The 4th United Nations World Conference for Women held in Beijing China in 1995 (Beijing) was a definitive event and process in the struggle to affirm women’s equality and dignity. The build up to this event also saw unprecedented developments in SADC at different levels. Women’s movements consolidated and set agendas for empowerment at national level, gender-mainstreaming efforts were accelerated, positions were taken on regional critical areas of concern (through such initiatives as the Regional Focal Field Initiative RFFI) with concerted efforts and input from national processes, national priorities were identified and commitments from SADC governments were secured.

Whilst this suggests significant milestones in the realization of women’s full equality, it has indeed been a case of one step forward and two steps back, with roll back in areas such as women’s reproductive rights, health, protection from violence, and access to economic opportunities amongst others. Contributory factors include the impact of the debt burden, the HIV and AIDS pandemic, economic disparities within countries, changing gender relations increasing women’s labour/burdens and increased feminisation of poverty.

It is against this contextual backdrop that the world stage is slowly being set for the end of the UN Women’s Decade in 2005.

Since Beijing diverse activities in building knowledge, accelerating action, monitoring and evaluation have been ongoing at national and regional levels. Halfway into the Beijing process, a Beijing Plus 5 review meeting was held at the UN Special General Assembly in 2000, and this presented an opportunity for world leaders, governments and gender activists to assess progress and map new challenges for action. At this meeting governments agreed ". . . to regularly assess further implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action with the view to bringing together all parties involved in 2005 to assess progress and consider new initiatives, as appropriate, 10 years after the adoption of the Beijing PFA and 20 years after the adoption of the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies"

Emerging challenges for SADC included :-

• globalisation and increased poverty in Africa,
• gender gaps in information communication technologies,
• illiteracy amongst women,
• HIV and AIDS and its devastating impact on women,
• changing patterns of migration,
• SADC Protocols and their implications on women, and
• new gender roles and unremunerated work.

New targets that governments agreed to include in their national plans, based on the Beijing Plus 5 Outcomes document, include free compulsory education for girls and boys by 2015, all laws that discriminate against women to be reviewed by 2015, universal access to quality health care and sexual reproductive education throughout the lifecycle by 2015, and commitment to have a gender balance in the United Nations at all levels.

The emerging challenges and additional commitments outlined during the Beijing Plus 5 Review process have placed a greater demand on gender activists to not only form structured partnerships amongst themselves and governments to collectively address the issues, but also to strengthen gender mainstreaming process and monitoring tools. As the region, collectively with global actors, moves towards the end of the UN Decade in 2005, and the need for auditing progress and set a fresh agenda in an uncertain future is greater than ever.

There are barely two years before the end of the UN Women’s Decade, dubbed Beijing Plus 10. Uncertainty surrounds the hosting of the 5th World Conference for Women (WCW) by the United Nations. The WIDSAA Deputy Head of Programme, Ms Barbara Lopi sums up, in brief, the current debate in a recent article:-

“Proponents for a 2005 WCW insist that failure to hold such a meeting will be a determinant benchmark in the march towards equality and equity between the two halves of the world’s population. It is argued that a global momentum for empowerment of women has been achieved in the 25 years since the First World Conference on Women in 1975 and that the momentum should be kept alive as the process is vital for further advancement of the status of women.

Those questioning the relevance of a Beijing +10 are arguing that it is a time-consuming and expensive exercise. They maintain that time and resources to be spent at such a forum should be dedicated to implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPFA). There are also fears surrounding the "re-opening" of the BPFA. The fear of a backlash and the risk of loosing what was gained at earlier UN women’s conferences seems greater, to others, than the chance of influencing global players with a gender agenda” (source GAD Exchange (this can link to the latest GAD Exchange) Jan – March 2003).

It is obvious from the above that intense lobby and advocacy is ongoing at global level to influence the processes at the United Nations, whichever way the UN decides. There is a growing consensus that a women’s conference (international/regional/subregional) outside the UN may be another sound option. Examples of organizations spearheading debates on Beijing + 10 include the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era), Business and Professional Women International (IFBPW), amongst others.

Whilst it is important to follow and input into these processes, it is more critical that southern African activists actively participate in the Beijing Plus 10 debates and activities through:-

• Collective issue identification
• Collective definition of roles and responsibilities
• Collective position definition as a region
• Collective identification of entry points, interventions and sustainable action

It is apparent that currently women in Southern Africa have not consolidated a position, and no move has been made to do so in a collective manner. What activists are sharing currently is information flowing from selected NGOS, networks and institutions on what is taking place centre stage. A few activists in the region have participated at some of the key meetings and it is now time to take ownership of the process for ourselves.