RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES BASED ON GENDER

The difference between gender and sex

 Gender refers to characteristics or attributes such as the social and cultural roles,
rights, responsibilities and behaviour that a particular society or culture considers
appropriate for males and females. Gender deals with masculine and feminine.
Examples of gender features in some societies:
 Women do more household chores than men
 Men smoke and drink more than women
 Women take care of children more than men

 Sex refers to the biological characteristics that a person is born with as a male or
female. Males and females have different sex organs and sexual characteristics.
Sex deals with being male and female. Sex is biological. Therefore, all members
of the male sex are similar and all members of the female sex are similar. This is
true across all societies and cultures.
 Women have breasts for lactation
 They menstruate and they have ovaries that produce eggs
 Men have testicles that produce sperm.
 They have strong muscles and bones
 They grow facial hair

Practices that violate the rights of men

 Corporal punishment: Men are flogged publicly at the kgotla, while women are
not flogged. (Section 28 (3) of Botswana’s Penal Code states: “No sentence of
corporal punishment shall be passed upon females.”)
 Access to children: Sometimes men are denied access to their children who are
born outside marriage. In most ceases, these men are required to pay money to
support the children, even though they are not allowed to see them.
 Alimony: Alimony is a duty a court places on a person to provide financial
support to his or her spouse after separation or divorce. Usually, it is the man
who is required to support his ex wife. Sometimes, a man is forced to continue
paying his ex wife money, even when he can no longer afford it. Some people
believe this is a violation of the man’s right to use his resources to ensure he has a
standard of living adequate for his health and well – being.
 Forced marriages: in some countries, cases have been reported of men being
forced to marry. For example, in India, there are some reported cases of men
suspected of being gay, being forced to marry women. The practice of groom
kidnapping has been reported in the Indian states, of Bihar and Utter Pradesh.
Groom kidnapping refers to the practice in which the bride’s family kidnap and

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 force a man to marry their daughter. Forced marriages are a human right violation
because they violate the men’s right to give consent to marriages.
 Denying divorced fathers contact with their children: In most cases, when
parents divorce, the courts give custody of the children of the marriage to the
mother. This practice is seen by some as violating a man’s equal rights during the
ending of a marriage. According to the men’s rights organisation called ‘ Father
for Justice’ in the United Kingdom, court rulings concerning the welfare of
children in most cases are unfair and influenced by a misconception that men
cannot take good care of their children. They argue that there are good fathers as
much as there are good mothers.
 Denying single or unmarried fathers rights to their children: in most societies,
a man who has a child born out of wedlock is fined by the woman’s family for
making their daughter pregnant outside marriage. However, the man is not
allowed to support or visit the child, unless the woman’s family permit it.
According to the UDHR, all human beings are born equal in rights. This practice
therefore can be seen as a violation of the man’s right to enjoy the same rights as
women.

Practices that violate women’s rights

 Paying women less than men for the same work: In many countries,
women are generally paid less and are given fewer benefits than men for
doing the same work. This violates the women’s right to pay for equal work.
 Widow inheritance: Widow Inheritance is a cultural practice in a widowed
woman is expected to marry her deceased husband’s male relative, usually
his brother or cousin. However, she may have to marry anyone chosen by the
man’s family. The practice of widow inheritance has been reported for
example, in Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Widows who refuse to
be inherited are often abused, their property is taken away and they may be
chased out of the village. Widow inheritance violates a woman’s right to
give free consent to marriage. It may also violate her right to health if the
man she is forced to marry has a sexually transmitted infection, including
HIV. She may become infected too.
 Forced marriages: Some parents force their daughters to marry. For
example, forced marriages have been reported from outside countries such as
the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Pakistan, Zambia and Afghanistan. Girls as
young as 13 years have been forced into marriages arranged by their parents.
Girls are forced to marry for different reasons. For example, sometimes it is
because the parents want to get the bride price paid to them by the man’s
family. Some girls are forced to marry because their parents use them for
repayment of debts. Forced marriages violate the girls’ right to give consent
in marriage.

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  Female genital mutilation (FGM): Female genital mutilation also called
female circumcision refers to the partial or total removal of the female
external genitalia. It is usually carried out on girls any time during infancy up
to the age of 15. FGM often result in complications such as severe bleeding
and problems when urinating. Later, it also causes problems when women
are giving birth. FGM is practiced among some ethnic groups in countries
such as Benin, Burkina faso, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Djibouti, Ghana,
Egypt, Eritrea and Ethopia. The world Health organisation states that this
practice violates a person’s rights to health, security and physical integrity,
the right to b free from torture and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment
and the right to life when the procedure results in death.
 Wife seclusion: Wife seclusion refers to the practice of not allowing a
married woman to interact with members of the public. She is kept isolated
from the outside world and can only leave her home with her husband’s
permission. When she goes out in public, her whole body must be covered.
Wife seclusion is a practice found in some Islamic societies, for example, in
Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Afghanistan. Nowadays, many people consider
wife seclusion as a violation of the women’s right to freedom of movement
and the right to engage in the social and cultural life of the community.
 Honour killings: an honour killing is the murder of a family member or a
clan who is believed to have dishonoured his or her family or clan. In many
reported cases of honour killings, the victims are women. According to the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights, cases of honour killings have
been reported in various countries such as Bangladesh, Britain, Brazil,
Ecuador, Egypt, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Pakistan, Morocco, Sweden,
Turkey and Uganda. Honour killings violate the women’s right to life, the
right to divorce and the right to marry a person of her choice. There are
various accusations laid against women which results in honour killings, for
example,
o Engaging in premarital sex
o Violating a dress code
o Wanting to end or prevent a forced marriage
o Choosing to marry a man of one’s choice
o Wanting a divorce
o Engaging in adultery

The status of men and women in marriage

BOTSWANA

The status of men and women in marriage

In Botswana, the status of men and women in marriage depends on the marriage law
under which a couple is married. There are two legal systems for marriages; the common
or civil law and customary law.

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The status of men and women in customary law marriages
Under the customary law men and women do not have the same status. The Abolition of
Marital Power Act of 2005 which indicates that men and women shall have equal powers
in marriage does not apply to people married under the customary law. In customary law
marriages men have marital power over women. Husbands are the heads of their families
and they have guardianship rights over women and children.

Under the following:

 If a married couple divorce, the custody of the children is traditionally granted to
the father’s family.
 Women have limited rights to family assets and resources. For example cattle are
said to belong to men.
 Polygyny is acceptable; however a man can only take one wife with the consent
of the first wife.
 Where here is no written will, the eldest son has more property inheritance rights
than his sisters and mother. The widow and daughters are entitled to inherit much
of the family estate especially valuable property such as cattle. The eldest son is
regarded as the principal heir and becomes the guardian of his mother and sisters.

The status of men and women in common or civil law marriages

In Botswana, people who marry under the common law can choose to marry “in
community” or “out of community” of property’. Below is the status of men and women
in marriage “in community of property “and “out of community of property”.

The status of men and women married ‘in community of property’

Since the Abolition of Marital Power Act of 2005 was passed, men and women married
‘in community of property’ have equal status in he ownership and control of family
property and resources, including the property they owned before they got married. In
addition,
 They can register immovable property in their own names
 No spouse can sell or get rid of property without the consent of the other. The act
requires that the consent of another spouse has to be sought when selling or giving
away property since the property is jointly owned.
 In case of death of a spouse, the surviving spouse has a legal right to inherit the
property.
 Decisions in the family have to be jointly made. The views of he husband and
wife should be taken into consideration during the decision making process.

The status of men and women in marriage “out of community of property”

Being married ‘out of community of property’ means the husband and wife own their
property separately except where it can be proven that they both contribute to the cost of
buying the property. In cases of the death of a spouse, the surviving spouse only has the
legal right to inherit the property jointly owned. For property individually owned, each
partner can decide who his or her beneficiaries are.

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The status of men and women in education
When formal education was introduced in Botswana, many families did not consider
taking girls to schools. Most of the children who were sent to school were boys. Many
families preferred to pay school fees for a boy child because boys were expected to
become providers for their families later in life. Girls were socialised to know that they
do not need to be educated because they would marry and be provided by their husbands.

In present day Botswana males and females have equal status in and access to education
and training. However, some subjects choices still appear to be gender biased. Table
below shows the number of females and males students who sat for Home Economics
and Design and Technology Junior Certificate Examinations from 2006 to 2008.

Year Subject Total no of candidates Males Females

2006 D&T 10256 7611 2645
HE 10334 1511 8823
2007 D&T 9624 7096 2528
HE 9760 1420 8340
2008 D&T 9531 7059 2472
HE 9704 1424 8280

The status f men and women in development

Men have led development in Botswana because they occupy most of the leadership and
decision making positions in private companies and government. Men also own and
control most of the resources that individuals use to create wealth, for example, cattle and
land and as a result men dominated development efforts in the country. Formal
employment statistics also shows that more men than women are employed.

Increasing accepting and understanding of the importance of gender equality has helped
improve the status of women in development. For example,
 Discriminatory laws were changed to allow women to work underground in mines
and married women can apply for loans without having to seek the approval of
their husbands first.
 Women now actively participate in the development of the country in various
ways. For instance, some are business owners, many women are in formal
employment and a few hold high positions of leadership in private companies and
in government.
 The government has invested a lot of money improving facilities and services for
health care of women, for example ante – natal clinics and prevention of mother
to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT).

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SOUTH AFRICA

The status of men and women in marriage

The status of men and women in marriages in South Africa depends on the kind of
marriage law one chooses to marry under. There are two marriages laws: the civil or
common marriage law and customary marriage law.

The status of men and women in customary marriage

Before 1998, customary marriages were not recognised by the state. During that period
the status of women in customary marriage was that of a minor or an under – age child.
Under customary law, husbands enjoyed more rights and a higher status than their wives.
For example;
 Men were recognised as heads of their families
 A man could marry many wives and he was not forced to consult his wives when
he ended one of his marriages.
 A customary marriage was only dissolved when a husband died. However, the
marriage could continue if the widow was inherited by one of the brothers of the
deceased man.

In 1998 a decision to recognise customary marriages was made and the Recognition of
Customary Marriage Act 120 of 1998 was passed. This law protected the rights of
women in customary marriages and helped to raise their status. For example, the law
 Protects the rights of the wife or wives to marital property.
 Gives a wife equal status to that of her husband and she has a right to end
the marriage contract, to acquire assets and get rid of them.
 Requires that husbands and wives should take decisions jointly. Men are
no longer the sole heads of families.
 Requires that if the husband wants to enter into another customary
marriage, his existing wife or wives and the future wife are expected to
make a contract concerning marital property. The High Court or a family
court has to approve the contract.
 Says men should no longer be the only ones who get the custody of
children; the court can decide who will have custody of children and who
should pay maintenance. The decision on who is given the child’s custody
and who is to pay maintenance is based on what is best for the children.
 Allows a wife to claim some inheritance rights when her husband dies.

The status of men and women in civil law marriages

Just like in Botswana, South Africa has civil law marriages. Polygyny is not allowed in
civil marriages. One can only marry again if the first spouse dies or if the first marriage
ends in divorce. When a person marries while he or she is still married to someone else,
he or she is guilty of a crime called bigamy.

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Civil law marriages can either be ‘in community’ or ‘out of community’ of property. The
status of men and women in community of property and out of community differs.

The status of men and women married ‘in community of property’

The Matrimonial Property Act (No 88 of 1984) removed the marital power of a husband
over his wife. Men and women married in community of property.
 Jointly own everything they earn and buy. They have equal control over their
joint property. Each spouse has to seek the consent from he other spouses, if hey
wish to dispose of family property.
 Are both responsible for the debts they both or individually take on.
 Can enter into contracts without seeking each other’s permission. However,
each spouse has to have written permission when buying and selling assets such
as a house and when signing credit agreements.
 Share property and debts equally during divorce. However, under certain
conditions a court can make a decision to give property to one spouse after
divorce.
The status of men and women in marriage out of community of property
Being married out of community of property means that each spouse has total ownership
and control of the property they acquire before and during the marriage. They are
individually responsible for the debts they take on.

However, people who marry out of community of property have two choices. They can
either marry out of community of property with accrual contract or marry out of
community of property without accrual contract. This affects what happens when a
couple decides to divorce.
 Couples married out of community of property with accrual contract share equally
the wealth they individually acquired during marriage.
 Couples married out of community of property without accrual contract do not
share the wealth they individually acquired during the marriage.

The status of men and women

Currently, both males and females in South Africa are given equal access to education.
The United Nations statistics show that of all the African countries, South Africa has the
highest percentage of children who are given greater access to education at the primary
school level.

The status of men and women in development

In South Africa, many men hold high positions of leadership in private businesses and the
government, however, a significant number of women are also now in leadership
positions. According to an organisation called Gender Links, following the 2009 general
elections, South Africa is ranked third in the world with regard to women representation
in parliament. The 2009 Annual International Business Report also states that 73% of
privately owned businesses in South Africa employ women in senior management
positions and that this is 10% higher than the global average of 63%.

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ZIMBABWE

The status of men and women in marriage

The status of men and women in marriage in Zimbabwe varies according to the marriage
law under which a couple is married. There are two types of marriage laws; customary
and civil marriage.

The status of men and women in civil marriage

Polygyny is not allowed under civil marriages. A man cannot marry more than one wife
under civil law. Women married in civil marriage have a legal right to inherit property
from their husbands.

In civil marriage spouses have equal rights with regard to paternal authority. They both
have equal power and control over their children. In case of divorce, the court may
decide who is to be given the custody of the children. In most cases, when children are
still very young, custody is given to the mother and the father is required to pay
maintenance. The father may be given custody of children when children are older. The
courts normally decide according to the best interest of the children.

The legal minimum age for civil marriage in Zimbabwe is18 years for men and 16 years
for women. This makes the girl child to be more vulnerable to early marriages, early
pregnancies and premature motherhood.

The status of men and women in customary marriages

In Zimbabwe, there are two types of marriages, the customary registered marriage and
the customary unregistered marriage. In the two customary marriages men and women
have the status below.
 The Customary Marriage Act allows a man to marry many wives. Under this Act,
a husband can sue for adultery but the wife cannot do the same.
 Some men dominate women. They have more control and power in family
matters than their wives.
 Young widows can be inherited by their late husband’s relative and more often
the brother.
 There are cases in which childless widows are chased from their homes by their in
- laws. Research indicates that childless widows who inherit of their deceased
husbands do so at the mercy of their in – laws or traditional leaders.
Below are some ways in which the status of women in unregistered customary marriages
differs from that of women in registered customary marriages.
 Women married under registered customary marriages can be protected by the
law when their spouses die without leaving a will but they can still be
disadvantages in many other ways. For example, the deceased siblings and

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 parents are allowed a share of the estate if the deceased had no children. This
normally results in property grabbing by relatives and blackmailing of the widows
by relatives who did not manage to get a share of the estate.
 Women and their children from unregistered marriages may not inherit from the
estate of their deceased husbands if their husbands had married another wife
according to the civil law. This is because the widow would not have any
marriage certificate to prove that she was married to the deceased. In most cases
only the woman and children from civil law marriages would be entitled to inherit
the property. However, the law allows that children from customary marriages
may claim maintenance from the estate of their father.

The status of men and women in education

After independence the government of Zimbabwe inherited a racially biased
education system from the colonial government. This education system negatively
affected the black people more especially women. It lowered the status of men and
women in education. The Zimbabwean census report of 1982 revealed that 63%of
the adult population were illiterate or semi illiterate. In 1983, the government
launched a literacy campaign which helped to improve the status of men and women
in education. The rate of illiteracy dropped from 63% to 9.08%. Currently
Zimbabwe is one of the countries with a high literacy rate.

However, the political and economic crises in Zimbabwe have negatively affected the
education system. Since education in Zimbabwe is not free, parents struggle to keep
their children in schools and schools have a serious shortage of resources.

The status of men and women in development

Traditionally, men dominated development because they owned or controlled most of

the economic resources, for example, land, cattle and money. They also dominated
important political and economic position in society. Most women did not own or
control resources that would have enabled them to participate effectively in economic
development. However, women as a result of efforts by various non – government
organisations and the government, more women are able to participate in and benefit
from development.