Date: 01/12/2008

Source: The Presidency

Title: SA: Tshabalala-Msimang: Welcome address delivered by the Minister in the Presidency at the African Union Gender Policy meeting

Programme director
My dear sisters and brother
Fellow Africans and African Union (AU) officials
Government officials from the continent
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning

I understand this is a meeting of government officials, gender experts and women activists, to finalise the African Union (AU) Gender Policy document. There is a sense of urgency to complete the document.

I would like to extend a very warm welcome to you all, as well as express my sincere gratitude for choosing South Africa to host this important meeting. I just flew from Durban where there is a national event to mark the World AIDS Day.

This consultative meeting taking place over the next two days within the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children, which I was privileged to launch in Addis Abba during the sth African Development Forum is highly significant for the continent. We need to ensure that we take all active measures to eradicate the scourge of violence against women and girls.

South Africa launched its National Campaign in the Eastern Cape province and activities are going on in all nine provinces of the country. We are holding a closing ceremony on the 10 December, the Human Rights Day, to emphasise that women's rights are human's rights. In South Africa we have marked the day since 1999 and the campaign has since the past two years been extended to cover 365 days action plan which outlines programmatic measures.

As government we must be compelled to act against abuse in the homes, at work, in schools, and in communities. Every woman, every girl child and boy child has a right to a life free from violence, threats of violence and all forms of abuse. Let this AU Gender Policy give us the platform to empower everybody to achieve this.

In the context of this meeting, I would also like to recognise the tripartite relationship between the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the African Union Commission and the African Development Bank. Thank you for the informative Sixth African Development Forum (ADF IV) which I attended last week.

This forum emerged with resolutions that we all need to implement in our policies and programmes as they seek to empower women towards gender equality. This AU Gender Policy meeting is another platform to address persistent inequalities.

A major achievement for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region is the recent adoption of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development at the SADC heads of states summit in August 2008.

This legal instrument has consolidated all key commitments that the SADC member states have made to address gender equality and women empowerment, eliminate discrimination through the development and implementation of gender responsive legislation and programmes.

The protocol aims to attain sustainable development by deepening regional integration, strengthening community building and improving the lives of women in the SADC region. We need to ensure that a plan of action is put in place to guarantee its implementation. We also need to reflect on the African Women's Protocol. The full implementation of this protocol rests on how we articulate at AU Gender Policy and its action plan.

Furthermore, the global call currently is for a 50/50 quota in all political decision making structures and also at implementation level. As the African continent and as SADC we must vigorously drive this process. It is not just about numbers of women but it is a platform from which women can influence meaningful change, and make a difference to the lives of all women, empowering them towards gender equality.

South Africa is party to a number of global agreements including the African women's protocol in advancing the rights and dignity of women. The implementation of these instruments within the country is critical in ensuring that transformation, in general, takes place but more specifically, that we are able to protect and promote the human rights and human dignity of this targeted group. South Africa is currently preparing for the country's ratification of the SADC protocol on Gender and Development. The implementation of these instruments within the country is critical to ensure transformation.

The South African democracy is only 14 years old and still in its nascent stage of development. We have made significant strides and achieved major gains in terms of women's empowerment and Gender Equality. Some of these gains include increased learning and skills development opportunities, improved basic health care services and better access to safe water, proper sanitation, and electricity and social security benefits.

These services have improved the lives of large numbers of marginalised South Africans, including women, people with disabilities, the older persons, children and also people in the rural areas. Of significant importance in this process is the Millennium Declaration and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs cuts right across the developmental areas of all targeted groups.

In South Africa, the attainment of these goals within given timeframes is premised on the collaborative efforts of the relevant government departments and agencies. South Africa's commitment to the promotion of gender equality is met in part through the establishment of a comprehensive National Gender Machinery for women's empowerment and the advancement of gender equality, and we are in the process of reviewing this machinery with the view to consolidate and strengthen it.

Our National Gender Policy Framework of 2002 was developed through a collaborative effort of the government and civil society. It outlines the national vision of a society in which women and men are able to realise their full potential and to participate as equal partners in creating a just and prosperous society for all. We are also in the process of reviewing this National Gender Policy Framework to ensure that it speaks to both the developments in our country and the challenges ahead.

Ladies and gentlemen, regardless of these achievements, South Africa has identified many challenges that remain. We are undertaking a review of the Gender Policy Framework in order to strengthen our institutional framework and the National Machinery to ensure that moving into 15 years of our democracy; we are still on track towards empowering women to achieve gender equality. In this regard, the next two days are highly significant for South Africa, because our participation in this AU Gender Policy review process benefits us in crafting our own Gender Policy.

As government officials, gender experts and women activists we have an obligation to finalise this draft AU gender protocol for deliberation and adoption by the Ministers in Lesotho during their meeting on 18 to 19 December, and to be presented at the next Heads of State Summit for adoption. I am confident that we will achieve a consensus document.

Notes for Editors

Substantial progress has been made with regard to fair representation of women in political and decision making positions on all spheres of South African Government. Today, South Africa is seventh worldwide in terms of representation of women in the legislature. In 2008, in the National Parliament, almost a third of Members of the National Assembly, are women.

There are two women appointed as office bearers of the National Assembly, namely the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. The South African Parliament can boast the appointment of female Speakers of the National Assembly from 1994 to 2008. The Chairperson for the National Council of Provinces was a woman prior to the 2004 elections.

In 2008, twenty nine women are appointed as Ambassadors, High Commissioners and Consul Generals. In 2005, women comprised approximately 40% of all elected councillors at the local government level. The representation of women in Cabinet has steadily increased over the years with women currently constituting 42.8% of ministers.

Overall there has been a three fold increase in the number of women ministers appointed from 1997 to 2008. Many women ministers currently hold critical Cabinet portfolios. These include Foreign Affairs, Public Works, Land and Agriculture, and Justice and Constitutional Development, to name just a few.

Women hold 40% of deputy minister posts. Since the 2004 elections, four of the nine premiers that head provincial governments in South Africa are women. We have recorded two women Deputy Head of State since 1994. We currently have 20 women of the total of 48 ministers and deputy ministers at national level. In 1997, this figure was 12 women. South Africa has also been steadfast in creating an enabling environment conducive for the empowerment of women and children. A national concerted effort at the level of legislatures, remarkably so at national, provincial and local government levels is being made to advance women faster into senior management positions in the public sector.