Programme director
Deputy Minister
National Commissioner and Senior Management
Management of the KZN Region
Department of Correctional Services officials
All our stakeholders
Offenders present here
Allow me firstly to thank the regional management of KwaZulu-Natal for organising this event and for inviting us to be part of the celebrations to mark the 54th anniversary of the women’s march to Pretoria.
The celebration of National Women’s Day is both recognition of the contribution made by women in the struggle for freedom, while at the same time; it is also a stark reminder of the painful past from which our country emerged before 1994.
As we celebrate the heroic actions of those twenty thousand women who marched to the Union Buildings 54 years ago, let us also vow never to forget the pain and suffering our people endured leading them to take such action. By marking this day, let us remind ourselves and generations to come that never again shall this country return to the days when your gender and race determined your place and role in our society.
So, today we celebrate, but for the sake of future generations, let’s vow never to forget.
When they marched to the Union Building in 1956, the women of the country united across the colour line, they sent a clear message that they will not be intimated and be victimised by unjust apartheid laws. They also refused to conform to the racial divisions imposed on them by these laws.In challenging the pass laws as a united front, the women demonstrated what our society ought to look like, united in diversity.
Of course, the contribution of women in our struggle for freedom precedes the 1956 march dating as far back as time of the formation of the ANC in 1912 and beyond. Women had already organised marches against pass laws as early as 1913 when black and coloured women marched in the Orange Free State and in the 1930s and 40s the Bantu Women’s League protested against pass laws under the leadership of stalwart Charlotte Maxeke.
The struggle for women emancipation and for the recognition of the role and place of women in our society formed an integral part of our people’s struggle for freedom. So today, sixteen years since the attainment of our democracy, the question we should answer is to what extent have we succeeded in the work to achieve women empowerment?
Since 1994, we have established a policy framework and enabling legislation that supports the emancipation of women. Our government has always come out on the side of all vulnerable groups, including women and children. We have prioritised the fight against women abuse and domestic violence. Our laws provides for the recognition of women in the allocation of leadership position both in the public and private sector. We have sought to provide comfort for women who are poor, unemployed and those who are in the rural areas.Many women continue to benefit from our land reform programmes, welfare grants and the skilling initiatives created by the extended public works programme.
Women have become key beneficiaries of the government low cost housing initiatives. The provision of services such as electricity and water in the rural areas has liberated women from being hewers of wood and drawers of water.
Despite these and many other empowerment programs directed at women, much more still remains to be done. Although many women are benefitting from government programs many more still continue to live in conditions of poverty and squalor. Many continue to have their rights trampled upon due to lack of information of support systems. Women still constitute the largest portion of our unemployed population and many young girls are still refused access to basic education.
Serious inequality remains in the workplace. This is despite the many strides already made to empower women in the workplaces and advances made with regard to women in leadership position. Within our own department, the representation of women in senior position leaves a lot to be desired. Of the six regions that we have, only one is headed by a female Regional Commissioner. Women correctional officials, nurses and psychologists are still subjected to sexual harassment, both by their fellow officials and by offenders.
Part of the commitment that I have made when I joined this department is to ensure that transformation is implemented in such a way that we change the gender balance of this organisation. It is my determination that women in this department should be properly recognised and affirmed. Having said that, I want to also make it clear that, on an equal note, harassment of male offenders by women correctional officers will not be tolerated.
The many reports that we are receiving about improper conduct, specifically from this region, have disturbed me greatly. As it has happened with the incidences of sexual favours by women in Ebongweni, the harshest sanctions will be applied. Any officer who engages in sexual activities with offenders and detainees, both male and female will be dismissed and criminally charged.
We have a duty, as directed by our white paper on corrections, to serve in a manner that is exemplary to the offenders.It cannot be that we who are supposed to take offenders through rehabilitation, to give them hope, must be the ones who abuse our positions in the vilest of manners. Quite simply, I will not have that happen under my stewardship of this department.
The correctional official that we want is one who embodies the values the DCS wants to instil in the offender. The provision of care and rehabilitation to offenders must equally recognise the special needs of women offenders. I remain convinced that all the work that we do in our centres, will not make any difference in the rehabilitation of offenders if the current conditions within which we accommodate offenders remain unchanged. I have therefore already directed that amongst the new generation facilities that are being procured through a PPP model, a special facility for women be constructed.
In the meantime, women offenders should receive special amenities such as toiletry, sanitation provisions, bedside carpets and the necessary provisions for those with children. I am also greatly concerned about the manner in which we are allocating the offenders for developmental programmes. It cannot be that majority of male offenders are the ones who are gaining hard skills in workshops while women are doing sewing. Even if this is at times their own decision, women should be encouraged to take up programmes that will skill them and contribute significantly in their chances of leading productive lives when they are reintegrated into their communities.
Similarly, I am also worried about the fact that many women, who are in our maximum security facilities, are serving long sentences for violent crimes, including murder. Most often than not, it is murder of a spouse following years of an abusive relationship. Although I accept that these women should serve time for the crimes they commit, I believe that we need a programme involving these women, to educate other women who are in abusive relationships to leave these relationships before they are forced to commit these crimes.
We are already making preparations for such initiatives to coincide with the 16 days of activism for no violence against women in November.
As we celebrate Women’s Day today, let’s rededicate ourselves to the values of the white paper, which provides that we should have:
- the desire to achieve levels of excellence.
- a principled display of qualities such as integrity, honesty and sound work practices.
- general disassociation from all forms of corrupt and unethical conduct, amongst others.
I call upon all our officials to take the work that we are entrusted with seriously, as it is about the lives of people. Today, we celebrate the achievements made by women we also recognise that the road towards full emancipation of women is still going to be tedious and long. We take a bow to the many heroines who have led the struggle of women and the struggle for the freedom of all our people.
We thank these heroes, past and present and we vow that we shall not rest, until the full emancipation of women is achieved in our country. We invite you all to join us in this quest.
Happy Women’s Day.
