“As long as women are bound by poverty and as long as they are looked down upon, human rights will lack substance.”  

Nelson Mandela’s mission to guarantee dignity and equality to the people of South Africa serves as an inspiration to human rights advocates around the world. He was an extraordinary example of what it means to be a Global Citizen. 

Today we honor and remember President Mandela’s belief that women’s rights are an integral part of a free society. 

Here are 5 things he did to advance gender equality in his quest for justice: 

1. Gender agenda

In the early stage of on his presidency Mandela realized that no major success was possible without gender equality.

"Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated…”

During apartheid women made up only 2.7 % of the South Africa’s parliament. This number scaled up to 27 % after the first  democratic elections of 1994. Today, women make up 44% of the country's politicians - not far off from the government's goal to reach "50/50 Gender Parity" by 2015.

2. Women of anti-apartheid era

On August 9, 1956, 20,000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest legislation requiring black women to carry passes in urban areas. In his autobiography "Long Walk to Freedom," Mandela acknowledged men weren't alone in the anti-apartheid movement. He wrote:

"The women were courageous, persistent, enthusiastic, indefatigable and their protest against passes set a standard for anti-government protest that was never equaled," 

In 1994, almost 40 years after the protest, he honored those women by declaring August 9 - Women's Day, a national holiday.

3. Constitutional justice

From the onset, Mandela was dedicated to ensuring women were guaranteed specific constitutional rights. When the new document was being drafted in 1995 he said:

"As a tribute to the legions of women who navigated the path of fighting for justice before us, we ought to imprint in the supreme law of the land, firm principles upholding the rights of women.”

On December 10th, 1996, the International Day of Human Rights, Mandela signed the final draft of the country's constitution granting South Africa's women one of the most comprehensive set of rights in the world:

Section 9, Article 3: "The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth."

4. UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

In 1993, a year before Mandela became South Africa's first democratically-elected president, the country signed the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Two years later, Mandela ensured the convention was ratified by parliament. It is often referred to as the 'international bill of rights for women’ and remains one of the most important documents protecting the rights of women around the world. 

5. Speaking up for women’s health

Beyond ensuring women had codified political rights, he also made certain they had access to social services. Mandela introduced free prenatal and postnatal care to mothers in the public health system as well as free healthcare to children up to the age of six.

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Pay tribute to Nelson Mandela and support the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.

Sign the pledge in the top-right of this page to honor Mandela’s struggle and promote gender equality as a priority in the new development agenda. This agenda will determine what type of global attention and investment is given towards equality for girls and women over the next 15 years!  

Editorial

Demand Equity

Nelson Mandela: champion of women’s rights