Today the Democratic Alliance (DA) pays tribute to the women who marched on the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 in protest against the oppression of the apartheid government’s pass laws. We honour the efforts and the courage of women such as Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph and Albertina Sisulu, because of whom we are able to live in a society today in which women are free to access the opportunities which were so long denied them.
In his first State of the Nation Address, former-President Nelson Mandela said: “…freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression”. Since then, much has been done to advance the rights of women. Theoretically, women now have access to a broader scope of opportunities than they did twenty years ago. Women are protected by the Constitution against sexism and violence and guaranteed equality, human dignity and the right to participate in elections.
For many of our country’s women, however, these rights remain theoretical, as freedom from oppression is a reality only for a fortunate few. For the vast majority, challenges such as the scourge of sexual and family violence are their reality. Women still lack satisfactory access to the jobs and economic opportunity that flow from having equal access to skills development and training; women remain more at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS than men – particularly as a consequence of being denied rights over their own bodies in a deeply patriarchal society; and in rural South Africa, many women remain at a huge disadvantage compared to their urban counterparts as a consequence of customary systems and laws that deny them access to the rights enshrined in the Constitution.
It is the daily struggle endured by so many of South Africa’s women which we must remember this Women’s Day. Those of us who form part of the fortunate few beneficiaries of the struggle for equal rights must remember today that freedom is indivisible, and women’s rights are human rights. Until all the women of this country are truly able to taste the fruits of freedom, the struggle must continue.