Dlamini Zuma, at the International Women's Conference "Women and the Economic
Recovery of Africa", Cape Town
4 May 2006
Programme Director
Ms Baleka Mbete, Speaker of the South African Parliament
Distinguished delegates
Ladies and gentlemen:
Chairperson,
I thank you for inviting me to this important international women's event to
discuss women and the economic recovery of Africa.
On behalf of all of us I congratulate and thank the organisers for bringing
together women from many countries and from different walks of life to grace
this occasion with their presence and to give impetus to the discussion.
This meeting takes places at a time in our history when we are celebrating
the 50th anniversary of the famous women's march to Pretoria, in protest
against the extension of the pass laws to women. Women of all races and from
different social backgrounds made a stand for human rights.
Led by Lilian Ngoyi, Sophie de Bruyn, Helen Joseph, Amalia Cachalia, the
march was part of the revolutionary struggle for change, for bringing an end to
apartheid and to chart the way towards a new country that would be non-racial,
non-sexist and democratic.
In their petition to then Prime Minister, Strydom, the women declared:
* "We shall not rest until we have won for our children their fundamental
rights of freedom, justice, and security."
* Indeed they did not rest. That is why today, we can all proudly say, South
Africa is free, non-sexist, non-racial, and democratic and upholds human
rights.
* It is on the shoulders of these great women, heroines of our struggle, which
we stand. As we confront new challenges in the struggle for both the
emancipation of women and the economic recovery of the continent, we draw
inspiration from them.
* We shall forever be grateful to them because they made today better than
yesterday for all women in South Africa and contributed to the emancipation of
women generally, on the African continent and internationally.
Fifty years on, we are gathered here at this conference in an attempt to
dialogue how best to contribute towards the ultimate success of social and
economic development of the African continent. As women, our wisdom and
creative energies must be part of the driving force for development. There can
be no recovery of the continent unless women are at the centre of
development.
Pre-colonial African history teaches that in many communities and kingdoms,
women spearheaded development and led their countries with great vision.
In Angola in the 17th century, the powerful Queen Ann Nzinga kept the
marauding Portuguese at bay by creating alliances with other kingdoms. She
declared all territory in Angola over which she had control 'free country' and
allowed all slaves reaching this territory to be free forever. She ruled a
mighty army with great military strategies and tactics and did not surrender
her country during her four decades of rule.
In Ethiopia in the 10th century B C Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, ruled the
Kingdom of Saba with distinction.
In Egypt, Queen Hatsheput, was known to have focused on the expansion of
foreign trade, strengthening international diplomatic relations, initiated
building programmes and building a navy.
In Zimbabwe in the 1890s during the English invasion of this territory,
Nehanda, the famous warrior, and her compatriots defended themselves and
demonstrated astute leadership in the process.
In Ghana, Yaa Asantewa of the Ashanti Empire, the brave Queen Mother of
Ejisu, fought against colonial invasion, and in her efforts, she
declared:
"Is it true that the bravery of the Ashanti is no more? I cannot believe it. It
cannot be! I must say this, if you the men of Ashanti will not go forward, then
we will. We the women will. I shall call upon my fellow women. We will fight
the white men. We will fight till the last of us falls in the
battlefields."
In the Diaspora, there were a number of heroines including Harriet Tubman
who though born into slavery, led slaves to freedom from the Southern to the
Northern States and Canada.
Rosa Parks' refusal to give her seat to a white man in 1955 was an act of
courage that launched the civil rights movement. Parks who was quite, soft
spoken and diplomatic had the courage and dedication to make her country better
than it was.
Women also played an important role in economic and governance structures on
the African continent.
* In Kenya, Kikuyu women occupied pride of place for their role in land
cultivation, thus ensuring food security.
* In Ghana, the Queen Mother of the Akan people protected the interests of the
people by ensuring that the tax and revenue collected was used to further the
education of the children.
* In Nigeria, within the Igbo society, women spearheaded the development of a
complex trade and market system and were highly respected for their business
skills.
Women have played a pivotal role in sustaining communities and kingdoms, in
nurturing nations and national economies and must play a role in the economic
recovery of Africa.
In the renewal of African economies and societies culture will be critical
to this effort. Interestingly, culture is a double-edged sword. It can be a
catalyst for development and can equally be a negative force for stifling
women's emancipation.
From our own experiences, we know that while legislation empowering women
exists, some cultural practices militate against this. We therefore have to
discard those and work towards changing attitudes. It is not uncommon for
abused women to be blamed for their predicament even by authorities charged
with protecting their interests.
Religion can also play an important role in contributing to an environment
conducive to women's emancipation, but regrettably there are still backward
interpretations in some religions that are an impediment to women's
emancipation. Women must be vigilant.
Women trafficking are a growing vice, which in my view is akin to slavery
and as women we need to start a movement against this practice. Disturbingly,
women trafficking underline the view that women are property that could be
bought and disposed of at will.
Women and decision-making
The Beijing Platform of Action realises the need for including women in
decision-making because they tend to ensure that policies are gender sensitive
and accelerate women's emancipation. As decision-makers they consider in
greater detail the needs of society including access to water and sanitation,
land, property and a proper working environment for women that would include
maternity benefits.
Women as decision makers will ensure that women create an environment where
women develop into first economy entrepreneurs and in the process remove
obstacles to economic success and sustainability, including access to markets,
access to credit and loan capital.
African women in decision-making positions should always ensure that economic
policies and government policies in general are geared towards the elimination
of poverty, the attainment of the Managing Director Generals (MDGs) and the
implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action.
The stark reality is, unless we mobilise adequate human and material
resources, the Sub-Saharan African region, will not attain the MDGs in the
prescribed period. Our region, the most vulnerable region incidentally
demonstrates a wide shortfall for most of the MDGs according to the Jeffrey
Sachs' United Nations (UN) Report. The report also demonstrates that in
Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia, girls are not making sufficient
progress in the attainment of primary school education, as education is an
indispensably tool for the eradication of poverty.
Women and the environment
Women are central in the preservation and restoration of our environment,
because this is not only essential but critical for the survival and
sustainability of future generations. Women are by nature custodians of life
and the continuation of the human race. It is therefore not surprising that the
first person to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the Environment is
an African woman, our sister Prof Wangari Maathai.
Women and peace building
Yet we have registered success in key regions of the continent, where
dialogue and discussions have won the day and have led to conflict resolution,
peace-building and national reconciliation. Now the responsibility for creating
an environment conducive for women's progress lies with us.
In recent years, we have seen women coming together in the Great Lakes
Region, in the Mano River Basin, to decide on their own future and to organize
their participation in the national reconstruction of their countries. The
South African Women in Dialogue initiative headed by Mrs Zanele Mbeki, among
other things, has organised discussions between South African women and women
from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). All these have been important and
groundbreaking initiatives.
Women and post conflict reconstruction
The further challenge on the African continent lies with post conflict
reconstruction. Besides the rehabilitation of child soldiers and the
restoration of health, dignity and security especially for women and girl
children who have been victims of systematic rape and mutilation, we also have
a challenge to source resources and human capital.
Women and economic development
This is a continent that urgently needs to raise its own funds from both
domestic and international investment in support of sustained social and
economic development initiatives and especially in support of women's roles
within building rural economies and learning the necessary skills to advance
and to compete in the modern world. I am pleased that those who oversee the
implementation of specific New Partnership for Africaâs Development (NEPAD)
projects are exploring the concrete possibilities of public private
partnerships.
In our efforts to ensure the full implementation of Africa's recovery
programmes, we need to infuse our work by putting women's progress at the
centre. Through our work we need to ensure that there are opportunities for
women to progress and to be in a position of influencing the future directions
of their family and community life and the life of their country.
Moreover, the girl child needs to be education and be made aware of the full
range of career opportunities available so as to be able to enter professions
that have been regarded as male dominated.
Women and politics
As a continent, we have welcomed and been party to the African Union (AU)
decisions on gender parity and that Heads of State should give an annual
progress report on this matter.
Yet, as a country we are proud of the high participation rates of women in
our national parliament, executive and other provincial and local structures.
But the challenge remains for concrete legislation to consolidate these gains,
because without an entrenchment through legislation, this is simply not
sustainable.
Conclusion
We hope that this conference will come up with workable strategies, which
will look at how women can participate meaningfully in the implementation of
NEPAD programmes. We hope to get women involved in every aspect of life in our
different countries to benefit the African renewal process and accelerate the
emancipation of women in general.
As a final comment, for the economic recovery of the continent, we need the
full participation of women, who constitute more than 52% of the continent's
population. The economic recovery of Africa should go hand-in-hand with the
emancipation of women, who incidentally produce the other half.
Thank you for your attention.
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
4 May 2006
Source: SAPA
