Programme Director,
School Principal, Mr Andrew Setshedi,
Educators at Moletsane High,
Provincial Coordinators of Gauteng International Association of Women Judges,
Learners of Moletsane High School,
Sanibonani, molweni, dumelang!
The education and thus the advancement of the girl child has always posed a threat to those that are only happy to see women in subservient roles within society. This is why women continue to be subjected to gender-based violence which manifests itself in many forms within society.
We recently learned with outrage, shock and horror of the abduction of over 300 schoolgirls in Chibok, Nigeria on the 14th of April by a terrorist group, Boko Haram.
The fact that the girls were taken from their school while they were writing exams says to us that their captors recognise that education is a powerful instrument of emancipation. They want to rob the Nigerian girls of their right to a better future and assign them to a life of poverty and abuse.
Let us continue to make a stand in solidarity with the abducted schoolgirls and their families and call for their immediate release by using every avenue and platform available to us to say #Bringbackourgirls!
Programme Director,
The reality is that the South Africa we know today is a much better place to grow up in as a girl child. The opportunities are endless. Today women are free to become anything they want for as long as they are willing to work hard.
Those of us who grew up under apartheid South Africa we envy the young women of today who now have opportunities to become scientist, engineers, judges, farmers, winemakers and many other things, including the President of South Africa.
If only you had an idea how fortunate you are. You would cherish every day and every opportunity to improve yourselves.
Prior to 1994 there were lesser girl learners in school despite the fact that females are more in numbers. Today universal primary education and compulsory schooling has been introduced for the age group 7 - 15 years. The country has achieved gender parity at the schooling level. Overall, women account for 57.9% of tertiary students with 22% of females in the natural sciences.
The country has also initiated some programmes towards ensuring that girls and young women are encouraged to take up science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields of study. The Technogirls programme is the case in point where girls in their final years of schooling engage in job shadowing. The private sector, parastatals and government have been working closely in realizing this project.
Strides are also being made in the employment of women within different areas of work with marked emphasis on the training and learnerships and internships for young women. These cover mainly areas previously dominated by men.
Programme Director,
Women today are occupying key Cabinet posts which are largely regarded as the domain and competence of men – as in for instance the following National Government Departments; International Relations, Defence, Mining, Energy, Transport, Public Service and Administration, Home Affairs, Environmental Affairs, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Education, Labour etc.
Pre -1994, the South African Parliament had a mere 2.7% representation of women. Today this has increased to 44% in Parliament and 42% in Cabinet 55% women Premiers, 38.2% Women in Local Government, and 39% Women in Senior Management ranks in the Public Service.
As a country we are proud of the caliber of women leaders we have produced who are representing not only South Africa but the continent as a whole by occupying global leadership positions, such as the Chair of the AU Commission Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma; the Executive Director of UN Women Dr. Pumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka; Special Gender Envoy of the African Development Bank, Ms. Geraldine Frazer-Moleketi; High Commissioner for Human Rights Judge Navi Pillay; among many others.
Before democracy women were mainly confined to magistrate positions. No black woman held a judge position. In 1993, there was only one white woman judge. Today, we are seeing women judges in the judiciary, now there is over 60 women judges. We now have also a woman judge president and two women occupying seats at the Constitutional Court. We are looking forward to seeing more women appointments in the judiciary.
We recently witnessed Tsakani Ratsela become the first ever woman deputy Auditor-General in 100 years since the establishment of the institution. Women such as Ntsiki Biyela, who hails from Kwa-Zulu Natal, has become South Africa’s first black female award winning winemaker.
In this very school there is a good story to tell of girls who were students and went on to be influential women in their fields.
One example is that of, Mamoeletsi Rachel Mosia, a scientist who matriculated in 1992 in Moletsane High School. She obtained her PhD in Chemistry at Eindhoven Technical University in the Netherlands where she graduated in December 2004. She is currently one of a few black female Senior Research Managers at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research where she is leading a team of 50 researchers doing research in drug development, smart polymers and biocomposites for various applications.
Programme Director,
The Cell C Take a Girl Child to Work idea is a great one. It has afforded South African girl learners to be exposed to the various career opportunities available to them in both the public and private sectors. More than 50 000 young girl learners are expected to benefit this year as hundreds of companies around the country participate in this ground-breaking project.
Since its inception 12 years ago over 2 300 companies and government departments have embraced the concept.
Bantwana bami, it is important that as learners you take advantage of the opportunity presented before you to learn about the different careers on offer and to think about what career path you want to take. Think about what kind of contribution you want to make so that South African can be an even better place to live in.
Despite great initiatives being made to empower the girl child and women in general, the gendered nature of poverty results in women being continually subjected to abuse, hence the continued violence against women and children. This is why gender equality is more than a goal in itself but a fundamental precondition if we are to rise to the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development, addressing inequality and eliminating gender-based violence.
Therefore the education of the girl child is critical. You must make sure that you grab with both hands the opportunity to acquire education. Government continues to facilitate the creation of a conducive environment that allowing women to play a meaningful role in the mainstream economy, socio-economic development and the promotion of gender equality.
This is why we are have tabled before parliament the Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill. The Bill will accelerate the implementation of other legislation, policies, strategies and programmes to advance the empowerment of women and the achievement of gender equality.
It calls for the minimum of 50% representation and meaningful participation of women in all decision-making structures, including in corporate boards to holistically and cohesively address issues of women’s leadership, participation and representation.
This means that a lot of opportunities will open up for you as girl learners but you will only be able to access them if you pursue your education. Education is an important weapon in the fight against poverty and gender based violence.
As young people you have no reason not to have brighter tomorrow. The future is really in your hands. You can be whatever you want to be, just go for it.
I thank you!
