Programme Director: Ms Bathabile Dlamini, the Minister of Social Development
Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokhanyana
Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma
Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi
Minister of Basic Education, Ms Angie Motshekga
Dr Agostinho Zacarias: United Nations Resident Representative
Ms Dorothy Ramodibe: Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee for Women, Children and People with Disabilities
Ms Beauty Dlulane: Chairperson of the Women’s Caucus, National Parliament
Prof Sheila Tlou, Regional Director of UNAIDS
Ms Fatima Nahara: Secretary-General of the Pan African Women’s Organisation
Honourable Ministers and Deputy Ministers
Members of Parliament: National and Provincial
Representatives of Local Government
Women of South Africa
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
I welcome all of you to this occasion where we celebrate the 49th year of the creation of the Pan African Women’s organisation and commemorating Pan-African Women’s Day. Tonight, we are also launching the South African Chapter of the African Women’s Decade 2010 to 2020. Most importantly this occasion marks the official opening session of the National Women’s Conference and the start of the National Women’s Month commemoration in our country.
Honourable Programme Director
This National Conference is intended to create the space and platform for the women of our country to speak out on all the issues that critically impact their lives and the lives of their families. We have structured the programme in manner that provides much opportunity for you to express views and perspective on the number of issues affecting women of our country. We have also provided the opportunity for as many Cabinet Ministers as possible to use this platform and engage with you on the issues closest to you. I urge you all to use this opportunity effectively over the next three days.
Even more exciting is that we will also have Honourable Deputy President Kgalema Mothlanthe delivering the closing address and providing us a perspective on how government will be taking forward the outcomes of your deliberations here.
The key objective of this conference is to discuss and resolve on the following areas:
- Key policy considerations to be included in the Gender Equality Bill which is being developed to increase women participation in all sectors of society and enforce 50/50 gender parity in key decision making positions
- Various elements of economic empowerment of women including engendering the New Growth Path and the Job Fund
- Rural Development Strategy for women
- Establishment of an advisory council to coordinate the implementation of 365 Days National Plan of Action to End Violence against Women and Children
- And addressing key concerns of specific categories of women such as young women and women with disabilities
The Department for Women, Children and People with Disabilities has undertaken to coordinate this platform so that we can jointly determine the women’s agenda going forward. In the build up to the women’s month, we consulted widely to canvass the views of women in different sectors. We consulted the programme for the month through several meetings of the National Gender Machinery. We had a national summit for rural women held in Tzaneen, Limpopo to provide a platform for rural women from across the country to express their views on a number of key developmental issues affecting them.
Earlier this month, we had a Young Women’s Summit to deal with key issues affecting young women including unemployment, skills development, teenage pregnancy, gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy and HIV and AIDS.
We also held a consultation on the New Growth Path which we believe should acknowledge the detrimental effect of unemployment on women in addition to the current acknowledgement of youth as the sector most affected by unemployment. We will have sessions in this conference where we need to highlight sharply the economic empowerment of women. Without economic empowerment of women who constitute more than 50% of our population, South Africa cannot to achieve its targets on economic development including the creation of five million jobs within the next 10 years as outlined in the New Growth Path.
Through all the consultations we had, the consensus was that women economic empowerment should be the main focus of this Women’s Month celebration for this year. Hence we adopted the theme: “Working together to enhance women’s opportunities to economic empowerment”
The observation of Women’s Month this year is particularly significant as we have lost two important women who were part of the historic anti-pass march to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956. These are Mama Bertha Gxowa and Mama Albertina Sisulu who both passed away this year. We have therefore made an extra effort to make the programme of the month even more effective this year in honour of these stalwarts who dedicated all their lives to the struggle for gender equality, freedom and democracy.
The most important day of the Women’s Month programme is the celebration of the National Women’s Day on 9 August. This event will take place at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Limpopo where Honourable President Jacob Zuma will address the women of South Africa and the nation on this historic day. I hope you will all be there coming from all corners of our country.
Programme director, we have set up a number of services at this conference which I hope all delegates will use. We are working together with the Department of Health to encourage women to test for HIV.
Testing for HIV is critical for women to take informed decision about their health. It is particularly important in instances of pregnancy that women undergo HIV testing to be able to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV. Minister Motsoaledi, you have the backing of this women sector in intensifying efforts to eliminate mother to child transmission of HIV in our country.
We know that HIV and AIDS is the main contributor to maternal mortality in our country. But also important is the availability of blood for cases of excessive bleeding during delivery. We have made available here blood donation services to encourage women to donate blood. We have heard your concerns Minister that the blood bank is running low and we are here to mobilise women of our country to donate.
Honourable delegates to the first National Women’s Conference to be convened by the Department for Women, Children and People with Disabilities, I hope you will all enjoy your stay here and participate effectively in all the deliberations. The outcomes of your deliberations in the next three days will be critical in shaping the strategic direction we take in advancing the struggle for gender equality and empowerment of women.
We owe it to Mama Gxowa, Mama Sisulu and many other fallen heroines of the struggle for gender equality and freedom to make this Women’s Month Programme a success.
Working together, we can enhance opportunities for economic empowerment of women.
Malibongwe!
