4.3. Challenges and Gaps 5. WEST AFRICA .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 235

4.2.2 Policy and Institutional Reforms

The SADC Regional Strategy on Women, Peace and Security 2018–2022 urges members to develop NAPs with an emphasis on integrating women in decision-making, security sector institutions and reform processes. This is important in integrating gender perspectives in conflict management, both preventative and remedial. Angola, Mozambique and Namibia each has a NAP on Women, Peace and Security.1788 Angola’s NAP of 2017 advocates for more women in police and peacekeeping forces.1789 More precisely, the goal is to have female representation of 40% across the board for peace negotiations; in decision-making bodies such as on defence and security, leadership positions, international missions and international organisations; and on electoral observation missions, as well as trained in defence, security and justice bodies (prison, police, army, marines, etc.) by 2020.1790 Mozambique’s NAP on Women, Peace and Security 2018–2022 introduced a quota of 30% for women in the defence and security forces.1791 It further stipulates the establishment of centres where survivors of VAW can receive physical and psychological assistance.1792 Mozambique’s Gender Policy of 2018 emphasises the inclusion of women in peace and conflict resolution, and their Figure 33 – Southern Africa: representation in defence and security forces.1793 Namibia’s first NAP, launched in June 2019, emphasises reviewing security sector

Number of women peacekeepers contributed legislation to ensure gender-sensitive provisions, as well as fostering

Percentage (%) of women peacekeepers out of gender sensitivity in the security sector.1794 Namibia is committed all peacekeepers (men and women) contributed in its National Gender Policy and NAP to deploying women to all peacekeeping missions and promoting the inclusion of more women

South Africa 183 in peacekeeping operations, although these policies do not set out 15.8% targets or quotas for this inclusion.1795 Other countries have policies and strategies with a bearing on women, peace and security, despite lacking a specific NAP. For example, in 2017, Malawi adopted a National Peace Policy, which promotes the participation of women in the peace dialogue.1796 The same year, lobbying by the Parliamentary Women Caucus resulted in the appointment of a woman vice-chair of the parliamentary Defence and Security Committee.1797 Lesotho’s Gender and Development Policy 2018–2030 stipulates the inclusion of women in decisionmaking positions in the context of armed conflict.1798 Lesotho’s High Court ruled in 2018 that discrimination based on sex or gender or against pregnant women in the military was unlawful.1799

Zambia 154

15.1%

Malawi 55

6.2%

Zimbabwe 37

56.0%

Namibia 7

18.9%

Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Mozambique were not contributing any troops to UN Peacekeeping in 2020. Source: United Nations.

4.3. Challenges and Gaps

The women, peace and security agenda requires that, even in times of relative peace, situations that ignite conflict and result in VAW must be prevented through the maintenance of security, law, order, mediation and dialogue. However, in some instances of conflict, women are exposed to violence. The region has faced sporadic outbreaks of conflicts that have resulted in women being harmed. In the period under review, there were 60 instances of sexual violence by armed personnel against women civilians, which resulted in 24 fatalities. This sexual violence peaked in 2019, when 20 of the 60 incidents occurred. State employees were responsible for 31 incidents of sexual violence against civilians: nine in Angola, two in Lesotho, one in Malawi, three in Mozambique, one in South Africa, one in Zambia and 14 in Zimbabwe. Members of the militia were responsible for another 29 incidents.1800

Involvement of women in the security sector, such as in the police and the military, is key to fostering gender-responsive peacekeeping and conflict resolution. A positive relationship exists, for example, between women in the police and the reporting of cases of SGBV.1801 South Africa had the highest number of women in the police force of the region, with 21% at the beginning of the decade and 35% by 2017.1802 Namibia overtook South Africa, with 38% women in police in 2017.1803 At roughly the midpoint of the

AWD (2013/14), the lowest participation of women in the police force was in Angola (9%) and Mozambique (12%),1804 with Malawi having 26%, Zimbabwe 23.1% and Botswana 26%.1805 Those countries with the highest shares of police women at this time point were Lesotho (29%), Eswatini and Zambia (33%) and Namibia (34.1%), with the highest in South Africa at 34.11%.1806 At a more senior level, in 2014, two out of six (33.3%) commissioners in Malawi were women.1807

With regard to the military, Malawi and Botswana began recruiting women into their defence forces in 1999 and 2007, respectively.1808 In Malawi, the highest rank currently held by a woman is that of lieutenant colonel.1809 Botswana recruited its first female privates in 20151810 and since 2017 women have served as commissioned officers.1811 Zimbabwe nominated its first woman as brigadier general in 2013.1812In 2017, 23% of Namibia’s defence force were women; at the same time South Africa had 30% women in the armed forces.1813 Despite this, Namibia’s NAP points out that females are not well represented at management level, as there were only 14% higher-ranking women in the defence force and 21% in the police force.

Within domestic security sectors, South Africa has had particularly high representation of female soldiers. In its national military, female soldiers comprised 34% of the overall force in 2015,1814 although this proportion falls short of South Africa’s target of 40% women in its military.1815 South Africa also stands apart as the only country that allows women in front-line combat roles and as fighter pilots.1816 In 2019, South Africa had six female major generals (15%) and 46 brigadier generals (26.7%).1817 Lesotho and Mozambique had no women in the military, the lowest in the region in 2013.1818 Botswana had only 0.2% female members of its national defence force in 2010 and 1% in 2017.1819

Six countries (Eswatini, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe) contributed troops to UN peacekeeping operations in 2020. The largest contributor was Malawi (ranking 15th globally) followed by South Africa (17th) in 2020. The next highest troop contributors were Zambia (20th), Zimbabwe (70th), Namibia (76th) and Eswatini (118th).1820 In terms of female representation, Zimbabwe ranked first, with 51.9% of its peacekeepers being women, followed by Namibia (20.5%), South Africa (16.2%), Zambia (15.1%), Malawi (6.9%) and Eswatini (0%).1821 Although women’s representation on South Africa’s UN peacekeeping force does not approach parity, South Africa contributed the largest number of women peacekeepers among Southern African countries, with 186 women, compared with Zimbabwe’s 42.1822 In 2016, Namibia peacekeeping deployments had 33% female peacekeepers from the police and 13.5% from the Defence Force.1823 Between 2010 and 2020, the proportion of women in UN peacekeeping contributions fluctuated, with a general upward trend in Zimbabwe, where representation rose from 31% in 2011 to 51.9% in 2020. In Namibia, women’s representation rose between 2010 and 2015 but then dropped from 36% in 20151824 to 20.5% in 2020.1825 Namibia has established a Gender Unit in its Ministry of Defence to promote the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in the security sector and peacekeeping forces.1826

There continue to be barriers to women’s participation in conflict resolution and peacekeeping, stemming from structural socioeconomic factors and persistent patriarchal divisions of labour.1827 For example, in Zambia, despite the Police Force setting a 30% target for female deployment to UN peacekeeping missions, the target was not met, partially because of the requirement for two years of driving experience: Zambian women are less likely to have a driver’s licence than men and likely to have less driving experience.1828 Another barrier is the challenge of deployed women leaving their families in the care of husbands, who are unaccustomed or unwilling to take care of the household.1829 Most women peacekeepers from the Zambia Police Service serve as gender and child protection officers and carry out clerical and administrative tasks within the base.1830 These roles delegate women peacekeepers to traditionally feminine responsibilities.

While gender stereotypes and societal attitudes are no doubt a barrier for women in the region in considering joining the military, another deterrent is the high level of sexual harassment and sexual violence within the military and peacekeeping operations against female soldiers. Zambian peacekeepers, especially in junior ranks, experience rampant sexual harassment, particularly verbal comments.1831 Within the South African National Defence Force, 41 sexual-related cases ranging from rape and assault to harassment and crimen injuria (a South African term referring to unlawfully and

intentionally impairing the dignity or privacy of another person)1832 were perpetrated against female members of the military by fellow uniformed soldiers in a period of 18 months between 2017 and 2019. In terms of delivery of justice for these cases, 26 of the cases have been finalised, with 13 guilty verdicts and 11 acquittals.1833

Sexual violence is also an ongoing issue among peacekeepers when deployed abroad, and there have been accusations against male peacekeepers by women in host countries. For instance, in 2017, allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse, including gang rape, were filed against six Zambian peacekeepers in Central African Republic.1834 In addition, between 2015 and 2019 in DR Congo, at least 34 allegations of sexual misconduct or violence by South African troops were filed, including rape, transactional sex, sexual abuse and exploitative relationships.1835 In 2019, the South African minister of defence created a ministerial task team to investigate claims of sexual exploitation and abuse by the South Africa National Defence Force both domestically and while deployed abroad.1836