Gender and Defence Reform - Noting the Achievements and Challenges of Women in South Africa
South Africa is currently celebrating women's month. On the 9th of August 1956, women marched to the Union Buildings to protest against carrying 'passes' and the oppressive laws that prevailed under the apartheid order.
Cheryl Hendricks, Senior Research Fellow, Security Sector Governance Programme and Marelie Maritz, Intern, Security Sector Governance Programme
South Africa is currently celebrating women’s month. On the 9th of August 1956, women marched to the Union Buildings to protest against carrying ‘passes’ and the oppressive laws that prevailed under the apartheid order. The journey of women in their quest for freedom and equality, since then, has been long and the rights enshrined in our constitution, hard won.
Despite many persistent challenges, South Africa has made great strides in implementing its gender mainstreaming policies and programmes. A new Ministry of Women, Children and People with Disability has been created to consolidate government’s activities to promote the development of women. The representation of women in decision-making structures, a key priority area long identified by women for furthering gender equality, is taken seriously. In this regard, we have seen the representation of women in parliament increase from 33% to 45% after the national democratic election of April 2009. South Africa now ranks third in the world in terms of countries with the highest number of women in parliament. There are five, out of a total of nine, women premiers as head of provincial governments. South Africa has 14 cabinet Ministers and 12 Deputy Ministers who are women and they are in charge of some of the most powerful Ministries, including, International Relations and Co-operation, Home Affairs, Mining, and Defence and Veteran Affairs.
There have been very few women Ministers of Defence worldwide. Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, the new Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, joins 60 other previous women who acted in this capacity since 1960. In Africa, there have only been six other women at the helm of the Defence Sector, namely, Joyce Mujuru in Zimbabwe, Madior Boye in Senegal, Cecile Manorohanta in Madagascar, Cristina Fontes Lima in Cape Verde, Filomena Mascarenhas Tipote in Guinea Bissau, and Elsa Maria Neto D’Alva Texeira de Barros Pinto in São Tomé and Príncìpe.
The defence sector, in general, has been slow in realising the goals of gender mainstreaming. The military has always been regarded as a place of male dominance and indeed one in which the very constructions of masculinity are reproduced. It is therefore no surprise that women’s advancement to the top echelons of this sector has been rather limited and that many stereotypes abound to justify this. This includes, for example, that the military is ‘unique, ’ women do not have the physical strength and endurance needed to perform the duties associated with combat, and that they cannot be away from their families for extended periods of time.
Women in turn challenged these arguments. They have asserted their human right not to be excluded from the employment, educational and career opportunities afforded by the military. They have also outlined the importance of their presence in this sector. The inclusion of women in the military creates a more representative military; it increases the ability of the defence force to respond to the differing needs of the society and it improves the operational effectiveness, as there is a larger pool of human resources from which to draw on.
There have also been countless examples of how women peacekeepers are able to increase the effectiveness of peace-missions. It is now well documented that women in conflict zones, for example, see women peacekeepers as more approachable than their male counterparts to discuss issues related to sexual violence. In addition, UN Security Council Resolution 1325 speaks directly to the need for more women to be part of peacekeeping missions. We have, therefore, long passed the need to debate the merits of inclusion and we should now be concentrating on how to make the environment more conducive to the well being of women, for there does appear to be a high drop out rate of women who enter this sector. Moreover, given the changed conflict environment in which intra-state challenges pose more threats to the state than the possibility for inter-state conflict, we need to be centering our discussions on whose security matters most. How should that security be provided, and by whom? These are the basic questions that would underpin a human security approach.
South Africa has adopted a human security approach to security that is articulated in its White Paper on Defence. The government has also adopted gender mainstreaming and a 50% representation of women in decision-making as a central component of the policies and practices of the public service.
Since 1994, the South African Department of Defence has gone a long way to include women in this sector. Currently 21% of the defence force is made up of women. They are still primarily in the junior ranks and in the support services. The highest-ranking woman in the South African Defence Force is a Major General. There are, however, concerted efforts made to increase the number of women at the higher ranks: the number of Brigadiers General has now increased to twenty seven providing a pool from which to draw on for the upper levels.
Would bringing more women into the defence force ensure that South Africa’s human security orientation is more evidenced? The recent announcement by the new Minister of Defence would indicate in the affirmative. She is examining how the available skills within the defence force can be more effectively utilized within the country and has suggested that the defence force could, for example, train municipalities in disaster mangement; help with the backlog in the building of houses; nurses and doctors can provide their services and so forth. This certainly would go a long way in making the defence sector more responsive to the internal needs of the society. However, at this stage it appears to be more the financial challenges of the defence force, partly brought about by the need to be more inclusive, that is the driver behind the implementation of the human security approach. Either way, bringing more women into the defence force, especially at the higher levels, will lead to more interrogation on what they do and how they do what they do.
