Abstract:
Current issues surrounding the development and advancement of women have been a cause of concern over the years, not only in Africa but around the world. Many organisations have come through to assist in eradicating challenges that hinder women’s advancement. Since its establishment in 2010 UN Women has played a crucial role in developing and advancing women around the world. However, despite its efforts through the implementation of programmes and policies, women continue to face all forms of discrimination every day. This paper aims to evaluate the role of UN Women in Southern Africa, looking at South Africa and Zimbabwe as case studies. The first part looks at the background of UN Women in general as an introduction to the study. The second part assesses UN Women’s policies and programmes towards the development and advancement of women. The second part looks explicitly at country programmes established to address challenges faced by women. The third part looks at the core challenges identified that affect women’s development and advancement with specific reference to child marriages, access to education, leadership and political participation. The fourth part assesses the role of UN Women in implementing regional and global instruments that advocate towards the development and advancement of women. The fifth part expands on the organisation’s challenges in attaining its regional and global obligations that have been set out in various human rights instruments. Finally, the study has a sixth chapter that is the conclusion and recommendations. The sixth chapter elaborates on the key findings and provides for recommendations for future research. The main recommendations of this research aim to ensure that the organisation adopts policies that are African oriented to ensure visibility and effective implementation of programmes. A solid relationship between the state, people and other entities is of vital importance to achieve UN Women’s goals.
