SADC PF lawmakers consider tapping into social media |17 May 2023

UNBREAKABLE: Parliamentarians from the Regional Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (RWPC) of the SADC PF and other dignitaries pose for a souvenir photo in Johannesburg, South Africa on May 11, 2023 (Photo: Moses Magadza)

Lawmakers from the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region met in Johannesburg, South Africa on May 11, 2023 to discuss opportunities and challenges presented by social media in their work.

The parliamentarians represent their parliaments on different Standing Committees of the SADC Parliamentary Forum. They met as it emerged that 11 countries in the SADC region are set to hold elections between this year and next year.

The meeting, led by the Regional Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (RWPC), was held under the theme ‘Leveraging Social Media to Advance Women Political Participation in the SADC Region’.

The chairperson of the RWPC, Honourable Regina Esparon from Seychelles, officially opened the meeting.

She said SADC PF has been creating a conducive environment for free, fair and credible elections in the region through review and adaptation of legal frameworks governing electoral systems and processes, based on experiences and best practices. However, limited resources have made it difficult to deploy election observer missions (EOMs).

“This is a cause of concern that needs our collective action to ensure that resources are mobilised for the EOMs to discharge (the Forum’s) mandate,” Ms Esparon said.

She said SADC PF had received submissions from SADC citizens on various issues that affect women’s political participation in the SADC region. The submissions aimed at answering questions on how to promote women's participation in decision-making processes, measures that can be put in place to increase women's representation in parliament and boards of corporations, and whether budgets passed in parliament should consider women issues.

The lawmakers noted that women are largely underrepresented in decision-making structures in both public and private sectors due to challenges such as lack of resources, civic education, cultural perceptions, gender-based violence, intimidation, and electoral laws and systems that work to disadvantage women.

The meeting focused on the use of social media to enhance women political participation, as limited or biased media reporting can affect the career prospects of women in politics. The objective of the training was to give women parliamentarians the requisite skills to use social media to effectively participate in political spaces.

Social media has become a powerful tool for advocacy and communication, with its ability to increase reach, create real-time engagement, and amplify voices.

Said Ms Esparon: “Media in general, plays a very important role in disseminating information in society and can help to shape citizen’s opinions, views or actions on any subject matter.”

She, however, said that limited or biased media reporting can affect career prospects of women in politics if it continues unchecked. 

The chairperson said there were challenges in using social media for advocacy. She cited limited internet access, low digital literacy, online harassment and abuse, and misinformation.

She noted that these challenges are particularly pronounced for women in politics, who may face sexism and threats that discourage their participation.

Social media experts Mwila Chriseddy Bwanga and Misheck Gondo made a joint presentation to the lawmakers highlighting the many opportunities and dangers associated with social media.

The duo argued that social media can be leveraged to advance women's political participation in the SADC region. They proposed a six-module framework for using social media, including understanding social media, creating engaging content, crafting a social media strategy, managing social media accounts, digital security and tools, and measuring success.

They said social media managers play a vital role in political leadership, developing communication strategies, monitoring conversations, managing brand image, and responding to crises.

According to Bwanga and Gondo, social media has become a tool for change, with successful campaigns such as #FeesMustFall in South Africa, which led to a freeze on fee increases, increased government funding for higher education, and free tertiary education for low-income students.

However, there is still a need to address challenges such as the digital divide and online harassment to ensure that social media can be effectively utilised for advocacy and communication.

Bwanga noted that “beyond economic and political liberation, we need to digitally liberate our people so as to bring them closer to the new demands of today's world”.

Overall, the two experts said social media presents opportunities and challenges for advancing women's political participation in the SADC region, but with effective management and strategies, it can be a powerful tool for change.

Youth activist Gugulethu Sihlali, who works closely with UNFPA, delivered a powerful address to the members of parliament, highlighting the need for comprehensive solutions to the issues of gender inequality, forced child marriages, and gender-based violence in South Africa and the wider African continent.

While acknowledging the progress that has been made, including legislative transformation and the recording of child births in Zimbabwe, she emphasised that there is still much work to be done.

She called for a recognition of systemic power imbalances that underpin issues such as child marriage and gender-based violence.

She stressed that these issues cannot be solved by simply educating girls and bridging the gender equality gap, but rather by dealing with the root cause of power imbalance.

She highlighted the need for men to be involved in the conversation and rethink their attitudes towards these issues.

The activist also emphasised the importance of recognising the individual experiences of women and youth, particularly the intersectionality of different social discriminations.

She stressed that uncomfortable conversations must be had and uncomfortable truths faced in order to create real change.

Finally, she called for proportional representation of women and youth in all sectors of society, including government and the economy.

She emphasized that women and youth are not a concept, but rather human beings deserving of representation and power.

Moses Magadza