South Africa has many milestones worth celebrating on its journey to attain gender equality in the past 20 years. The Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities Lulu Xingwana on Wednesday told over 400 delegates during the first day of a three day National Gender Summit in Benoni.
Xingwana said the attainment of democracy and freedom 20 years ago brought for the first time, the promise of gender equality and the dream an equal society where men and women, black and white are able to each make a meaningful contribution to building a better South Africa.
“Today when we look back we can attest that, despite the many hills and valleys that still lie ahead in this journey of gender equality and women empowerment, there is generally a good story to tell, especially if you consider where we come from.
“Women now have equal rights before the law which did not exist before 1994. South Africa has adopted significant legislative reforms and has developed policies and programmes based on the National Constitution and its Bill of Rights (Act 108 of 1996) which seek to promote and protect women’s rights in the home, in the community and in the workplace.”
Xingwana pointed out that much remains to be done as South Africa remains confronted by the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment. She said that government has done an extensive review of how far the country has come on various issues including gender equality in the 20 Year Review report and has identified gaps in the current legislative framework to elevate women’s economic empowerment and access to justice.
“We have put forth the Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill which, once enacted, will help accelerate the implementation of other legislation, policies, strategies and programmes to advance the empowerment of women and the achievement of gender equality.”
The National Gender Summit started on Wednesday and will end on Friday, 9 to 11 April 2014. It is hosted by the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Women, Oxfam, Department of Public Enterprises, and the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities.
For more info on the National Gender Summit contact:
Javu Baloyi, CGE Spokesperson
Cell: 083 579 3306
