It is a sad day when a
country with one of the strongest traditions on democracy fails to sign the
SADC gender protocol because of its laws on child marriage.
In June 2016 the SADC
Gender Protocol Alliance under the aegis of Media Watch Organisation and Gender
Links facilitated a one day National Workshop with Government officials and
NGOs to work on the updated version of the SADC Protocol prior to the Senior
Officials and the Gender Ministers meeting from 20th to 22nd June in Botswana.
Nobody from the Ministry of Gender attended the workshop. The SADC Protocol on
Gender and Development adopted in 2008 has now been aligned to the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG), Beijing Plus Twenty and the African Agenda 2063. It is
accompanied by a strong Monitoring, Evaluation and Results (MER) framework.
Mauritius did not sign the
Protocol because of the words “affirmative action” which is against the
Constitution. The Protocol went through different drafts when Mauritian Senior
Officials and Ministers had the chance to highlight this anomaly but it was
only on that day of 18th August 2008 that the then Prime Minister, Dr. Navin
Ramgoolam, refused to put his signature on the Protocol.
At a technical meeting in
October 2015, Mauritius showed positive signs as affirmative action was changed
to special measures. But at the Botswana meeting the Permanent Secretary and
the Gender Minister signalled that Mauritius will not be able to sign as 18
years is the minimum age permitted for child marriage in the revised Protocol.
SADC Gender Ministers took a firm stand on child marriages at their meeting in
June 2016. The revised SADC Gender Protocol highlights that no person under the
age of 18 shall marry. This removes the previous qualifying clause that made
this subject to national laws. But the Civil Status in Mauritius highlights
that “A minor over 16 and under 18 can contract civil marriage with the consent of his/her parents.” The
Muslim Personal Council forms part of the Civil Status Act as there is a Muslim
Personal Law which makes it difficult for the Prime Minister to sign the
Protocol unless laws are changed.
ADDING INSULT TO INJURY
Child marriage has been the
focus of several campaigns, especially in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. UN
Women played a role in lobbying for new law to raise legal age to wed and have
worked with traditional leaders to annul marriages. Recently Malawi Chief
annulled 330 child marriages before the age of 18.
The Prime Minister of
Mauritius, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, adopted the SDG in New York on 27th September
2015. This was a historic moment as the SDG is a promise by the Government of
Mauritius to reduce inequalities among its citizens. Goal 5 of the SDG is a
standalone goal to achieve gender equality in all spheres of life. Women
represent more than half of the population of Mauritius and yet among a few of
the problems women and girls face are: child marriage, violence, rape, incest,
maternal mortality, gender wage gap, political gap, early pregnancy and
illiteracy.
Knowing the commitment of
the Prime Minister on gender issues, we urge him and the Attorney General to
look into the civil status act on child marriage.
To add insult to injury
according to the World Health Statistics 2016 which focuses on the SDG,
Mauritius does not seem to be doing well. From 70 women on 100,000 who died
while giving birth we are not at 73. No woman should die while giving life. The
under-five mortality rate is 5 per 1000 live births. Deaths due to HIV/AIDS
have gone up dramatically per 100,000. We are now 5.5 compared to previous
statistics of 1.0. Deaths due to tuberculosis among HIV have also gone up from
0.53 to 1.2.
Women have rights and this
must be embedded across legal systems as well as proactive measures. It is
important to note that at the Botswana Meeting Gender Ministers recalled
activities on Combating Trafficking in Persons especially women and children.
And yet in Mauritius the 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report highlights
Mauritius as “a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and
children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking. Girls from all areas
of the country are induced or sold into sex trafficking, often by their peers,
family members, or by businessmen offering other forms of employment. Taxi
drivers allegedly introduce child sex traffickers to victims with whom they
engage in commercial sex acts.”
DIRT UNDER THE CARPET
According to a survey done
by Gender Links in June 2016 about 93% of respondents, mostly NGOs and
Government officials, said they do not know what trafficking is let alone
knowing if there are laws in place to protect victims.
Mauritius may have the best
laws but if they are not implemented with proper monitoring, evaluation and
good structures put in place, we will keep putting the dirt under the carpet.
The Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act of 2009 prohibits all forms of
trafficking of adults and children, prescribing penalties of up to 15 years’
imprisonment for convicted offenders. The Child Protection Act of 2005
prohibits all forms of child trafficking and the Judicial Provisions Act of
2008 prescribes punishment for child trafficking offences of up to 30 years’
imprisonment.
For once let us think about
the future of our girls and women and work hand in hand. The future is today.
Together we can “End all forms of discrimination against women and girls;
eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in the public and private
spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation”.
(extract from Goal 5 of the SDG)
Government has promised to
reduce inequalities among its citizens comprising women who represent more than
50%.
