Zuma at the launching conference of the Progressive Women's Movement,
Bloemfontein
5 August 2006
Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
Your Excellency, Honourable Luisa Dias Diogo, Prime Minister of
Mozambique
Your Excellency, Honourable Joyce Mujuru, Deputy President of Zimbabwe
Honourable colleagues
Distinguished guests
Distinguished delegates
Comrades and colleagues
As we gather at this historic launch conference of the Progressive Women's
Movement, on behalf of the Steering Committee, may I begin by welcoming all
delegates to this event here in Bloemfontein and give our special and heartfelt
greetings to those who have travelled far to be here.
A special welcome to the women, who have come from our neighbouring
countries and those, who have come across oceans in the spirit of sisterhood
and solidarity.
It is in the spirit of selflessness and sacrifice that you have travelled
here to strengthen our cause, to work towards unity and to make your voices
heard as part of this national effort to intensify the struggle for women's
equality.
The journey that has brought us here today in defence of the rights of women
is a journey on which women have travelled from the earliest of times and in
all parts of the world.
It is a journey full of milestones and little victories that together add to
the whole battle for women's emancipation and for gender equality. It is a
fight that we are still waging every day, but we do so strengthened by those
who centuries ago began this march for freedom.
As we welcome you to this historic conference let us pause and look back
where women have come from. Across the Atlantic Ocean, almost 160 years ago,
women launched the first Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York,
in 1848. It was here that 300 women and men signed a declaration called the
Declaration of Rights asserted a belief in equality, the right of women to
education and freedom to enter all jobs and professions.
This meeting was a landmark in the fight for Women's Rights partly because
in coming together, women had reacted to an earlier gathering in 1840 where
women delegates were refused the right to be delegates at the Antislavery
Convention held in London in 1840 because they were women.
Thereafter women in many other countries started the struggle for women's
rights in general, and in particular the right to vote for women was granted in
1893 in New Zealand.
Even in New Zealand women enfranchisement took many decades to achieve
because women had to persuade a male electorate to grant them the vote. Many
men and some women believed that women were not suited by circumstance or
temperament for the vote. Western political philosophers insisted that a voter
had to be independent, unswayed by appeals from employers, landlords, or an
educated elite. Women by nature were believed to be dependent on men and
subordinate to them. Many thought women could not be trusted to exercise the
independence of thought necessary for choosing political leaders responsibly.
It was also believed that the women's place was in the home, caring for her
husband and children. Entry of women into political life, it was feared,
challenged the assignment of women to the home and might lead to disruption of
the family.
In Germany public attitude towards woman suffrage was hostile. A Prussian
law of 1851 forbade women, along with the mentally ill, school children and
apprentices, from joining political parties or attending meeting at which
political subjects were discussed.
After the allied nations defeated Japan in 1945, Japanese feminists and
female staff officers of the allied occupation co-operated in proposing that
the new Japanese constitution should enfranchise women. Interestingly they
hoped women would make the Japanese nation less war-like and that women would
raise their children to believe in peace and democracy.
In some countries women were still discriminated on the grounds of race.
Like in South Africa, only white women were allowed to vote around 1935, black
people only got their vote in 1994.
Programme director,
Since 1994 we have done well in advancing policies, legislation that
contributes towards women's emancipation and access to services, e.g. water,
electrification, health, labour laws, maintenance laws, reproductive
rights.
Women have also done well on the issue of representation in decision making
i.e. in Parliament, in the Cabinet, in provinces we have women premiers, MECs
and councillors. In business women are just beginning to feature. With all
these achievement, there is still a lot more to be done. One young woman asked
me, if we are doing well, why do we need a women's movement and what is a
women's movement?
I am sure the speaker after me will answer this question in detail.
* According to Peggy Antrobus in her work "the Global Women's Movement", she
defines the women's movement as a "political movement part of the broad array
of social movements concerned with changing social conditions, rather than part
of a network of women's organisations (although many women's organisations may
be part of a women's movement)."
* A women's movement is grounded in an understanding of women's relations to
social conditions, an understanding of gender as an important relationship
within the broad structure of social relationships of class, race and
ethnicity, age and location.
* A women's movement is a process, flexible, responding to specific
conditions of perceived gender inequality etc.
* Awareness and rejection of patriarchal privilege and control are central
to the politics of women's movements.
* Finally, a definition of a women's movement must include those individual
women who would never join an organisation, nor define themselves as feminists,
but whose lives and actions nevertheless serve to advance the liberation of
women in their community and beyond.
* In most instances the "movement is born at the moments in which individual
women become aware of their separateness as women, their alienation,
marginalisation, isolation or even abandonment within a broader movement for
social justice or social change. In other words, women's struggle for agency
within the broader struggle is the catalyst for women's movements.
Programme director,
So, what are the challenges?
* women still struggle to acquire land and property
* access to capital for starting small and medium business enterprises and
micro credit still hinder women's full economic participation
* access to information to enable women to make the right choices
* sharing or distribution of wealth
* unequal gender relations still persist
* women subordination
* how to involve young women in the movement
* racism
* poverty
* violence against women and militarism
* violation of human rights
* protection of the environment
Some of the counter-terrorism, wars and conflict seen today are both racist
and patriarchal in nature.
Strategies: What strategies should we employ?
It is important to make alliances with men if we are to build a strong
progressive women's movement for social transformation. We have to make
strategic alliances with those who understand that there is no justice for
anyone if there is no justice for women or those who believe no country can
boast of being free until its women are free.
Author Antrobus further states that "An increasing number of men are
recognising the ways in which patriarchy limits our understanding of human
possibilities and the contribution of feminism to projects that seek social
justice and a better life for all."
* Relationships with the state, judiciary, family, religion and corporate
world should be nurtured.
* We must have a constructive engagement with all these patriarchal
institutions in order to reform them.
* How do we socialise our children on values of respect and diversity,
instead of the domination and violence values they are based in?
* What interventions to employ against trafficking of women and
children?
* How to deal with the backlash against women's rights?
Programme director,
As we launch this Progressive Women's Movement, the thoughts and prayers of
women of South Africa and indeed of women of the world reach out to the women
and children of Lebanon and Israel and Palestine. We join hands with women of
the world in calling for an immediate ceasefire and an establishment of the
Palestinian state, co-existing peacefully, side by side with the state of
Israel. This launch of the progressive women's movement could not have come at
a better time when the country is observing and celebrating the Women's month.
If it was not for the sacrifices and gallant acts of those women there would
have been no Women's Day nor Women's Month. They bequeathed to our generation a
better life and better environment for Women's emancipation.
The question we must ask ourselves is what are we going to bequeath to
future generations, when we hand over the baton, will they be proud of us?
I welcome you and wish you successful deliberations!
Igama lamakhosikazi malibongwe!
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
5 August 2006
Source: Department of Foreign Affairs (http://www.dfa.gov.za)
