Statement by Rede Mulher Angola
To the Committee on the Elimination of all forms of
Discrimination Against Women
On the Initial through Third Periodic Report of the Government of Angola
31st CEDAW Session, New York, USA
6 July 2004

Madam Chairperson
Distinguished Members of the Committee
Ladies and Gentlemen

My name is Julia Ornelas. I represent Rede Mulher Angola. We submitted an alternative report to the initial, second and third State Party report of Angola.

Angola underwent a state civil war since its independence in 1975. Only on 4th April 2002, the MPLA Government and UNITA signed a peace accord. After 27 years of civil war, Angola faces many problems. Despite a wealth of natural resources, its people are extremely poor. Around four million have been displaced and landmines are scattered all over the country.

I would like to talk about four issues on the situation of Angolan women:

1. Domestic Violence
2. Women’s Health
3. Literacy
4. Political Participation

1. Domestic Violence

In Angola, the rate of domestic violence is prevalent and high. There is no law on domestic violence. General penal laws are not sufficient. There is also inadequate and consistent gender sensitivity training for the police. There are various obstacles in addressing violence against women, including poverty, unemployment, women’s economic dependence on men, and a sense of security with men in the house. Cultural problems such as threats of sorcery prevent women from complaining and seeking redress.

We urge this Committee to recommend that the Government adopt a Domestic Violence Law. This law must consider domestic violence as a criminal penalty. Capacity-building and other measures for victims of domestic violence in the areas of education and employment must be provided to give these women more options. There should also be continuous gender sensitivity training for the police as well as how to handle domestic violence cases.

2. Women’s Health

a) Maternal Health

Maternal mortality is very high among Angolan women. In 2003, there were 1,850 deaths for every 100 thousand live births. Furthermore, access to health services is difficult. There is a culture of not seeking health care. There are not enough clinics for women health services. As abortion is illegal in Angola, women seek unsafe abortions placing them at risk of infections and death.

Due to Angola being in a post-conflict situation, its infrastructure is weak. Therefore it is unable to provide adequate resources to its population.

b) HIV/AIDS

Among Angolan women the incidence of HIV/AIDS is increasing. The number of incidence has doubled between 1999 and 2001. There is lack of education on HIV/AIDS as well as access to HIV/AIDS services and hospitals. HIV/AIDS discrimination and stigma from family members and society is persistent because of lack of awareness on the disease. Monitoring and surveillance on the HIV/AIDS impact on Angolan women is lacking.

The State must prioritise health education. It must place emphasis on curative rather than preventive measures. We urge the creation of more hospitals and clinics especially in the rural areas. There must be subsidies for basic health care, health services and medicine. There is also a need to ensure affordable generic medication. The budget allocation for health must be increased. More HIV/AIDS gender specific data is necessary. HIV/AIDS health centers for women must be established. Adherence to the new Law on HIV/AIDS is important.

3. Literacy

Although enrollment rates for boys and girls are almost similar, girls start dropping out of school at around 10 years of age.

This is due to many reasons, including: (1) teenage/unwanted pregnancies (2) daughters in poor families must drop out of school and work to help out (3) when mothers die, daughters must do all the domestic work.

Furthermore, the social mentality is that girls do not need an education since they will eventually get married. Educational preference is given to sons.

As recommendations, the State must educate society to change stereotypes of gender roles, especially in the family. Thus, it must institute education and awareness campaigns at the national to the local level. There must be sex education in the schools. Family planning services must be accessible to all women and girls.

4. Political Participation

There is a low level of women in political decision-making, especially in parliament, government ministerial posts, diplomatic community and local government. In the political parties’ list of nominees, women are placed at the bottom and therefore, they do not get elected to Parliament. This is due to the cultural mentality that places political preference on men.

We recommend increasing the participation of women on all levels of decision-making. In particular women should comprise at least 30% of the list of nominees for parliament. Women nominees must be evenly distributed on this list. Women should also comprise at least 30% of high government, diplomatic and local government positions.

Conclusion

In addition to these issues, there are other problems facing Angolan women such as discrimination in employment and those relating to the justice system. These issues and the above-mentioned concerns are addressed in our alternative report, which we are distributing during the week.

Thank you very much, Madame Chairperson.

This page was last updated on February 21, 2005

“IWRAW Asia Pacific is an independent, non-profit, NGO in Special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.”
©IWRAW Asia Pacific
Contact Us | Site Map