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Narrating Gender in Inter-Regional Spaces

Africa
Development
European Union
Toni Haastrup
University of Manchester
Toni Haastrup
University of Manchester

Abstract

The commitment to gender equality is accepted as a ‘positive’ global norm, one that has been adopted by the European Union (EU). Importantly, promoting gender equality is considered a part of the EU’s external engagement with third parties including other regional organisations. It therefore follows that in its engagement with actors like the African Union (AU), gender justice is one of the goals and outcome of region-to-region cooperation. This paper assesses how gender equality aspirations and gender justice is being achieved in the context of EU-Africa relations, focusing on the implementation of the Joint Africa EU Strategy. One of the questions asked is whether the EU can deliver on its potential as a mentor to the Africa Union, even as both aspire to institutionalise perspectives that deliver gender justice in Africa? As part of the broader and more critical discourse on the diffusion of regional models, the proposed paper considers the emergent gender regime in Africa and the EU’s role in that process. This paper situates the analysis in the recent transformation of the EU-Africa relations. This transformation is especially important because of the emphasis on local ownership or the enabling of African actors to shape African policies and institutions, which undoubtedly have new implications for EU engagement in Africa.