President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday explained that South Africa still had a long journey ahead to achieve gender equality, and that the gains made would be undone unless the government was vigilant and focused.

The President wrote in his weekly newsletter to the country that while the representation of women in the public service had increased dramatically over the last 25 years, South Africa had not seen similar progress in business or academia.

“In South Africa, as in many other parts of the world, women continue to bear the brunt of poverty and unemployment. They are less likely to own a business, less likely to be employed, less likely to be promoted,” he emphasised.

He went on to explain that the country had made significant advances in improving the lives of the country’s women in the social, political and economic spheres.

“We have advanced the rights of women and improved their representation in nearly all spheres. We have several gender-responsive laws around reproductive health, sexual orientation, access to justice, customary law, and protection against domestic and sexual violence.”
 
But Ramaphosa said vast discrepancies existed between the protection these laws offered and what women experienced.

He said South Africa would use its chairship of the African Union (AU), assumed last month, to dedicate 2020 to the economic and financial inclusion of African women.

He stated that South Africa would work with other AU member States to increase the percentage of State procurement that goes to women, and encourage member States to reduce barriers to entry for women-owned businesses.

“We will work to ensure that women benefit from the opportunities that will be created by the African Continental Free Trade Area, which comes into operation this year,” he added.

Gender-based Violence

Ramaphosa said although it had only been six months since the implementation of the Emergency Response Plan to combat gender-based violence, there had been demonstrable progress in key areas such as access to justice and support for victims, but that women and girls continued to die at the hands of men.
 
He explained that this year must be used to consolidate the country’s work around ending gender-based violence and urgently address deficiencies and shortcomings.

“We must address with equal vigour the issue of economic opportunities for women. We must strengthen existing mechanisms and frameworks to support women in economic activity, and ensure that new pathways are opened up,” said Ramaphosa.
 
The President stated that the women of South Africa and of the continent must be liberated from the shackles of patriarchy and oppression, but most of all they must be given the means to improve their material condition.

He said investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a direct path towards gender equality, poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth, adding that the government needed to ensure that it realised the full benefit of their contributions.