6.5 This provision is a significant improvement on section 23 of the current Constitution as the grounds of discrimination that are prohibited are much broader under the COPAC Draft. The addition of language, class, culture and whether born in our out of wedlock to the list are all welcome in view of the fact that women have often complained of facing discrimination on these very bases. Unfortunately, pregnancy has not been included, a ground for discrimination the women of Zimbabwe suggested in their Position Paper. It is a pity that the grounds given for non discrimination appear to be exhaustive. It would have been preferable if there had been room to add to the list should the exigencies of the circumstances so require. 6.6 All forms of discrimination are prohibited under the COPAC draft, whether the discrimination is direct or indirect and whether it comes by way of denial of a privilege or advantage or through a condition, restriction or imposed disability. This broad prohibition will protect women from all forms of discrimation that may occur unintentionally and as a collateral effect. 6.7 Perhaps most importantly, the COPAC Draft jettisons the notorious subsection (3) of section 23 of the current Constitution which permits discrimination in areas of personal law and which protects culture as a permissible basis for discrimination. This attitude resonates with Art. 5 of CEDAW which enjoins states to take all appropriate measures to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women. 6.8 Finally, Clause 4.13(6) makes clear that affirmative measures are contemplated and required to promote equality and to protect or advance people or classes of people who have been disadvantaged by unfair discrimination. Socio Economic Rights 6.9 The current Constitution is completely silent on socio economic rights. It has been noted that the failure to protect socio economic rights has gender dimensions that place women at a disproportionate disadvantage. It is a well documented phenomenon that in patriarchal societies, when socio economic rights are inadequate, it is the women who bear the greatest burden of the lack. Where resources are scarce, women are likely to be the ones who will go without. For example, in families that cannot afford the cost of educating all the children in the family and choices have to be made on which children to send to school, it is probable that it is the male children who will win. Similarly, failure to provide for a right to health care has a greater impact on women due to the risks that they face in their reproductive roles such as the life threatening risks associated with pregnancy and child birth. 6.10 The COPAC Draft provides for the following socio economic rights: environmental rights(Clause 4.30); agricultural land (Clause 4.29); education (Clause 4.32); healthcare 8|Page