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Working together to empower women for development and gender equality

This year we commemorate the 53rd anniversary of the heroic march of 20 000 women to the Union Buildings on the 9th of August 1956. This year's commemoration will take place under the theme "Working together to empower women for development and gender equality".

Every year on this day, as South African women we remember the sacrifice, the commitment, the dedication and the unity in action of the women of the 1950s. They demonstrated that as women, we are strong, powerful, special and valuable.

This day marks the culmination and continuation of the great and heroic struggle of South African women. This is a history that not only demonstrated to the apartheid regime (and our men) that tempering with women could be dangerous, but also demonstrated to women themselves that they could be as hard as rock. As the women called out on the steps of the Union Buildings that day, "Wathint' abafazi, wathint' imbokodo. Strijdom uzakufa" (You touch the women, you touch the rock. Strijdom you will die.)

The 9th of August always gives us an opportunity to critically re- examine the history of the march and the foundations of the women's movement in South Africa, but this day also offers the appropriate occasion to reflect on the current situation of women in the country in relation to progress made since the installation of the first democratic government in 1994. How do we assess our successes and achievements since 1994 and what do we need to do to ensure that we speed up the advancement of women's empowerment and gender equality in South Africa?

The history of the South African women's movement to a very large extent is the history of the ANCWL. It is befitting that as we celebrate 53 years of the Women's march that we do so against the backdrop of the 91 and 61 years of the founding of both the Bantu Women's League and the African National Congress Women's League respectively. As members of the League this day reminds us of the glorious past of this great organization we are privileged to be members of.

Lillian Ngoyi who led the representatives of the 20 000 women together with Rahima Moosa, Sophie Williams and Helen Joseph to the office of Prime Minister Strijdom later recalled how she saw her own daughter cry as she led the delegation away, and how she thought that it would probably be the last time they saw each other. When Lillian knocked and a voice from behind the door shouted that she was not allowed to be there she responded as follows, "The women of Africa are outside. They built this place and their husbands died for this."

Helen Joseph told the story from here: "When it was over women walked back to the bus terminus in two's and three's, singing now, never forming a procession, babies on backs, and baskets on heads. They reached the buses as African men queued after work for their transport home, but when they saw the women coming, in their green blouses and skirts, they stood back. "Let the women go first. It was a great tribute from weary men," they said.

It is also important to contextualize the Women's March of 1956 within the historical development of the women's movement in South Africa. It is worthwhile to note that the women's anti-pass march of 1913 in Bloemfontein stands out as the beginnings of the women's movement in South Africa with the formation of formation of the Bantu Women's League in 1918, led by Charlotte Maxeke.

It is also worth noting that in those days women were only granted auxiliary status by the ANC and had no voting rights in the organization. It was only in 1943 that women were eventually allowed to become full members of the ANC and the Bantu Women's League became the ANCWL.

Year after year as we celebrate the National Women's day we can pride ourselves and say indeed we stand on the shoulders of those brave heroines who have gone before us. Through years of consistent organizing and mobilization, women struggles had come of age politically and could no longer be ignored. The commemorations of this day continues to remind us of women's resilience and our amazing spirit of struggle and remind us of the high price that was exacted from those who went before us to create the environment we live and work in today.

On this day we need to constantly ask ourselves how far are we in achieving the non-sexist society that Lilian Ngoyi, Charlotte Maxeke, Ida Mtwana, Helen Joseph and others were fighting for?

In assessing what has been achieved since, it is encouraging to note the tremendous improvements in the lives of South African women especially space they now have in ensuring that they continue to deepen the struggles for their emancipation. Notable are those South African women can make the following claims;
Have made great advancement in the areas of political representation and decision making at all levels of society. South Africa currently has more that 40% women's representation in the executive (cabinet) and 41% in the legislature. South Africa also has 29% of women in top management positions in the private sector, and although this means that we still have a long way to go, this is above the international average of 22%.
Access to resources like clean water, sanitation and electricity has been improved for especially poor and rural women;
Access to education and health has been greatly improved with gender parity achieved in South African education.
Special measures have been taken to ensure that rural women have increased access to public health care and clinics. Health care services are also aimed at reducing maternal mortality as well as providing women greater access to reproductive health-care services throughout the country.
Different measures have been taken to empower women through a progressive constitution and the enactment of gender sensitive legislation as well as engendered policies.
Most exciting for South African women is the establishment of the Ministry of Women, Children and People with Disabilities by President Zuma consolidating our programme to continue the progarmme of empowering and developing women
It is important to note again that despite many areas of success that have been registered, there are many others that continue to negatively affect women;
Violence against women particularly domestic violence and child abuse continue to be one of the major issues that confront the liberation of women in our country. We are hopeful that the new coordinating and management structure for the criminal justice system will heighten interventions that will protect women and children from all forms of abuse. The re-establishment of Sexual Offences and Child Protection units of the SAPS will also reinforce efforts to prevent and respond to crimes against women and children.
The feminisation of poverty, underdevelopment and unemployment: Much has been achieved, but women continue to bear the brunt of poverty and deprivation. Our Expanded Public Works Programme II is set to increase the number of women beneficiaries and I am optimistic that we shall improve the condition of many women and their families through this intervention.
Objectification of women in society especially in and by the media in particular, continues to be a major challenge.
Casualisation of women workers where business relegates women to casual work and renders them vulnerable to retrenchments, outsourcing and casualisation. Hundreds of thousands of women are exploited in sweatshops or are in casualised insecurity. The impact of this has been devastating on the lives of millions of South Africans, particularly working class blacks and women,
Now with the current global financial crisis women because they are still relegated to the entry level of the economy, participating in the informal sector, and in the main do not own the means of production they are at the greatest risk and are highly vulnerable.
Women continue to be dogged by patriarchal and all its negative effects.
So much has been done, and much remains for us to do. How do we then proceed to ensure that we address the challenges that remain? I think the following key objectives must drive our progressive agenda going forward:
Work in partnership with women in all sectors for social transformation;
Pay particular attention to the development of young women and to encourage their inclusion on all progressive structures;
Take the struggles of women to higher levels and consolidate the gains already achieved in pursuit of the establishment of a truly democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa;
Strengthen existing progressive Women's Organisations and the role and responsibilities of women in all national progressive organizations and seek common areas of action amongst progressive women's organisations
Continue to fight for gender equality, and strengthen the gender machinery within government, the legislatures and civil society;
Ensure that commitments made by our government on the rights of women are implemented;
Deal with the concrete concerns of women and grounded in the aspirations of women in general and the working class women in particular;
Pay special attention to the developmental needs of the most vulnerable women in society in general and rural women in particular;
Support women affected and infected by HIV and AIDS;
Document the history and work of women;

The Women's Day allows us as women to take stock of where we are and how far we have come. But it is also a time to recommit ourselves to the important task that lies ahead. As former President Nelson Mandela reminded us, "Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression".

We must also remind ourselves of the statement made by Charlotte Maxeke, at the Second Conference of the National Council of African Women on 8 December 1938 when she referred to the importance of our commitment to this struggle for the emancipation of women; this is what she said,

"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. Do away with that fearful animal of jealousy, kill that spirit, and love one another as brothers and sisters."

Aluta continua!

Igama lamakhosikazi malibongwe!