Parliament begins Women’s Charter provincial review processes

Parliament today began a series of provincial reviews of the 1994 Women’s Charter for Effective Equality, with public hearings held in Gugulethu, Cape Town, Western Cape.

Violence against women and children came out as a burning issue in the community, as women took turns to articulate their concerns about their safety and that of their children. They flagged growing instances of rape that are perpetrated by family members, a threat they have to live with on a daily basis in their private spaces.

They also expressed concerns about the perceived in-effectiveness of the criminal justice system, as perpetrators usually come back into society after brief arrests to continue with their acts of brutality.

Access to business opportunities for women is also another issue that was raised. Women in business were concerned that they do not get the same economic opportunities as their male counterparts. They requested that Parliament pass laws that comply with the vision of the Freedom Charter in the interest of developing women in business.

The women pleaded for assistance in fighting drugs and substance abuse in their community. They said their children are dying from drugs and the challenge is that they are easily accessible. This, they said, made them to literally be fighting a losing battle.

In her address, the Speaker of the National Assembly, MsThandi Modise, said it was high time that women came together to fight for a common cause. “Let us be united and understand that our battles are the same despite race and creed.”

She said the Women’s Charter was drafted during one of the most difficult periods for women in South Africa, when apartheid reigned, and it was up to women of today to adapt the charter to address the current challenges women face and respond to their aspirations.

Today’s hearings were the first of a series of provincial public hearings scheduled to be held across the country over the next 12 months in an effort to take stock of progress made in implementing the articles of the Women’s Charter since the advent of freedom and democracy.

The hearings will also assess the impact of changes made over the years in an effort to realise the goals of the women’s charter on women. The assessments will cover the current women’s rights regime in its entirety, and make concrete policy, legislative and implementation proposals to close gaps, accelerate positive areas of change and introduce new interventions to place the gender transformation programme on a higher development path during the next 25 years of freedom, democracy and development.

The planned intensive consultation process will culminate in the adoption of a revised women’s charter, with concrete targets on policy, legislative changes and interventions that are aimed at removing historical and new structural, institutional and cultural barriers to the realisation of gender equality in South Africa.

Enquiries:
Moloto Mothapo
Cell: 082 370 6930

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