Women still marginalised
2004-07-14 21:22
Johannesburg - The Commission on Gender Equality (CGE) on Wednesday launched research reports on the implementation of the maintenance act, gender and budget at local government and gender mainstreaming in spatial development initiatives.
The reports, released in Johannesburg, form part of the ten year celebrations of democracy in South Africa.
CGE commissioner Rashida Manjoo said since the establishment of the commission the largest percentage of complaints received were about maintenance.
Mandjoo said had prompted the commission to research the maintenance system.
"The feminisation of poverty is largely expressed through female, single headed households and in contemporary South Africa, women still are largely the single financial and emotional provider.
"The state has responded to this plight with the Maintenance Act of 1998, which should provide caregivers speedy and inexpensive financial support from the other parent."
Manjoo said six years later, however, the implementation of the act was still subject to well founded criticism, and many woman encountered many obstacles in maintenance payouts.
"This ranged from unco-operative response to an unfriendly, if not gender bias system."
The lack of gender analysis of community based development projects suggested a lack of awareness of gender from those driving the process, said commissioner Gertrude Fester.
"This in turn alludes to a possible ill-conceived allocation of resources to gender mainstreaming or a limited budget overall."
Fester said this inspired the CGE to undertake research in gender and budgets at local government to ascertain the gender sensitivity of municipal budgets and the budget making process.
Commissioner Siqwana Ndulo said women had historically been marginalised from thriving economic activity as a result of their race, class and gender identities and where they were accessing their economic potential, they were relegated to gender specific employment.
"Therefore, when a spatial development initiative is launched that aims to unlock the economic of a particular area this begs an gender analysis of the motives, implementation and impact the project."
- SAPA