DEPUTY PRESIDENT ZUMA MEETS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE WIDOWS' FORUM OF SOUTH AFRICA

Issued by: Office of the Presidency

14 August 2000

Deputy President, Jacob Zuma met with members of the National Executive Council of the South African Widow's Forum at his residence (OR Tambo House) this morning.

The meeting, whose purpose was to raise awareness amongst government leaders of the problems faced by widows, particularly in the black community, took place at the request of members of the Widows' Forum.

Black women whose husbands die often find themselves at the mercy of their in-laws and are sometimes subjected to all manner of abuse that range from sexual demands made by brothers-in-law as a cleansing ritual to having their property taken away by the in-laws.

The meeting agreed that many of the practices are illegal and unconstitutional yet many women often have no legal recourse.

The Forum had earlier held discussions with widowed women from other cultural groups, and it emerged that the problems they faced were unique in the black community.

They then decided to appeal to government to assist them to bring these issues into public debate, to raise awareness amongst South Africans on the abuse of culture taking place in their communities.

The main issues raised at the meeting with the Deputy President were as follows:

• The clash between traditional practices with regard to newly widowed females and the demands of modern society. Cultural practices are misused by the dead husbands' families to abuse the widows
• The abuse of women by their in laws after the death in terms of the various garments they are required to wear, the enforced lengthy period of mourning, alienation from society, and issues regarding children
• A request that the constitution be changed to cover their rights as human beings, specifically Chapter 2 of the Bill of Rights in the areas of equality and human dignity. They made a special plea to government to review this section of the constitutioo ensure that their rights are protected.

The Deputy President acknowledged that these were real problems in communities, and that he would like the Widows' Forum and his office to work together to resolve these issues.

He appealed to them to provide his office with more information so that government can take these issues up on their behalf. The Deputy President expressed a wish to see this initiative by the Widows' Forum grow into a bigger movement for the protections of the rights of women and children.

Answering a question from a member of the media, Deputy President Zuma said that he did not think that the government would be interfering with traditional authority structures in assisting these women, because their abuse should also be their concern as well.

Contact person: Mathula Magubane
082 371 1315