Chief of the South African National Defence Force, General Solly Shoke
Secretary for Defence, Ms Mpumi Mpofu
Members of the Plenary Defence Staff Council
Generals and Flag Officers of our Defence Force
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Now, almost three years into my tenure as Minister of Defence, I have come to the determination that is proper and right that we should honour women in the Defence Force in the manner in which we have done today. I want to thank General Shoke for considering and granting this request.
When we took the decision as government, to honour women during the month of August, we did it deliberately to recognise the importance of the participation of women in all spheres of life. Today's parade is an affirmation of our commitment. This is the first Women's Parade in the history of our Defence Force, and we may not even have a manual that guides this, but the fact of the matter is that our country has a history of breaking new ground in many respects and we are thus recognised as a best practice.
It has taken us some time to get to this point where we can show and celebrate the achievements of women in spheres that is so traditionally male. There can be no clearer indication nor more demonstrable an area than ourselves about how we managed to transform society. When women can take up arms and protect, then we have moved from the stereotypical mainstreaming of women as producers and carers to a complete cycle. We produce, provide, care for and protect.
There is no avenue of human capability and endeavour that is outside of our ability. The protection and defence of our country’s sovereignty is no longer a male only preserve. Seventeen years into Democracy, we are proud to declare for the entire world to know that women have claimed their space in our Defence Force. We have achieved a significant milestone.
We salute our women in the Defence Force for steadfastly championing our cause and particularly the largely unresolved issues of women’s emancipation. We salute our women for the sterling contribution they have made and continue to make to ensure the realisation of peace and stability in our country, the region and continent.
Today’s parade demonstrates that women in the Defence Force occupy a special place in our society and that they must participate fully in all spheres of life in our country. Our women should not behave as if there was no place for them in the organisation above the level of certain categories. They have a duty to liberate men from the antique concepts and attitudes about the place and role of women in society and the development and direction of our democracy.
Every passing day brings confirmation that women in defence occupy an exceptional place in our society because they have chosen to lay their lives for the protection of the sovereignty of the Republic. This is not an easy decision to make in one’s life.
South Africa occupies an esteemed position in its peace-keeping efforts. Our role on the continent has been applauded internationally. We are renowned to be one of the best and we pride ourselves in this. Out of those soldiers we deploy, 21% are women.
But what is a remarkably little known fact, is that, of all the troop contributing countries of the world, we provide the largest number of women in our contingence. And further, that our women are sent out even at the level of Commanding Officers. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) must be applauded for this.
These women are not only preventing violence against the local civilian population, but also serve as an inspiration. In this process, a strong message of striving for non-discrimination and equality in post conflict during the reconstruction and development is conveyed.
The female peacekeepers experience their deployment as an opportunity to put their military training into practice and make it their business to reach out to women and children, the most vulnerable in any civil war.
Our defence force also deploys Military Gender Advisors in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and their key responsibilities are to provide on going advice to Contingent Commanders on the ground on how gender perspective could enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of contingent operational tasks. During the 10 years of our participation in Peace Support Missions, our ability to protect civilians in areas allocated to us is impeccable.
South Africa’ approach to the implementation of the United Nations Resolution 1325 at regional and continental levels is to engage in activities that refine the framework of the African Stand Force, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Brigade as well as to ensure the policies and procedures are engendered to reflect the objectives of greater women participation in peacekeeping missions.
South Africa has made concerted efforts to accelerate women’s involvement in a range of spheres in the military environment, and this has been recognised as good democratic practice. Young women are joining the SANDF with the realisation that the protection of our country’s sovereignty is no longer a male preserve.
Currently all issues that impinge on the maximum participation of women in our defence force are being decisively tackled in order to further increase the number of women joining the defence force. There is no doubt that deployment of women in critical mass could assist with the mobilisation, peacekeeping, peace-building and demobilisation and reintegration of ex-combatants into society.
Women in the SANDF have proven that they are up to the challenge in the manner they have carried their duties. The involvement of Women in Defence strengthens civil military relations in post conflict reconstruction and development programmes.
The pre and post negotiation phases are thus critical for laying the foundation of women’s participation in the reconstruction and development of their countries. This phase provides an opportunity to influence and shape the future as there can be no sustainable development without the participation of women in society.
However, an introspection will show us that we still have a long way to go, given that the military is one of the most masculine of all social institutions, it is no surprise that challenges are experienced and will probably continue to be experienced for a while. This we must commit working toward resolving, to ensure that all new recruits find in the Defence Force, and environment that is conducive.
The fact of the matter is that women will continue to be something of a novelty as long as their numbers remain small. It is however, important to note that the results of a survey conducted on the reasons why women are joining our Defence Force underscores four themes.
Firstly, patriotism and the desire to defend and serve our country. Secondly, they are motivated by desire to obtain a new life experience, something out of the ordinary. Thirdly, they are interested to pursue a career in the military, some of whom related that they had always dreamed of being a soldier. Last but not least, some have expressed a consciousness that the military is a “man’s world” and thus cited challenging this stereotype as their reason for joining.
Women on parade, you look beautiful and I salute you!
I thank you
