Organised by the Ministry of Local Government in partnership with the Media Watch Organisation and the South African-based Gender Links, the workshop brought together 25 councillors and officials from district, municipal and village councils from around Mauritius.
The study, which was launched on June 11, revealed that women comprise a mere 6.4 percent of councillors in Mauritius, among the lowest in southern Africa. By contrast, Lesotho has 58 percent women representation in local government, Namibia 42 percent, and South Africa 40 percent.
"At the Coalface" concludes that there is no reason why any country in southern Africa should not achieve 50 percent women representation in local government by 2015.
The draft Southern African Protocol on Gender and Development, to be presented to heads of state from the region in August, sets a target of gender parity in all areas of decision-making by 2015.
Said James Burty David, Mauritius' Minister of Local Government at the launch:
"There are no legal barriers to women's participation. The only barrier is an invisible monster. But in all mythologies throughout the world, monsters are defeated."
Participants in subsequent workshops drafted a gender strategy for local government covering a broad range of areas, including measures to:
lEnsure gender balance in all areas of local government, including the administration of local government;
lEnhance the effective participation of women in local government through ensuring that women occupy leadership positions and have the confidence to speak out in meetings;
lMount campaigns at the local level for ending gender violence and for the prevention of HIV and AIDS;
lEnsure that women and men benefit equally from jobs created by local government as well as procurement and business opportunities;
lEnsure that women are equally consulted and benefit from the services delivered by local government, including electricity, sewerage and refuse removal;
lMake use of sports and recreational facilities operated by local government to challenge gender stereotypes and promote gender equality;
lEnsure that council budgets have specific allocations for advancing the status of women in society as well as to ensure that women and men benefit equally from mainstream budget allocations;
lIntroduce gender indicators in planning, monitoring and evaluation;
lEstablish gender focal points in all councils as part of the national gender machinery;
lRaise gender awareness and provide gender sensitivity training to all councillors and their staff; and to
lEnsure that measures to promote gender mainstreaming in local government are reflected in the National Gender Policy that is currently being revised.
The draft strategy has been forwarded to the Minister of Local Government. Once adopted, the partners will work with a team of facilitators to translate the strategy into action plans in all municipalities, district and local councils.
