Speech by the Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Ms Susan Shabangu, MP, on the occasion of the debate on the Budget Vote of the Presidency, National Assembly, Cape Town
Honourable Speaker,
Your Excellency, President Jacob Zuma, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, Honourable Deputy Speaker, Honourable Members,
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
As indicated by the President that in August 2016 our country will celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Women's March. It is important to note upfront that this march is a significant part of the struggles waged by our people against the apartheid regime. It is also significant in disabusing people of a patriarchal myth that women are politically inept, immature and their place is in the kitchen.
The AU Heads of State declared of 2015 as: “Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063”. This shows their commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. South Africa is privileged to host the 25th AU Summit of Head of State to be held in June 2015. Africa has shown confidence in South Africa by allowing us to host this AU Summit of Heads of State.
This Summit is expected to take decisions on women’s empowerment and development of policies and programmes in line with the theme of the Summit. The adoption of Africa Agenda 2063 represents renewed hope for women and youth of our continent. This global strategy is aimed at optimising the use of Africa's resources for the benefits of all Africans.
This Agenda calls for the representation of women in all peace processes; increased representation of women in public life; economic empowerment and financial inclusion of women; the modernisation of agriculture; and women’s access to land, technology, markets, infrastructure and capital. It is envisaged that Africa’s women will be fully empowered in all spheres, with equal social, political and economic rights, including the right to own and inherit property, sign a contract, and register and own a business.
Juliet Mitchell in her socialist critique of the problem of the subordination of women published in the New Left Review in
1966 characterizes the struggle for women emancipation as the longest revolution that is often relegated to periphery.
She notes that the emancipation of women was recognized by all the great socialist thinkers in the nineteenth century. It is part of the classical heritage of the revolutionary movements. Nonetheless, the problem became a secondary issue, if not an invisible component of the concerns of most progressive forces of the left. We are fortunate as South African women that throughout its history, the ANC has firmly placed the struggle for women emancipation at the centre of the struggle for liberation.
In his first State of the Nation Address in 1994 President Nelson Mandela cautioned the first democratically elected Parliament that:
“Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression… Our endeavours must be about the liberation of the woman, the emancipation of the man and the liberty of the child.”
Speaker, the establishment of the Department of Women located in the Presidency is an affirmation by President Jacob Zuma that central to the struggle for national liberation is the emancipation of women, economic emancipation and gender equality. Thanks to the leadership of the President.
This budget vote debate takes place against the backdrop of the celebrations of 60 years of the Freedom Charter. Today, the aspirations of the Freedom Charter are taken forward through the National Development Plan (NDP).
It is befitting that as we celebrate these 60 years we pause to reflect on the progress made since the dawn of democracy and assess our achievements in the realization of a truly non- sexist, non-racial, democratic and united South Africa.
As we celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Freedom Charter, we must remember to chronicle the immense contribution of women in the drafting of the Freedom Charter and in the struggle for liberation. In 1841 one of the earliest socialists, Charles Fourier wrote:
“The change in a historical epoch can always be determined by the progress of women towards freedom, because in the relation of woman to man, of the weak to the strong, the victory of human nature over brutality is most evident. The degree of emancipation of women is the natural measure of general emancipation.”
As early as 1913, under the leadership of Charlotte Maxeke and others, women staged a daring combat against oppression and exploitation. They protested against discriminatory laws that restricted free movement of Africans - like the pass laws whose rejection triggered the massacre in Sharpeville, in 1960.
We have just laid to rest one of our stalwarts, Isithalandwe Mme Ruth Mompati. We use the occasion of this Budget Vote debate to salute her and other women who gave their lives, selflessly, so that we can all be free. We pay homage to women leaders in the calibre of Charlotte Maxeke, Lillian Ngoye, Helen Joseph, Amina Cachalia, Ray Alexander Simons, Dorothy Nyembe, Albertina Sisulu, Rahima Moosa, Adelaide Tambo, Bertha Gxowa, Gertrude Shope, Sophie Du Bruin and many others.
On the 17th April 1954 the founding conference of the Federation of South African Women adopted the Women’s Charter containing fundamental principles of women’s emancipation and gender equality. The Women’s Charter was adopted a year before the Freedom Charter and no doubt inspired the ideals enshrined in the Freedom Charter.
Africa by 2020 must have full gender parity in all sectors of society. The ANC as a leader of society has long adopted this principle of gender parity in all its decision making structures. This has led to increased women representation in Parliament and in Cabinet. May I use this occasion to encourage other parties to embrace the principle of gender parity. Looking at the Speaker’s List today, only the ANC has included women speakers.
Honourable Speaker, throughout our history, women have played a pivotal role in all spheres of society that brought about independence and democracy to many of our countries on the continent.
Once more African women made history by setting the tone and on the 31st July 1962 when they launched first Conference of African Women in Dar-es-Salaam in Tanganyika under the leadership of Jeanne Martin, Diallo Virginia and one of our own, Adelaide Tambo. The purpose of this Conference was to unite women of Africa against colonialism and women’s oppression under the umbrella of the Pan African Women’s Organization (PAWO). The formation of PAWO no doubt inspired the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) now known as the AU formed on the 25th May 1963, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Once again women showed leadership.
Since the formation of PAWO progress has been made towards women’s empowerment and gender equality in the continent, albeit challenges that continue to militate against women emancipation. We are concerned of the situation of majority of African women and youth who bear the brunt of poverty, inequality and underdevelopment.
We are mindful of some cultural and traditional practices that continue to impede progress on gender equality and women’s empowerment. We are also conscious of the impact of these practices and their constant failure to bring respect and dignity to women. The recent events in our country of attacks on migrants also had severe effects on women who had to take care of displaced families. Women and children were major casualties.
These incidents also showed the effects of the extra burden of housework and care-giving borne by women as a result of gender prejudices.
The economic participation of women is still a challenge due to the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Participation of women and youth in the economy is essential to eradicating poverty and promoting growth that is inclusive, equitable and sustainable. The cornerstone for Africa’s development is the advancement of women and youth as agents of change.
In order to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment, the AU has adopted important commitments and policy decisions, including the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, the Solemn Declaration on Gender in Africa, and the AU Gender Policy.
The election of Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma as the first woman in Africa to chair the African Union Commission (AUC) is an indication of Africa’s readiness to embrace the role of women as capable decision-makers and owners of the means of production. We have also seen a lot of progress with women occupying strategic positions in countries like Liberia, Namibia, Rwanda and many others. Africa is also making headways in the judiciary; we have seen more women being appointed as judges. Africa is on track!
The AU had declared 2010 to 2020 as the “Decade of African Women” with various annual themes. Therefore, the upcoming Summit presents an opportunity to realign programmes, as well as assess barriers that continue to militate against women empowerment half-way through the Decade of African Women.
The objective of the African Women’s Decade is to re-invigorate commitments to accelerated implementation of agreed global and regional commitments of gender equality and women empowerment (GEWE).
We are privileged to be hosting the High Level Panel Meeting and a meeting for AU Ministers in Charge of Gender and Women’s Affairs at the margins of the AU Summit of Heads of State from 10-12 June 2015. The theme of the High Level Panel is “Make it Happen through the Financial Inclusion of Women in the Agribusiness Sector.” The High Level Panel is a
structure created by the African Union to facilitate the implementation of the AU African Decade of Women themes.
For 2014 the focus of the Women’s Decade was Agriculture and Food Security. According to the UNDP report on the Achievements of Millennium Development Goals in Africa, African women constitute more than 70% of small farmers that help to feed the majority of the growing population of our continent. They are mainly present in the agricultural sector and the informal sector of the Agribusiness.
Despite this critical role, African women especially those who lives in rural areas continue to work the land with archaic working methods such as the hand-held hoe which is slow, manual and time consuming. We need to give women modern and technologically advanced instruments such as tillers. If we have more women participating in food security, Africa will not depend on other continents for agricultural products. Africa will be self-sufficient and increase its exports of agricultural products.
Africa Agenda 2063 will make significant advances and lift huge sections of populations in our continent out of poverty, improve incomes and catalyse economic and social transformations. This can only be achieved if appropriate resources are made available to build the capacities of women and youth entrepreneurs and to encourage them to engage in all sectors
of the economy including non-traditional sectors like oil and gas, infrastructure, banking, STEM fields, etc. Women and the youth constitute majority of the South African population, if they are not included in the economic development systems and mechanisms of this country, South Africa will never develop optimally.
The African Decade for Women’s focus for 2015 is Education, Sciences, Technology and ICT. To this end, the AU commits itself to “Catalyze education and a skills revolution and actively promote science, technology, research and innovation, to build knowledge, human resources, capabilities and skills for the African century”.
Notwithstanding efforts to give women greater access to education, women are still concentrated in certain disciplines, other than the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, and most professions continue to be sex-segregated. In this regard we will partner with the Department of Science and Technology and the HSRC under the leadership of Minister Naledi Pandor to take forward the recommendations from the recently held African Gender Summit aimed at enhancing gender and the STEM fields.
If we do not consciously empower young women and girl children, the future of the continent will still be one of patriarchy and inequality. We must therefore make sure that the National Youth Policy currently under review is gender mainstreamed as a mechanism of ensuring that our future is one of gender parity.
By 2063, women in rural areas must have access to productive assets, including land, credit, inputs and financial services. SADC Protocol on Gender and Development has also adopted gender parity principles which are enshrined in the SADC Treaty (2002) and the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development (2008).
This instrument is hailed as an important step towards the empowerment of women, the elimination of discrimination and the achievement of gender equality and equity, aimed at enhancing development in the sub-region.
The adoption of an integrated approach to reduce all forms of gender based violence and discrimination against women and children. This is not only critical for reducing poverty and underdevelopment, but it is also critical for the addressing other social ills such as drugs and substance abuse which are tearing many communities apart.
Hence our approach as the Department of Women is to move away from event-driven 16 Days of Activism on no violence against women and children to a programme that must happen 365 days. We have thus launched #365 days where I have mobilized members of society including men to join hands with government against this scourge with the theme “Count me in”.
Agenda 2063 also espouses for a strong Africa that is also an influential global player and partner that speaks in one voice in global affairs. The African Ministers in Charge of Gender and Women’s Affairs intend to collectively challenge the ghettoization of funding for women. Therefore it is important that any fund is accessed by women in an inclusive way. Models created by Kenya and Nigeria are some of the progressive models that we want to look at.
In conclusion, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma the Chairperson of the African Union Commission said at the University of West Indies at Mona in Kingston, Jamaica, when she was addressing students, lecturers, the Diplomatic Corps and the general public:
“Having one woman who made it in a man’s world is not enough. We need a critical mass of women and gender parity to change it into a humane world.”
We are Africa! We are One People, One Destiny!
