the functions of gender units is to find ways of working with organisations and individuals in civil society. Government also plans to assist women’s organisations through capacity building, training, and the provision of information and resources.

Policy, Information, Research and Training

Gender Policy

National

In late 1995 the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) Office initiated the drafting of a National Women’s Empowerment Policy. When this Office closed, the responsibility passed to the OSW in the Deputy President’s Office. The policy, to be called the National Gender Policy, is now near completion.

Most of the White Papers of government departments refer to gender issues and women’s empowerment. For example, the draft Population Policy of the Department of Welfare states that: "Advancing gender equality, equity and the empowerment of women, while ensuring the ability of women to decide about their own behaviour, are cornerstones of population and development programmes." Six of the twenty major strategies of the Policy are aimed specifically at the girl-child or women.

Each government department is expected to formulate its own specific gender policy. Where functions are divided between national and provincial levels of government within a sector, liaison forums have been established to develop unified strategies.

A key strategy of the draft Gender Policy of the Department of Justice is a National Women's Justice Programme. This will promote access by women to justice and ensure that the legal system responds to women in an appropriate and affordable manner.

Other departments which have developed draft gender policies include the Department of Land Affairs and the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. Some departments have said that they need assistance in formulating a policy. This will be part of the capacity building task of the OSW.

Provincial

A number of gender policy initiatives are also underway at provincial level. The Northern Cape Provincial Cabinet has accepted a Gender Equality Bill. The Western Cape Province is developing a Strategy for Gender Equality. KwaZulu-Natal’s Office of the Premier is involving civil society in the formulation of a gender policy. The Eastern Cape’s Gender Equity Unit in the Premier’s Office has initiated a gender policy analysis of key policies and programmes.

Although departments have attempted to address gender discrimination through their major policy documents, not all existing policies have been subjected to a comprehensive review. The brief of the Commission on Gender Equality to review existing and new policies is thus critical.

Gender information and research

At this stage many departments collect data disaggregated by gender and race only in relation to internal departmental matters. For example, all national departments are able to produce profiles of their own employees.

The Departments of Education, Welfare, Home Affairs and Land Affairs also collect disaggregated information on beneficiaries or clients. The Central Statistical Service is establishing a gender desk with assistance from the Government of Norway. One of the primary tasks of the gender desk will be to ensure gender sensitivity in all data collection and reporting of statistics. Another task will be to conduct a time use study which will provide information on paid and unpaid work. Such information will have a crucial bearing on policies relating to the different tasks performed by women and men.

The Departments of Welfare and Land Affairs have developed gender indicators to monitor and evaluate policies and programmes. The Department of Justice will be doing so when piloting their gender policy. The Department of Housing is considering developing such indicators.

Gender budgeting

Women’s Budget Initiative

Since late 1995 the Gender and Economic Policy Group of the Joint Standing Committee on Finance has worked together with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to produce annual Women’s Budgets. The two research reports have between them reviewed sixteen of the twenty-six budgetary votes. They also covered cross-cutting issues such as public sector employment, taxation and budget reform. The third research report, which will cover votes not yet reviewed, is due to be launched on the eve of the March 1998 budget.

Among the findings of the Women’s Budget Initiative, which are now being used by departments to lobby for policy changes, are:

Although there are more boys than girls in South African primary and secondary schools, the percentage of girls in tertiary education is much lower than boys. Until this year less than 1% of the Education budget went towards adult basic education in a country in which the majority of those who are illiterate are black women. The amount has now been doubled, but is still tiny. There is hardly any state support for educare: key to enabling women to enter the formal economy.

A new government housing subsidy for those in the lowest income bracket is available to both men and women. However, recipients have to be over 21, in a country where half of all women fall pregnant before the age of 20. The policy thus discriminates unfairly against young mothers, who are often desperately in need of housing.

Up until the most recent budget, over half of the expenditure of the Department of Trade and Industry went towards the General Export Incentive Scheme (GEIS), a financial subsidy to exporters which largely benefits already wealthy white South African businessmen. Only 2% of the Department’s expenditure went towards small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) in which the majority of women are to be found. Even in this category, most women are in the "survivalist sector" which is often not reached in formal government programmes. While GEIS is now being reduced, the amounts saved have not been allocated towards SMMEs.

Gender budgeting in departments

In his budget speech of March 1996 then Minister of Finance Chris Liebenberg committed his department to the development of:

a gender-disaggregated statistical database;

gender-disaggregated targets and indicators; and

a gender-sensitive performance review mechanism.

So far, most government departments have not examined the gender implications of their budgets. Some understand this as referring to spending on salaries and staff benefits of female and male staff.

None of the departments at this stage is able to report on the gender implications of mainstream spending. Some departments - such as Health with allocations for maternal and reproductive health, and Welfare with the Flagship Programme (see Article 14) - are able to report on spending directly targeting women.

The Department of Sport and Recreation has a series of programmes to accelerate equality between men and women. 16% of its budget for sport development programmes is targeted specifically at women. The Department of Correctional Services has set aside 9% of its prison training budget for female prisoners. This allocation is relatively favourable to women as only 3% of prisoners are women.

In the 1996/7 budget vote the Department of Education specifically targetted a small amount of money for gender equity. However, most of the department’s existing gender initiatives are paid for through donor funds. Several of the other departments have also financed their gender initiatives through donor funding rather than their own budget allocations.

Gender and Macroeconomic Policy Pilot Study

In November 1996 Minister of Welfare and Population Development Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi led the South African delegation to the Fifth Commonwealth Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Women’s Affairs in Trinidad and Tobago. South Africa volunteered to be one of the two pilot countries (the other is Sri Lanka) testing methods of integrating gender considerations into macro-economic planning, and budgets in particular.

During May 1997 a Commonwealth team visited South Africa to discuss the pilot with the relevant Ministers, the Department of Finance, the Office on the Status of Women, Commission on Gender Equality and other departments.

An important entry point for the initiative is the new Medium Term Expenditure Framework which involves drawing up three-year expenditure plans. Many departments are keen to integrate gender considerations into their proposals for the MTEF and to participate in the gender and macroeconomic policy pilot study. The first results of the pilot study will be reported on Budget Day in March 1998.

Gender training courses

Centralised provision of gender training

The Department of Public Service and Administration has overall responsibility for public service employment. At present the Department does not offer any gender specific courses. It focuses its training on improving productivity and efficiency. Staff are expected to attend gender courses offered by other institutions.

The South African Management and Development Institute (SAMDI) is the central Public Service training college. SAMDI is currently developing proposals for integrating gender training into public service training courses. The Green Paper on Public Service Training and Education also sees SAMDI as researching the needs of target groups, which would include women employees, and publishing regular gender-, race- and rank- disaggregated data on those who receive training.

Departments and provincial administrations have been requested to provide a breakdown of all training courses attended by their staff in the year 1995/96 according to race, rank and gender. The information will form part of the Annual report on Public Service Training.

Among constraints identified in the first Women’s Budget study are the fact that less than 1% of the Public Service’s budget is devoted to training, compared to the 5% advocated by the Department of Labour. Much of the training is focused on the top management echelon in which there are few women.

Sectoral gender training

Individual departments have generally not yet devised internal gender training courses for staff. However, following the Fourth World Conference on Women in September 1995, there have been a series of gender training workshops for the gender units of line departments and provinces. Many of these were organised by the Department of Welfare, which hosted South Africa’s Beijing Secretariat while national machinery for advancing gender equality was being established. The workshops were sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Commonwealth Secretariat.

Several educational institutions, such as Public and Development Management at Witwatersrand University and the University of Fort Hare’s Education Policy Unit, have organised gender training courses to which individual departments have sent their staff. There have also been some once-off gender training initiatives at provincial level.

Several departments have either instituted, or started planning, internal gender training. Since April 1997 the Department of Land Affairs’ in-house Diversity Management Programme has included a component on training and facilitation in Anti-Sexist and Anti-Racist Behaviour. The tenure reform programme of the Department of Land Affairs has also developed a training programme for people within and outside the Department which addresses gender problems experienced in implementation of projects. The Redistribution Directorate of Land Affairs is developing a training programme that will integrate a gender perspective.

The Welfare White Paper proposes a focus on gender issues in the training and reorientation of welfare personnel inside and outside government. Such training will focus, in particular, on the management of violence against women. The Department of Welfare also acknowledges the importance of gender training for senior management and policy-makers.

The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, assisted by the Commonwealth Secretariat, has a pilot project involving integrating gender training into the drafting of the department’s gender policy. The Department of Health will introduce gender training once its gender desk is fully operational. A non-governmental organisation, the Law, Race and Gender Research Project, conducts race and gender sensitisation training for magistrates and prosecutors attending courses at the Department of Justice’s Justice College.

ARTICLE 4

ACCELERATION OF EQUALITY BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN

Adoption by States Parties of temporary measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between men and women shall not be considered discrimination as defined in the present Convention, but shall in no way entail, as a consequence, the maintenance of unequal or separate standards; these measures shall be discontinued when the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment have been achieved.

Adoption by States Parties of special measures, including those measures contained in the present Convention, aimed at protecting maternity, shall not be considered discriminatory.

The Public Service

The table below gives the race and gender composition of the Public Service in December 1996.

Public Service as at 31 December 1996

The table shows that:

• 583 299 or 49% of public servants are women;
• Most women (309 417 or 53% of the total) are employed in the highly skilled production category in which nurses and teachers are found. Further analysis shows, however, that women are in the lowest ranks of those categories (women teachers, for example, predominate at the primary school level and are under-represented among principals, deputy principals and department heads) (See Article 10);
• There are only 30 women out of 298 (or 10%) at senior management level. This represents a substantial increase from 3% after the elections;
• Four out of 25 (16%) director generals - the most senior level in the civil service - are women; and
• Race imbalances persist - for example, 42% of skilled supervisors, 58% of management and 40% of senior management are white men.

Gender analysis of the personnel budget of the Department of Housing bears out assertions that the majority of women are employed at the lower levels. The table shows that men receive 55% of salaries; 58% of housing subsidy and 84% of allocations to motor allowances (a benefit extended only to senior management.) The position would be similar for many other departments.

Department of Housing: Personnel Budget

 Review of legislation and regulations

After the elections, the then Office of the Public Service Commission undertook a comprehensive review of regulations with the aim of eradicating all discriminatory practices within the public service. The exercise resulted in the Public Service Act (1994) as well as amendments to the Public Service Staff code and other measures. The measures were all recast in non-sexist language.

The amendments included the removal of previously discriminatory provisions such as the fact that the Staff Code did not recognise customary marriages, and that public service regulations discriminated between benefits paid to spouses, or between housing and other allowances available to women and male employees.

The Labour Relations Act (1995) was extended to cover the public service in 1996. The Act states that no-one may be discriminated against on the basis of family responsibility, marital status or sexual orientation. Such discrimination constitutes an unfair labour practice. The Public Service will also be covered by Employment and Occupational Equity legislation being prepared by the Department of Labour (see Article 11) .

Targets for redressing the imabalances

One of the primary objectives of the 1996 White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service is the creation of a "genuinely representative public service which reflects the major characteristics of South African demography". More specifically, it set as its key targets:

• within four years, a 50% representation of blacks at management level; and
• during the same period, at least 30% of new recruits to the middle and senior management echelons are to be women;

Critics have pointed out that a 30% target for new recruits may be elusive at a time when the Public Service is being downsized. However, the commitment of the Public Service to greater representivity is reflected in the fact that in the new "Jobs for South Africa" initiative to fill 11 000 posts in the civil service, women have so far filled 45% of the new posts. Already, there has been an increase in the representation of women in senior management from 3 to 10 percent since the 1994 elections.

All departments are able to provide staff profiles by gender and rank, indicating the extent to which such data is being systematically collected. These profiles show that the position differs across sectors.

Departments such as Welfare which historically employed more women than men, women constitute 56% of senior management. While this is encouraging, the acid test is in departments which traditionally were male-dominated. The examples below illustrate the difficulties.

The Department of Agriculture has a limited pool of women to draw into decision-making positions. On the one hand there were laws which prevented African women from obtaining and owning land. On the other hand white women were never seen as agriculturalists. The Director-General of Agriculture is a woman, but there are few other women in professional posts. The Department will be launching special programmes to bring about agricultural awareness among black people and will actively encourage women to consider agriculture as a profession. The Department has launched an "Award for Women in Agriculture" as a stimulus for recognising the contribution which women make.

Similarly the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has identified that women have traditionally been discouraged from studying technical courses. Yet the majority of posts in the Department demand technical qualifications, for example in, engineering and geo-hydrology.

In its strategic planning, the Department of Defence affirmed the equal right of women to serve in all ranks including combat roles. However, to date very few women are in management positions as historically Defence was dominated by white males.

Recruitment of white women into the Department of Safety and Security occurred for the first time in 1972; of coloured and Indian women ten years later and of African women even later. As a result there are few senior women in the Department. In addition, women were employed in administrative and in so-called "soft jobs" or relegated into insignificant positions. Many women have internalised the stereotypical role designation, and find it difficult to break through the imposed ceiling. Inadequate or absent gender training and assertiveness training, and the male-dominated culture of the police further entrenches the inferior position of women.

The Department of Sport and Recreation was created in 1994, and inherited staff from another departments. Initially women comprised 49% of the staff complement. This has since increased slightly to 52%. However no women are employed above the level of Deputy-Director.

In 1996 the Department of Trade and Industry deliberately appointed three women in line functions which are "unusual" for women i.e. motor assembly, patent and trade marks, and regional industrial development.

Transformation Units

The White Paper proposed the establishment of Transformation Units in all national and provincial departments. The tasks of these Units included the promotion of greater representativeness. By February 1996, two thirds of the national departments had established Special Programmes for this purpose. The Department of Trade and Industry has gone further, and identified 18 people, representing all the chief directorates, to act as change agents. In addition, women in several departments have established gender fora. These fora act as advocacy and support structures for women employed in the department.

Affirmative Action in Government Departments

Policies to promote the advancement of women in government are designated as Affirmative Action, Employment Equity, Accelerated Development or Equal Opportunities by different departments.

All departments have active Transformation Processes. Strategies and internal arrangements differ. For example, some departments stipulate short-listing women candidates for posts, and that selection panels should always include women. Many departments have held workshops, conferences and other consultative forums to inform policy formulation and to monitor implementation. Some departments have successfully negotiated their polices with departmental bargaining chambers.

Ten out of 28 government departments have an official policy on the acceleration of equality between women and men. They are the Departments of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology; Correctional Services; Defense; Environment and Tourism; Foreign Affairs; Justice; Mineral Affairs and Energy; Safety and Security; Water Affairs and Forestry; and Welfare. In other departments, such as Agriculture and Land Affairs, policies are being completed. The remainder have not reported any substantial progress in this area. The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry is the only one which notes that its Employment Equity Policy is registered with the Office of the Public Service and Administration.

Provincial initiatives

The Gauteng (Provincial) Women in Government Forum, which meets once every six weeks, aims to create an arena for women in government to share experiences and build awareness of the rights of women as workers and citizens. In Gauteng, thanks largely to the advocacy role of this forum, the proportion of women at management level has been increased from 1% to 25% in the period since the April 1994 elections. This achievement has been accompanied by management training for women in senior positions, and a gender training component in new senior management training courses.

The Gauteng Provincial Public Service has spearheaded an initiative to carry out a study on what prevents women rising to more senior levels in the Public Service. Their brief includes the regulatory framework, human resource development policy, conditions of service and how they impact on women (e.g. inflexible working hours), opportunities for promotion and career development, how people are selected for training, and attitudes towards the promotion of women among senior civil servants, including racial and gender stereotyping

Employment conditions within the Public Service

General conditions of service of public servants are equally applicable to both women and men employees. There is, however, room for improving the service conditions surrounding the reproductive rights of women and the attendant caring responsibilities and social roles.

Retirement and pension

The mandatory retirement age for both women and men employees in the Public Service is 60 years. However the common voluntary retirement age among both women and men employees is 55 years. Up until recently women and men employees contributed different amounts towards the Government Employment Pension Fund. The pension laws have since been changed. Every government employee now contributes at the rate of 7,5% of pay.

The definition of a dependent in the Government Employees Pension Law (1996) includes any person married to a member or pensioner of the fund. It includes those married by indigenous, customary or religious law. It allows spouses of both female and male public service employees to benefit from the pension plans held by their husbands and wives. It does not, however, allow the partners of gay and lesbian couples to claim benefits.

Medical benefits

Public servants can choose whether to join a medical scheme or not, and which scheme they join. The state as employer contributes two-thirds of the membership fees, limited to a prescribed amount negotiated annually with employee organisations. Financial assistance continues after retirement or termination of service. The extent of assistance is dependant on age and years of service. This could incorporate some gender bias where women have interrupted their service on account of childbearing and childbearing.

Housing allowances

Any public servant with an outstanding registered mortgage bond may apply to participate in the home ownership scheme. Any public servant can apply to the guarantee scheme for assistance in getting a housing loan without a cash deposit. The government has entered into agreements with certain financial institutions that it will guarantee a maximum of 20% of the housing loan for which a person qualifies. The maximum guarantee amount is based on the person’s basic salary. To the extent that women earn less than men, this will have a gender bias.

Leave

Ordinary vacation leave benefits do not distinguish between women and men.

There are no specific provisions for paternity leave. Men are expected to use their vacation leave credits. Similarly, women are expected to use their vacation leave credits for ante- and post-natal visits, as there are no formal time-off provisions.

All women employees qualify for up to 84 days maternity leave on full pay, to a limit of two confinements, after twelve months uninterrupted service. Maternity leave is available when women adopt, but not for those who foster or are not formally recognised as parents. Women who take maternity leave are not obliged to return to the public service. The period of maternity leave is regarded as continuous service. There are, however, no provisions for career breaks or child care leave.

Baby and child care

There is no public service-wide provision for nursing breaks. Parents must usually make their own private arrangements for after-school arrangements for older children.

The Public Service makes provision for the establishment of creche facilities which will be privately run but subsidised by government. The Departments of Housing and Health, and the National Intelligence Service are the only departments which provide child care facilities. Those of the National Intelligence Service operate only during the official hours of 7h30 to 16h30, causing inconvenience to those who have to work longer. Transport to the creche is not provided, although it is located some distance from public transport. Staff who are not members of the car allowance scheme are disadvantaged by the lack of transport.

The Departments of Water Affairs and Forestry, and of Land Affairs, are investigating the possibility of doing so. The Department of Trade and Industry has included a creche in the plans for its new building. In the case of Health the creche is not in the same building. This creates problems for the parents.

The large scale absence of child care facilities reflects the fact that the civil service is still largely male dominated, particularly at senior management level. Because men usually do not share the responsibility of child care, lobbying for child care facilities has not been a priority. The absence of facilities poses many problems for women employed in the public service, and blocks their advancement.

Hours of work

The working hours for most departments are 7:30-16:00 or 8:00-16:00. The hours mean that women have to drop children off very early in the morning and have to leave promptly to collect them. Meanwhile the schedules of senior management are characterised by early morning meetings and briefing sessions, and late afternoon or evening meetings.

Many departments have flexi-hours, but usually these only allow for half an hour's variation in starting or finishing times

Many departments have flexi-hours, but usually these only allow for half an hour’s variation in starting or finishing times. In some departments once times have been arranged, they are considered fixed. This makes no allowance for emergencies that women might have to deal with. In the South African Police Services, where flexi-time and child care have not yet been introduced, women who have dependent children cannot be employed in the more functional stream because they have shifts incompatible with the opening times of private creche facilities.

The Private Sector

In mid-1997, 88 directorships of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange were held by women, more than double one year previously. However 68 of these directorships were held by white women. And women still accounted for under 5% of all directors of listed companies.

South Africa’s occupational and sectoral employment patterns show the same gendered patterns which are common around the world. In South Africa, however, these are exacerbated by racial discrimination and disadvantage which sees black women generally occupying the least prestigious and lowest paid positions (see Article 11). The Department of Labour’s Green Paper on Employment and Occupational Equity proposes legislation which will promote greater representation of those disadvantaged by race, gender or disability; and prevent any form of discrimination in the workplace. The proposed legislation, like the Labour Relations Act, will cover both public and private sector employment. The implications are discussed in greater detail in Article 11.

SEX ROLES AND STEREOTYPING

 State parties shall take all appropriate measures:

1. to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women;
2. to ensure that family education includes a proper understanding of maternity as a social function and the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children, it being understood that the interests of the children is the primordial consideration in all cases.

It is a sad fact that one of the few profoundly non racial institutions in South Africa is patriarchy. Amongst the multiple chauvinisms which abound in our country, the male version rears itself with special equal vigour in communities. Indeed, it is so firmly rooted that it is frequently given a cultural halo and identified with the customs and personalities of different communities. Thus to challenge patriarchy, to dispute the idea that men should be the dominant figures in the family and society, is to be seen not as fighting against the male privilege but as attempting to destroy African tradition or subvert Afrikaner ideals or undermine civilised and decent British values. Men are exhorted to express their manhood as powerfully as possible, which some do by joining the police or the army or vigilante groups and seeing how many youths they can shoot, whip, teargas, club or knife, or how many houses they can burn down or bulldoze, or how many people they can torture into helplessness. Patriarchy brutalises men and neutralises women across the colour line.

Patriarchy is a philosophy deeply embedded in the customs, culture and religion of all South Africa’s diverse peoples. It is hardly surprising that stereotypes of women abound in the country’s language, education system, media, popular culture and practice.

In 1994 a Johannesburg-based market research agency called Market Research Africa surveyed the views of 2 439 urban adults aged 16 years and over on the issue of women’s rights. They found that:

93% of the sample agreed women should get the same pay rates as men, and 90% agreed that women should get the same promotions as men, but only 76% felt that women have a right to say no to sex;

Only 66% of respondents felt that "some parts of traditional culture should be changed to allow women the same rights as men";

One third felt that women cannot decide for themselves on abortion or how many children to have. This included 22% of the women sampled; and

10% condoned a man beating a woman or his wife. This included 15% of male respondents and 4% of female respondents.

The agency’s director commented that a major problem evident in the findings is the inclination of South African women to deny themselves rights. He commented in particular on the fact that the survey reflected only urban, "and hence probably more liberal views".

The starting point for change is South Africa's new Constitution. The Constitution recognises culture and tradition, but gives precedence to the equality clause in the Bill of Rights. These paper changes will only start to make a difference when all society is mobilised towards a different vision of the role of men and women.

There are many measures that the government has taken and can take to promote societal change, such as changes in the education curriculum, and the establishment of a Commission on Gender Equality which has a major advocacy and public education role. But there are also limitations on the extent to which the state can effect changes in areas such as the media, religion and culture without infringing on fundamental freedoms. Such profound changes require a society-wide crusade for which the government can only be a catalyst.

Custom, tradition and religion

Custom

Across all ethnic groups, men are generally deemed to be heads of households and are the patriarchs whose authority must be respected. Whereas men are in a powerful position, women are expected to be subordinate, accept domination and not question decisions made by men. In 1992, a cross-section of South African women working in a collective to produce the journal "Agenda" met to discuss culture, tradition and gender. They concluded:

South Africans often speak about traditional African cultures, Indian cultures and Western cultures placing emphasis on differences and distinctions. There is indeed diversity, but during our workshop we observed that we share several cultural similarities with regard to gender-related beliefs and roles. While there are differences in specific practices, there are gender related features that our backgrounds have in common; for example the evidence that many women are undervalued and anything associated with women seems to be evaluated negatively. Another common theme is that from an early age women are held responsible for child rearing and household work.

In its worst form, and especially in traditional rural societies, this stereotype forces a woman into a submissive position where she has little or no control over her own life or body. She is seen as the property of her husband, father or son. She is expected to bear and raise children, and confine herself to matters of the household. In a more subtle form, in so-called "civilised" societies, women are manipulated by social and religious pressures to accept and even defend their subordinate role in society. The "volksmoeder" ideology of Afrikaners praises and idealises women for certain commendable characteristics, but then uses these to stereotype them.

Tradition

A number of traditional practices serve to reinforce the inferior status of women. For example:

Lobola: Lobola was originally a way of bonding two families. It has now been commercialised, with higher prices charged depending on the level of education of the bride. In 1991 a group of university students at the University of Natal, Durban carried out a survey on attitudes towards lobola among African men and women in Durban and the rural settlement around Ixopo. They found that more people supported lobola than did not. Urban women and rural men showed the least support for the continuation of the institution. The men objected to the fact that it had become too expensive, while the women felt that the practice effectively enslaved them. The latter perception is reinforced by the statement of one of the rural male respondents: "A woman cannot dictate because she is in a very fragile position. I buy her and she has to obey me because she is my property." Half of the people surveyed stated that marital fidelity is expected of women, because of the lobola paid for them, but is not expected of men.

Polygamy: This practice is dying a natural death, partly for economic reasons. It has been argued that polygamy is not inherently less equitable than monogamy. However, as long as the man has the choice of several wives, while the woman is forbidden from having more than one husband, the practice perpetuates the stereotype of female inferiority.

Witch hunting: This disturbing practice continues to haunt parts of South Africa, especially the Northern province. While some men have been killed in such "purges", media reports suggest that the majority of those who have been decreed witches and been tortured to death have been women. Further research is required into this practice.

Female circumcision and prenuptial checking of a woman’s virginity. These do not appear to be widely practiced in South Africa. Nevertheless, further research is needed.

Religion

Subordination of women has also been reinforced by all South African religions. About 15% of South Africans are traditionalists, 80% Christians, and most of the remainder are Hindus, Muslims, or Jews.

The following passages, quoted in an article by Judge Navi Pillay on "Equality and Customary Law" in the Agenda journal, No 13, 1992 illustrates the sexism found in all the major religions:

Christianity;

The bible says: "Wives, submit yourselves unto your husbands, as unto the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church...therefore as the Church is subject to Christ so let wives be subject to husbands in everything."

Hinduism:

Tulsidas in his Ramayana expressed his contempt for women when he wrote that if women become independent, this would lead to evil. Therefore he prescribed that "The drum, the village fool, the Shudras (lower classes), animals, women, all these are fit to be beaten."

Islam:

The Koran states: "Men have authority over women because Allah has made one superior to the other. Good women are obedient. They guard the unseen parts because Allah has guarded them. As for those whom you fear disobedient, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them."

Judaism:

Jewish tradition has considered women intellectually and spiritually inferior to men. The Mishnah, a part of the Talmud, states that learning the Torah is a paradox for women, as they will turn the words of the Torah into foolish words due to lack of understanding and interest.

Women are by and large absent from leadership positions in religious organisations. In the Roman Catholic Church the controversy regarding women priests is still raging. In other churches, such as the Anglican church, women have been ordained, but their ordination has led to rifts.

Reform of discriminatory laws and customs

The South African Law Reform Commission has initiated discussion on harmonising customary and civil marriages, with a view to removing any remaining discriminatory practices (see Article 16). It is also looking into the issue of discriminatory aspects of Muslim Family Law (see Article 16).

Among the tasks of the newly constituted Commission on Gender Equality is to evaluate "any system of personal and family law or custom; any system of indigenous law, custom or practices or any other law", with a view to making recommendations to parliament. One of the first activities planned by the Commission is a series of hearings on culture, tradition and religion.

South African women are speaking out against those aspects of tradition which they find oppressive. An example is the following excerpt from an opinion piece by the Chair of the Parliamentary Women's Group, Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge. The article was published in the Sunday Times soon after the inauguration of the National Council of Traditional Leaders:

As we reclaim our African identity and pride and as we redefine who we really are ...we must look honestly at how we construct our society such that everyone enjoys the rights granted by our new found democracy ... Some people have argued that African tradition was not always oppressive to women. This may be so, but what we do know is that it is now. We do know that African law has for generations been pervaded by the principle of patriarchy, the status enjoyed by all senior males in society. With the distortion of some customs and practices over the years, oppressive rules were entrenched... While other institutions are adapting to the principle of gender equality, the appointment of traditional leaders has not adapted so that women are represented in proportion to their numbers in society. They are relegated to the role of caring for children, tilling the land, preparing food and ululating at functions. If this institution is to survive and have a meaningful place, it must honestly address the issue of women's oppression and gender equality.

Women are also drawing distinctions between religious ideals and anachronisms which have been used to subordinate women. Churches are engaged in a decade of solidarity with women in which the patriarchal foundations of the Christian religion are being questioned. And at an Information and Evaluation workshop held in May by the Commission on Gender Equality, the gender desk of the Islamic Youth Movement reported on how it has launched an information and education campaign to emphasise the egalitarian aspects of the religion, which override its patriarchal practices.

Language and Education

At present the use of inclusive language is often still ridiculed. The practice of using he/she is seen as cumbersome. It is argued that that the pronoun "he" includes both sexes. The Gender Unit of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry examined internal departmental documents, including policy, daily correspondence and personal communication, and found that most contained exclusionary and sexist language. Examination of the documents of most other departments would almost certainly find a similar position. The Constitution represents a breakthrough in its use of non-sexist language.

The majority of school text books still promote gender stereotypes. This is reinforced by the roles of boys and girls at schools. For example:

• girls clean the classroom and boys do the garden;
• during experiments, boys often perform the experiments while girls record the results; and
• during mapping exercises in geography, boys carry the equipment and do the mapping while girls record the results.

Initiatives to combat sexism and gender bias

The Education White Paper draws attention to a range of disparities within the education system between girls and boys, women and men. The Ministry of Education has established a Gender Equity Task Team which is advising on the establishment of a permanent Gender Equity Unit within the Department. The National Curriculum Development Committee aims to eradicate gender stereotypes from education materials in the new curriculum. This curriculum will be launched in 1998, and extended throughout all levels of school by 2005.

The Science Committee in Education is piloting a micro-scale teaching approach with 300 schools. The approach is seen as girl-friendly and minimises competition amongst boys and girls. Experiments are performed in small groups and everyone gets a meaningful role to play. The interim Guidance syllabus provides for teaching on how to deal constructively with violence and conflict.

Following the example set by the Constitution, the government is endeavouring to ensure that gender-sensitive language is used in all its key documents and publications, as well as in public institutions.

The Constitution also establishes eleven official languages for the country, rather than only the English and Afrikaans - the languages spoken by most whites - of the apartheid era. In practice English is used far more than the other ten languages in public life and public documents. Cost and time considerations make it difficult to treat all languages equally. But the Constitution supports those who need to be served by government in a language they can understand. Copies of the new Constitution were widely distributed throughout the country in all eleven languages, as well as in braille.

The Media, Advertising and Censorship

Portrayal of Women in the Media

Gender stereotypes are reflected in the media and advertising. In a submission to the Commission on Gender Equality during its Information and Evaluation Workshops in May 1997, the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism (IAJ) made the following observations:

Images: Women are often simply not seen in the South African media, and advertising agencies "skew the bias towards decorative images of women even further. Some women, girl children, the old, women with disability, rural women, are almost completely invisible";

News Values: "One reason for the invisibility of certain categories of women is the refusal by the South African media to accept ‘development’ as a national news story";

Language: "Women are all too often girls in the South African media. Important female figures are the wives of someone else. When actress Dorothy Lamour died, the British Broadcasting Corporation called her a ‘talented comedian and actress’. The South African Broadcasting Corporation described her as ‘the sexy sidekick of Bob Hope and Bill Cosby’;

The glass ceiling: The South African media is essentially an old (white) boys club. In management courses run by the IAJ, the proportion of women participants is always lower than 25%.

Attempts to write an explicit commitment to gender equality and against sexual harassment into the IAJ's mission statement, and to hold training courses on gender and the media at the IAJ have been dismissed as irrelevant.

A study carried out by the Community Agency for Social Enquiry (C A S E) looked at front page coverage or prime time viewing of three key daily newspapers; five radio stations and three public television channels over the period 17 to 21 July 1996. It found that:

• fewer women are reporters of media items than men;
• male reporters are more likely to report on political and labour issues than females;
• 82% of those shown in the media in the survey were men. Men are more likely to be talked about, to be interviewed or be represented doing diverse every day actions;
• the most significant difference in the identities ascribed to men and women was the extent to which women featured as victims; and
• with regard to subject matter, 93% of those represented in the political category were men; and
• the nature of "women's issues" covered was very similar to those of a study on "The Portrayal of Women in the South African Electronic Media" carried out by Media Watch. The findings suggest that violence against women; health and reproductive issues; as well as women's empowerment, receive the greatest attention by the mainstream media.

The CASE study also examined 163 advertisements. It found that:

• 31% of people in advertisements were female, compared to 18% in non-commercial media items, reflecting the fact that women are the largest single consumer group; and
• women were more likely to be represented in the domestic sphere, as housewives (24%), daughters (11%) and mothers (9%). On the other hand men were generally shown in the public sphere as decision-makers (15%) political personalities (13%) and professionals (8%).

Violent and sexually offensive films and magazines

The Indecent or Obscene Photographic Matters Act (1967) makes it an offense to possess any indecent or obscene photograph or film. The Publications Act (1974) gives powers to any person authorised by the Minister of Post and Telecommunication to enter any premises and examine and take away "undesirable" publications or objects. A committee appointed in terms of the Publication Act will not approve a film which it finds undesirable. Violent and sexually offensive magazines are considered undesirable.

In October 1996 parliament passed the Film and Publications Act (1996). The Act allows adults access to a wide range of material which would previously have been forbidden. However, it attempts to protect children and the dignity of adults, and women in particular. It provides for the prohibition of the showing, distribution or advertising of material judged to be pornographic, sexually explicit or degrading.

Gender sensitising the Media

The South African Constitution guarantees freedom of expression. Most of the print media in South Africa is independently owned. The government owns the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), but this is largely independently run. There is one private television channel and several private radio stations. These are regulated by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA).

Much of the regulation of the media is in the form of self-regulation. Some media organisations, such as the SABC, have formed their own Women's Fora to lobby for change. Gender is beginning to feature more prominently in the mission statements of media organisations. The C A S E study quoted above was commissioned by the SABC Women’s Forum.

The fact that the study found that 21% of front page and prime time coverage was on the empowerment of women, compared to 4% on beauty and fashion is an encouraging sign. As C A S E comments: "It suggests that pressures are being successfully exerted on SABC programmers. There is still a long way to go before women and men have equal air time, but the basis has been laid."

While the media must largely reform itself and lead rather than react to societal change, it was suggested by the IAJ that the government could take a more proactive role, through strong gender provisions in a Press Council and Advertising Standards Board "which could take up complaints and mete out more than a gentlemanly rap over the knuckles".

A new Press Ombudsman replaced the old Press Council on 1 July, 1997. This body will administer an expanded press code and will provide a quick means of settling disputes between the public and the press. The Press Ombudsman provides an avene for women’s organisations to lodge complaints over the manner in which women are portrayed in the media.

ARTICLE 6

SUPPRESSION OF THE EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN

States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women.

Prostitution

The Sexual Offences Act (1957) makes prostitution, as well as any involvement in a brothel, an offence.

There are a wide variety of views on prostitution. Many of these views are influenced by cultural background, religious beliefs and life experiences. Some constitutional rights may be violated by current laws on prostitution. These rights include:

the right to equal protection and benefit of the law;

the right to have one’s dignity respected and protected;

rights to freedom and security of the person;

the right to privacy;

the right to freedom of association; and

the right to choose one’s trade, occupation or profession.

In its commitments to implementing the Beijing Platform for Action, the Department of Justice undertook to "review sexual offences legislation to decriminalise, where necessary, and to ensure greater protection for women". The Justice Vision 2000 document and the draft gender policy also refer specifically to decriminalising of prostitution.

In November 1996 the Gauteng provincial Ministry of Safety and Security prepared a draft policy on Sex Work. The document was the result of broad consultation. It recommends a series of measures to prevent child prostitution and trafficking in human beings, but proposes decriminalisation of adult sex work.

A detailed report entitled "Decriminalisation of Commercial Sex Work in South Africa - An Exploratory Survey" has been produced by a group of agencies in KwaZulu-Natal which includes Lawyers for Human Rights and the Pietermaritzburg AIDS Training, Information and Counselling Centre. This report also recommends decriminalising of prostitution. However, it also recommends thorough research into the issue before new laws are passed.

There has been much publicity recently around cases in which parents and other adults sell the sexual services of young children. Such shocking situations confuse debates around the issue of adult women (and men) participating in a commercial sex industry. Spokespersons for the industry will need to be identified if there is to be useful public debate. In Cape Town there is an organisation called SWEAT which represents workers in the sex industry.

Traffic in women

The Sexual Offences Act makes it an offence for South Africans to exploit women and traffic in women in the country. There is, however, no explicit legislation controlling "sex tourism" or trafficking in women across borders of South Africa.