Jacobus, on the commemoration of Women's Day.
25 August 2006
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Nkosazana Zuma
Minister of Correctional Services, Mr Ncqonde Balfour
Commissioner of Correctional Services, Mr Linda Mti
Participants of the 1956 Womenâs March, Ms Sophie de Bruyn and Ms Molebatsi
Bopape
Pastors of various faiths, Bishop Mofokeng, Mr Hassen, Mr Moerane and Mr
Guru
Chief Deputy Commissioners and Regional Commissioners of Correctional
Services
The media
The President acknowledged in his State of the Nation Address that 2006 is
the year of celebrating major milestones in the struggle for liberation of the
people of South Africa; one of these milestones is the 50th Anniversary of
Womenâs historic march to the Union Building in 1956. We, in Correctional
Services have chosen to celebrate the heroism of the many women incarcerated
for their role in the struggle to liberate our country. In the âprisonsâ of
old, these brave women served their time under the most punitive and
dehumanising conditions.
Many have come back to Correctional Services as agents of transformation and
today play a critical role in building a correctional system where the
rehabilitation of offenders is our top priority. As a department our emphasis
is on giving offenders opportunities to make a new beginning in their lives and
to provide our own women members every opportunity to develop and advance
within our ranks.
In order to give context to our present course we need to understand our
history, specifically the story which brings us together today.
On 9 August, South Africa celebrated Womenâs Day with a public holiday. In
1956, 20 000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to present a
petition, which had been signed by women all over the country to the then
national government. The 1950s saw life for ordinary South Africans becoming
increasingly repressive and in response, defiant mass political action
characterised life in townships across our country. In 1955 women were forced
to carry the much-hated âpassâ when travelling any distance. This was a device
employed by the apartheid state to control the movement of people between
townships, and their places of employment and white suburbs.
The 1950s was also a decade during which the apartheid government was
forcefully entrenching its oppressive laws. These laws were intended to confine
black South Africans to menial jobs, generally for the convenience of their
white counterparts and to forcibly remove them from their homes. Black people
were forced to accept an inferior education that was not offered in their
languages. There were also deliberate efforts to preserve jobs for white
people; hence we saw the creation of pass laws which prohibited black people
freedom of movement. They had to be granted permission to be in areas with job
opportunities or else risk imprisonment. When they entered into such areas,
they had to be in possession of their passes as proof that they were permitted
to be employed or seek employment. These pass laws initially applied to black
men only but they were later extended to black women. The cumulative burden
created by the apartheid laws was fast becoming unbearable to black people and
the extension of these passes to black women was met with unprecedented
resistance.
This resistance movement was active in rural, urban and peri-urban areas
throughout the country gaining support from people from all cultural
backgrounds. In the urban areas, a strong alliance was being forged between
racially oppressed groups and sympathetic whites. Among other united activities
against apartheid were the bus boycotts, stay-at-homes, and rent strikes in the
African townships. The most significant campaign of that decade was the
campaign against the pass laws, and in particular, the extension of reference
books to black women. No other campaign was carried out on such a massive scale
or sustained over as many years as this one with the aim of demolishing the
apartheid regime.
Women, once more played a leading role in the resistance to pass legislation
because of the particular way in which influx control measures, implemented
through this pass system, affected their position in society as well as African
family life. At the bottom of the social and economic hierarchy, African women
were predominantly employed in low-paying and unskilled jobs, because of the
tenuous nature of their employment, largely in the domestic service and
informal sectors. African women were particularly vulnerable to removal from
the urban areas as "idle" Africans or "superfluous appendices". Legal
constraints made it far more difficult for African women than men to acquire
urban residency rights and accommodation in urban areas. Influx control laws,
and by the extension of the pass system, were intentionally used by the then
government officials to bar African women from the urban areas and to confine
them to the periphery of our towns and cities.
The Womenâs Charter, which was drafted then, called for:
* the enfranchisement of men and women of all races
* equality of opportunity in employment
* equal pay for equal work
* equal rights in relation to property, marriage and children
* the removal of all laws and customs that denied women such equality. The
Charter further demanded paid maternity leave, child care for working mothers
and free and compulsory education for all South African children.
Since the attainment of democracy, the role of women of all ages and race
groups in society continues to be central to governmentâs agenda. It is in this
spirit of recognising the supreme contribution made by women from all walks of
life that it is significant that as government we commemorate and celebrate the
50th anniversary of the Anti-Pass march which also symbolised womenâs
resistance to oppression and discrimination.
The scale and emotion generated by the 1956 womenâs march has been forever
etched in South African history. So it is with a huge sense of pride that we
the women in South Africa celebrate the 50 anniversary of this great moment in
our history.
Since our first democratic election women have played an increasingly
greater role in Parliament, government, business and indeed in all sectors of
South African society. The steady rise in the implementation of employment
equity in all sectors further demonstrates the collective determination to
recognise women as critical players in the development of society.
We have also made great strides within a short time towards the achievement
of legislative equality between women and men. Just less than a third of
members of parliament are women; women comprise almost 40 percent of national
government ministers and deputy ministers; and South Africa recently appointed
its first woman Deputy President. This has contributed to ensuring access and
substantive participation of women in decision-making processes at the highest
level. Access and participation of a large number of women in parliament is an
achievement that puts South Africa at number 10 out of the 130 parliaments in
the world in terms of women's advancement in governance.
It is also important to note that despite significance advances in improving
the status of women and the repeal of a number of laws discriminating against
women, women continue to be disadvantaged by some customary, religious and
cultural practices. Although a number of important policies are in place, and
the environment is more conducive to change, the necessary mechanisms need to
be put in place to ensure successful policy implementation, accompanied by
proper monitoring and evaluation.
There are also many challenges facing us as women, for example:
* physical and emotional abuse by those closest to us
* sexual violation of ourselves and our children
* harsher discrimination against women who are HIV-positive etc
In the spirit of celebrating the age of hope Correctional Services resolves
to continue to implement the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of
all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform for
Action ratified by the South African Government.
We acknowledge the valuable contribution made by all women in South Africa
and in particular the Department of Correctional Services will recommit to
collectively push back frontiers of gender discrimination, abuse and violence
against women and children.
I would like to take this opportunity to make a special plea to the women
offenders here today. As women it is critical for you to realise the invaluable
role you play in the family, community and society. We are perceived as
protectors and nurturers which effectively makes us the glue that holds the
family together. You cannot be that whilst behind bars so families and
communities are the poorer for your absence. It should be emphasised that in
many cases families are placed at risk by your absence. So please take every
opportunity you may be presented with in our facilities to turn your lives
around so that when you leave us you can take up your role as protectors of
your families and leaders in your communities.
As we draw womenâs month to a close, let us all (women and men) make the
dawn of the age of hope a reality for all.
I thank you for you attention and your kind support.
Issued by: Department of Correctional Service
25 August 2006
