| The SADC Summit was designed to be the premier policy-making institution within the Southern African Development Community, responsible for shaping the overall policy direction and overseeing the community’s functions. Composed of all SADC Heads of State or Government, the Summit operates on a Troika system, which includes the current Chairperson, the incoming Chairperson (who serves as the Deputy Chairperson), and the immediate past Chairperson. This structure is intended to provide continuity and strategic guidance across the region. Importantly, the Summit is supposed to be a platform where the voices of marginalised groups, including rural women, can be heard and their concerns addressed, particularly in shaping policies that impact their lives directly. |
| However, despite its mandate, the SADC Summit has increasingly fallen short of fulfilling this critical role. The growing restrictions on civic space and the lack of genuine engagement with civil society have diminished the Summit’s capacity to serve as an inclusive forum for all stakeholders. This year, these challenges were particularly evident in Zimbabwe, where the restrictive environment forced us to rethink our participation strategy. Instead of gathering in Harare as planned, the Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA), along with other members of the Southern African People’s Solidarity Network (SAPSN), had to decentralise our events across eight SADC countries to ensure the safety of our participants. The decentralised approach, though necessary, underscores the SADC Summit’s failure to uphold its commitment to inclusivity and democratic engagement. Our unified activities, themed “Building Resilience in the Face of Climate Change: A Call to Action for Southern African Communities,” were held across Malawi, South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Zambia, and Eswatini. These events focused on critical issues such as climate justice, land rights, and gender-based violence (GBV), and mobilised thousands of rural women, men, and youth to engage in discussions and advocacy efforts. Despite these efforts, the lack of direct engagement with the Summit highlights a significant gap in the institution’s responsiveness to grassroots voices. The culmination of our advocacy efforts was a consolidated list of demands presented to SADC leaders, reflecting the urgent need for action on several key issues. These demands include accelerated climate change mitigation strategies with direct funding for rural women, equitable access to land with protections for women’s rights, and stronger governmental action against GBV. We also called for the inclusive participation of women in SADC decision-making structures, the protection of local food and seed systems from detrimental policies such as UPOV 91, and the adoption and implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP). Yet, the limited response from SADC leaders to these demands further illustrates the Summit’s growing disconnect from its intended purpose. Rather than being a dynamic space for dialogue and policy influence by all SADC citizens, the Summit is increasingly perceived as an exclusive forum where the concerns of marginalised groups are sidelined. For the SADC Summit to truly fulfil its role as the policy-making body of the region, it must recommit to ensuring that all voices, particularly those of rural women and other vulnerable groups, are heard and actively engaged in shaping the future of Southern Africa. Read More…….. |
