Engendering access to justice for development in sub-Saharan Africa: A study of policy, programming and implementation, pp 1-19
Author/s: Mwambene, Lea; Dubin, Adam; and Lawson, David
Building on the book 'Gender, poverty and access to justice: policy implementation in Sub-Saharan Africa' (Lawson, Dubin and Mwambene (eds) (2020), this special volume of essays is the result of the Conference in Cape Town (October 2019), whose main objective was to investigate the intersection of gendered access to justice, poverty and disempowerment across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and provide field-based research and discussions on what does and does not work to improve justice for women and girls in the region. Authors' contributions are designed to be practice and action oriented, drawing on lessons and experiences from programmes and policies that work, and show real potential for their sustainable scalability. In this regard, the essays in this volume reflect a broad spectrum of multi-disciplinary contributions, including from policy makers and development practitioners, as well as representatives from local and international civil society organisations, the private sector, academe and the general public. These contributions are structured around the following five key areas: Integrating Justice Programming into the Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs); Informal Institutions, Rights and Laws in Sub- Saharan Africa; Women, Children and Access to Justice for Sustainable Development; Policies and Practices for Engendering Justice and Empowerment for Poverty Reduction; and Gender, and Poverty and Justice Policies in SSA: Lessons from the Field? The central objective of all the contributions, however, is to profile recent developments and experiences in furthering gendered access to justice in the SSA context, and to distil from them future trends for SSA's access to justice, and the specific role stakeholders can play therein.
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Talk to my father: Re-thinking social exclusion and access to justice in the context of bridewealth negotiation, pp 20-46
Author/s: Diala, Jane C
Broadly, the concept of social exclusion denotes a condition in which people are unable to voice their opinion freely and fully in matters affecting their lives. It often manifests as unequal respect for, and protection of people's rights based on gender, age, race, and similar demographics. Social inclusion has become a concern for policy development and implementation, particularly in cultural matters, where tensions often arise between traditional norms and universalist State laws. In this context, bridewealth payment in Southern Nigeria presents an intriguing lens for examining social exclusion. Here, women's exclusion from their own bridewealth negotiation illustrates the interplay of agency and unequal power relations, two twin elements that affect access to justice and policy development. So, in what ways does women's exclusion from bridewealth negotiation broaden understanding of access to justice and development programming? This article argues that women's cultural exclusion from bridewealth negotiation hinders their agency in marriage under customary law. Using data obtained from Southern Nigeria in 2016, it shows how the sustenance of social exclusion stands at the intersection of law, culture, and justice.
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What gender legislative reforms have meant for women in South Africa, pp 47-70
Author/s: Rustin, Carmine
South Africa is a much better place to live in today than before 1994. Having witnessed a largely peaceful transition from a pariah apartheid State to a democratic State where equality is guaranteed before the law, the country offers rights and justice for all. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa , 1996 set out to rectify the injustices of the past and eliminate the various forms of discrimination that were the hallmarks of an apartheid State. Gender equality was a focal point in the reforms introduced in legislation and government programmes in a new democratic society. In this article I explore what these gendered legislative reforms and measures have meant to South African women, and whether these measures have brought about a positive change in their lives. Framed within a feminist epistemological and methodological approach, I draw on the results of a qualitative study of South Africa women. The results form part of a larger mixed methods study employing both qualitative and quantitative components. Qualitative individual interviews as well as focus groups were conducted. For the majority of women interviewed, the promulgation of legislation was viewed as positive and progressive. Women are now recognised as full citizen, have access to various opportunities, and experience more autonomy and choice. However, participants raised numerous shortcomings in legislation, and challenges that they experienced in their daily lives. For some of the participants, the transformative changes anticipated in the social and economic spheres have not been realised.
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Embracing risky refuge: Women, land laws and livelihood vulnerabilities in rural Kenya, pp 71-94
Author/s: Thamari-Odhiambo, Mary
There has been a growing interest in laws governing resources particularly land in reference to gender in Africa. Law reforms in relation to land have produced potentially useful regulations and espoused egalitarian land rights. However, the backdrop to these reforms contains a scene of land disputes, resistance to laws, violence against women and poor enforcement leading to injustices to women with a pervasive effect on families in vulnerable communities. Using focused ethnographic research methods, the writer investigated women's land rights between November 2015 and August 2016. In-depth interviews, focus group discussions, review of archival records and observations were utilised. The study found that in contexts of prolonged livelihood vulnerabilities, as in the case of the Luo people of south-western Kenya, women seeking refuge from livelihood difficulties employ two strategies to anchor their security. They migrate from marital homes to fishing villages and also lay claim to marital land, which is held by men according to customary laws. These strategies produce social dilemmas and risky manoeuvering. Statutory land laws that are enacted to mitigate land related conflicts undermine the existing customary land laws that advantage men. Therefore, women's land claims, and statutory land laws that espouse equality in land ownership, destabilise men's sense of masculinity. By drawing on the experiences of women, I show the intersection between land laws, enduring injustices and gender relations in a context of strained livelihoods.
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A discourse on the plight of South African women in the face of abuse and neglect, pp 95-118
Author/s: Fagbadebo, Omololu
An upsurge in the rate of violence against women has an adverse effect on women in South Africa. Sadly, many South African women who are the victims of violent sexual conduct, such as, rape and other forms of violent sexual abuse, have in part contributed to the prevalence of HIV/AIDS infection among women. Of the 7,7 million South African living with HIV/AIDS in 2018, 4,7 million were women, while another 69 000 were among the new infections. They are more vulnerable to HIV infections with 21,17 percent of women living with the disease. Using personal conversations, literature searches and documents for primary and secondary data, this article argues that value orientation that ascribes superiority to men has damaging consequences on the status of women. South African women are exposed to violent habitual actions of men that denigrate their womanhood. The article, therefore, submits that there is a need to reinforce civil society and strengthen the justice system for the protection and promotion of the rights and freedom of women. Aside from this, the government should increase its commitment to the enforcement of requisite legislative frameworks that safeguard the rights and freedom of women, and review punishments for any acts of violence against women.
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Engendering access to environmental justice in Nigeria's oil producing areas, pp 167-191
Author/s: Roberts, Fo Nyemutu
This article interrogates engendering access to environmental justice in Nigeria's oil producing areas and its connection with poverty and disempowerment of women. Women already suffer from the fact that access to justice for the vast majority of Nigerians is challenging and restrictive. It is discriminatory against women. Access to environmental justice is, therefore, an additional burden on them, and of significant concern to the people in the country's oil producing Niger Delta region. Militant youths, women and communities have protested in diverse forms against the injustice they suffer as a result of oil and gas production in the region. However, the Nigerian State has often responded with brutal repression resulting in deepening environmental insult in the region. The oil producing areas, therefore, suffer a triple jeopardy. First, access to justice remains a huge challenge for the people, including women. Secondly, there is the additional burden that they have to struggle for environmental justice against a State and international oil companies that are complicit in the adverse environmental desiderata, a disproportionate brunt of which is borne by women who, however, occupy an auxiliary position in the struggle. Thirdly, where there is policy intervention by way of environmental 'clean up' projects, such interventions hardly face up to the need to involve women in developing and implementing key policies, which means that important issues for women are ignored and women continue to suffer substantive environmental injustice.
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Leveraging the local administration to engender access to justice in Kenya: The case of Mukuru Kayaba Informal Settlement, Nairobi County, Kenya, pp 192-222
Author/s: Murumba, Ruth N
Constitutional change in Kenya has opened up spaces of contestation of rights for citizens. However, marginalisation of certain segments of the population remains a key constraint to achieving universal protections. A lack of awareness and capacity of both citizens and the government hinders the advancement of the goals to lift the standards of all the citizens. There has been the extension of the rights to the individual to cover political, economic, social, economic and cultural rights. Communities living in informal settlements face extreme marginalisation which is vividly expressed in the lack of access to justice. This is specifically difficult for women and children as they face social, cultural and economic constraints. Using Mukuru Kayaba informal settlement as a case study, this article will examine how the place and status of the local administration can be leveraged and negotiated to secure access to justice for women and children. Secondary data will be analysed and presented narratively. This is to contribute to the debate on effectively engendering access to justice for women and children ; it is especially important at the grassroots level where women and children may lack the capacity to seek redress from other sources.
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The right to education of the refugee girl affected by armed conflict in Kenya, pp 119-145
Author/s: Nanima, Robert Doya
The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child provides for the protection of children in all environments. Areas that have experienced armed conflict have made the child susceptible to human rights violations including violence through sexual offences and violation of civil and political as well as socio-economic rights. An evaluation of all human rights violations cannot be done comprehensively. This article takes a thematic turn and evaluates the aspects of the right to education of the refugee girl child. It sets the tone by reflecting on the normative framework of the right to education of the refugee child at the international, regional and national levels. This is followed by a discussion of the violation of this right in situations of conflict and host States like Kenya. Drawing on the jurisprudence of the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, insights on the improvement of the enjoyment of this right are engaged. A conclusion and recommendations follow.
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The institution of traditional authority in Okombahe, Erongo Region of Namibia: Can the institution be reconciled with democratic values of justice?, pp 146-166
Author/s: More, Madikgomo
The purpose of the article was to explore the roles and functions of the institution of traditional authority in contributing to access to justice or providing a form of justice through the preservation of customary law to the people of the Okombahe community in the Erongo Region of Namibia. The article's aim was to investigate the factors that have contributed to the institution's resilience and how this resilience may be tied to the type of justice this customary institution provides and represents. The institution of traditional authority has recently caught the attention of both scholars and policymakers due to the increasing return or revival of this 'ancient' form of governance in the contemporary era that is constantly changing its procedures and rules of appointment to adapt to contemporary concerns and social problems. The scope of traditional leaders' jurisdiction and power is defined in the roles and functions they fulfil. As a popular legitimate informal institution in Okombahe, traditional leaders were found to manage and resolve conflict, and to preserve communal identity, unity, and continuity. This article highlights the significance of the institution of traditional authority as a legitimate customary institution originating from the bottom-up, and as a system that can be complementary to democracy as opposed to the assumption sometimes held that it is contesting with it. In Okombahe, the institution of traditional authority was found to contribute to providing an accessible justice system option grounded in this community's identity, history and social norms. The data collection employed for this qualitative case study of Okombahe consisted of interviews, supporting documents, and relevant scientific articles.
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The effect of the 2011 Arab uprising in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena region): Morocco’s quest for constitutional reform and the 20 February Movement, pp 223-241
Author/s: Booley, Ashraf
Historically, Morocco experienced widespread political repression during the 1970s through to the early 1990s. Through its exploitations, the monarchy regime repressed any claims aimed at challenging its authoritarian form of public space and debate. Encouraged by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, and the Arab Spring, young Moroccans began to organise extensive demonstrations across the country demanding that a more substantive democracy, social justice and an anti-corruption mechanism be put in place. The 20 February movement, named after the first demonstration held on that date in 2011, is a worthy illustration of one of the latest social movements characterised by a concentrated use of technology and their disseminated membership. King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful and the highest authority in Morocco, promised in a televised speech to introduce radical and genuine constitutional reforms that would democratise the country. This article describes the historical trajectory of the monarchy, the emergence and structuring of the 20 February movement and the neutralisation strategy pursued by the monarchy in bringing about a constitutional change.
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