South Africa: Parliaments Must Turn CEDAW Commitments Into Real Change for Women and Girls

2 September 2026
Parliament of South Africa (Cape Town)
press release

The Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Thoko Didiza, has called on parliaments to strengthen their oversight of governments and ensure that commitments to end discrimination against women translate into tangible improvements in the lives of women and girls.

The Speaker made the call during her participation today in an Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) webinar on parliamentary engagement and oversight of the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Nearly five decades after CEDAW was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979, discrimination, inequality and violence continue to affect millions of women and girls worldwide. The webinar underscored that adopting laws and making international commitments are not enough if they do not result in meaningful change.

Parliaments, through their legislative, oversight and budgetary responsibilities, have a critical role in closing the gap between commitments made under CEDAW and their implementation. The discussions highlighted the need for parliamentarians to scrutinise governments' progress, identify implementation gaps, examine national CEDAW reports and follow up on recommendations arising from the international reporting process.

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The webinar further emphasised that CEDAW reporting should not be treated merely as an international reporting obligation, but as an important accountability mechanism through which parliaments can assess whether commitments are delivering measurable improvements for women and girls.

For South Africa, this responsibility is reinforced by the Constitution's commitment to equality, human dignity and freedom from discrimination. Parliament therefore has a central role in ensuring that legislation, public policy, government programmes and public spending advance substantive equality and the rights of women and girls.

The webinar also provided parliamentarians from IPU member countries with an opportunity to exchange experiences and strengthen parliamentary approaches to monitoring the implementation of CEDAW.

Read the original article on Parliament of South Africa.

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