Equality or pipe dreams: Gender and inclusive development under the African Union’s agenda 2063

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Pages: 73-97
• Published date: 16 August 2019
• Author: Kabaseke, C.
• Date: 16 August 2019
• Citation: (2018) 5(2) Journal of Comparative Law in Africa 73

73

EQUALITY OR PIPE DREAMS: GENDER AND

INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT UNDER THE

AFRICAN UNION’S AGENDA 2063

Charlotte Kabaseke*

Abstract

Matters relating to women and gender equality have been at the helm of many

discussions for the past decades. Several international legal and policy measures

have been adopted to advance gender equality at various levels, as well as to position

women to become key players in the economic, social and political spheres of society.

Despite the progress made, there is still a cavernous fissure in women’s participation

in the economic and political sphere, especially in Africa. The United Nations

adopted the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against

Women (CEDAW) in 1979 and the African Union enacted a regional Protocol

to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) relating to

the Rights of Women. The Protocol concerns specific problems faced by women in

Africa. Subsequently, in 2013, the African Union adopted a blueprint to guide

the development of Africa in the next 50 years, commonly dubbed ‘Agenda 2063’.

Generally, the Agenda seeks to engender an inclusive development that puts women

and youth at the centre of the continent’s development programming. The paper will

examine how the various legal and policy instruments at the international and

regional levels are incorporated and applied at the national level. It identifies the

critical issues, challenges and prospects in advancing a gender-responsive inclusive

development in Africa. The paper concludes that despite efforts at the regional level

to advance gender equality, it has not been achieved due to poor enforcement at

national level.

Keywords: African Union, Agenda 2063, gender equality, inclusive

development.

Résumé

Des sujets ayant trait aux femmes et à l’égalité des sexes ont été à la tête de

nombreuses discussions ces dernières décennies. Plusieurs mesures juridiques et

politiques internationales ont été adoptées pour faire avancer l’égalité des sexes à

divers niveaux, mais aussi pour positionner les femmes à devenir des acteurs clés

dans les domaines économiques, sociaux et politiques de la société. En dépit des

progrès faits, il reste néanmoins une énorme fissure dans la participation des femmes

aux domaines économique et politique, surtout en Afrique. Les Nations unies

ont adopté la Convention sur l’élimination de toutes formes de discrimination

contre les femmes en 1979, et l’Union africaine a adopté un protocole régional à

la Charte africaine sur les droits de l’homme et des peuples relative aux droits de

* PhD candidate at the Research Institute of Environmental Law, School of Law, Wuhan

University, Wuhan, China. Email: charlottekabaseke@gmail.com.

(2018) 5(2) Journal of Comparative Law in Africa 73

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74 JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LAW IN AFRICA VOL 5, NO 2, 2018

la femme. Le Protocole concerne les problèmes spécifiques auxquels les femmes en

Afrique devront faire face. Ultérieurement, en 2013, l’Union africaine a adopté

un plan pour guider le développement de l’Afrique au cours des 50 prochaines

années, communément appelé ‘Agenda 2063’. Généralement, l’Agenda cherche

à engendrer un développement inclusif qui mettra les femmes et les jeunes au

cœur des programmes du développement au continent. Cet artic le va examiner en

quoi les différents instruments juridiques et politiques à l’échelle internationale et

régionale sont intégrés et appliqués à l’échelle nationale. Il identifie les enjeux, défis

et perspectives critiques à faire avancer un développement inclusif qui tient compte

des sexospécificités. L’article conclut que malgré les efforts à l’échelle régionale pour

faire avancer l’égalité entre les sexes, celle-ci n’a pas été réalisée en raison d’une

mauvaise application à l’échelle nationale.

Mots clés : Union africaine, Agenda 2063, égalité des sexes, développement

inclusif

Introduction

Matters relating to women and gender equality1 have been at the helm

of many discussions for the past five decades. Several international legal

and policy measures have been adopted to advance gender equality at

various levels, as well as to position women to become key players in the

economic, social and political spheres of society. Despite these legal and

policy measures, meaningful par ticipation of women in the economic

and political sphere, especially in Africa, has not yet been achieved. The

United Nations (UN) started pursuing gender equality in 1948. This can

be traced back to article 1 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights

(UDHR),2 which provides that, ‘all human beings are born free and equal

in dignity and rights’. Ar ticle 2 further provides that ‘everyone is entitled to

all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction

of any kind, such as race, colour, sex …’ Article 7 provides that ‘All are

equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal

protection of the law’. Since then, various international conventions and

declarations, including the Convention on the Elimination of All forms

1 Inter national Labour Organisation (ILO) ABC of women workers’ rights and gender equality

(2nd Edition, Geneva, ILO 2007) 91 defines gender equality as, ‘the enjoyment of equal rights,

opportunities and treatment by men and women and by boys and girls in all spheres of life’. It asserts

that, ‘people’s rights, responsibilities, social status and access to resources do not depend on whether

they are born male or female. It does not mean, however, that men and women are the same or

must become the same … Gender equality implies that all men and women are free to develop their

personal abilities and make life choices without the limitations set by stereotypes or prejudices about

gender roles or the characteristics of men and women’.

2 United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (General Assembly

Resolution 217 A).

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