L Hendricks: National Women's Day celebration

10 August 2007

Programme Director
Premier Peters
MECs
Mayors of Warrenton and Magareng Municipalities
Members of Parliament
Members of Provincial Legislature
Councillors
Honoured guests
Ladies and gentlemen

Introduction

I am very pleased to be here in Warrenton and excited to be launching my
department's Women's Month Programme. Congratulations to the Northern Cape for
hosting us this year. The month of August in each year is a very important
month in our calendar because it gives us an opportunity to reflect on our
achievements towards the struggle for women empowerment and a just society and
also gives us an opportunity to create awareness about the importance of that
historic day in our struggle for freedom, the women's march of 9 August 1956.
It is time for reflection, a time for celebration, a time to assess the
challenges that we are still faced with and a time to recommit ourselves to
continue fighting for women's empowerment.

Yesterday marked the 51st anniversary of the historic women's march to the
Union Buildings in defiance of the unjust apartheid laws. On the 9th August
1956 when twenty thousand (20 000) women gathered on the steps of the Union
Buildings in Pretoria to protest to Prime Minister Strijdom against the
impending pass laws that would severely restrict their freedom of movement,
they started a long and proud tradition of equality for women in South Africa.
It was on that day that our grandmothers and our mothers (great people and
leaders such as, Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph and Dora Tamana) cried out:
"Strijdom, Wathint' abafazi, wathint' imbokodo. Uzakufa!" � You strike a woman,
you strike a rock. You will be crushed."

What stands out about this march was that 1956 was the height of oppression,
so a gathering like theirs could result in arrest, torture and death but
lamagokla were not scared; they had had enough and were ready to face death to
attain their freedom. What is also intriguing is the planning that went into
making this march possible was done without the use of phones or faxes. The
sheer determination is something all of us can learn from them.

Women in the democratic South Africa

In 1994 when we buried apartheid by voting in a new democratic government,
we were left with a legacy of inequality and patriarchy. And the battle cry of
1956 was not forgotten: "You strike a woman, you strike a rock. You will be
crushed."

At the opening of the first democratically elected Parliament in 1994
President Mandela, set the agenda for addressing the rights of women in a
post-apartheid South Africa. He said: "Freedom cannot be achieved unless women
have been emancipated from all forms of oppression. All of us must take this on
board that the objectives of the Reconstruction and Development Programme will
not have been realised unless we see, in practical and visible terms, that the
conditions of women in our country have been changed for the better and that
they have been empowered to intervene in all aspects of life as equals with any
other member of society."

Yesterday at the Galeshewe Stadium in Kimberly during the Women's Day
celebrations President Mbeki continued with a similar message when he said "The
struggle for gender equality is a struggle for human freedom," and that "The
liberation of our country will remain incomplete until the total and
unconditional liberation of women is achieved."

Our President then asked "whether the women of our country, 13 years into
the democratic order and 51 years after marching on the citadels of apartheid
for justice and equality, live in conditions of 'Emancipation, Empowerment,
Equality and Eradication of Poverty'." This is the question that all of us who
occupy positions of leadership or positions of influence must ask
ourselves.

It is fair to say that since 1994 much progress has been achieved for women
in our country. Our Constitution, legislation and policies make provision for
the protection and promotion of the rights of women and all vulnerable groups
in society. Through our tireless efforts women have been given equal
opportunity in the workplace and are indeed climbing the ladder in both the
public and private sectors. And as the President said "Today women have access
to social grants, to housing, education, healthcare and free basic services
among others. Further, as government, we will continue to work with our social
partners to promote the economic empowerment of women to have easy access to
resources such as finance and ensure that we fast-track skills development at
all levels."

Indeed women's empowerment forms the cornerstone of many of government's
policies. The government recognises that by empowering women, the whole nation
will be empowered. Failure to do so would be disastrous: "You strike a woman,
you strike a rock. You will be crushed."

Women meeting the challenges

Ladies and gentlemen, through the changes brought about by democratic
government women now have greater opportunities than ever before. And many
women have risen to the challenge. We have seen women enter the business world,
start businesses, and become directors of companies. Women are now a force to
be reckoned with in politics and we have seen the example set by our own Deputy
President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and the many Ministers, Premiers, Mayors,
Members of Parliament, and Councillors.

What is critical is that we as women have been strong enough to overcome our
apartheid past, overcome the patriarchy and sexism that still exists in our
society, and move beyond that to take our rightful place in society. Sadly
there are still women who are not able to overcome these barriers and there is
still much work that needs to be done before we can say we are truly free. As
women leaders we have a responsibility to ensure that we create the right
environment and space for other women to succeed.

Violence against women

Programme Director, one of the greatest barriers that we still face is
violence against women. Every day we see and hear tragic stories of murder,
rape, assault and abuse of women and children. It must stop. If we are going to
have equality in our society then it must stop. "You strike a woman, you strike
a rock. You will be crushed."

In his address yesterday President Mbeki spoke about how many women are
still subjected to various forms of abuse and he called upon all sectors of
society to join forces in a national partnership to fight against all forms of
abuse against women and to join the campaign of 365 Days of Activism against
Violence against Women and Children.

Addressing poverty through access to basic services

Ladies and gentlemen, a critical part of empowering women is to address the
poverty that holds them back from attaining their true potential. Being able to
live in a house, having access to water, sanitation, electricity; sending your
children to school and having access to some form of income through employment,
social grants or other income generating activities are all necessary measures
in addressing and uplifting people out of poverty.

Our government is committed to creating a better life for our people and to
the provision of basic services. For water and sanitation, my specific area of
work, we are committed to providing access to clean water and access to basic
sanitation for all of our people. Lack of access to water and basic sanitation
brings risk of ill-health or even death and undermines people's dignity.
Traditionally women and young girls have the responsibly for fetching water, so
providing access to this basic service goes a long way in emancipating
women.

Women in water and forestry sectors

Ladies and gentlemen, my words here today are not empty words to please you.
We are taking action; action to deliver water and sanitation and action to
empower women. Last year, in partnership with provincial governments and
municipalities, we were able to supply a further 1,25 million people with
water, and 950 000 more people were given access to basic sanitation. We are
continuing with our efforts to provide water and sanitation to all our people
and in addition by the end of this year we look forward to eradicating the
bucket system in established formal settlements.

My message today about empowering and supporting women is one that I have
taken very seriously and has resulted in concrete programmes. In December 2006
I outlined my priorities and the projects that I wanted implemented. One of the
projects I announced was the Empowerment of Women. I have made a personal
commitment to ensure that women are firmly in the driving seat in water,
sanitation and forestry not only as recipients of basic services, but as
empowered owners of their own enterprises in providing goods and services to
the sector. I have also made a commitment to support the establishment of an
organisation for women in water, sanitation and forestry, which would play a
role in identifying opportunities for women and supporting their entry into
this sector.

I am informed that consultations in this regard are at an advanced stage and
I call on women of the Northern Cape to demand information and ensure that they
are not left behind. It is not only the provision of clean water for households
that we are addressing but also the allocation of water to emerging farmers so
that we deal with the imbalances created by apartheid allocation of water.

Programme Director, South Africa is a water scarce country and the people of
the Northern Cape feel this water scarcity more than most. It is therefore
important that people get more involved in water issues either through
structures such as Water User Associations (where they have been established)
or they support our efforts to protect our water and use it more efficiently so
that we are able to ensure 'some for all, forever, together.'

I would like to specifically mention the Working for Water Programme, as one
of the programmes that is aimed at protecting our water resources, because of
the impact that it has had on job creation in Northern Cape with about 2 500
people being employed, half of which were women. I have also been informed that
there are plans to further expand the opportunities in the value industries
linked to this programme such as charcoal, furniture, crafts and firewood.

Careers in the water and forestry sectors

Ladies and gentlemen, I spoke earlier about the importance of education and
skills development in empowering women and in lifting people out of poverty.
Deputy President Mlambo-Ngcuka is driving a skills programme to increase the
levels of skills in our country and in the Department of Water Affairs and
Forestry we are supporting these efforts by encouraging learners to become
scientists and engineers, providing bursaries to deserving candidates and
providing training opportunities to young graduates through our Learning
Academy. I would like to encourage young women to find out more about these
opportunities available through my department's programmes so they can pursue a
career in the water and forestry sectors.

Conclusion

To conclude, Programme Director, President Mbeki said in his address:
"Today, on this National Women's Day, we renew our pledge to realise our vision
of a non-sexist and non-racial society in which women are equal and active
partners in building the new South Africa." It is a pledge we should all commit
to and strive for.

Igama lamakhosikazi malibongwe!

Issued by: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
10 August 2007
Source: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (http://www.dwaf.gov.za)