S Moloto: Women's Day

9 August 2007

Theme: 'Women intensify the struggles against poverty!'

Programme Director,
MECs here present,
The Mayor of Mogalakwena Municipality,
Executive Mayor of Waterberg District Municipality,
Speakers and Councillors,
Traditional Leaders,
Leadership of women formations,
Distinguished guests,
Women of Limpopo

August is women's month. Like all other years, South Africans are gathered
in every part of the country to commemorate and celebrate women's day. This is
the day on which 20 000 women from all over the country, marched to the Union
buildings in Pretoria in protest against the extension of pass laws to women.
It was through these pass laws that the influx control system was enforced
against black Africans in the cities. The influx control system was infamous
for turning African husbands into migrant labourers. It deprived them of the
basic right to live well with their women, and to raise their children in a
stable family unit.

This day has become a public holiday and should serve to remind us of the
important role which women have played during the struggle for freedom and
democracy in our country. The day further gives us a rare opportunity to pay
tribute to all our women: as mothers, as girls, as sisters, as daughters, as
wives and as grandmothers. Through their action, on this day, a united and
stronger women's movement took shape and was later to play a sterling role in
the liberation struggle of our country.

The strong leadership and contribution displayed by extraordinary women of
the calibre of: Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Ray Alexander, Ruth First,
Charlotte Manye-Maxeke, Winifred Kgoare, Dora Tamana, Martha Motsoenyane and
Adelaide Tambo, should continue to be a source of inspiration to all women even
to this day. Their selfless contributions have opened doors not only for future
generations of women, but equally for their male counterparts.

You should recall that, in the past, women were considered inferior citizens
whose existence was limited to the confines of homes and care of the children.
They were regarded as nothing more than possessions of their husbands or
fathers. Women did not have the right to go to school, own property, earn
wages, sign contracts, or take part in governance, and in the politics or
elections of their country.

This has been the case in spite of records of the existence of successive
generations of women matriarchs or queens, who ruled ancient Africa, since time
immemorial. Egyptian queens for instance, are believed to have governed from as
early as around 3000 BC, of which the first female ruler to be named by
sources, was Queen Ku-Baba, who ruled Mesopotamian City State of Ur around 2500
BC. The other earlier Queen known in history to have reigned in Yemen and in
Ethiopia is Queen Makeda of Sheba, whose reign lasted from 1005 to 965 BC. Our
country is replete with many similar examples of female dynasties, regents and
rulers who took up positions of leadership during pre-colonial times and
through the periods of wars of resistance. We can safely refer to such female
traditional leaders as Queen Modjadji of the Balobedu people in Limpopo and
Queen Mantatise of the Batlokwa people of Limpopo. In other parts of South
Africa, we know of, Queen Mother Nandi of the Zulu-speaking people and King
Shaka's aunt Mkabayi ka Jama who helped shape the Zulu nation behind the scenes
to what it is today, and others too many to mention.

These ancient women leaders are enough proof that women have always been in
position of authority, until the colonialists settled on the African shores and
corrupted our tradition and culture.

However, in the last thirteen years of freedom and democratic rule, we have
seen our country taking giant steps to restore the dignity and status of women
in society. In our forward march towards the full emancipation of the women of
our country, we have passed new laws that protect and defend the rights of
women. New policies and systems that address the issue of gender equality in
all aspects of South African life are also in place. Our country has ratified
many international conventions on the elimination of all forms of
discrimination against women, as a sign of our commitment to the practical
realisation of gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Our country prides itself, for instance, as one of the few, where Cabinet
consists of 43% women representation. We also derive satisfaction from the fact
that, at least, four of the nine provinces are led by women Premiers. In
addition to these, our national parliament and the provincial legislature have
more than 30% women representation. At a local government level, the province
has 48,8% representation of women who are councillors. These advances have made
South Africa to be rated number 10 out of 130 parliaments in the world, which
have high representation of women in governance. We also have four members of
the Provincial Executive Council out of eleven departments who are women. In
addition to this number, almost half or five of the eleven departments in the
province are led by women Heads of Departments (HoDs).

Overall there has been an increase in the participation rate of women in the
formal employment sectors and leadership positions, particularly in the public
service, where gender representation has improved significantly. However, the
major challenge now lies in the private sector, where women are still
under-represented.

On the labour front, government has improved the minimum wages for domestic
workers and farm workers, of which the majority are women. We also continue
dealing with the scourge of poverty through a number of interventions, which
include social wage measures like housing and municipal services, such as
provision of free basic water and electricity. In addition to these measures,
we also have safety nets in place, in the form of social security grants, that
are aimed at protecting the most vulnerable, who include women and children.
Government is continuing to work with all social partners to promote the
all-round economic empowerment of women in: access to finance, skills
development and education, and access to government procurement.

Programme director

Notwithstanding these positive interventions, that we continue to make, it
is quite unfortunate that over the years, we have had to contend with grave
incidences of women abuse which continue to this day. Many women have
experienced violence, abuse, rape, sexual harassment and are the worst affected
by the scourge of HIV/AIDS.

If statistics from People Opposed to Women Abuse (Powa) are anything to go
by:

* At least one woman in every three has been beaten, coerced into sex or
otherwise abused in her lifetime
* one in two women has a chance of being raped in their lifetime
* a woman is raped every 26 seconds in South Africa
* one in four women is in an abusive relationship
* a woman is killed every six days by her intimate male partner in South
Africa
* women are more likely to be attacked by someone they know than by a
stranger.

The statistics we have alluded to, show that, women and children are
generally, key targets of social fabric crimes which include rape, incest,
abuse and domestic violence. These are the kinds of crimes that are not easy to
police as they happen in the confines of people's homes. Fighting these sorts
of crimes therefore, needs all of us to dedicate our energies and efforts,
throughout all the 365 days in a year, and not only during public holidays like
today. In this regard, we would like to make a plea to all boys and men in the
province, to treat women with respect and to rededicate themselves to the
national crusade against violence and abuse.

Programme director

We are also aware about the appalling increase in cases of teenage
pregnancies in the province which have reached worrying proportions. Our
Department of Health and Social Development is stepping up measures to deal
with this situation by introducing youth friendly facilities in all 480
clinics, for peer counselling and advice on sexual matters. These facilities
will hopefully assist young people to delay their sexual experiences, until
they are older enough to take their own independent decisions on sexual
relations.

Programme director

Addressing gender equality also requires us to address certain cultural and
religious obstacles that prevent women from claiming their full rights. For
instance, in the rural areas where the majority of our people come from, to
some extent, culture and tradition are still being used to justify the physical
and emotional abuse of women and children. The challenge has always been how to
ensure that our efforts succeed in breaking the silence against domestic
violence and abuse, while at the same time not undermining or obscuring the
good that our culture and tradition can provide.

We think that traditional and religious leaders can make a difference in
this regard, by instilling change in people's perceptions, about customs and
family values. There can be no question that good moral values are key, in the
fight against violence and abuse. Again, there can be no doubt that in order
for us to change this situation for the better, we must all start by first
addressing the question of the girl child, in everything that we do.

Programme director

Many of the challenges facing women in present-day South Africa can be
overcome if they are approached with the same commitment and zeal displayed by
women who struggled against apartheid.

By focusing our attention on these matters today, all of us are clearly
sending a message that women are worthy human beings who deserve to be valued
and respected as equal members of our society. We are also in a way,
highlighting the point that women's rights are indeed human rights. All the
material things which we want to see government providing in the short term,
cannot happen, when majority in society, who are women and children, do not
enjoy equal rights.

It is of no use for us, to preach gender equality in the streets, while men
and women do not regard each other as equals in the household. Therefore,
transforming gender relations must start in the family, where men and women
constantly interface with each other on a daily basis.

The emancipation of women is central to the building of a non-racial and
non-sexist society that we are all struggling for. The challenge now, for both
women, and men is to seize the opportunities that are now available in
education and in commerce by making the lives of every female and male
worthwhile. Fighting side by side with men, women, have it within their power
to change South Africa for the better.

"Wathint' abafazi, wathint' imbokodo, uzokufa!"

I thank you

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Limpopo Provincial Government
9 August 2007