President of the ANC Women's League, Comrade Angie Motshekga,
Secretary General of the ANC Women's League, Comrade Sisisi Tolashe,
Members of the National Executive Committee of the ANC Women's League,
Members of the ANC Women's League,
Comrades and friends,

Dumelang, Sanibonani, Molweni!

We meet here today to celebrate, the 14th Anniversary of National Women's Day and the 52nd Anniversary since that historic march of the women of South Africa to the Union Buildings.

We remember the courage of the 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings to present a petition with 100 000 signatures against the extension of pass laws to women. It is a day that firmly put the women's struggle at the centre of the people's struggle against apartheid and oppression.

I am stating the obvious upfront comrades as there is a strong possibility that if we are not careful, the significance of this day will be gradually diluted to suit commercial interests. National Women's Day is the celebration of the role and contribution of women to public life, in the struggle for freedom, in the building of a new non-racial and democratic South Africa and in building our future.

August 9th is and should remain a highly political holiday. It should be protected from being de-politicised as is happening, evidenced by the flimsy advertisements that we see, hear and read in the media this month. These appear designed to turn the day into something frivolous, similar to either Valentine's Day or Mother's Day which have been highly commercialised.

The fact that we now have a national holiday, National Women's Day, dedicated to the heroism of women underlines the critical importance of women's struggle in our country.

It is both recognition of the role of women, and a reminder that women's rights should be protected at all times. We salute the role played by the 1956 generation of women who challenged the power of apartheid and triumphed against it. We salute Comrades Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and Sophie De Bruyn, who successfully led that struggle. We recognise the fact that they organised one of the most successful campaigns against all odds.

They did not have the assistance of the new technology that we have today - no telephones, cell phones, emails, internet, access to mass media or an advanced transport infrastructure. Yet they managed to organise one of the largest gatherings our country has ever seen.

We honour and salute the pioneer and stalwart of the women's struggles Comrade Charlotte Maxeke, who in 1918 founded the Bantu Women's League, the forerunner to the ANC Women's League. She was among the first women who were leaders in their own right.

In the same breath we also remember some outstanding women who have been an inspiration to many women in our country and our struggle, among them Comrades Josie Mpama, Madie-Hall Xuma, Ida Mtwana, Dorothy Nyembe, Ivy Gcina, Nelly Jibiliza, Albertina Sisulu, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Florence Mophoso, Ruth Mompati, Gertrude Shope, Adelaide Tambo, Ray Alexander, Mitah Sperepere, Sister Bernard Ncube and many others. Their dedication to the values and goals of our struggle continue to inspire many young women even today.

We are also celebrating the fact that women have always had a clear vision in our struggle as it was articulated in the Women's Charter, which was adopted in 1954, a year before the ANC itself adopted its Freedom Charter.

Comrades, the adoption of a 50/50 gender equity position at the 52nd national conference in Polokwane should enable us to visibly see an improvement in the participation of women in our movement, and in public life in general. The ANC has underlined its commitment to gender equality and nothing should ever change that position.

We are backed by the Constitution of our country which guarantees women's rights and put into effect what women had advocated when they adopted the Women's Charter in 1954 and what they struggled for as they marched to the Union Building fifty two years ago.

The equality clause in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996 represents one of the 1994 victories for women, and further reconfirms our commitment as a country to the total emancipation of women, that they must be accorded equal status to men.

Some legal milestones have recently added to the protection of women's rights. On the 4th of June, the Constitutional Court handed down a judgment that affirmed a decision of the Baloyi Royal Family to confer chieftainship to a woman, Chief Shilubana. That is a victory not only for women, but for our country. The right of succession can no longer be determined by gender. We applaud our constitutional court judges for such a progressive step that takes our country forward.

We are not perfect in our implementation of gender equity within the movement. We are not perfect even in our articulation of gender equity questions as individual ANC members! We may make mistakes along the way, but the ANC goals and objectives are very clear and sound, and will lead us in the right direction.

What is important is that we are all in agreement regarding the need to make every corner of our country women-friendly and open to the development and empowerment of women.

Comrades, while we are celebrating the past heroism of women and present achievements, let us also think about millions who still live in poverty, are unemployed and uneducated. While we acknowledge that women have made many advances since the democratic dispensation of 1994, we must also recognise that the largest majority of women in our country still face enormous challenges.

Women's Day should be a reminder to us that marking this day is not just about finding senior positions for women in the political, social or economic spheres. That on its own is very important, but there are other pressing priorities that must not be neglected as well.

These priorities were spelt out in our resolutions from Polokwane. We undertook to implement programmes that will empower women, such as ensuring that rural development is used as an instrument that will improve the socio-economic status of women. There are about one million farm workers in the country, the majority of whom are women. This day should be an opportunity for us as the ANC and the Women's League to ask what we are doing to create opportunities for and with rural women, including farm workers, to improve their lives. It means we should ensure that our ANC government implements policies that are women-friendly, and also poor and rural women-friendly.

Comrades we have prioritized education and health in the next five years, and we must make this focus benefit women. There is a campaign run by our government currently, to eradicate illiteracy. Let us encourage all women, young and old, especially in rural areas, to join the literacy programmes in their villages.

Education is empowerment, information is power. The ANC Women's League would do well to adopt this campaign, and mobilize women to join the literacy classes.

Also important is the campaign against HIV and AIDS in which we expect the Women's League to play a key role. We heard the tragic story of women who poisoned and killed herself and her four children, due to a rumour that she was HIV positive which led to her being ridiculed and ostracized in her village.

The story of Nokuzola Ntambalala of Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape is a shocking reminder of the stigma that still exists. It shows that a lot of work has to be done to create awareness and inculcate in the minds of our people that HIV is not a curse. We must fight the stigma through education.

We urge the Women's League to actively work to promote programmes of caring and supporting those who live with the disease. This includes providing psychosocial support to the more than 248 000 child-headed households in our country, most of whom were most likely orphaned through AIDS-related causes.

Comrades, the fight against crime is one that we should all be actively involved in. Women are by far the most vulnerable, and face crime even inside the home, from abusive partners who beat them.

Let us break the silence on domestic violence and ensure that men who commit this crime face the law. We have instructed ANC branches to establish street committees to work with the police in the fight against crime. We want to eliminate hiding places for criminals in our communities, and encourage the reporting of crime. I am pleased that ANC branches are taking this call seriously. We will be launching the first street committee at Inanda in eThekwini tomorrow, the 10th of August. We must win the war against crime.

Access to basic services is another area we must prioritise. The Women's League should open doors in government for women who need water, electricity, roads, clinics and schools. Half the time, the women do not even know who to talk to.

Let us be visible in our communities, and ensure that such basic needs are taken care of.

Comrades, let me also congratulate women who are in positions of authority in our country, who are positive role models for our children, the Speaker of Parliament, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, mayors, CEOs of companies, women running NGOs that support our communities and many others.

We also acknowledge women in other spheres such as the arts and entertainment, the media where there are still very few, science and technology, economic sector and various others.

Young girls need to see successful women to realize that the road to the top is not for men only.

We salute our women workers in the factories as well as domestic and farm workers who, with meager salaries, raise many children to become doctors, lawyers, engineers and other professionals. Our economy is in their hands. We salute women subsistence farmers who in the early hours of each morning wake up and toil the fields to put food on the table. Our rural development strategy should ensure that they grow to become successful food producers who are part of the rural economy.

We salute women in the churches, who every Thursday, don their manyano uniform and go from house to house, visiting the sick, the bereaved, those with relatives in prisons and generally all who face hardship. They are the backbone of our communities. Bapholisa amanxeba.

We salute women in all spheres of our life for their contribution to the life of our country.

Comrades, we will soon be in election mode. We must ensure that women register for the elections, and also for identity documents.

The League's ID Registration campaign must cover every village, every town, every township and every street and street corner to ensure that women are not denied the right that they fought for.

Women have come a long way since 1956. A lot has been achieved, but there is still a lot to be done. Let us not relax until every woman has access to basic services, education or economic opportunities. Let us not rest until women are free from crime and domestic violence, have access to transport, jobs and are ensured food security, and when they are all treated as equals as stipulated in our constitution. The struggle for total emancipation continues.

In conclusion let us remember the words of a veteran of the women's struggles, comrade Dora Tamana, she was in her 80s, weak and blind but still committed to the struggle. She captured the essence of gender equality in her poem, entitled: "Speak".

You who have no work, speak.
You who have no homes, speak.
You who have to run like chickens from the vulture, speak.
Let us share our problems so that we can solve them together.
We must free ourselves.
Men and women must share housework.
Men and women must work together in the home and out in the world.
There are no cr�ches and nursery schools for our children.
There are no homes for the aged.
There is no-one to care for the sick.
Women must unite to fight for these rights.
We opened the road for you.
You must go forward.

Let us thank and salute the African National Congress on its foresight to establish the ANC Women's League. By so doing, the ANC created an important instrument for the mobilisation and organisation of women. It created a platform and a channel threw which ANC women could speak and act for the interests of women specifically and of the disadvantaged and vulnerable in general in an organised manner.

We should remember as we celebrate and salute women's achievement at political and other levels, that the ANC Women's League specifically and the ANC in general, have played a major part in the efforts of empowering women in our country and therefore making these outstanding achievements possible.

Given these successes, we should bear in mind, that we have produced more challenges for all of us to deal with.

We must provide leadership with regards to among others the following tasks: Uniting our organisations within the Congress Movement - the mother body, the ANC, the ANC Women's League, ANC Youth League, the Alliance and the Mass Democratic Movement. By so doing, we will continue to create an enabling environment to unite the people of our country, and to also continue to build our rainbow nation.

We must also continue:

* To fight poverty and crime,
* Bring back the culture of respect.
* Defend human rights.
* Defend our organisations.
* Defend our revolution.
* Defend our freedom and our democracy.

On these matters, let the women speak, as Comrade Tamana said in her poem. We must also remember that her closing line says women from her generation opened the road, you must go forward.

Malibongwe!!
Igama Lamakhosikazi!!
Amandla!! Awethu!!
Matla!! Ke Arona!!