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Young Women's Participation Project (YWPP)
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 South African Young Voices Network (SAYVON) has launched a project in Kwa-Zulu Natal called Young Women's Participation Project (YWPP). The main idea for the intervention is to increase influence of young women in development of their communities by encouraging participation in civil issues. The project is derived from the Norwegian concept of Women Can Do it.
Norway is one of the countries with the world best results of building gender balanced democracy. Norwegians have nearly 40% of women in the parliament; they had recently the government with a woman prime minister and more than a half of women ministers. This success was built on decades of efforts of the Norwegian women's movement, especially of the Norwegian Labor Party Women's organization. The experiences and know how of the women from Norway, are precious sources of knowledge and inspiration for the women in the whole world, specially in South Africa where women are restarting their fight for equal opportunities in politics almost from the scratches.
 The Norwegian booklet "Women can do it" served as a very successful material of training for generations of Norwegian women politicians. Women's political culture in the so called socialistic era was built on the ideological pattern of the predominance of the class over gender, state over individual, one party over state and civil society. The women of this region started to discover the possible impact and power of the grass roots women's movement and the specific role of the women in politics only recently. And there was no homemade handle book or other materials to be used in the process of their growing need for the capacity building. So they discovered the booklets, born in the women movement of Sweden (Power Booklet) and Norway (Women can do it).
SAYVON, a youth organisation working with youth organisations from 8 provinces of South African, has realised the value and impact of the WCDT initiative and has decided to pilot their own initiative that looks at young women participation in Civil issues within their communities. SAYVON is working with various stakeholders from Kwa-Zulu Natal, these include amongst others, Local radio stations, Youth organisations and government structures within the province in implement the project over three years.
 The process began with a workshop that took place from the 04th - 10th May 2008 at the Tropicana Hotel in Durban,KZN-where 30 young women from different organisations were expose to the concept of YWPP. The workshop was facilitated by two experienced trainers, one from the Norwegian Labour Party Women's Network in Norway and one consultant from Zimbabwe.
During the training workshop 3 participants were interviewed by Ukhozi FM-the biggest radio station in South Africa with more than 7million listeners. The workshop was also attended by the office of the premier of Kwa-Zulu-Natal. The workshop cemented a very good foundation and therefore expectations are very high.
 SAYVON is very excited about this project since it is one of its type to be piloted in Kwa-Zulu Natal for young people.
More about the Women's Participation Project (YWPP):
Background
 Apartheid was particularly insidious for young Black people as it not only ignored their developmental needs but took active steps, through laws and regulations, to frustrate and curtail their potential and bind them into a bleak future of menial jobs and servitude. The dawn of democracy has been marked by several bold legislative steps to entrench basic human rights for all South Africans, and to promulgate policies and programmes to dismantle the inequities generated by Apartheid and to create an enabling environment to fast-track child and youth development. While some policies find direct application to youth, many are directed to the South African population as a whole, but through which young people can also expect to benefit. Since 1994 some 789 new laws have been enacted that have effectively changed the direction of the policy landscape from one of discrimination and separation to one of inclusively, redress and overall human development (Policy Co-ordination and Advisory Services, 2003). No doubt, South Africa has displayed the power of political will to change the shape of the country in 16 years. The challenge that remains is to translate the opportunities presented through enabling legislation into workable programmes that bring about tangible changes to the day-to-day lives of the vast majority of the population.
 The South African Constitution, adopted in 1996 as an overarching framework and the 'cornerstone of democracy', acknowledges the injustices of the past and honors those who brought about liberation as well as those who are working to rebuild the country. Almost every piece of legislation enacted since 1994 can be tied back to the various struts of the Constitution as the foundation. Lauded as one of the most progressive in the world, the Bill of Rights, affords all citizens human dignity, freedom, equality and protection from discrimination including race, gender, pregnancy, marital status, ethnicity, social origin, colour, age and disability. The Bill of Rights offers protection to the freedom and security of persons including their right to bodily and psychological integrity.
 Citizens are also guaranteed the right to choose their trade, occupation or profession freely and the right to fair labour practices. It offers protection to the environment to ensure that it is not harmful to health or wellbeing and is maintained for the benefit of present and future generations. All citizens have the right to access basic education, healthcare, food, water and social security if they are unable to support themselves or their dependents. Children, defined as persons under the age of 18 years, receive special mention in the Bill of Rights. They are entitled to family or parental care, to basic nutrition, shelter, basic healthcare and social services. They also enjoy the right to be protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse and degradation as well as exploitative labour practices. The Bill of Rights emphasizes the child's best interest as being of paramount importance in matters concerning them.
South Africa has re-entered the global community and asserted its intention to promote and protect the rights, growth and development of young people. On the 16th of June 1995, South Africa ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child that sets global standards to ensure human rights for children throughout the world, aged 0 to 18 years. It recognizes the fundamental human dignity of all children and the need to ensure their wellbeing and development. The Convention focuses on the family as the natural environmental for children's growth and wellbeing, seeks respect for children and endorses non-discrimination.
 At a regional level, South Africa is playing a catalytic role in promoting the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD). A recent publication on the Young Faces of NEPAD (African Union et al., 2004) provides unprecedented support for a focus on children and young people as the critical investment in human capital development. Working towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, with the strong focus on child development, the document proposes combating HIV/AIDS and promoting girls education as two of the critical strategies required to fast track the development of African children and youth. The four other strategies proposed to make a tangible difference in the lives of young people are to enforce the rights of orphans and vulnerable children to a basic standard of living, to institute decisive steps to control malaria, measles and malnutrition, to provide universal access to healthcare and primary education, as well as to protect young people from violence, discrimination, abuse and exploitation.
 The document rightly asserts that the situation of young people in a country, as the most vulnerable sector of society, is a telling indicator of the quality of governance. At a national level, South Africa has also given special recognition to the role that youth played in liberating the country and the role that they will continue to play in creating a prosperous society. In 1996, the promulgation of the National Youth Commission Act enabled the creation of a national youth policy through which young people could be empowered to address the multiple challenges that they face and to access opportunities to maximize their potential.
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Youth Participation
The involvement, engagement and active participation of youth are key to youth development. A Youth Development approach provides support and opportunities to help youth meet their needs and learn appropriate skills with the help of caring adults within facilitative structures and services. The voices of young people have not been silent in bringing about social and political change both at a global and local level, often at high costs to themselves through lost educational and employment opportunities. However, mechanisms and resources to involve youth in a meaningful way in decision making processes as part of the youth empowerment strategy remain a challenge.
It is both a right of young people, as well as in their interest, to ensure them an adequate standard of living and protection from economic, sexual, emotional, and physical harm or exploitation. In fact, national productivity and security hinges on developing the full potential of young people and engaging them not only as beneficiaries, but also as participants and problem solvers. Even at the end of the Apartheid era, after decades of oppression and violence, young people continue to be hopeful about the future. On the whole, young people in South Africa are positive about the future and their future role in society. Many young people say that they want jobs so that they can contribute to their families and communities. Despite the harsh social conditions in which many young people continue to live, the majority place a high value on self-development, on family and kinship, on community development, and on a peaceful and just society (van Zyl Slabbert et al., 1994). It has been argued that the security of having basic rights, and having them fulfilled, gives young people the confidence to participate more fully in civic and economic affairs (Golembek, 2002).
The creation of youth structures such as the National Youth Commission, the Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the South African Youth Council have afforded young people the legislative platform and the voice to shape transformation in the country and to ensure that youth development issues are given national priority and mainstreamed across government programmes. These institutions have of late being criticized for not being inaccessible and failing young people. There has been a call by the ANC Youth league and other youth structures for the re-engineering of Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the National Youth Commission. Some feel that the entities are unclear on their roles hence the confusion and aloofness. The youth council can be said to have died a natural death due to self inflicting venomous of political interference and perceptions by youth that it was a platform for ANC youth league.
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A sustainable response that is transparent and accessible
While South Africa is increasingly a global player, the historical context still requires reflection to determine the unique needs of young people. A critical component of the context is the need for concerted efforts to redress the imbalances of the past.
The limited resources and capacity available in the country for youth development amidst multiple pressing priorities requires that youth development is mainstreamed across all sectors of government and civil society. Furthermore, a vision of sustainable development requires that efforts to meet the current needs of young people are implemented in a manner that does not jeopardize the prospects of future generations. The South African context also demands that youth development programmes adopt open processes that are easily accessible to young men and women.
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Gender issues and responses
The definition of gender is still a preoccupation of many schools of thought. The old, the modern and the pre-modern schools of thought provide guiding principles on the concept of gender. The old school of thought defines gender from a patriarchal context which emphasizes roles and relationships between male and female persons at community level. Most people say the emphasis in this area is more on the physical structure of a person than anything else, particularly as the musculature of a human being dictates values, strength and position one holds in society. Male persons are understood to exert leadership obligations in public life, which is valued more than the altruistic roles fulfilled by females since they fall, therefore, they cannot handle Leadership mandates.
The second school of thought is defined from the modern construct which interprets gender from the individual's biological status and determines the sex of a person. When looking at the societal definition of gender one ends up with a narrow view, where understanding of the dichotomy between purposes and needs of human beings is disregarded. Male persons have different purposes, as do female persons, and the two complement each other. The basis of different treatment between male and female persons is the cutting edge of our perception, and our arguments should be premised on these differences rather than solely on beliefs, power and duties.
Gender needs broader definition rather than giving it a narrow scope, which cannot respond to the modern challenges faced by female persons. The state of affairs can improve when we finally accept the reality that it is about time that we consider harmonizing the traditional beliefs with modern terms so that the old give way to the new gender equity. The narrow view of gender has caused a lot of damage in the society by breeding hostility, misconceptions and stereotypes in handling relationships between male and female persons. The time has come to begin appreciating the common attributes of female persons, not only to view them from relational and nurturing points of view and the male persons as proponents of respect. It is a well-known fact that societal fabric harbors inconsistent tenets of culture, tradition and religion that are not open to promotion and protection of women's rights. These are deep-rooted beliefs that are not easy to diminish or open to new changes brought by development.
Firstly, development doesn't promise well for culture. In fact, it is in hostility with culture as the former tend to wear down the latter. Further, the makers of cultural norms do not create development but encourage sustenance of the status quo. The other views put blame on external influences for changing old beliefs and way of thinking towards relationships of male and female persons.
In addition, one can submit that the cultural and traditional way of defining members of a society existed since immemorial times, and the transfer has passed from generation to generation. One can qualify an assumption that sources of culture and old beliefs surface as a result of the legacy left by our ancestors. Also, many communities still believe that our ancestors are the makers of these old beliefs. They go as far as to posit that society owes them respect, recognition and observation regardless of their harm, or whether they fit well with modern times or if their existence is detrimental to people's needs and values.
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Gender Rights on Paper
Gender issues are not complex but the old belief system that exists in our society is making the concept of gender a very volatile topic to dwell on. In South Africa the new dispensation coupled with international and regional instruments added value to the struggle against gender inequality. The government's commitment to attain gender equity is embraced in our new Constitutional Order. In particular, Section 9 of the Bill of Rights prohibits any form of discrimination based on gender or sex based on gender or sex perpetrated directly or indirectly.
South Africa is a champion of human rights and is the one country in Africa that has jurisprudential precedence at the Constitutional Court level in respect of the rights and welfare of women and children's inheritance. In terms of culture, but also perpetuated by apartheid women particularly African descent are not allowed to remain the custodian of their children or to be in physical control of the estate of their late partners. The deceased's eldest male relative, if there is no male of the age of 18 at the time of the deceased death, assumes this duty. The mother of the male and the elder sister of the sibling's brother were completely disqualified from exercising this duty. This culture had left many children homeless, poverty stricken, and brought severe animosities among communities as the deceased's relatives helped themselves to the assets of his/her state.
The development of gender law, informed by international and regional perspectives, has resulted in the improvement of the rights of women. These include: the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. These two instruments create progressive mechanisms for advancing the rights of women in both public and private spheres, but still need to be implemented at local.
At the Southern African Development Community (SADC) level, South Africa is party to a Declaration on Gender and Development. Subsequent to that, an addendum was signed related to the Prevention and Eradication of Violence against Women and Children. In addition, during the SADC Summit in 2005, member states approved the drafting of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development since protocols by nature have binding force compared to declarations.
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Reality
However, the rights of women are still not respected in all spheres, including at local and national levels. Women, particularly young women are the most affected by the HIV and AIDS pandemic. Violence against women and children, including rape statistics, are still high. Maintenance courts are faced with backlog of cases and we still have many fathers who abdicate their responsibility to support their progeny. Poverty affects women and children more than men, despite measures taken at global level to progressively address the disparity between male and females
There's a strong need for civil society organisations and other relevant stakeholders to advocate for the domestication and implementation of international, regional and sub-regional instruments promoting women's rights. These instruments are meaningless if they are not incorporated at local level, and the failure of our courts to provide remedies to victims of violence brings disgrace Strong advocacy and education is also required at community level to improve the status of women, particularly young women.
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Our Position
The network believes that gender equality should be exercised in all levels of society.
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Our intervention
The network has looked at different interventions to respond to challenges faced by young women generally. One method currently used in other countries is that of training young women to take part in civil and political life. The method of training seeks to build a paradigm shift in a culture of dominance over gender, state over individual, one party over state and civil society. The main idea for the intervention is to increase influence of young women in development of communities and society. The organization realizes that gender issues are complex and needs not one approach but a multifaceted approach and therefore the use of our intervention is one of many methods that can be used to deal with gender issues.
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Objective
The main idea for the intervention is to increase influence of young women in development of their communities and society.
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Immediate objective
Young women from 11 districts of Kwa-Zulu Natal are able to increase their civil skills and with these skills are able to take part in decision making processes within their communities and in general public.
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Target group and area
The network will pilot a project in the 11 districts of Kwa-Zulu Natal by 2008. The pilot will focus on young women in the civil society and media in the age group 16-29 years.
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Phases of the project
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main activities
The key activities engaged by YWPP project are:
- Training of trainers
- Shadow conference
- Research
- Radio shows
- Symposiums
- Policy research
- E-Communications
- Create the e-group communication for the committee
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The Regional Youth Hearing took place in Johannesburg, South Africa on 28 November 2008 at the Kliptown Freedom Square/Walter Sisulu Square.
SAYVON features two research papers published by the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa:
