WOMEN MARCHING TOWARDS THE AFRICAN CENTURY

Programme of Action 2000/2001

CONTENTS

1. ROLE OF THE WOMEN'S LEAGUE

The NEC of the WL together with the officials of the ANC have agreed that the women's league still has a role to play and it is also the challenge of the whole membership of the ANC to:-

• Mobilise women to participate in the struggle for the emancipation of women within the ANC in particular and society as a whole.
• Spearhead gender struggles around policies and programmes of the ANC and the ANC WL.
• Strive for participation of women in all spheres of the public.

Character

The strategic objective of the NOR which is to strive for a democratic non-sexist, non-racial and a united South Africa still remains the overarching challenge of the Women's League. This is important more particularly because the Women's League has to start convincing the ANC as well as society in general, that non-sexism is as important as other components of the strategic objective of the NOR. An individual who tempers with the principle of non-sexism should be taken as seriously as a chauvinist who tempers with other components of our strategic objective.

Programme areas:

1. Building a strong organisation
2. Formalisation of the Women's movement and gender machinery
3. Women and Local Government
4. Women's Health

1. HIV/AIDS
2. Violence against women

1. Women and the dawn of the African Century
2. Governance and Delivery
3. Women and Economic Empowerment

2. BUILDING A STRONG WOMEN'S LEAGUE

• Having a strong organisation must be linked with our vision as well as our role.
• The Women's League must take its rightful place in gender struggles by getting involved in issues that directly affect women, e.g. violence against women and children.
• Empower women in the ANC as well as society in general through facilitating education on their rights and the gains the government has made to change the lives of women.
• Women's League must be able to give direction to the government on what should be done to eradicate legislation that impacts negatively on women.
• Develop good working relations with other women's organisations.

In order to be able to have millennium branches our priority should be to build a strong and a dedicated cadre. In order to have the above the WL should:

• Induct its leadership at all levels i.e. branch, region, Province and national
• Political education should not be taken as an event but it must be ongoing so that we can have a politically-matured membership
• Capacitate representatives more especially at a local government level because this is where actual delivery takes place
• Bring women from minorities, professionals and workers to the ranks of the ANC WL so as to have diverse membership that is going to improve the image of the WL.

3. FORMALISATION OF THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT.

The WL sees the women's movement as a networking tool with other women's organisations and individuals with certain skills so as to achieve our strategic goal of transformation.

The Women's League leadership now understands the role of the women's movement. We have also agreed that the women's movement exists but there is no proper co-ordination of the various structures that have to take up gender issues.

In order to have understanding of the women's movement, the WL has agreed that the leadership of the ANC should be taken on board on these issues.

As a process of practicalising this network for women, we need to start with understanding what gender is, the ideology of patriarchy and male superiority. We must also know how these have affected our communities.

The League has also agreed to deal with gender manifestation that takes place in social institutions, how they manifest themselves, in different spheres and inequality. These are some of the issues that one needs to focus on so as to be able to start positively.

The WL has agreed to focus on the state and laws so as to be able to deal with gross inequalities that are taking place in different social institutions. Gender machinery should be used as a tactic to fight gender oppression in different spheres of our societies. The Gender Commission, OSW and the Parliamentary Committee on the Status of Women should be able to work with women's organisations with the aim of conceptualising gender units, the impact they have in policy making as well as affirmative action. How do affirmative action impact on women in general and more particularly African women? To prevent confusion that took place in the Coalition, the women's movement should be located within the organisation i.e. whatever activity that takes place. Work of the Women's League with other women's organisation should be co-ordinated in the SGO of the Women's League.

3.1 Women's coalition

In 1997, the coalition was given a mandate to prepare for a conference but due to financial constraints the coalition has not been able to convene this conference. It is important for our structures to learn from the previous mistakes. We must have very clear objectives of the women's movement so that we avoid sending conflicting massages to our membership.

Other important structures that we have to consider are:

• Network on violence against women
• NGO's dealing with HlV/Aids
• Structures dealing with the empowerment of women
• Our Allies, i.e. COSATU and SACP, should also be brought on board so that we can look at the problem of various sectors of the society holistically

Our strategic objective for the Women's Movement is the eradication of gender oppression and the creation of substantive gender equality. In dealing with the above, the relationship between race, class and gender should be prioritised.

There is a need to highlight engendered perspective so as to be able to deal with power relations in life and in the whole society. This will empower us in dealing with gender analysis with regard to policies, programmes and other issues.

3.2 Challenges:

• Mobilise and empower ANC leadership on women's movement and gendered perspective
• Meet with alliance partners
• Finalise and conceptualise our programme
• Engage provinces, regions and branches on the women's movement so that all members of the WL can understand . their role in as far as the women's movement is concerned. Branches must also take a lead in bringing together different women's groups and give leadership on issues affecting women.
• Finalise the issue of the Women's coalition
• Meet with other women's organisations so as to start understanding how they see the women's movement, e.g. Political Parties, church women, network on violence against women and many other organisations.

4. WOMEN AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Women must have a very clear understanding of what local government elections have for them.

In the last election there was a quota for women, but it was not reached due to the fact that our structures did not monitor the list process.

Local government is not about elections only but it is about delivery. In most areas delivery has been very slow due to officials that do not understand government's policy of transformation, others have a negative attitude towards our councillors. The ANC should not only concentrate on councillors but also on officials. The ANC must begin to address gender imbalance on the bureaucracy of local government structures because this is where delivery is important. There is direct contact with people who happen to be mainly women.

4.1 Local Government Challenges

• Ensuring women's growth in local government and effective deployment of women in senior positions of district councils, metropolitan as well strategic municipalities. This should go hand-in-hand with deploying women that are going to be able to implement the policies of the ANC.
• The ANC should avoid reducing the numbers of women in local councils in sorting out the reduction of councillors.
• Local councils should have gender units in chairpersons of the executive committees so that gender issues can be on top of the Agenda.
• Women's League to ensure that women councillors are empowered so as to be able to deal with various issues of local government e.g. budget, agenda, delivery, development, etc.
• Ensure that the ANC leadership deploys women as ward councillors so as to ensure that the quota system is adhered to.
• Women's League to start now to identify capable comrades who can be recommended as executive mayors.
• Women's League to have bias towards rural women and focus more on rural development when empowering women. These women have not been exposed to training due to the nature of their communities.

Manifesto

The manifesto must deal with the following issues:

• Violence against women
• HlV/Aids
• Employment equity
• Procurement policies
• Service delivery
• Rural development
• Capacitating women so that they can be part of delivery themselves and stop to be on the receiving end.

5. WOMEN AND HEALTH

The Women's League has to be able to take up women's health issues together with other women's organisations. This has been done on an ad hoc basis in that we have not been able to respond to the call of women in different sectors of our society.

The problem we are faced with is that these are taken as women's issues when they should be taken as the responsibility of communities. The League has related this attitude to the nature of our societies and social institutions, which are patriarchal in nature.

The three areas that we need to address in order to be effective on women's health issues are:

• HlV/Aids
• Women's Health
• Violence against Women

5.1 Challenges

HIV/Aids

The Women's League has a commitment to take up this issue in a more radical way because of its nature. Whenever people talk about HlV/Aids they talk about the government. As partners with the government on HIV and Aids the WL has undertaken to embark on the following programme:

* Training of women as aids lay councillors so that they can:

1. Mobilise communities in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
2. Train families to be able to deal with members of families who are HIV positive.
3. Embark on a door to door campaign and mobilise people around the Theme "Abstain, be faithful and use a condom."

5.1.1 Need to help communities to form support groups so that we can begin to help people living with AIDS, AIDS orphans and their families. These committees should be able to sustain the programme of training and as partners with the government they must be able to take up campaigns that will be pronounced by the government. These must also work with centres located in our communities by the government.

5.1.2 There is a need to work with the Youth League in visiting schools and tertiary institutions on this matter.

5.1.3 Visit truck stops in our areas and distribute condoms and offer sex education.

5.2 Women's Health

• Work in collaboration with the department of health and find out if our women cannot be trained in handling daily check ups for women with chronic diseases.
• Encourage women to do check-ups and HlV/Aids testing on a yearly basis.
• Women's League to help communities to support the elderly and to work with the disabled so that they can play a meaningful role in their communities.

5.3 Violence against women

There is a need to make a follow up on the issue of halfway houses for battered women.

• Women's League to continue to support victims of violence.
• Police have to be trained to deal with rape cases in police stations as well as Magistrates courts.
• Women should participate in police forums so as to begin informally sensitising police about how the issues of violence against women should be handling using the acts of parliament.
• Victims of rape should be encouraged to go for testing and lay councillors should help rape victims and their partners as well as families deal with matters of violence against women.
• Women's League to ensure that there is a legislation that forces rapists or perpetrators of rape to be tested, and perpetrators to get stronger punishment if they are HIV positive. Government to stipulate the form of punishment to be given to these people.
• Women's League to start discussing the issue of virginity testing and have policy on it.
• Women's League should appoint a person that is going to be full time to Co-ordinate the HlV/Aids campaign.
• This person is going to help the League establish structures at a local level and network with other organisations that are dealing with HlV/Aids.

6. WOMEN AND THE DAWN OF THE AFRICAN CENTURY

• As we march towards the African Century the Women's League has a responsibility in Pan Africanist Women's Organisation (PAWO) and we can contribute in the dawn of the African Century through PAWO. Presently PAWO is supposed to be an NGO but it is taken as an organisation of Women's organisations of governing political parties.
• A We also have a role to play internationally as members of the socialist international women and the Federation of Democratic Women.
• We need to use these structures to support campaigns by women in Africa in the struggle against male chauvinism and the struggle for women's emancipation.
• The Women's League must use experience from these organisations to form a movement of African Women that is going to focus more particularly on peace in Africa.

Challenges

• Need to look at the status of African Women in the present status
• Redirect PAWO: - start influencing other women in the continent on the present status and character of PAWO
• Work towards PAWO that will be a woman's movement for Africa which will deal with issues of conflict resolution and peace in Africa, and work towards developing one definition of peace
• Participation of women in SADC and the OAU genderising the above structures
• Violence against women and children
• HlV/Aids
• Refugees.

The above will have short term as well as long term goals and gains for women which are:

• The enhancement of unity in Africa
• Create conditions of peace which will lead to stability in the continent
• Development of African Countries
• Destroy boundaries that exist in our minds and be able to deal with boundaries that were imposed on Africa to create disunity.

Women's League to host a panel of discussion on 8 March in an endeavour to start forming relations with women in Africa.

Role of women in South Africa

• Structures of the women's league at all levels to start putting international issues on their agenda
• Provinces to discuss the constitution and make suggestions that will be taken to PAWO conference
• Have a conference of women on the role of the African woman in African Renaissance - can invite other countries to participate at their expense.
• WL to work with ANC desk on international affairs so as to start developing our insight on international issues as well as to contribute on issues of interest to women, e.g. peace in Africa
• Discuss strategies of taking up issues that bring us together as women in the continent, e.g. HIV/AIDS, Violence Against Women
• Start discussing cultural issues that have a negative impact on women, e.g. virginity testing, circumcision of boys and girls.

7. GOVERNANCE AND DELIVERY

It is a known fact that there has been delivery which is part of the emancipation of women in South Africa. Delivery has been in terms of basic needs such as housing, water, electricity, schools, clinics, etc. If you look carefully into these they have reduced the level of back breaking chores for women. What remains a question is, have women participated towards this delivery or have they been recipients? If they have been recipients what needs to be done to bring them on board for their development?

When we talk about delivery we must be able to say as the Women's League the Government has been able to deal with affirmative action and what does affirmative action mean to women. Are women supposed to adapt to conditions that will not be conducive to their demands, conditions that are a creation of our own societies?

Have we been able to do a study on gender units in the Government and their location?

We need to ensure that women are located where they will be able to make an impact. Programme of deracialisation has to take into consideration that some of the people that are put in these positions are women.

Women's League need to have a breakdown of women who have access to services, e.g. land restitution process. How many women have gained access to land? There is a need to advocate for prioritisation of women when Government gives land to the people. The Government needs to monitor the prioritisation of women in rural areas.

The Constitution and constitutional institutions that support democracy have to be used positively to ensure that transformation of the state takes place in its proper context.

Challenges

• Advocate for the location of gender units in strategic areas, e.g. office of the Director General
• Gender units not to be lumped together with other major programmes of departments.
• Educate women about what the Government has done to improve the quality of their lives in terms of legislation
• Improve our capacity to monitor programmes of the Government
• Align our sub-committees with priorities of the Government
• Branches of the WL to be able to monitor delivery and to look after the property of the Government that belongs to communities Ensure that issues are discussed in our structures before they go out
• Major issues to be discussed within the structures of the movement before they go to Cabinet
• Keep dynamic contact between ourselves and Ministers

8. WOMEN AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

Women have not been able to play a visible role in economic development they have also not been part of economic forum. Women that have been able to perform in this area are elite women who have not been able to bring on board ordinary women to this field.

Tendering process has been a nightmare for women, the point that are demanded by the Tender Boards who are on themselves male dominated has created a nightmare for women. Most women have not been able to meet the demands of Tender Boards. The process itself takes a long time.

SMME's are mainly dominated by women because most women own small business. The problem we have is that women are sometimes given the responsibility of taking charge of business when they do not have basic accounting skills. We have been able to train and develop women in the past years but those women have not ploughed back to the ANC Women's League.

There is also a problem when women access land though there is legislation that give women the right to own land. Communities have not given land back to women as they are still taken as minors. The land restitution process has not taken seriously the issue of taking land to women. This they say is due to that women did not own land before.

Challenges

• To help women to understand the tendering process
• Deracialisation and engendering of the tender boards
• Utilisation of women that were trained by Malibongwe
• Use of Gender units to find out about their programme of engendering instruments that are used to capacitate and empower people
• Improvement of processes that are used to distribute land to the people in the process of land redistribution stereotypes must be dealt with i.e. that women do not own land.
• Co-ordination, promotion and encouragement of recycling of goods to other provinces and other countries.
• Encourage women to be involved in all types of business e.g. construction, wiring etc
• Work with NGO's so as to have information and network with groups that deal with women's empowerment.

The Women's League to integrate its programmes to the President's State of the Nation address.

Areas that affect women mainly in that address are:

• HlV/Aids
• Combating crime and corruption
• Justice
• Rural Development
• Education
• Job creation.

9. ORGANISATIONAL TASKS TO FEBRUARY ZW1

9.1 Branch Executive

Building the Organisation

• To hold branch meetings on a monthly basis and discuss membership in all meetings
• Branches to work with community-based organisations
• Members of the WL to participate as ANC members in C.B.0's
• Work with church women on issues that bring women together.
• Hold induction workshops after every-. Annual General Meeting so as to acclimatise new members with ANC philosophy policies and tasks of branch leadership.
• Chairperson and Secretary to sit in Branch Executive Committee meetings of the ANC and report on the activities of the WL and assist to give political direction on women's issues
• Ensure that all members of the WL have membership of the ANC
• Work as a structure of the ANC not as a separate entity
• Encourage political debate through discussions in branches

Campaigns

• Educate women about their rights
• Support victims of Violence Against Women and Children
• Involve themselves in Masakhane, Community Policing forums and many other campaigns that are meant to combat crime
• Support rape victims and assist them through their cases cave them advice of what is to be done
• Form HlV/Aids support groups
• Door to door campaign to mobilise communities about HlV/Aids and other health related issues
• Participate in election campaign
• Field women as councillors because of their capability
• Visit courts and discuss with magistrates about the handling of cases of Violence Against Women.

9.2 Regional Level Tasks

• Monitor the new membership system of the WL
• Hold meetings on a monthly basis and always put membership and cadre development in every agenda of the REC
• Visit branches regularly so as to ensure that there is political activity in branches, the programme of action is implemented
• Chairperson and Secretary to participate in all meetings of the REC and give a report on the state of the WL in branches, give political direction is as far as women are concerned
• Support branch campaigns and implement political development programmes
• Analyse branch reports and forward them to the PEC
• Report to branches about PEC meetings
• Develop working relations with other women's organisations e.g. church organisations, Alliance Partners and Burial Societies
• Hold meetings on a quarterly basis with other women's organisations in the region
• Identify women that are going to stand as councillors on the basis of their performances and recommend to the ANC.

Campaigns and Election

• Help branches to set up HlV/Aids support committees
• Develop a door to door programme on HlV/Aids and violence against women and invite MP's and Councillors to campaign vigorously about HlV/Aids
• Call meetings with church women, Alliance partners and other women's organisations so as to begin discussing the Women's Movement
• Organise branches of the WL in the so called minority areas
• Support branch campaigns
• Be part of Regional Election Team of the ANC
• Ensure that City Councils have gender desks
• Identify capable women to stand as councillors and also recommend to the ANC
• Educate women about their rights as part of election campaign
• Visit Tertiary institutions and talk to students about HIV/Aids
• Visit truck stops - distribute condoms and give sex education.

9.3 Provincial Tasks

• Develop a provincial programme of action
• Deploy members of the PEC to regions who are going to monitor the implementation of the P.O.A
• Have an evaluation and assessment meeting after six months from now of the implementation of programmes
• Act as co-ordinators when there are projects that women want to take up
• Set up dynamic links with other women's organisations with the aim of taking up the issue of the women's movement and the gender machinery
• Work as a resource for the ANC on gender related issues
• Have written reports to the ANC on a quarterly basis
• Start discussing international relations issues with more attention to PAWO
• Prepare workshops for regions and branches on issues that are relevant at that time
• Ensure the government uses a gendered approach in delivery programmes.

Campaigns and Elections

• Participate in all the campaigns of the ANC
• Take up campaigns of the WL and have focus weeks on those campaigns
• Help regions and branches set up health committees, HIV/Aids support groups
• Participate in all election structures of the ANC
• Ensure that gender issues are taken up in the election structures
• Deploy leaders to all campaigns.

9.4 Provincial Organisers

• Attend all meetings of the ANC organising department at a provincial level
• Give a report on the state of the WL in regions to the PEC and organisers forum of the ANC
• Identify areas where urgent attention needs to be paid by the ANC in order to strengthen the Women's League
• Have proper co-ordination with ANC regional organisers with the aim of understanding the whole province of the ANC Women's League
• Assist in organising workshops
• Monitor regional recruitment and assist in organising activities of the WL
• Have a weekly programmes that will be evaluated fortnightly
• Assist regions to set up programmes for themselves.

9.5 Provincial Secretaries

• Co-ordinate officials meetings once a week to process WL issues, Provincial Working Committee so as to carry out tasks of the PWC, PEC meetings
• Prepare reports for PWC and PEC meetings and NEC meetings and Secretaries Forum
• Manage the overall programme of the ANCWL
• Convene meetings of women's organisation and Alliance Secretariat
• Convenes PGC
• Convene meetings with women public representatives with the aim of sharing information, improvement of the quality of lives of women
• Liaise with OSW and Gender Commission
• Attend secretariat meetings of the ANC with the aim of sensitising the ANC with the programme of the WL and integrating WL programmes to those of the ANC
• Organise urgent meetings of the province when there are urgent issues to addressed
• Deploy PEC members to regions and monitor their performance Oversee implementation of campaigns
• Have meetings with staff to discuss their performance and share information on the programme of action
• Co-ordinate with policy and political education needs, workshops to empower women at various levels

Elections

Be part of the election structures of the ANC

Ensure that WL election programme is integrated in to the ANC programmes in advance

9.6 National Tasks

• Convene NEC, NWC, Sub-Committees
• Prepare reports for NEC
• Monitor PEC's, Regions and Branches
• Monitor performance of NEC members in provinces
• Distribute information to provinces
• Convene Secretariat
• Convene Alliance
• Have a meeting with other women's organisations so as to start discussing their view on the women's movement
• Build partnership with other women's organisations
• Monitor campaigns of the WL:

• HlV/Aids
• Women's health
• Local government
• Violence Against Women
• Women and Economic Empowerment.

• Participate in the Coalition and persuade the Coalition to have its National Conference
• Develop policy for the WL
• Pronounce on important issues
• Intervene and deal decisively with conflicts in the organisation
• Work towards North West Province conference by the end of April
• Deploy NEC members to provinces
• Have workshops:

1. Local Government
2. HlV/Aids before the end of April.

• Have conferences on

1. Women and Economic Empowerment
2. Women and the Dawn of the African Century

• Organise political development on an ongoing basis for the membership of the WL at different levels
• SimpIify Bills for provinces