which the state and its agents can inflict. This is particularly true of women. The tendency to confine women to the domestic sphere means that their opportunities to interact with the state and its institutions are limited. Instead, women mostly interact with non state actors such as, religious organisations, social clubs, family councils and private business entities. Their relationships with these actors can place them at as much risk of having their rights violated as if they had been interacting with the state. Keeping non state actors out of the discipline of the declaration of rights can therefore mean that women’s rights can be violated either with impunity or without adequate redress. 6.27 The current Constitution does not expressly extend the application of the Declaration of Rights to non state actors but the courts have found innovative ways of holding juristic persons for violation of rights in appropriate circumstances7, making the need for the horizontal application of the declaration of rights abundantly clear. In light of this, the provisions of Clause 4.2 in the COPAC draft which expressly provide that the declaration of rights bind all natural and juristic persons where appropriate, are welcome. Enforcement of Rights 6.28 Even the most powerful and progressive provisions on the protection of fundamental rights are useless in the absence of an effective enforcement mechanism. The effectiveness of any enforcement mechanism is determined by the extent to which it makes the courts easily accessible to those who seek redress. Accessibility, in turn is affected by such considerations as knowledge of the law and awareness of available remedies, costs of litigation, identity of people with locus standi and the “user friendliness” of the rules of the court. 6.29 While all litigants will suffer from an ineffective enforcement mechanism, women will especially suffer because they are relatively poorer than their male counterparts and less likely to afford competent legal representation. Generally, they also have less education and learning opportunities. They may also lack the confidence to act for themselves or understand and follow complex rules of procedure. Clause 4.42 is therefore commendable in that it seeks to make justice accessible to all by widening the scope of actors with locus standii to bring an action for redress, by providing that no fee shall be chargeable for commencing proceedings and providing that the rules of procedure should be simplified as much as possible. In line with this, the provisions of Clause 7 on promotion of public awareness of the Constitution are most welcome. 7. Chapter 5: The Executive 7.1 7 The importance of women’s significant and equal presence in the country’s leadership, in particular in government, cannot be overstated. Only by ensuring women are decisionmakers at the highest level will women’s interests and needs be addressed. As such, See for example Mandizvidza V Morgenster Teacher’s College 1999 HH 236 (SC) where a private teachers training college was found to qualify as a duty bearer under the Constitution only because the court found that it possessed sufficient governmental characteristics 12 | P a g e