Advocacy as a Feasible Remedy to Attain Legislative Gender Equilibrium in Selected Sub-Saharan African States: A Comparative Analysis

When treaties are ratified into national constitutions, the treaty provisions should be executed satisfactorily within the stipulated times. By utilizing a complementary research methodology from secondary sources such as books, journal articles, institutional reports, constitutional provisions, and legal documents, the research aims to explore why, after three decades since the 1995 Beijing Declaration, the issue of gender equity in women representation in national parliaments has not achieved an equilibrium despite Sub-Saharan African states signing international treaties, protocols, agreement, and resolutions. The research aims to unmask the dichotomy between policy and practice in the attainment of legislative gender equilibrium in selected Sub-Saharan states, namely Rwanda, Swaziland (Eswatini), and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as stipulated by the protocols and agreements signed by the states towards the attainment of gender balance in legislatures. Apart from Sub-Saharan African states' 1997 target of 30% women representation in national parliaments and the 2005 and 2008 50-50 gender equilibrium targets in national legislatures by 2015, by 2017, only Rwanda had attained such a threshold, with Swaziland and the Democratic Republic of Congo attaining the least thresholds. Lobbying to attain gender equilibrium in national legislatures in Sub-Saharan states can be a vital tool to raise awareness and advocate for gender balance. Gender parity advocacy will be vital to promote social justice, inclusive democracy, and the mitigation of inequalities by empowering women and achieving balanced and representative legislatures. The execution of such protocols in African states' constitutions will also increase women's voices as an underprivileged group in societies. Anticipated results of the study are the positive change of stance by non-compliant Sub-Saharan African states to implement constitutional provisions in line with the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) and the 2008 SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.