{"id":2743,"date":"2021-01-29T12:15:38","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T12:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/?p=2743"},"modified":"2021-01-29T12:23:09","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T12:23:09","slug":"what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"What women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Globally, women have been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic; from the burden of care, to legislation written for women but not by them. And this is on top of existing inequalities. In this first\u00a0Conversation Lab<\/i>, by Accountability Lab South Africa, a powerhouse of women panelists explored how government policies can be shaped to better support women during the Covid-19 crisis and beyond. Written by Samina Anwary<\/h4>\n

South African women contribute 50% of the country\u2019s GDP despite lower wages, live in one of the world\u2019s most dangerous countries for women, and face a myriad of other barriers to entry and success.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Conversation Lab\u00a0<\/i>event, supported by the Danish Embassy in South Africa, unpacked these challenges in a solutions-oriented way.\u00a0The panel was facilitated by author Sisonke Msimang, who spoke to UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Health Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, award-winning health journalist Pontsho Pilane, Head of Fundraising for Rise Up Against Gender Based Violence Mandisa Khanyile, and gender activist and scholar Naleli Morojele.\u00a0The five women are highly respected in their fields, and their discussion was incredibly insightful and knowledgeable.<\/p>\n

The COVID-19 crisis has brought into sharp relief the gaps in our social and economic support structures, panelists pointed out. On the flip side, it has also shown that with political will it is possible to make policy and legislative change very quickly. South Africa\u2019s government and citizens moved quickly to combat the pandemic. This speed and agility is something we desperately need to see applied to the country\u2019s gender based violence scourge, panelists noted \u2013 especially now that we know it\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n

As an example, under level 5 lockdown, women complained that baby clothes were not listed as essential items. The Gender Commission, with other advocacy groups and organisations were able, in a short space of time, to reverse it. \u201cIt\u2019s important to grab on to these experiences and demand the same effectiveness we\u2019ve seen with COVID-19 around the nature of data collection, government communication and having ministers feedback regularly and central procurement\u201d, said Dr Mofokeng. \u201cThere has been corruption yes, but we saw what was possible. We need that same effort with gender based violence\u201d.<\/p>\n

Political leadership that recognises and prioritises women\u2019s needs and struggles, along with political will, could dramatically affect policy and legislative change for the better.<\/p>\n

Panelists also noted that South African women \u2013 particularly black women \u2013 were responsible for raising and sustaining most of the country\u2019s population through their largely unrecognised social and economic contribution. This ranged from single mothers to grandmothers, teachers and childminders. Health journalist, Pontsho Pilane emphasised that having female leadership was not enough; we need leadership who are actively pro-women. \u201cFor us to have women-friendly policies, we need to have women-friendly leaders\u201d, she pointed out.<\/p>\n

When it came to unemployment too, black women were the most affected demographic in the country. They also make up the majority of informal traders. Policies around what kinds of businesses were allowed to trade under hard lockdown highlighted how those in the informal sector \u2013 fresh produce sellers for example \u2013\u00a0 were excluded even though they traded in essential items. This left a vital, women-run sector needlessly vulnerable.<\/p>\n

Activist and scholar Morejele said: \u201cIt shows a lack of care and thoughtfulness from our government. It shows how certain industries, work and people are more legitimate than others. Why should the informal sector be viewed as less legitimate than the formal sector? Both are participants in and contributors to the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Mofokeng, meanwhile, spoke to lingering apartheid-era legislation that has still not been overhauled to reflect our democratic reality. She alluded to the inherent distrust of grant recipients\u2019 ability to handle money effectively being evident in the way they receive their money: \u201cIt makes no sense for\u00a0gogos<\/em>\u00a0[grandmothers] to be queueing and sleeping at night at an ATM, every third week. Why can\u2019t you give people money every quarter?\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Panelists agreed that how the most vulnerable in a society are catered for \u2013 or not catered for \u2013 especially in a crisis is a measure of how well a country is doing altogether. In order for women to be better protected and supported, government needs to recognise and cater to the existing society where women are primary caregivers, often breadwinners and \u2013 despite consistent restrictions \u2013 massive contributors to the economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need policy in the workplace that enables women to thrive, and ensure the women you put in positions have political power and authority to effect change,\u201d said Dr Mofokeng. \u201cIn every sector we work in, we need to be pushing ahead and asking the difficult questions about accountability\u201d.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Globally, women have been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic; from the burden of care, to legislation written for women but not by them. And this is on top of existing inequalities. In this first\u00a0Conversation Lab, by Accountability Lab South Africa, a powerhouse of women panelists explored how government policies can be shaped to better support women during the Covid-19 crisis and beyond. Written by Samina Anwary South African women contribute 50% of the country\u2019s GDP despite lower wages, live in one of the world\u2019s most dangerous countries for women, and face a myriad of other barriers to entry and success. The\u00a0Conversation Lab\u00a0event, supported by the Danish Embassy in South Africa, unpacked these challenges in a solutions-oriented way.\u00a0The panel was facilitated by author Sisonke Msimang, who spoke to UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Health Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, award-winning health journalist Pontsho Pilane, Head of Fundraising for Rise Up Against Gender Based Violence Mandisa Khanyile, and gender activist and scholar Naleli Morojele.\u00a0The five women are highly respected in their fields, and their discussion was incredibly insightful and knowledgeable. The COVID-19 crisis has brought into sharp relief the gaps in our social and economic support structures, panelists pointed out. On the flip side, it has also shown that with political will it is possible to make policy and legislative change very quickly. South Africa\u2019s government and citizens moved quickly to combat the pandemic. This speed and agility is something we desperately need to see applied to the country\u2019s gender based violence scourge, panelists noted \u2013 especially now that we know it\u2019s possible. As an example, under level 5 lockdown, women complained that baby clothes were not listed as essential items. The Gender Commission, with other advocacy groups and organisations were able, in a short space of time, to reverse it. \u201cIt\u2019s important to grab on to these experiences and demand the same effectiveness we\u2019ve seen with COVID-19 around the nature of data collection, government communication and having ministers feedback regularly and central procurement\u201d, said Dr Mofokeng. \u201cThere has been corruption yes, but we saw what was possible. We need that same effort with gender based violence\u201d. Political leadership that recognises and prioritises women\u2019s needs and struggles, along with political will, could dramatically affect policy and legislative change for the better. Panelists also noted that South African women \u2013 particularly black women \u2013 were responsible for raising and sustaining most of the country\u2019s population through their largely unrecognised social and economic contribution. This ranged from single mothers to grandmothers, teachers and childminders. Health journalist, Pontsho Pilane emphasised that having female leadership was not enough; we need leadership who are actively pro-women. \u201cFor us to have women-friendly policies, we need to have women-friendly leaders\u201d, she pointed out. When it came to unemployment too, black women were the most affected demographic in the country. They also make up the majority of informal traders. Policies around what kinds of businesses were allowed to trade under hard lockdown highlighted how those in the informal sector \u2013 […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2747,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[119],"class_list":["post-2743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-danish-program"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa | Integrity Icon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa | Integrity Icon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Integrity Icon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-29T12:15:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-29T12:23:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Conversation-Lab-2-e1611922923937.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1228\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"817\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sheena\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Escrito por\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sheena\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Tiempo de lectura\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutos\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sheena\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/be4a7de4fe88d635e8e079ce1422a405\"},\"headline\":\"What women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-29T12:15:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-29T12:23:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/\"},\"wordCount\":779,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Conversation-Lab-2-e1611922923937.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Danish program\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/\",\"name\":\"What women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa | Integrity Icon\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Conversation-Lab-2-e1611922923937.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-29T12:15:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-29T12:23:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/be4a7de4fe88d635e8e079ce1422a405\"},\"description\":\"What women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Conversation-Lab-2-e1611922923937.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Conversation-Lab-2-e1611922923937.png\",\"width\":1228,\"height\":817},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/\",\"name\":\"Integrity Icon\",\"description\":\"Integrity Icon\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/be4a7de4fe88d635e8e079ce1422a405\",\"name\":\"Sheena\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0405fa7a4861a61a28ab23eb6d6cae5a938f18e74de92c10b040aebaca61cc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0405fa7a4861a61a28ab23eb6d6cae5a938f18e74de92c10b040aebaca61cc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sheena\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa | Integrity Icon","description":"What women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/","og_locale":"es_ES","og_type":"article","og_title":"What women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa | Integrity Icon","og_description":"What women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa","og_url":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/","og_site_name":"Integrity Icon","article_published_time":"2021-01-29T12:15:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-01-29T12:23:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1228,"height":817,"url":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Conversation-Lab-2-e1611922923937.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Sheena","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Escrito por":"Sheena","Tiempo de lectura":"4 minutos"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/"},"author":{"name":"Sheena","@id":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/be4a7de4fe88d635e8e079ce1422a405"},"headline":"What women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa","datePublished":"2021-01-29T12:15:38+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-29T12:23:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/"},"wordCount":779,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Conversation-Lab-2-e1611922923937.png","keywords":["Danish program"],"articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"es"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/","url":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/","name":"What women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa | Integrity Icon","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Conversation-Lab-2-e1611922923937.png","datePublished":"2021-01-29T12:15:38+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-29T12:23:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/be4a7de4fe88d635e8e079ce1422a405"},"description":"What women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"es","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Conversation-Lab-2-e1611922923937.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Conversation-Lab-2-e1611922923937.png","width":1228,"height":817},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/what-women-centred-accountability-could-look-like-in-south-africa\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What women-centred accountability could look like in South Africa"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/","name":"Integrity Icon","description":"Integrity Icon","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"es"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/be4a7de4fe88d635e8e079ce1422a405","name":"Sheena","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0405fa7a4861a61a28ab23eb6d6cae5a938f18e74de92c10b040aebaca61cc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0405fa7a4861a61a28ab23eb6d6cae5a938f18e74de92c10b040aebaca61cc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sheena"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2743"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2744,"href":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2743\/revisions\/2744"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/integrityicon.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}