Eradication of traditional practices that violate the rights of women and children, calls for vigorous cooperation among all the stakeholders including Members of Parliament. That’s what the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) commissioners told Members of the Select Committee on Women, Children and People with Disabilities in Parliament this week. The commissioners appeared before the committee to make presentations on the implementation of their programmes.
When the select committee paid oversight visits to the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Departments of Health a fortnight ago to get data among other things on infant and maternal mortality rates, it got an idea of the challenges faced by the CGE Committee Chairperson Ms Peace Mabe said although the plan was still to invite the CGE to share its national programme with the committee, the recent Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal oversight visits resulted in an urgent call for the two provinces to appear before it.
“The challenges that we picked up as a committee in your provinces require decisive action that is designed to deal with specific problems,” said Ms Mabe. According to the acting national chairperson of the CGE, Mr Mfanozelwe Shozi and commission’s programme of action in both provinces include an aggressive campaign to uproot forced marriages and virginity testing. “We have targeted areas in both provinces where these traditional practices are rife.” He told the committee that the commission, through regular community meetings, was beginning to curb forced marriages, especially of girls as young as 14.
Ms Mabe appealed to the commission to streamline its strategy. “We need your assistance and that of provincial legislatures to win the struggle against these deep traditional practices,” Mr Shozi added.
Source: Parliament of South Africa
