The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Elizabeth Thabethe will visit Xihosana, a village in Giyani on Monday, 5 August 2013. Members of the media are invited. The visit is part of the initiative that is aimed at ensuring that activism against the abuse of women and children continues beyond the 16 Days of Activism of No Violence against Women and Children campaign period.
The purpose of the initiative, which was launched by Thabethe in Pretoria in December last year, is to empower vulnerable women who are exposed to abuse and will target all provinces especially depressed rural areas. The theme of the programme is: “A centenary of working together towards sustainable economic development and gender equality”.
Thabethe says that abuse goes further than physical abuse.
“Many organisations focus more on physical, verbal and emotional abuse and less attention is paid on economic and financial abuse. The role of the dti is to empower these women so that they can contribute to the economy and be able to stand for themselves,” she added.
In Xihosana Deputy Minister Thabethe will meet representatives of eleven community structures as part of the needs analysis exercise aimed at determining possible interventions by government departments to lift the community from the clutches of poverty.
“We as a department decided to take the 16 Days of Activism campaign to the next level by implementing a programme that will change the lives of members of various rural communities in a substantially tangible and sustainable manner. The initiative focuses on women and girl children and ensures that appropriate skills, enterprise development and opportunities for job creation are facilitated and developed for abused women and children,” said Thabethe.
Deputy Minister Thabethe said this is done in partnership with key partners such as the Department of Social Development, Ministry of Women Children and People with Disabilities, as well as provincial and local government.
Enquiries:
Sidwell Medupe, Departmental Spokesperson
Tel: 012 394 1650
Cell: 079 492 1774
E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
