Whereas the year 2020 marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action and is thus cause for all women to celebrate progress towards gender equality, COVID-19 has become a fly in the ointment.

This is the view expressed by the Chairperson of the Regional Women’s Parliamentary Caucus of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, Honourable Anne-Marie Bilambangu. She said this in her maiden speech at the start of the 47th Plenary Assembly Session which took place virtually.

According to UN Women, the Beijing Platform for Action imagines a world where each woman and girl can exercise her freedoms and choices, and realize all her rights, such as to live free from violence, to go to school, to participate in decisions, and to earn equal pay for equal work.

Honourable Bilambangu said: “The COVID-19 Pandemic has spoiled the party by causing destruction and even reversing the hard-fought gains we had made toward women’s rights over the past two decades and a half.”

She said the global pandemic has not only exposed how society is reliant on women “both on the frontline and at home”, but had also exposed “the structural inequalities across all spheres from health, economy, politics, sexuality to social protection”.

Noting that women make up most of those in the informal sector, earn and sell less, hold jobs that are less secure, she said they are more likely to lose income, they were especially vulnerable to the negative effects of COVID-19 which “has only served to aggravate their situation”.

Turning to the impact of COVID-19 on the education sector she cited UNESCO estimates that out of a total population of students enrolled in education globally, over 89% were out of school because of COVID-19 closures.

She said: “This represents 1.54 billion children and youth enrolled in schools or universities, including nearly 743 million girls. Over 111 million of these girls are living in the world’s least developed countries, where getting an education is already a struggle.” Honourable Bilambangu said COVID-19 related social distancing and restriction of movements had led to an increased dependency on digital technologies but her lobby body was “dismayed”

that most women and girls in SADC had limited access to these technologies due to insufficient ICT infrastructure, especially in the rural areas.

She expressed concern, also, over a spike of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases against women and girls under COVID-19.

“Factors now perpetuating GBV include movement restrictions which result in reduced access to health and other services; diminishing living conditions; economic stress and disempowerment; unequal access to assets; goods and services for livelihood and security; unequal education and skills and lack of decent work and in fact democratic dividends and of course, the risks caused by internet and cyber-space,” she said.

She commended the SADC Parliamentary Forum(PF) for working towards the development of the SADC Model Law on GBV which, she hoped, “would go a long way in addressing the legislative and policy gaps that exist within our Member States”.

She enjoined the Plenary Assembly Session to support efforts to correct long-standing inequalities that women face and build resilient communities that are sensitive to the difficulties women and girls face.

With schools gradually being opened, she called on parliaments to build governments’ capacity to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19.

“We should also prioritise gender and age sensitive interventions that are responsive and reflective of the unique realities of girls, children with disabilities and other marginalised children in our schools.” She stressed the need to make sure that responses to the public health crisis due to COVID-19 ensure that everyone enjoy Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) and have access to services, education and information guaranteeing equal rights or are in line with the various regional and international instruments.

“In this regard, I wish to commend the SADC PF and National Parliaments for the sterling work they are doing to advocate for comprehensive SRHR services for all without discrimination and in prioritising the health and rights of women, girls and other vulnerable groups through the SRHR Programme.”

She expressed optimism that MPs would ensure that the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development suffers no setbacks, particularly in the Member States holding general elections this year that include the United Republic of Tanzania. “We need to continue lobbying for gender equality in Parliaments and other decision-making institutions.”

Honourable Bilambangu emphasised the need to ensure that responses to COVID-19 are gender-sensitive. “We need to be sensitive to the challenges that women and girls are facing daily due to COVID-19, and work toward mitigating these problems. We should then make sure that women have equal representation in all COVID-19 response planning and decision-making.”

COMPOSIÇÃO DO COMITÊ

Presiding Officers Speeches

• PT - Presidents Report to EXCO December 2019
• PT - Talking points - Symposium - SADC PF President - 19 Nov 2019
• Discurso de Sua Excelência, Verónica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo, Presidente do Fórum Parlamentar da SADC por Ocasião da Sessão de Encerramento da 45ª Assembleia Plenária do Fórum Parlamentar da SADC
• Discurso de Sua Excelência, Verónica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo, Presidente do Fórum Parlamentar da SADC por Ocasião da Sessão de Encerramento da 45ª Assembleia Plenária do Fórum Parlamentar da SADC - Maputo, 24 de Julho de 2019
• Intervenção De Sua Excelência Verónica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo, Presidente Do Fp-Sadc, Por Ocasião Da Sessão De Abertura Do Simpósio Sobre Mudanças Climáticas, Mitigação E Adaptação: O Papel Dos Parlamentos – Rumo À Implementação Da Declaração De Paris E D
• Intervenção de Sua Excelência, Verónica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo, por ocasião da Cerimónia de Abertura da Reunião da Comissão Executiva do Fórum Parlamentar da SADC - Maputo, 18 de Julho de 2019
• Intervenção de Sua Excelência, Verónica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo, Presidente do Fórum Parlamentar da SADC por Ocasião do Jantar Oferecido aos Delegados à 45ª Assembleia Parlamentar da SADC - Maputo, 23 de Julho de 2019
• Projecto de Intervençao SExcia PR Abertura FP-SADC
• Intervenção de Sua Excelência Verónica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo, Presidente da Assembleia da República, no Jantar Oficial oferecido por ocasião da 45ª Assembleia Plenária do Fórum Parlamentar da SADC - Maputo, 21 de Julho de 2019
• Discurso De Sua Excelência, Verónica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo, Por Ocasião Da Cerimónia De Abertura Da 45ª Sessão Do Fórum Parlamentar Da SADC - Maputo, 21 de Julho de 2019
• Reunião Da Comissão Executiva - 16 - 19 DE JULHO DE 2019
• Palavras De Boas-Vindas Por Sua Excelência Verónica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo, Presidente Da Assembleia Da República De Moçambique E Presidente Do Fórum Parlamentar SADC Por Ocasião Da Abertura Oficial Da 45ª Sessão Plenária Da Assembleia Plenária A 21 De Ju
• Opening Remarks By Hon. Esperança Laurinda Francisco Nhiuane Bias, President of the SADC PF and Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique During the Meeting of the Parliamentary Business Sub-Committee 18th September 2020 Virtual Meeting

Current President

Hon. Justin Tokely - Speaker of the Parliament of Madagascar

Previous SADC Parliamentary Forum Presidents

Current Vice President

Hon. Sylvia Elizabeth Lucas - Member of Parliament of South Africa

Previous SADC Parliamentary Forum Vice Presidents

The Executive Committee shall, pursuant to Article 12 (5) of the Constitution, designate one of its Members as Treasurer.

The Treasurer shall:

1. report to the Executive Committee in respect of the management of the finances of the Forum; and
2. be the Chairperson of the Finance Sub-Committee of the Executive Committee in line with Article 12 (5) of the Constitution

Functions of the President

The President shall:

1. preside over all proceedings of the Plenary Assembly;
2. preside over all meetings of the Executive Committee;
3. open, suspend or close the sittings of the Plenary Assembly, after consultation with the Parliamentary Business Sub-Committee;
4. rule on the admissibility of draft resolutions and amendments thereto in consultation with the Parliamentary Business Sub-Committee;
5. represent the Forum in its relations with outside institutions; and
6. perform any other duties incidental to these functions.

The President may delegate his or her functions to the Vice- President.

There shall be a Secretariat headed by the Secretary General and comprising such other staff as may be appointed by the Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee shall, pursuant to Article 12 of the Constitution, designate one of its Members as Treasurer.

The Treasurer shall:

1. report to the Executive Committee in respect of the management of the finances of the Forum; and

2. be the Chairperson of the Finance Sub-Committee of the Executive Committee in line with Article 12 of the Constitution.

The Sub-Committees of the Executive Committee shall include the following:

The Plenary Assembly may, for the purpose of performing its functions establish Standing Committees in line with Article 14 of the Constitution. Each Member Parliament shall be represented in each of the Standing Committees.

The following Standing Committees are established:

1. Gender Equality, Women Advancement and Youth Development;
2. Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment;
3. Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Infrastructure;
4. Democratisation, Governance and Human Rights; and
5. Human and Social Development and Special Programmes.

For the purposes of balancing gender, political affiliation and geographical spread in the membership and leadership of Standing Committees, the Plenary may mandate the Secretary General, subject to the approval of the Executive Committee, to reallocate Parliamentarians to Standing Committees.

As far as it is practically possible, gender considerations shall be taken into account when deciding Chairpersonship of Committees. Where the Chairperson of a Committee is a woman, the Vice- Chairperson shall be a man and vice versa.

Election of Chairpersons and ViceChairpersons of Standing Committees

1. Each Committee shall elect a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson
2. The Chairperson of a Standing Committee shall preside over all meetings of the Committee. In his or her absence, the Vice-Chairperson shall assume those duties and in the absence of the Vice-Chairperson, a Member designated by the Committee shall preside over the Committee on an interim basis.

Quorum

 The quorum of each Standing Committee shall be a simple majority of its Members.

Decision Making

1. A Standing Committee shall strive to reach decisions by consensus.
2. Where a Standing Committee fails to reach consensus, voting shall be by secret ballot.
3. The Chairperson shall have a casting vote in the event of a tie.

Specific Mandate of Standing Committees