Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Special Report Gender and Constitutional Issues None of these admirable proposals would actually have been guaranteed rights. Moreover, Chapter II did not include an overall ‘equality clause’ specifying gender equity or governing employment opportunities, parallel to that concerning access to land. No particular protections were specified for girls in accessing educational opportunities; or for pregnant women in respect of health care. Only war veterans were singled out for special mention in accessing ‘social security and social care’ (s31). Chapter III: Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms (ss33, 34) bound ‘the Executive, Parliament, the Judiciary … and all organs and agencies of the State and Government, including local government’, plus ‘all persons, including juristic persons’ to ‘respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights and freedoms set out in this Chapter’. All courts were to be ‘guided by the spirit and objects of this Chapter’ (s35(2)). Chapter III twice came close to an equality clause. Section 35(2)(b) required any ‘court, tribunal or forum’ to ‘promote the values that underlie an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom’. Section 49 noted that ‘Everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and benefit of the law’. But neither clause gave the requisite overall guarantee of equality between men and women in our society. Section 43 was the anti-discrimination clause and included both sex and gender: 43(1) Everyone has a right not to be treated in an unfairly discriminatory manner on such grounds as their race, colour, tribe, place of birth, ethnic or social origin, language, class, religious belief, political or other opinion, culture, sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, age, disability or natural difference or condition; 43(2) A person is treated in a discriminatory manner for the purposes of sub-section (1) if he or she is prejudiced – (a) by being subjected to a condition, restriction or disability to which other people are not subjected; or (b) through other people being accorded a privilege or advantage which he or she is not accorded; 43(3) Discrimination on one or more of the grounds listed in sub-section (1) is unfair unless it is established that the discrimination is fair, reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom; 43(4) Any law which, in itself or in its effect, discriminates unfairly between people on one or more of the grounds listed in sub-section (1) is void; 43(5) To promote the achievement of equality, legislative and other measures may be taken by way of affirmative action to protect or advance people or classes of people who have been disadvantaged by unfair discrimination. Compared to other constitutions in southern Africa, this draft appeared to lack both political will and legal teeth. There were almost as many hedges as rights themselves, including an entire ‘hedge section’ in Chapter III Part III. 34(3) Human beings and juristic persons are entitled to the rights and freedoms set out in the Chapter to the extent that these rights and freedoms can appropriately be extended to them. 62(1) The rights and freedoms set out in Part II must be exercised reasonably and with due regard for the rights and freedoms of other persons under that Part; 62(2) Subject to this Constitution, the rights and freedoms set out in Part II may be limited in terms of a law that is reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom; 62(3) In determining whether or not a law limiting a right or freedom is reasonable and justifiable for the purposes of sub-section (1), all relevant factors must be taken into consideration, including – (a) the nature of the right or freedom; (b) the purpose of the limitation, in particular whether it is imposed in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality, public health, regional or town planning or the general public interest; (c) the extent of the limitation, in particular whether it permits due recognition to be given to the rights and freedoms of others; 11