Malibongwe!
We are meeting here to pay tribute to the heroines who walked these painful paths in 1956. We are here to honour the giants who challenge the might of the repressive and brutal regime. Unarmed and defenceless, their only weapon was their vision to see a truly non-racial, non-sexist, equal and democratic South Africa. As we stand here, we must make a solemn commitment never to betray the legacy and sacrifices made by this generation.
I welcome and salute women of South Africa for having made it to this sacred occasion. I also welcome leaders in the religious, cultural, public service, community, business and political fronts. A Night Vigil is an excellent symbolic gesture of appreciation to our mothers.
They planted the seeds of a better life for all. More importantly, this night vigil serves the purpose of spiritual healing and reconnection for individuals and the women community.
On this special occasion, let me pay tribute to two distinguished women of our country.
I wish to congratulate one of the greatest and most extra-ordinary patriots and heroines of our struggle, Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, on her election as the Chairperson of the African Union Commission. She is an inspiration to all women across Africa and the world. Indeed, 15 July 2012 will occupy a special place in our hearts and on the African calendar, for it heralds the dawn of progressive and decisive leadership.
We wish her success as she prepares to assume one of the most challenging tasks on our continent. We are very proud of her and her legacy. We have confidence that she will represent us well as Head of the AU Commission.
On Saturday, we were in Mangaung to honour one of the most distinguished daughters of our land, Charlotte Maxeke. She was the first black South African to graduate with a BSc degree. She was also the first President of the ANC Women’s League which was then called Bantu Women’s League as well as first President of the National Council of African Women.
She started the AME Church in South Africa and schools with her husband. During this Women’s Month, we must pay tribute to this mother and leader of our people who chose a path of selfless service when she could have chosen to stay abroad and become a famous and wealthy scientist. Indeed, we owe her and her generation a debt of gratitude that we will not be able to repay in our lifetime.
Together, we have a responsibility to ensure that the struggles and sacrifices made by Charlotte Maxeke and her generation are not in vain. As we pursue the objective of a non-racial, non-sexist, equal and democratic society, we remain inspired by Charlotte Maxeke’s immortal words (and I quote):
“This work is not for yourselves — kill that spirit of self, and do not live above your people, but live with them. If you can rise, bring someone with you’’.
When our democratic government declared August as Women’s Month, it marked a fundamental and decisive break with our ugly past and thus signalled an unequivocal commitment to women empowerment and gender equality. This was a fitting tribute to the thousands of women who marched on the 9th of August 1956 to protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women.
Unarmed and defenceless, they refused to surrender to one of the most brutal and repressive regimes in living memory. We must never forget the significant roles that they playing in delivering to our generation a free and democratic society.
Each year, we utilise Women’s Month as a platform to focus the attention of the entire nation on issues of women empowerment and gender equality and to remind our people about the goals and vision that Charlotte Maxeke’s generation and the 1956 generation pursued with every sweat of their blood and every fibre of their being.
The theme for 2012 Women’s Day and Month is: “56 years of women united against poverty, unemployment and inequality”. The theme is a call to action. It urges all of us to accelerate our offensive against the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality.
Our Constitution is a foundation upon which all initiatives for full emancipation of women are grounded. A tool to a future “free from unfair discrimination, inequality, abuse and exploitation”, for women and their children (for/ towards national prosperity). The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) defines in detail the vision of a society that the country strives towards – the “creation of a united, democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa”.
The Constitution guarantees equal and inalienable rights to men and women and provides the mandate for both government and civil society to uphold the values of equality and remedy the triple oppression heritage which continues to shape our society today. We have a collective responsibility to ensure that we do not betray these constitutional values.
The reality is that South Africa has some of the most progressive policies that are aimed at advancing women empowerment and gender equality. However, the challenge remains the actual translation of these policies and legislative frameworks into implementation. While significant strides have been made to empower women and promote gender equality, women still bear a disproportionate burden of the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
Women continue to be marginalised and discriminated against in terms of economic opportunities, the labour market as well as access to land, credit, and finance. In addition, a life of abuse, discrimination and violation of human rights remain the harsh reality for the majority of the women in our country.
As government, we remain concerned at the continued exclusion and under-representation of women at executive level of many corporate companies. The results of the 2011 Businesswomen Association (BWA) South African Women in Leadership Census paints a sad picture.
It is disheartening that in this day and age there are still companies that have a 0% women representation of directors and executive managers. According to BWA census, women are clearly in the minority amongst their male counterparts in the leadership positions. Women hold only 4.4% of CEO/MD positions, 5.3% of Chairperson positions, and 15.8% of all Directorships. The same report indicates that in the public service, women hold 35% of all Senior Management positions.
BWA and all of us who are committed to building a society based on equality are understandably concerned at the continued exclusion of women and the slow pace at which they were being incorporated into the corporate space at senior level. It has become clear that the empowerment of women cannot be left to market forces.
I am pleased to announce that the process of developing the women empowerment and gender equality policy that will lead to the Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill is at an advanced stage. The national policy is proposing guidelines for promoting women empowerment and gender equality.
The Draft Bill will be tabled before Cabinet during the 2012\13 financial year. This will help enforce compliance in both government and the private sector. South Africa has made commitments through the Constitution, various pieces of legislation and international conventions to respect, promote, protect and advance the rights of women. We have a duty and obligation to honour these commitments.
We believe that one of the key areas that can be critical in advancing women empowerment and gender equality is the budget. Early this year, we launched the Women and Budgeting Initiative in partnership with the Motsepe Foundation. Together, we need to reflect on the budgeting process and economic frameworks and how these can constrain or promote the development and implementation of policies aimed at empowering women and vulnerable groups.
We are fully aware that budgets have been instrumental in perpetuating gender biases globally. We also know that budgets can be instrumental in transforming and redressing existing gender inequalities. Mainstreaming gender into budgeting processes is critical to building an equal society. We believe that gender-responsive budgeting can be a tool to promote the socio-economic rights of women, children and people with disabilities, and is key in reducing inequality in our country.
At all times it is critical that we all work together and assess the extent to which the national budget and the resources at our disposal are utilised to promote women empowerment and gender equality. If used appropriately, the budget can serve as a powerful tool of transformation.
We continue to work tirelessly to ensure that the New Growth Path and the Green Fund are gender and disability responsive. Working together with government departments and other partners, we are facilitating opportunities for women in rural, peri-urban and informal settlements to participate in green economy projects such as solar energy, water purification, agriculture, construction, waste management and tourism.
The department will also monitor the extent to which women and people with disabilities benefit through the preferential procurement system in government. The department will continue to encourage companies and organisations of women to register on government entities and departments’ supply chain databases.
Through this Nigh Vigil and various activities associated with Women’s Month, we are determined to consolidate our efforts to sustain the momentum of the achievements we have already registered. We remain relentless and committed to a vision of a society free of any form of unfair discrimination, inequality, abuse and exploitation.
August month is therefore a platform to rally all stakeholders, particularly government, to re-commit themselves to the goal of addressing the remaining challenges that are affecting women in the socio-economic, cultural and political fronts.
We urge civil society organisations and the private sector to contribute to the agenda of gender equality and women empowerment as part of achieving full human development of the population of our country.
On this special occasion, we must recommit ourselves and renew our pledge to build a truly non-sexist society.
Malibongwe.
I thank you.
