Ezulwini: It is the 3^rd of June, 2016. The clock ticks towards 4pm at the Royal Swazi Hotel here during the 39 ^th Plenary Assembly Session of the SADC Parliamentary Forum.

It has been approximately a year and a half since the SADC PF and other partners began developing a SADC Model Law on eradicating Child Marriage and protecting those already in marriage. The Plenary Assembly Session is the highest decision-making body of SADC PF - the deliberative body that brings together 14 national parliaments of Southern Africa.

Today, the region's parliamentarians stand on the cusp of history. After nearly nine hours of intense debate and poring over all parts of the draft model law, a bold decision must be made.

In attendance are about 190 people. They include Speakers of National parliaments, parliamentarians and traditional leaders - the first time latter have attended a SADC Plenary Assembly Session. Also present are observers. Mostly representatives of organisations that collaborate with SADC PF.

Special care has been taken to develop a regional law with so much commonality that it can be easily adapted or adopted as member states enact or refine national laws to eradicate child marriage, which Dr. Esau Chiviya, Secretary General of SADC PF, has branded "an abomination."

I PUT IT TO YOU: ZIMBABWEAN PARLIAMENTARIAN INNOCENT GONESE (RIGHT) MAKES THE CASE FOR THE ADOPTION OF THE SADC MODEL LAW ON ERADICATING CHILD MARRIAGE AND PROTECTING THOSE ALREADY IN MARRIAGE. PHOTO: MOSES MAGADZA

Now the region's lawmakers must adopt the model law or throw it out. After an impassioned submission, Zimbabwean lawyer and parliamentarian, Innocent Gonese, rests his case with a plea to the plenary to adopt the law.

Perched on the podium, Malawian lawmaker, Joseph Njobvuyalema - the deputy president of SADC PF - is acting president during this plenary. He is presiding over proceedings with magisterial seriousness.

With his head tilted and peering over his spectacles, he calls for order.

"Honourable members," he says, "I now pose the main question: those who think the SADC Model Law on eradicating child marriages and protecting those already in marriage should be adopted, say 'Aye'."

A young woman - she can't be more than 25 years old- sits nervously, eyes wide open with anticipation. She is so young that she looks out of place in this august house. I make a mental note to interview her later.

In response to Njobvuyalema's question, there is a loud chorus of 'Aye!'

Out of formality, he says: "Those of the contrary opinion, say 'Noe'."

There is so much silence you can hear a snail clearing its throat a kilometer away.

Once again, the Acting President's authoritative voice booms through the public address system.

"The 'Ayes' have it."

He bangs his fist on the table, closing the matter.

While many delegates in the house cheer and others hug each other with excitement, the young woman raises two clenched fists into the air, closes her eyes and smiles.

As soon as I can, I approach her and introduce myself. I am curious to know why she is here.

UNBROKEN: MS CHIPASHA ILIAMUPU WHO WAS MARRIED OFF AT THE AGE OF 14 HOPES SADC MEMBER STATES WILL USE THE NEW MODEL LAW TO ENSURE THAT HER SEVEN YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND MILLIONS OF OTHER GIRLS AND BOYS IN THE SADC REGION WILL HAVE A BETTER FUTURE. PHOTO: MOSES MAGADZA

"My name is Chipasha Iliamupu. I am 23 years old and I am a child marriage survivor from Zambia," she tells me.

She agrees to tell me her story and our interview begins. My 20 years of journalism experience have not prepared me for what I am about to hear.

"Where were you born, and how many siblings do you have," I ask.

"I was born in Livingstone. I have five brothers and two sisters. I am the second from last," she says.

"What did your parents do for a living?"

"They were never in any formal employment. They had tailoring skills and were peasant farmers."

"How old were you when you started school?"

"I was seven years old at Kalumwange Primary School in the western province of Zambia."

"Teachers often ask first graders what they want to be when they grow up. What did you aspire to become?"

"My mother saw a freedom fighter in me. She called me 'Mama Kankasa' (one of the freedom fighters during Zambia's struggle for independence). I said I wanted to be an ambassador."

"When and how did the going get tough for your family?"

"When my mother passed on. Things got very hard."

"How old were you and were all your siblings in school?"

"I was nine. All my siblings were in school, but the majority ended in primary school. Only two of my siblings reached Grade 9."

"Did your father remarry or did he try to raise you and your siblings alone?"

"He never remarried."

"How was your marriage arranged and how did you meet your husband?"

"I saw him for the first time on the day that I was married off. He was 20 years older than me. He had three children with three different women. I was nearly 15 years old."

"How were you prepared you for what you were getting into?"

"My tradition prepares girls for marriage at puberty, regardless of one's age. I had already been taught to maintain a home at the age of 14."

"What is the name of that cultural initiation, how long does it take, who does the teaching and what were you taught?"

"It is called Sikenge of the Lozi people. The duration is dependent on how slow or fast one is on catching instructions. The curriculum includes how to take care of a man in the bedroom, how to care for a family and how to treat in-laws. The most repeated and emphasised thing is to be secretive about whatever treatment one receives in the marriage home. Fast learners only learn for a month. Slow learners can go for three or more months."

"How much was your father paid in lobola and why do you think he married you off?"

"My lobola was ZMK300, 00 (about USD30). He married me off due to financial constraints. Besides, I had already been prepared for marriage. I dropped out of school in Grade 8."

"How was life in your new home?"

"Life was pathetic. Our relationship lacked intimacy. I fell pregnant within four months of my arrival. My first sexual encounter was very, very painful and that triggered a lot of things in my mind. After being prepared for sweet, enjoyable sex, I got the opposite."

"Were you physically, emotionally or sexually abused?"

"Yes. He never used to prepare me for intercourse. He just used to force himself on me. He used to beat me up a lot and strip me naked in public. He ill-treated me. He would write budgets for me and give me exact amounts of money."

"How old were you when your child was born?"

"I was 15 years and 10 months old. I had serious problems during labour because it was prolonged and difficult. After a while I met officials from Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) and decided to go back to school. That made my husband more violent."

"What prompted your desire to go back to school?"

"I thought I was being subjected to inhuman treatment due to lack of education."

"How difficult was it for you to walk out of that marriage?"

"It wasn't easy. I was all alone. My relatives didn't want me to leave. Others said I would suffer if I left. I filed for divorce and followed the procedures alone. The only 'relatives' I had were the documents I got from the Victim Support Unit of the police."

"Did you succeed?"

"Yes. The court ruled that I must have custody of the child and that the father must support her until she is 18 but he threatened me; said whatever happened to the child - even if she died - I mustn't inform him."

"Where did you go and what did you walk away with?"

"I went to my uncle's house. I walked away with the freedom to pursue my dreams academically and to strive towards self-actualisation. I went back to school in 2010. It wasn't easy. Female teachers stigmatized and ridiculed me. I overcame that by confiding in the head teacher. He understood and supported me."

"How did that help you?"

"I excelled in my studies so much that I was selected to represent my province on an educational tour to Kenya. I am now a second year student at the University of Zambia, reading towards the award of a degree in Linguistics."

I ask her what she would want to see the region's parliamentarians do now that the model law has been adopted.

"They should make the rights of my seven year old daughter and other children a priority by implementing the law. They should involve young people in discussions about issues that affect young people. No one knows where the shoe pinches like the wearer. Young people learn more from other young people. Create a platform for them," she says.

Following the adoption of the model law, solidarity and congratulatory messages are coming thick and fast.

Sweden has partnered with SADC PF since 2007. From 2014 it has been funding a four year SRHR, HIV and AIDS Governance programme. It wishes SADC PF all "success with the execution of the model law, in particular the domestication and monitoring."

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says today is "a wonderful day" and congratulates SADC PF MPs for making a "landmark decision which has the power to transform the lives of millions of girls."

Fighting back tears, Ms. Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, the African Union's Ambassador for Ending Child Marriage praises the MPs, telling them the adoption of the model law is "precedent-setting."

The Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA) says the adoption marks "a turning point in the struggle for the rights of the girl…an example of parliamentary excellence."

Civil Society Organisations salute the MPs for "enduring a long and painful process of delivering this baby (model law), which is alive, healthy and eagerly awaited out there by tens of thousands of people."

The East African Legislative Assembly says SADC PF MPs have come of age and urges all SADC member states to "support the long overdue transformation of SADC PF into a SADC Regional Parliament."

The SADC Secretariat says the SADC PF MPs have taken a "step in the right direction" and says the model law is consistent with the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development which prohibits marriage of anyone below 18 years of age.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) calls the adoption "an historic initiative."

The excitement is understandable. UNFPA reckons that in East and Southern Africa, 34 percent of girls are married before the age of 18 - seven million girls every year. Over a million of them are below the age of 15. That makes them vulnerable. UNDP estimates that in at least five countries in SADC, almost 40 percent of children are married before the age of 18. Two of the 10 countries with the highest prevalence of child marriages are in the SADC Region.

One man - Harvard-trained lawyer and Botswana Member of Parliament, Duma Boko, - follows the congratulatory messages seemingly unmoved. I approach him and fish for his reaction and what he would like to see going forward.

"Adoption is a very important step," he tells me. "It expresses ideals. The next is to have all SADC countries incorporate, enact or promulgate the provisions of this model law into their domestic legal frameworks. It is only at that point that we will begin to celebrate because that would provide a concrete measure of whether the goals enunciated in the model law are being realized in practice. That would be the ideal time to pop the Champaign and celebrate."

For Gonese, who strenuously argued for the adoption of the model, today was just another day in parliament.

For Iliamupu, her daughter and millions of the region's girls and boys - many undocumented - the hopeful wait for implementation of this law and results begins now.

AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING

OF THE 40 ^th PLENARY ASSEMBLY SESSION

OF THE SADC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM

HELD AT

RAINBOW TOWERS HOTEL

HARARE, ZIMBABWE

03 TO 15 NOVEMBER 2016

1.0 SALUTATIONS

· The Master of Ceremony

· The Vice President, and also Minister Responsible for Legal, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Hon. Emerson Mnangagwa, Our Guest of Honour

· Hon. Adv. Jacob Francis Mudenda, Speaker of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe and Host of the SADC PF 40^th Plenary Assembly Session,

· President of the SADC PF, Hon. Job Ndugai, Speaker of the Parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania, in absentia

· Hon. Joseph Njovhuyalema, MP and Vice President of SADC Parliamentary Forum,

· Hon. Speakers and Deputy Speakers of the SADC National Parliaments,

· Hon. Leaders of Delegations,

· Hon. Members of Parliament and Senators from the various SADC Countries,

· Hon. Ministers here present,

· Chairperson of the SADC PF Regional Women's Parliamentary Caucus, Hon. Dr. Jesica Kabwila,

· Invited Observers and Resource Persons,

· Staff from the SADC PF and National Parliaments

· Ladies and Gentlemen.

2.0 INTRODUCTION

I am greatly honoured to welcome Delegates to this 40 ^th Plenary Assembly Session of the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) being hosted by the Parliament of Zimbabwe in this beautiful and warm city of Harare. This is the fifth time the Parliament of Zimbabwe is involved in the hosting of SADC PF Plenary Assembly Sessions. The hosting has been as follows:

i. The first time was in November 2001 when the Parliament of Zimbabwe hosted a SADC PF Plenary Assembly Session 100%,

ii. The second time was in 2009 during the 26^th SADC PF Plenary Assembly Session held in Victoria Falls when Zimbabwe assisted SADC PF in hosting the Plenary Assembly,

iii. The third time was in 2011 during the 30^th SADC PF Plenary Assembly Session held in Victoria Falls when Zimbabwe again assisted SADC PF in hosting the Plenary Assembly,

iv. The fourth time was in 2014 during the 36^th SADC PF Plenary Assembly Session held in Victoria Falls when Zimbabwe further assisted SADC PF in hosting the Plenary Assembly, and

v. The fifth time is the current 40^th SADC PF Plenary Assembly Session of November 2016 being held here at Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare which the Parliament of Zimbabwe is hosting 100%.

The hosting of these SADC PF Plenary Assembly Sessions by the Parliament of Zimbabwe and the active participation by SADC PF Members from Zimbabwe in the affairs and activities of SADC PF is a clear demonstration of Zimbabwe's support for and commitment to what the SADC Parliamentary Forum stands for as stated in its Constitution.

3.0 SADC PF 40 ^th PLENARY ASSEMBLY SESSION THEME

Our Guest of Honour and Distinguished Delegates, it is in the context of providing a platform to discuss matters of common interest that the Theme for this SADC PF 40^th Plenary Assembly Session is "Statelessness in the SADC Region" which was deliberated upon yesterday following presentation by our esteemed Resource Persons.

The deliberation provided Members of Parliament in the SADC Countries with an opportunity to take stock of the statelessness situation in the SADC Countries in general and the most affected people in particular and what they can do to address the problems of statelessness in their Countries.

4.0 THE SADC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM (SADC PF)

Our Guest of Honour, and Distinguished Delegates, the SADC PF was established in 1997 by the SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government that met in Blantyre, Malawi, as an autonomous institution of SADC in accordance with Article 9(2) of the SADC Treaty. The objective was "to constitute a Parliamentary Consultative Assembly, the ultimate goal being the establishment of a Regional Parliamentary Framework for dialogue on issues of regional interest and concern".

Despite all the lobbying efforts by the SADC PF leadership for the Forum to be transformed into a SADC Regional Parliament, 20 years after it was established SADC PF still remains a Forum and not a SADC Regional Parliament. It is the only Region out of the five (5) Regions of Africa without its own Regional Parliament.

With a Membership from 14 of the SADC National Parliaments, SADC PF provides a platform for Parliamentarians as representatives of the people of SADC, to consult, consider and dialogue on matters of common interest to the people of the SADC Region, such as Statelessness in the SADC Region, which was discussed and deliberated upon yesterday.

5.0 SADC PF 40 ^th PLENARY ASSEMBLY DELEGATES

Our Guest of Honour and Distinguished Delegates, the Plenary Assembly is the SADC PF policy making body which meets twice per year in June and November. This 40^th Plenary Assembly Session of the SADC PF has drawn Delegates from 13 SADC National Parliaments. We have 6 Delegations led by Speakers, 3 Delegations by Deputy Speakers, and four (4) Delegations by Members of Parliament. This means that we have a 93% turn up for this SADC PF 40^th Plenary Assembly Sessions. This is highly impressive. Shall we clap hands for this impressive turn up.

I now call upon the Delegations country by country to stand up so that we can see them.

1. National Assembly of Angola, a Delegation of 8 Members led by Hon. Speaker Fernando Da Piedade Dia Dos Santos,

2. Parliament of Botswana, a Delegation of 4 Members led by Hon. Deputy Speaker Kagiso P. Molatlhegi,

3. Parliament of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a Delegation of 3 Members led by Hon. Nkolo Boniface Balamage, MP,

4. Parliament of the Kingdom of Lesotho, a Delegation of 5 Members led by Hon. Deputy Speaker Solomon Montsuoe Lethoba,

5. National Assembly of Malawi, a Delegation of 8 Members led by Rt. Hon. Speaker Richard Msowoya,

6. National Assembly of Mauritius, a Delegation of 2 Members led by Hon. Maneesh Gobin, MP,

7. National Assembly of Mozambique, a Delegation of 6 Members led by Hon Jaime Bessa Augusto Neto, MP,

8. National Assembly of Namibia, a Delegation of 4 Members led by Hon. Speaker Prof. Peter H. Katjavivi,

9. National Assembly of Seychelles, a Delegation of 4 Members led by Hon. Speaker Patrick Pillay,

10. Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, a Delegation of 13 Members led by Hon. Speaker Baleka Mbete,

11. Parliament of the Kingdom of Swaziland, a Delegation of 7 Members led by Hon. Speaker Themba Msibi,

12. National Assembly of Zambia, a Delegation of 10 Members led by the Hon. Second Deputy Speaker Mwimba Malama,

13. Parliament of the Republic of Zimbabwe, a Delegation of 10 Members led by Hon. Speaker Advocate Jacob Francis Mudenda, our Host.

14. The Parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania sent an apology of absence; and

15. The SADC PF Secretariat Staff Members led by the Secretary General, myself.

6.0 THANKS TO ZIMBABWE

Master of Ceremony, Our Guest of Honour and Distinguished Delegates, may I conclude my Opening Statement by thanking the Government and the Parliament of the Republic of Zimbabwe through the Hon. Advocate Jacob Francis Mudenda, Speaker of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe, for graciously and meticulously making accommodation, transport, protocol services, administrative and other logistical arrangements to facilitate smooth stay of Delegates during this SADC PF 40^th Plenary Assembly Session being hosted in this beautiful Zimbabwe's Capital City of Harare.

The arrangements the Parliament of Zimbabwe has made for the comfort of the Delegates are all highly appreciated. Indeed, we will remember the warm hospitality from the people, the Government and the Parliament of the Republic of Zimbabwe.

I wish the Distinguished Delegates fruitful deliberations.

I THANK YOU.

DELIVERED AT YHE 40 ^TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY SESSION OF THE SADC PARLIAMENTARY FORUM,

10 ^TH NOVEMBER, 2016,

HARARE, ZIMBABWE

The President of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, in absenstia;

Deputy President of the SADC PF, Hon Joseph Njobvuyalema;

The Speaker of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, Adv. Jacob Mudenda;

Hon Speakers here present;

The Secretary General of SADC PF; Dr Esau Chiviya;

Hon Members from SADC PF Member States;

Cooperating partners of SADC PF,

Staff of SADC PF;

Invited guests, ladies and gentlemen;

Members of the Media.

Comrades and friends.

Today is a great day in the history of our SADC Region. Today will go down in the annals of history as the day that our Members of Parliament, as elected representatives of the great people of our region, set aside political and other differences to resoundingly say NO to child marriage by delivering a Model Law that will no doubt provide guidance to all our Member States as they develop or refine their own national laws to address child marriage.

It is my singular honour to be invited to the launch the Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage and Protecting those in Marriage.

It has been more than a year since the SADC PF and other partners began developing a SADC model law on eradicating child marriage and protecting those already in marriage with so much commonality that it can easily be adopted or adapted as Member States develop legal instruments and policies to confront this embarrassing scourge. The Plenary Assembly Session is the highest decision-making body of SADC PF - the deliberative body that brings together 14 national parliaments of Southern Africa. It is only logical that we are launching this Model Law here.

Hon Members, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to make it very clear from the onset that for us in Zimbabwe, our government joins the greater progressive SADC Region in expressing our abomination for Child Marriages and we are committed to ending the menace. Unless we all join hands and walk our talk on this issue, many of our Member States will fail to benefit from the demographic dividend.

My Principal, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Honourable Robert Gabriel Mugabe, is firmly with us on this matter. A trained teacher, President Mugabe understands very clearly the need transformative power of formal education and the need to keep all children in school. Our President knows that child marriage prevents young people from realizing self-actualization. Accordingly, he has spoken very strongly against child marriages, as has our First Lady, Amai Grace Mugabe.

Hon Members, ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to reveal that advocacy and activism against child marriages have been as vociferous in our Parliament as in the rest of the other Parliaments in the SADC Region.

It is therefore gratifying to note that as a result of our common position on issues to do with Child Marriages, it was possible for members of SADC PF to consult widely and come up with this Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage and Protecting that Already in Marriage.

Within the SADC Region, traditional culture, poverty and religion have been cited as drivers of Child Marriage.

Girls should be in schools and at the playground, not in bedrooms as wives.

As congratulate all those who worked hard to develop this Model Law and all those who supported the process through technical and or financial resources, allow me to stress that the real work begins now.

Members of Parliament would need to use the floors of their national Parliaments to advocate for the eradication of child marriage as well as the enactment of nationally relevant laws and policies in this regard. More importantly, Members of Parliament can and must use their oversight role to ensure that National budgets support implementation of laws and policies to eradicate child marriage and support those already in marriage.

We need to empower girls in our Southern Africa Region with education while protecting them from early marriages.

As we all know, educated girls will create a generation of empowered women in our region.

Let me also hasten to add that an educated generation of women will result in an empowered Southern Africa.

Allow me to congratulate and commend our media within the SADC Region, for reporting about the development and adoption of this Model Law. While I was preparing my remarks I went to Google to appreciate how our media have been reporting about this Model Law and I was impressed by the many media reports from different Member States focusing on various stages in the development of this law. I would like to urge our media to keep up the good work. We would like to see more media articles explaining aspects of this Model Law and saying what Member States are doing or not doing with respect to implementation.

We need to create awareness of this law and to ensure that it is made available to as many stakeholders as is possible. I would suggest, among other things, that copies of the Model Law be made available to all libraries of our High Courts and Law Schools in the SADC Region.

Additionally, we should redouble our efforts to tackle many more issues that affect our people that include teenage Pregnancy, unmet needs for family planning, lack of harmonization of laws, lack of comprehensive sexuality education, lack of health facilities that are user friendly, lack facilities for screening for diseases and inadequate health provision personnel.

Allow me to end by once again congratulating SADC PF MPs for uniting in fighting for the rights, protection and welfare of our children through developing this bold Model Law.

Now is the time to explore possibilities and opportunities in adopting and domesticating and implementing this Model Law.

It is now my singular honour and privilege to declare this Model Law duly launched.

I thank you!

The causal factors of the high HIV prevalence in young women and girls in Africa will be investigated this week.

Civil society organisations, United Nations agencies and other partners are working with the SADC Parliamentary Forum to hold the first ever Women's Parliament in Mahe, Seychelles this week 5 and 6 July.

The organisers say the parliament will bring together SADC female MPs and their counterparts from other parts of the world to critically discuss and sustain the engagement of parliaments to implement Resolution 60/2 of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) which focuses on women, the girl-child and HIV and Aids. Through Resolution 60/2, the UNCSW calls for full attention to the high levels of new HIV infections among young women and adolescent girls, and their root causes. As the Report of the United Nations' Global Commission on HIV and the Law noted almost exactly five years ago, such root causes include a country's body of laws concerning HIV and Aids.

The evidence indicates that an enabling legal environment, including one that ensures both the legal and practical equality of women and girls, is much more likely to result in lower rates of HIV infection than a punitive one that enshrines historical inequalities. Consideration of women and girls in the HIV discourse is a response to the high burden of disease among women and girls in the region and globally. United Nations statistics indicate that 51% of all adults living with HIV globally as of 2015 were women aged 15 years and older. In east and southern Africa, women account for more than half of the total number of people living with HIV.

AT RAINBOW HOTEL,

HARARE,

ZIMBABWE:

I am deeply gratified to be conveying this message of support on behalf of my sisters in the Regional Women's Parliamentary Caucus to this illustrious occasion - the SADC Parliamentary Forum's 40^th Plenary Assembly. The Theme this year is: Statelessness in the SADC Region.

For us, this is an important theme as statelessness cannot be discussed without looking at its direct impact on women and girl-children. Gender discrimination, the subordination and marginalisation of women, and feminised poverty are some of the crucial factors in creating and perpetuating statelessness and non-recognition of citizenship rights. Many countries still do not have gender-neutral citizenship laws. In the worst cases, women lose their citizenship upon marriage to foreigners, and are unable to pass on their citizenship to their children. In Africa over 20 countries, including some SADC Member States, still deny women the right to pass on nationality to a foreign spouse.

Windhoek - Civil Society Organisations, United Nations agencies and other partners are working with the SADC Parliamentary Forum to hold the first ever Women's Parliament in Mahe, Seychelles next week from Wednesday to Thursday.

The organisers say the Women's Parliament will bring together SADC women members of parliament, and their counterparts from other parts of the world, to critically discuss and sustain the engagement of parliaments to implement Resolution 60/2 of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW).

The resolution focuses on women, the girl-child and HIV and Aids, which is still a major grim reaper claiming countless lives.

Through Resolution 60/2, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) calls on governments, international partners and civil society to give full attention to the high levels of new HIV infections among young women and adolescent girls, and their root causes.

As the Report of the United Nations' Global Commission on HIV and the Law noted almost exactly five years ago, such root causes include a country's body of laws concerning HIV and Aids.

The evidence indicates that an enabling legal environment, including one that ensures both the legal and practical equality of women and girls, is much more likely to result in lower rates of HIV infection than a punitive one that enshrines historical inequalities.

The SADC Parliamentary Forum is the deliberative body that brings together 14 National Parliaments in the SADC Region to discuss common issues affecting the SADC region as well as to support the regional integration agenda.

It is widely accepted that women’s empowerment and gender equality is one of the major challenges facing the SADC region and the world in the 21st century.

These Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures in Southern Africa fall within the context of the strategic objective of the SADC Parliamentary Forum relating to Strengthening Institutions for Democratic Governance. .