Date: 29/02/2012

Source: The Department of Women Children and People with Disabilities

Title: SA: Xingwana: Address by the Minister of Women Children and People with Disabilities, at the UN session of the commisssion on the status of women, New York

My delegation aligns itself with the statements delivered on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, the Africa Group and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

We welcome the Secretary-General’s report on the priority theme. We are particularly pleased that the report recognises South Africa’s best practices, including promoting women’s access to processing facilities, distribution and transport networks, which proved to be successful in assisting women tomato farmers in South Africa to produce and sell tomato products to retail supermarkets.

As we look to broaden the engagement of young women, men, boys and girls to advance gender equity, we welcome the recognition by the Secretary-General of South Africa’s progress in actively engaging men and boys. In this regard, we are doubling our efforts to ensure an increased number of men’s organisation’s involved in the advancement of gender equality.

South Africa continues to be committed to the Beijing Platform for action, CSW and CEDAW. In the context of South-South Cooperation, South Africa has established an important platform of engagement for women, including rural women with a number of African countries as well as India, China and Brazil.

We welcome the theme of the 56th Session of CSW “the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty eradication, development and current challenges” which is in line with the Declaration by African Heads of State and Government of 2010-2020 as the African Women’s Decade.

South Africa has prioritised the empowerment of rural women through the mainstreaming of gender as part of a Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP). Elements include providing access to funding, training, transfer of technology, building partnerships, ensuring food security, access to land as well as monitoring inequality in the redistribution of land.

Women in South Africa have always been at the forefront of the liberation struggle and they are still at the forefront of the continuing struggle for economic emancipation. South Africa has done well in political decision making for women. We have 44% women representation in Parliament and 43% women Cabinet Ministers. We are striving for parity and this year, my department will table the Gender Equity Bill in Parliament.

Enhancing rural women’s leadership and meaningful participation at parliamentary and local government levels, also with the participation of traditional, religious and civil organisations will ensure that more attention is given to meeting the needs of women and girls.

Women’s empowerment contributes to the achievement of MDG 1 on hunger and poverty reduction and to economic growth directly through women’s increased labour force participation, productivity and earnings.

In support of these objectives, the South African Government has indicated its commitment, including budget allocations to fund a massive infrastructure development programme as announced by President Zuma in his State of the Nation Address. This will be rolled-out over a number of years.

Government recognises education for women and girls as essential if we are to break the cycle of poverty and access to women’s health, especially decreasing maternal and child mortality and the negative impact of HIV and AIDS on women and girls.

We are happy to report that in the past year, as a result of an intensive advocacy programme, we have successfully reduced Mother to Child Transmissions (MTCT) of HIV by 50%. We will continue to build strong partnerships with civil society in working towards the objective of zero Mother to Child Transmission (MTCT).

It is in the empowerment of women that we can begin to make inroads to address the growing scourge of gender-based violence and in this regard our Deputy President will head the National Council Against Gender Based Violence to be established this year.

Women are disproportionately impacted by the negative effects of climate change due to their social roles, discrimination and poverty. As women are powerful agents of change, we must ensure active participation and consultation of women in environmental planning, financing, budgeting and policy-making processes.

Women also have the indigenous knowledge needed to increase food security, prevent environmental degradation and maintain agricultural biodiversity. Rural women must therefore be involved in all aspects of adaptation and mitigation efforts in their communities.

The financing for gender equality and the economic empowerment of women remains a critical area of work. We are convinced that gender-responsive budgeting can be a tool to promote women’s socio-economic rights.

South Africa has a progressive legislative environment. However, many rural women, children, and people with disabilities are still marginalised, with limited access to opportunities, resources, environments and technical support to afford them independence, dignity and self-sufficiency.

Underlying the polarising patriarchal and social constructs in our society are conservative gender and disability blind economic frameworks that constrain the development and implementation of policies, aimed at empowering women and vulnerable groups.

Budgets have been instrumental in perpetuating gender biases globally, however, they can be utilised as a tool to transform and redress existing gender and disability inequalities.