Dimbaza Township in King Williams Town will take a centre stage as Eastern Cape Province celebrates this year’s Women’s Month, August. This was said by MEC Pemmy Majodina when she laid out this month’s programme at a media conference held at Provincial Legislature in Bhisho.
Majodina is a political champion on issues of women, youth, people with disabilities and children in the Province.
This year’s program will focus on intervention programmes put by government in an effort to fight poverty, unemployment and inequality. Gender based violence will also be given a special focus. The theme for this year’s Women’s Month is: "56 years of women united against poverty, inequality and unemployment" "Addressing unemployment, poverty and inequality: Together contributing towards the progressive future for women".
MEC Majodina said that all key provincial departments and state agencies will from 13 to 16 August take their services on wheels to Dimbaza. Parallel with this programme wil a door to door campaign. "We want to make sure that residents of Dimbaza receive government services at their door step. Provincial Legislature, South African Social Services Agency (SASSA), Home Affairs, Health, Education and Social Development and Special Programmes will camp in Dimbaza during this week to make sure that residents receive government information; they do their medical check-ups; children get career exhibitions and they also register for grants and identity documents, at the least," MEC Majodina explained.
On 16 August, a day before the provincial commemoration, according to MEC Majodina, the province in partnership with Eastern Cape Council of Churches will take to Dimbaza’s Moses Twebe Hall to pray against violence on women and children. "Most women are not able to overcome the abuse because they are financially dependent on the very same person who is putting them through this grief and older women are being raped by their very own children."
Friday, 17 August 2012 is set aside by the province to commemorate this year’s Women’s Day in Dimbaza’s Sport Grounds. Towards the end of the month, the province will host a Gender Based Violence conference in an effort to solutions to violence on women and children. "In this Women’s Month, we will not only focus on women but we will try to include men also as at times they become the victims," she added.
A reporter from Izimvo asked a question about how the MEC was going to work with the South African Police Service (SAPS) in catching perpetrators who rape women and children, even make sure that they get relevant sentences. In her response, Majodina said: "We are working with SAPS to give them skills on how to write down the statements from the victims in order to be able to get all the necessary information down as it happened because at times the cases get dismissed because of the incorrect portrayal of the incident."
