TUESDAY, 8 MARCH 2006 __

                    PROCEEDINGS AT JOINT SITTING

                                ____

Members of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces assembled in the Chamber of the National Assembly at 14:05.

The Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.

CELEBRATING INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY – SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN: YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW

                      (Subject for Discussion)

The MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS: Chairperson, hon Cabinet colleagues, hon members, veterans of the women’s struggle, women of the world, friends, today the world marks International Women’s Day and here at home we should thank Parliament and the Ministry of Arts and Culture for allowing us an opportunity to have this debate as part of our national celebrations.

On this day the South African nation should express solidarity with women all over the world where women and children continue to be affected by poverty, conflict and disease. We call on the world as a whole to give a thought to women and children in the Sudan and in Palestine, two nations with regard to which we, as peoples of the world, cannot justify our continued inaction in the face of human suffering resulting from conflict. We hope that the stalemate in Palestine can be resolved and also in the interests of the women of that country.

Having appreciated the power and impact of solidarity on our struggle here at home, the women of our country also express support for the role our government has been playing in brokering peace in major hot spots of conflict both on our continent and elsewhere in the world. We applaud these initiatives because of our understanding that women all over the world yearn for conditions of peace and stability.

The people of our country therefore will continue to stand behind our President as he leads this crusade for world peace, including the recent initiatives both in the Congo and lately in accepting the invitation to share our experiences of peace and stability with the people of Iraq.

As democracy and freedom dawned in our country in the previous decade, significant strides were also being made all over the globe to place issues of women’s emancipation firmly on the world agenda.

The national struggles of women in different countries have accumulated in a global, united effort to oppose and eradicate the subjugation of women in all spheres of our society. These global efforts have mainly been responsible for the progress made by humanity in the fight against the oppression of women.

The sitting of the UN conference on women in Beijing in 1995 was an important step in this regard. While it cannot be viewed in isolation from similar, previous engagements, the conference has done more to heighten the world’s attention to the plight of women all over the world and to develop a tangible programme of action against which the world can measure itself on progress made.

Recently we took note of a further statement by the Security Council bemoaning the lack of commitment by the UN Secretary-General to ensuring the representation of women in senior positions within the UN system. This development in the UN system demonstrates an antithesis to the UN’s commitment to the Beijing Platform for Action and really compels us to join the Security Council in condemning not the Secretary-General, but the entire system and to call on them to transform the system.

It would be important therefore, hon members, that this debate also serves to conduct a critical assessment of the world that women are living in today 11 years since the historic conference of women held in Beijing.

I’m sure that as we conduct this assessment, we will acknowledge frankly that the world that we live in, despite the progress we have made, is still one that is not safe for the majority of women. It is a world where war resulting from greed and graft has had the direst of impacts on the lives of women, a world where more and more continue to die of hunger and curable diseases, a world where many women live under the yoke of oppression in the name of religious bigotry and at times veiled under the oligarchy of traditional values and ordinances.

During the year 2003 the ANC women and many other women’s organisations around the world sought to engage directly with the systematic oppression of women by taking up a campaign to oppose the harsh sentence on a woman who was to be stoned to death for breaching these religious ordinances in Nigeria. This cruel and inhuman action resulted from those who sought to interpret religion in such a way that they can hide behind it in undermining the rights of women.

Two things that the campaign to save Amina Lawal showed us was that the struggle for women’s emancipation is still going to be a long and tedious one, and also that where humanity stands united without consideration for race, colour, national borders and creed, freedom can triumph over oppression.

The rest of the world therefore will have to take up the struggle against women’s oppression as a struggle that goes right to the heart of saving humanity. Comrade President Thabo Mbeki, as one of the ardent activists of such a cause, used the words of another distinguished activist, Olive Schreiner, to remind us of this fact, and I repeat the quote here:

Many women have now the vote, and a part of the governing power of their nation – all will have it soon. If we wish to use our power to its noblest end, we shall have to learn … that the freedom of all human creatures is essential to the full development of human life on earth. We shall have to labour, not merely for a larger freedom for ourselves, but for every subject, race and class, and for all suppressed individuals.

Of course, in the case of South Africa and many other societies, we should also be cautious of dealing with the issue of women’s emancipation in a manner that suggests that women are just a homogenous entity that is not affected by other social constructs such as class and race. The struggle for women’s emancipation therefore should be seen as a micro entity in the struggle to transform society as a whole. The women’s charter called for equality. It expressed this equality as the single principle that underlines all the other claims in the charter. In the context of the broad social movement for the transformation of our society, equality could never be fully achieved in narrow procedural terms, not when there are others who still can’t have access to basic conditions conducive to a decent quality of life.

The emancipation of women therefore should also entail the eradication of inequality within society and indeed inequality amongst women. The two should never be separated.

Hon members and friends, 50 years since the great women’s march of 1956 and 12 years into our democracy we need to enquire as to how well we are doing as a nation in this regard. Plainly put, are we still on track? The past decade has seen great strides by South African society to address the issue of equality, both with specific reference to women and within the broader context of our society.

The extent to which we have made progress in this regard has made it possible for us to declare boldly that as our country enters the age of hope, so are women marching along with the rest of our nation. This Age of Hope premised on the firm acknowledgement that today is better than yesterday has a meaning for women too.

Despite the strong institutional mechanisms that we have put in place, women have also experienced first-hand the benefit of social delivery programmes. Under the democratic government led by the ANC, women have been direct beneficiaries of our policy regimen, which has also ensured greater protection for women. Chief amongst these has been the direct intervention in fighting the scourge of domestic abuse.

Within this context we need to add our voices in condemning the actions of some of the protesters who are demonstrating in front of the High Court in Johannesburg at the rape trial of our former Deputy President. [Applause.]

It is despicable at the very least that some of these demonstrators have sought to abuse a complainant who has come out to seek society’s protection as an alleged victim of abuse. Without going into the merits or demerits of this case, society should be able to give her this support. [Applause.] It is unacceptable that after spending years fighting for the right of all individuals to express themselves freely, we should again be the ones who vilify someone who seeks to exercise this right.

I must reiterate our position that the right of our Deputy President of the ANC to be regarded as innocent until proven guilty should be respected, while, at the same time, we give our support to the woman at the centre of this trial during this difficult time. We should continue to defend the gains that we have made in both the emancipation and the protection of women as a nation. We have the duty to ensure that such gains are never ever reversed. These gains have been as a result of a conscious and deliberate plan informed by the significant importance the democratic government attaches to this matter.

For us in the ANC there has always been an established link that places the struggle for women’s emancipation as an integral part of our objective of building a South African society that is free, democratic, nonsexist and nonracial. It is for this reason that together with the rest of the South African society we join the rest of the women of the world in marking this day.

As we mark this day, therefore, we are also launching our programme for the celebration of the 50-year anniversary of the women’s march in 1956. We honour the many women – heroines – who have made a selfless contribution to the attainment of freedom and democracy in our country. This is also the day when women register an important achievement through the launching of the national steering committee for the establishment of the National Women’s Movement.

The establishment of a national movement will be the culmination of years of consultation by women from all walks of life who have united beyond sectoral differences to put in place a viable vehicle to enhance the struggle for women’s emancipation. We should congratulate women on this epoch-making achievement.

Hon members, we will remember that a few weeks ago we re-emphasised the ANC’s commitment to ensuring 50% representation of all local government councillors after the 1 March elections. Although the ANC pushed for this trajectory, it is now said, based on the list of all parties, that the election results show that just over 39% of women will become councillors in local government. Maybe it is high time that this House considers taking a bold move to ensure that all of us do not pay lip service to the issue of increasing the role of women in decision-making. Let us all walk the talk. [Applause.]

As we characterise the world that we live in beyond 1956 and beyond 1995, it is clear that we have a real challenge to further advance the gains that we have made. Most importantly, we need to do this so that those who are still not covered by some of these gains are able to equally enjoy the benefits of the progress we have made together in the emancipation of women and the transformation of our country.

Our programme of action for the second decade of freedom in the emancipation of women is fully integrated in all eight priority areas of focus for government. It highlights all our programmes that are integral to all these objectives. These objectives include a commitment to using the second decade of our freedom to eradicate poverty and underdevelopment, as well as to secure the safety and security of our people.

Given the progress we have registered so far, we are sure that we shall succeed. And, in this way, we shall ensure that indeed tomorrow shall be better than today. We salute you all.

Bboomama abakhoyo apha namhlanje. Xa nanisilwa, nisilwela le mini esiyifumeneyo, yenkululeko, naningazi ukuba kwakuze kube nje. Naninikela nje ngegazi lenu, ningazi nokuba niya kuphila na. Siyabulela ngobukho benu apha namhlanje. Enkosi. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)

[We salute all the women who are present here. When you fought for this day, freedom day, you were unaware that it would be like this. You just sacrificed your lives without knowing that you would still be alive today. We appreciate your presence here today. Thank you. [Applause.]]

Ms J A SEMPLE: Chairperson, today, as we as South African women celebrate International Women’s Day, we have much to be grateful for. Many women’s lives have changed unrecognisably for the better since the advent of democracy in 1994. Much progressive legislation has been passed, which has made an enormous difference to women’s lives. It has enhanced the quality of their lives and enabled them to seek legal protection, where necessary. A story in today’s The Star emphasises the case in point. Here is a picture of women in India picking the stalks off tons of chillies. These women earn a miserable five rupees, the equivalent of 60 cents, for every 20 kg of chillies they clean. Twenty kilograms is one huge amount of chillies for 60 cents. Thankfully, those days are mostly past for South African women doing unskilled work. We have strict labour legislation in place enforcing minimum wages and basic working conditions – legislation which is supported by the DA, contrary to much popular opinion. There are, however, still too many unscrupulous employees who take advantage of many women’s desperate need for work. They must be rooted out and take the full consequence of the law.

South African legislatures are rightly proud of the Domestic Violence Act, yet many women in our country still do not know what protection this offers them. Even worse, those that are supposed to protect them are often unsure of exactly what the legislation means. Even when they do, they are powerless to protect victims of family violence because there are so few places of shelter for women and children. This means that the abused have little choice but to go back to the family home and the abuser; the only other option available - a prison cell.

We need to educate women, especially rural communities, so that people whom the law serves are aware of their rights. Awareness and education around the rights of women should form part of the school syllabus to do away with the cycle of violence in our society.

All South Africans are currently enthralled by the drama unfolding in the Johannesburg High Court. This high-profile case once again emphasises how often the accuser in the rape case is somehow held responsible for being raped. The way this particular rape survivor is being treated must be condemned in the strongest possible terms regardless of the merits of the case. No wonder so many rape survivors do not even bother to report the rape.

I have said it before and I will say it again: The clothes that a woman chooses to wear do not mean that she is asking to be raped. Men, no matter who they are, or what position they hold, must learn that when a woman says no to sexual intercourse she means no. Even the fact that a woman might be your wife does not mean that you, as a man, have a right to force yourself on her. If there is one message that can go out from today’s debate, it must be to give hope to all victims of gender-based violence and all rape survivors. When a woman says no, she means no.

Trafficking of women and children is another scourge on our society and one that takes place throughout the world. It has taken place in the past; it takes place now; and it will continue to take place, as long as we allow it. Trafficking is defined by the UN as the recruitment and transportation of a human being from a safe place to a place where they are exploited, either through force or deceit for sexual labour, slave labour and farm work or harvesting. People are tricked, sold and bought for the purpose of exploitation, which includes working in people’s homes as domestics and as prostitutes on streets, in homes, hotels and in brothels against their will.

Human trafficking has become a major moneymaking operation for individuals, gangs and syndicates in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and other parts of South Africa. Molo Songololo, a South African NGO, has revealed trafficking takes place across South Africa’s borders both into and from South Africa, as well as within its borders. Throughout the world, human beings are trafficked into forced labour, illegal adoptions, forced marriages; for begging and criminal activities; to transport and sell narcotics; into gangs, conflicts and armies; for their organs and body parts or cult rituals; and for sexual exploitation, which includes prostitution and pornography. To me, trafficking is the equivalent of slavery, something that should have disappeared a long, long time ago.

As we speak now in this Parliament, in 2006, human trafficking is still not a criminal offence in South Africa. The extent of this problem is therefore not known. We do not know how many people are trafficked within and over our borders, and perpetrators cannot be prosecuted for this gross crime against humanity.

Once the Children’s Bill is enacted by the President, the trafficking of children will be illegal. The Law Commission is still working on the issue of human trafficking and the Sexual Offences Bill will also deal, in part, with trafficking.

We, as Parliament, need to urgently deal with this problem, and get the legislation passed and enacted so that South Africa no longer acts as a haven for this terrible crime. Let us make this commitment on International Women’s Day, 2006. [Applause.]

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: Chairperson, hon members, today is International Women’s Day – and I see a lot of women in the gallery. It is with great excitement and a sense of achievement that we join in with all the women of the world to celebrate this day. As we speak, I am sure our diplomatic missions are busy and are very active beyond our borders, and engaged in similar activities celebrating this day.

According to history, the first International Women’s Day was held on 19 March 1911, in Germany, Austria, Denmark and in a few other European countries. This date was chosen because a Prussian king who had promised in about 1848 to grant women the right to vote had failed to live up to his word. However, after the strike of the women -workers in the US, the strike that was popularly known as the “bread and roses strike”, 8 March was then declared International Women’s Day. For us, this year we observe International Women’s Day in a special way to give it meaning, context and relevance. We are marking this day not only to link the struggles and achievements of South African women with all the women of the world but also to launch a yearlong programme of commemorating and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the women’s antipass march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria in 1956.

We in South Africa have chosen the theme, “Age of Hope through our struggle to freedom” for all the anniversaries that we plan to have this year, including this 50th anniversary of the women’s march to the Union Buildings. And, this should set the tone and lends momentum to the thought and leadership that will accelerate the emergence of a women’s movement.

We are proud to acknowledge in our midst some of our veterans that the first speaker had referred to, including some of those women who marched on that historic day in 1956 – and here I might just mention Mrs Sophia de Bruyn and Mrs Bertha Gxowa, who is a member of Parliament, amongst others.

Contribution of all women, even those that I have not mentioned like Amina Cachalia, and the contribution of those comrades who have passed away, have paved the way towards the total freedom of women. It has afforded me as a person and as an individual, as well as all the other women in the Executive, and other women in other positions of leadership, an equal opportunity with our male counterparts to serve our nation.

Challenging and changing the devaluation and oppression of women in this society is central to any effort to give meaning to high principles and ideals enshrined in our Constitution. From the research that I have done, it is clear that for centuries African women were pioneers when it came to resisting the wholesale, contemptuous defamation of women in the cultural, economic and political system. We may want to rewrite our history to accurately reflect and record the powerful contribution that women made.

Prior even to the establishment of the ANC in 1912, women in this country were already engaged in a militant struggle to resist oppression under a male-dominated, white, racist government. In March 1912 the so-called native and coloured women in the Orange Free State had sent a petition to Prime Minister Louis Botha - no relation of mine - demanding the repeal of pass laws that condemned African people to an inferior status - I disown him. [Laughter.]

It is important to note that when a delegation showed up in his office to hand him the demands, the then Prime Minister was nowhere to be found. That should tell you something about women power. Wathinta abafazi wathint’imbokodo. Uzakufa! [You have touched a woman, you have struck a rock. You are going to die!]

In 1994, our first President of a democratic South Africa, uTata Nelson Mandela, made it very clear even two years before our Constitution was adopted that there can be no genuine freedom without the total liberation of women in our society. And he said – I like quoting this, because I love it:

It is vitally important that all structures of government, including the President himself should understand this fully that freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression.

This statement affirms that the degradation of women, especially in the name of culture, undermines the principles, values and ideals enshrined in our Constitution.

We are, and we should be particularly concerned about how our own arts, culture and heritage policies impact on the quality of life and the status of women. For example, in the usage of language there is an inherent degradation on the integrity of women. Sometimes women cannot even express themselves as freely as they would like to. I am just thinking of my isiXhosa culture: I am talking about ukuhlonipha [respect] where, when a woman has to talk about imali [money] she has to talk about tyhoborhai because her husband’s surname is Mali [money].

Another example is that a large number of crafters are women – I won’t mention the other degrading words that people use – who earn a living and support their families and communities through crafts; and yet their contribution is not taken into account when it comes to capturing economic growth statistics.

It also becomes urgent for us as government to address the unresolved issues of intellectual property rights to ensure that the benefits accrued to the original producer of the craft item, for example the Ndebele doll. I’m sure everybody knows that China is about to mass-produce the Ndebele doll, which will benefit all the other parties except the women who created the item.

Similarly, our government needs to ensure that the cultural policy is also responsive to the needs of women of South Africa, particularly when creating human settlements. Cultural planning should underpin physical development, that it is safe and secure and ensures that the values people hold for the place where they live are protected and reflected in the way government plans, approves and provides infrastructure and services.

I would strongly suggest that we revisit and review the arts, culture and heritage policy as well as existing legislation that impede the total development and emancipation of women.

However, women cannot attain total emancipation from all forms of oppression, as uTata Mandela said, unless women liberate themselves from the inner shackles of fear, a sense of inferiority, guilt, doubt and all other mind-sets and self-undermining that inhibit their total development and emancipation.

Women have to be encouraged and supported so that they truly believe that they are free to take the leadership role and become the person that they want to be in society, live their lives to the fullest the way they want, and strive for the goals that they have set for themselves as individuals.

All women, including those that regard themselves as just ordinary women, must free themselves from the shackles and step forward to participate fully in the social, cultural, economic and political development that is heralded by this age of hope. In fact, there can be no nation-building, no social cohesion, no democracy, and no positive values until women attain total freedom to be themselves.

As we launch the yearlong programme marking the 50th anniversary of the march of the women - I believe there were more than 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings - we embrace the reality that they have been active in the struggle for emancipation and empowerment at individual and also at collective levels.

If we want to eradicate poverty, define our identity as a society, have democracy and transcend the barriers that keep us apart, women must not only assume positions of leadership and decision-making, but they should be given opportunities to participate meaningfully in shaping the identity and determining the future of our nation. Simply put, International Women’s Day is about granting women the freedom that they have fought so hard for. This is indeed the age of hope. It is up to all of us to give it meaning, to give it context and the relevance it deserves. Today is indeed better than yesterday. But it is up to all of us to make tomorrow even better than today. Malibongwe Igama Lamakhosikazi! [Let the women’s name be praised!] [Applause.]

Ms S C VOS: Chairperson, our theme today has alternated between “South African Women: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” and now “Celebrating International Women’s Day in an Age of Hope Through Struggle and Freedom.” Whatever the emphasis, only fools, obviously, deny the injustices of the past and present perpetrated against women all around the world in a myriad of ways.

Whether black, white or brown, rich or poor, Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist, it is accepted that throughout much of recorded history women have been subjected to various forms of discrimination. This has denied women, irrespective of race, class or creed, their equal rights and socioeconomic and political mobility alongside men within their societies. The legacy of this gender discrimination lives with us today here in South Africa, elsewhere throughout Africa, in India, Asia and Europe, and in the countries of the Pacific and indeed in the Americas. We are not unique.

That this day is celebrated internationally obviously tells its own story, and it is good that we do so. But, beyond our words today, obviously must come deeds, as we have heard from other speakers. The freedom that we talk about so often, since our political liberation, is a complex freedom and comes with very severe limitations at present for many South African women.

Statistics reveal the plight of women and their children caught in the horror of wars throughout the world today and yesterday; the rape and abuse of women and children in their homes and communities around the globe today and yesterday.

The cruelty of apartheid with its legacy is, however, our own shame and our own burden. Its pulverising effect, on black women in particular, can be seen today and will be seen tomorrow in our cities, towns and villages.

So today we look back and reflect on women and issues of gender in South Africa, as they have existed. And then, I think, we must look as honestly as we can at ourselves today and somehow gaze into a crystal ball called tomorrow, the future. What we do know today is that formal education, skills development and equal opportunities are key enablers to unlocking the shackles that bind so many millions of women to poverty, illiteracy and lives of humiliation and servitude.

Since 1994 the empowerment of many women in certain spheres throughout our society has been remarkable, and we do indeed live in an age of hope. We only have to look at the Cabinet of our country, this National Assembly and the growing numbers of women in provincial and local governments to see the hope having been transferred into reality.

But having emerged, as we all have, from local government elections - I see exhausted faces here - a week ago today, I would like to reflect on what many of us saw as we went from door to door in the townships of our country. I walked the streets of Hanover Park and into the backyard homes of shack-dwellers, and I climbed the stairs of monuments to apartheid, the tenements in Elsie’s River. What I saw shocked me. It is not as if I did not know that this kind of poverty exists to the extent that it does. None of us is blind to this fact. We have seen it all before. Many in this House have experienced poverty first-hand.

The local government elections forced many of us to glimpse through new windows throughout our land. Day after day we met the people we have sworn to serve and to give hope to. The abject poverty of the women and children I met in the Cape Town Metro was terrible.

We can all tell the same stories throughout this country. My story is indeed not unique, but I ask myself what the future holds for these women and their growing families – mostly unemployed and functionally illiterate

• as they survive day to day in overcrowded slums rife with domestic violence amidst drug and alcohol abuse and gang warfare. Some were holding children stricken with foetal alcohol syndrome while others cradle infants already scarred by violence. I was quite traumatised to see the number of children with scars on their heads, their faces and the rest of their bodies.

Social grants buy food for some and drugs. I have seen babies sucking water, not milk, from bottles as their mothers imbibe cheap wine. And their world is not one of hope but of despair.

These elections should have taught many of us many lessons, some obviously political. The real lesson for me is that we all have much to do before we can celebrate the true emancipation of women in South Africa and, of course, elsewhere around the world. We must all work together to achieve this.

These days devoted to women must remind us over and over again that there is much work to be done to heal and to empower the poorest of the poor in our land, and, in so doing, the families to which these women are a central and critical force. Thank you. [Applause.]

The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION: Hon Chairperson, “Yesterday, today and tomorrow”; as we reflect on this, it is an opportunity for us, women and men of South Africa, women and men of the world, to review and reflect quite dispassionately about our past and our present, and also to look towards our future in a manner that will indeed indicate with confidence that what we are building today is with the intention of providing sustainability in the future.

Betty Friedan, in 1963, said:

Who knows what women can be when they are finally free to become themselves? Who knows what women’s intelligence will contribute when it has been nourished without denying love? Who knows of the possibilities of love when men and women share not only children, home and garden, not only the fulfilment of their biological roles, but the responsibilities and passions of the work that creates human future, and the full human knowledge of who they are? It has barely begun, the search of women for themselves. But the time is at hand when the voices of the feminine mystique can no longer drown out the inner voice that is driving on women to become complete.

That was 1963.

In the input that was made earlier today by the Minister of Home Affairs and other colleagues, we spoke about our journey when women in our country were responding to their inner voice, a larger voice informed by the liberation of and freedom of all the people.

Women’s liberation implies not only fundamental changes for women, but also the freedom of all people. The idea of the liberation or emancipation of women implies and necessitates the liberation of all people, the vision of women leading all people towards a better world, a world of peace, a world free from want, a better life for all, a world free of violence - and that freedom must also be granted to Kwezi - and a world free from disease.

The actions and struggles of the liberation movement and the women within it have included mass struggles, and these struggles included the struggle for women’s rights and for changes in the institutions that affect women’s lives. These struggles include the fight for equal legal and reproductive rights, and ending sexual violence, to mention some of the big issues.

As we celebrate “International Women’s Day: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” and we look at 97 years of struggle, in terms of International Women’s Day, we pay tribute to the many, many ordinary women as makers of history - mothers, sisters, daughters, workers, writers, labourers, social activists and politicians.

We look at all those women who have broken through glass barriers and ceilings, who have broken through the constructions of patriarchy and male privilege and power. Today we celebrate the acts of courage and determination of ordinary women who have played extraordinary roles in the history and development of human rights and of women’s rights. They are women who have made their mark in history, women who have made their mark in their communities and in their homes - a mark that impacts on society as a whole.

We can think about the many ordinary women. We can think of women like “La Pasionaria”, Isabelle Ibarruri, a woman that played a pivotal role in the Spanish Civil War. We think about our own maMofokeng who started community service in 1937, and who actually later recruited her husband Oom Gov into the SA Communist Party.

We think of the active members of the Garment Workers Union. We think of Manzanga who is here in Parliament and many others because, you see, our yesterday goes into our today and will flow into our tomorrow. It is not so separate and distinct.

As we celebrate, we must also celebrate our Constitution, a Constitution that was formulated by men and women who are founding parents of the Bill of Rights, which entrenches the rights of all people of our country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity and equality and freedom.

Equality for women says that women are equal before the law and have the right to equal protection and the benefit of the law. It elaborates on the full and equal enjoyment of all rights, and the freedom in order to ensure this. It refers to legislative and other measures designed to protect or advance persons or categories of persons.

We should not take the importance of our Constitution for granted, or the legislation that will enforce it. These instruments are important to entrench the gains that we have achieved since our yesterday, and in order to ensure that those gains are never rolled back. One can make some rather parochial references to what our past has been so that we never forget our yesterday.

Let me just go into the Public Service quickly. Prior to 1994 and prior to 1996, female employees contributed six per cent to pensions and male employees contributed eight per cent. Female employees’ spouses did not receive any pension upon the death of a female employee. This was changed in 1996. In terms of housing, women employees did not qualify unless single and with dependants. This was addressed in 1995. In terms of employment practice, upon marriage, status was changed in the Public Service from permanent to temporary and this impacted on salary and pensions. It is about our yesterday, that we can so easily forget, as we look at today, and forget why we need to entrench and protect the gains.

Let us look internationally, and I want to take you on a journey, on a march. We will start in Mexico City in 1975 when the first World Women’s Conference took place. That conference, the Women’s CO, was devoted to intensifying action to promote equality between men and women, to ensure the full integration of women in the total development effort, and to increase women’s contribution to the strengthening of world peace. That was

1. Some of us were teenage girls at that point.

In 1980, the mid-point of the decade, the Copenhagen World Women’s Conference adopted the programme of action for the second half of the UN decade. It looked at equality, development and peace, and further elaborated on the existing obstacles or existing international consensus measures to be taken for the advancement of women.

What was important at that point was the participation of women in development processes, the issues that came to the fore, both for agents and beneficiaries in the development process. The strategy that was adopted called for appropriate measures to be taken. It was about profound change, socially and economically, to eliminate the structural imbalances that maintained women’s inequality and disadvantages in society. We went on to Africa in 1985 and the Nairobi Women’s Conference, which was a critical moment for the developing world. There we looked at forward- looking strategies for the advancement of women.

We looked at equality, development and peace, and by this stage, the teenage girls were young women. They were mature women and there are many of them sitting in this House today, and some of them are in the gallery. At that point, Gertrude Shope occupied the South African government seats under protest, because the ANC was not part of the UN, but the South African women took their place both in the nongovernmental conference and in the government conference. [Applause.]

We then marched on to Beijing, and the Beijing Platform for Action, in 1995, was adopted by 189 member states. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is a global agenda for human rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Our then Minister of Health, now Minister of Foreign Affairs, led the South African delegation. We must say that that programme of action was arrived at through a process of intense dialogue, great debate and engagement between and among governments, international organisations and civil societies.

The programme of action was developed and built on decisions that had come from the long march that had started out in Mexico City, that went through Copenhagen, onto Nairobi and then to Beijing.

I raise the Beijing Platform of Action because there were fundamental areas in the platform of action that were won in Beijing, adopted by 189 countries, and that included economic rights and the reproductive rights of women. It was much debated.

We then went on to 2005. We went on to New York, to the 49th Special Session of the Committee on the Status of Women. I assume that the sound in the background is just the applause for women, and the crackers going off in celebration! [Applause.] It cannot be sabotage at this point in time.

As we went to the 49th special session, what stuck in our minds was the attempt by certain countries to roll back the achievements that 189 countries had voted on in Beijing, the fact that there was an unashamed attempt to roll back the achievements of women. There is a responsibility on us to ensure that we don’t ever lose the ground we have gained.

I want to talk about our regional processes in building up to the 49th special session. A plan of action was drafted by the Seventh African Regional Conference to look at how we ensure that there is accelerated delivery against the Beijing Platform for Action, and this was a decision taken by all African countries.

An important factor was the focus. In our national context, it was the focus on the second economy and the emphasis on accelerated delivery. The difficulty that we must acknowledge, and this is what we need to look at on this International Women’s Day, is how do we ensure the consolidation of women on the continent, women in government and women outside of government, because we never really stuck to the regional conference’s decision.

It was a difficulty. The AU itself had, prior to New York, decided that the 50/50 parity principle must be replicated, and implemented at all levels - national, subregional and regional.

We need to say that in terms of the outcome of the 49th session, African countries did not use this document as a base, and thus, the African position contained in the document was not always possible to obtain.

A striking example was the absence of African delegations from the negotiations around economic empowerment and women. This particular resolution was put to a vote because there were particular aspects that countries attempted to push through, but the developing world and progressive women won the vote at the 49th session. The rights of women once again prevailed. [Applause.] We need to ensure that today’s input will be sustained into tomorrow. We should ensure that we always prevail and lay the foundation for the future. There were many successes … [Time expired.][Applause.]

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon members, I am advised that there is something wrong with our sound system. Unfortunately, I will have to suspend the debate for ten minutes for the technicians to get it sorted out.

The House will be adjourned for ten minutes, and then we will come back again to the House.

Business suspended at 15:00 and resumed at 15:21.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thanks, hon members, for your patience. I was just trying to get myself organised here.

Mrs A N D QIKANI: Deputy Chair, hon members, the South African women of yesteryear faced an incredibly unequal and often unfair dispensation. A mere century ago patriarchal systems still demanded that women should be little more than household slaves responsible for preparing food and providing sexual satisfaction and children to their male partners. That was the best-case scenario for the majority of women, because outside of that limited environment the only thing that a woman could really become was either a prostitute or a nun. Socially, politically and economically women were second-class citizens.

Halfway through the 20th century these things began to change. Great tides of new thinking swept through the international and local gender scenes. The idea of feminism became an organised political movement, inspired debate and reformed reproductive freedom, sexual rights and greater and more equal economic participation for women.

Locally the struggle against apartheid came into full swing at the same time as these international gender trends. The role of women in the fight against oppression and the rights of women in the new democratic dispensation are therefore intertwined. Hence the Constitution contains such a strong and undeniable gender equality foundation.

Akukho mntu ubaluleke njengomama eluntwini. Ngumama okwaziyo ukujonga ikhaya, ukuqalela kutata ukuya kutsho ebantwaneni. Abona bantu baninzi abangafumani msebenzi ngoomama, nabona bantu baninzi bangafundanga. Imbangi yoko kukuba ngeli xesha abafana besiya esikolweni, oomama namantombazana bajonge ikhaya.

Kuse kuninzi ekufuneka urhulumente ekujonge ngeliso elibukhali nangamandla amakhulu: indlela esixhatshazwa ngayo ngokudlwengulwa nokuhlaselwa.

Kuninzi nesithe sakufumana singoomama. Ukukwazi ukubonakala sibamba izikhundla ezikhulu kona bekufanele, ngoba sithi abajonge amakhaya, sikwangabacebisi ngezezimali kuwo. Lilonke, Sekela-Sihlalo, umama yintsika yekhaya. Alikho ikhaya ngaphandle komama. Enkosi. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)

[No one is as important as a woman in life. A woman looks after her home, from the husband to the children. The majority of people who are unemployed and illiterate are women. The reason for that is that when male children go to school, women and girls take care of the household.

Our government has, as another one of its responsibilities, to look at matters of violence against women, rape and abuse.

There have been considerable changes and gains we can count as some of our achievements, however. We now hold certain strategic positions and that is only logical as we are not only managers of our own homes, but financial managers too. All in all, Deputy Chairperson, a woman is the pillar. A home is not a home without a woman. Thank you. [Applause.]]

Ms F BATYI: Hon Deputy Speaker, hon members, today we are celebrating the 69th International Women’s Day. The theme of this year, “Women in Decision- Making: Meeting Challenges, Creating Change”, I believe is one of grave importance especially to the female members of this House, who represent all the women in the South African population. On numerous occasions South Africa has been praised for its vast efforts to promote gender equity at decision-making levels, including this House, and yet the ID strongly believes that so much more can be done.

So many women in South Africa are still extremely marginalised, with no one to hear their plight or voice, or their concerns in order to help them overcome everyday challenges, such as disrespect, sexual violence, and gender-based discrimination.

In many instances women are still blamed for these occurrences owing to past established male stereotyping. However, we as the legislative powerhouse of this country can contribute to the meeting of these challenges and create positive and substantial change.

We must make school attendance by all girl-children a priority. Women must be educated about their rights from the girl-child level up. Leadership initiatives and programmes focused on young women must be implemented.

As mothers we must also stop our boys from becoming brats that demand to be spoilt by their wives. The ID has always had the vision of bridging the divides in our society, including the gender divide. This is our dream for the future of women in South Africa. I would like to conclude with a quote from Mary Wollstonecraft, a famous writer and philosopher, and I quote:

Women ought to have representatives, instead of being arbitrarily governed without any direct share allowed them in the deliberations of government.

This, hon members, is the ID’s message today. I thank you. [Applause.]

The MINISTER OF HEALTH: Deputy Speaker, Cabinet, colleagues and compatriots, International Women’s Day celebrates the stories of ordinary women as makers of history.

It is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on a mutual footing with men. As early as the French Revolution, Parisian women calling for liberty and equality marched on Versailles to demand women’s right to vote. Many events and activities took place since then that ultimately led to the declaration of International Women’s Day, including the signing of the UN Charter in San Francisco in 1945, which proclaimed for the first time gender equality as a fundamental human right.

South Africa joined other UN member states in adopting the Millennium Development Goals - at least six of those goals relate to the challenges affecting women. The attainment of these goals by 2015 will indeed lead to a significant improvement in the socioeconomic status of women and in efforts to achieve gender equality. These goals are: eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; achieving universal access to primary education; promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women; reduction of child mortality; improvement of maternal health; and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

As the Secretary-General of the UN said at the adoption of these goals:

We cannot win overnight. Success will require sustained action across the entire decade between now and the deadline. It takes time to train the teachers, nurses and engineers; to build the roads, schools and hospitals; to grow the small and large businesses able to create the jobs and income needed. So we must start now.

South Africa started in 1994, with the attainment of our freedom and democracy, to address most of these issues that the ANC recognises as critical to the development of women of our country. South Africans understand that we cannot achieve these goals overnight and that is why they continue to express their confidence in the ANC, giving it further mandates through the electoral processes to sustain the actions aimed at improving the lives of women and children, the youth, the elderly, people with disabilities and the rest of our population.

Government has indeed made progress in improving the lives of the poor, women and children over the past 11 years. More than 1 600 clinics have been built or upgraded focusing mainly on rural areas. Hospitals are being improved and free primary health care service is available to all, including free health care for pregnant and lactating women, children under six years and people with disabilities. The proportion of births that were attended to by either a nurse or a doctor has increased from 84% in 1998 to 92% in 2003. The main factors impacting on maternal deaths, as well as infant and child mortality, are being addressed and as a result the infant and child mortality, including maternal death rates, are decreasing year after year.

We continue to intensify the implementation of the expanded programme of immunisation, integrated management of childhood illnesses and school health services to improve the health of our children. Close to 80% of our health facilities were providing comprehensive services to reduce the risk of mother to child transmission of HIV by the end of last year, and these services are being expanded to other facilities. More than 3,9 million households receive free basic water and free basic electricity reaches 2,9 million households. These are programmes that are making a real difference to the daily lives of women whose health would otherwise have been compromised because of no access to these basic services.

We have brought freedom to millions of women whose participation in the socioeconomic activities have been limited by the daily struggle of fetching unsafe water from faraway streams and collecting wood from distant forests.

I would like to reaffirm to this House that the main body of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act is not in any way under threat as a result of the Constitutional Court case lodged against this Act and three other pieces of legislation. This Act has been effective in reducing cases of illegal termination of pregnancy and has brought hope and saved the lives of many women. The case relates only to amendments that seek to improve efficiency in the implementation of this Act by devolving to the MECs for Health the powers which were previously held by the Minister to designate the facilities that can provide the termination of pregnancy services. The amendment also allows registered nurses and midwives who have undergone appropriate training to perform termination of pregnancy.

We are concerned about the major challenges posed by the consumption of alcohol on the health of women and children, particularly with regard to the number of children affected by foetal alcohol syndrome. For the sake of the health of women and children of our country, we are moving ahead with the effort to put warning labels on the containers of alcohol products. These warnings are aimed at raising public awareness about negative health and social effects of alcohol, including the risk of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

South Africa’s tobacco control efforts have been recognised through our appointment as vice-chairperson for the African Region in the global implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. As we play this role, we are aware that tobacco companies have increasingly turned their focus to the developing world with aggressive marketing campaigns aimed at women and girls. The World Health Organisation states that in many countries in the developed and developing world, light and low-smoke cigarettes are preferred brands of women who may believe that they are healthier products. The tobacco industry has exploited this belief and promoted the image of cigarettes as having low risks. The truth is that a cigarette is a carefully designed nicotine delivery system and is bad for anyone’s health, women and men alike.

We cannot deny the challenges that still face many women in their struggle for emancipation from triple oppression based on class, gender and race. As you remember the heroic action of women who marched on the Union Buildings in Pretoria 50 years ago, we commit to continue playing our role as government in the socioeconomic emancipation of our women. We will continue to empower women to prevent the spread of communicable diseases such as HIV/Aids, TB and malaria. We are encouraging women to lead healthy lifestyles and undergo health screening to reduce the risk of acquiring noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, breast cancer and cervical cancer. Efforts are also being made to protect women from violence and comprehensive services for care of survivors of sexual offences are being expanded.

There is no doubt that the age of hope has dawned amongst millions of women of South Africa and these women are seizing the opportunities brought about by our national liberation. Of course, we can depend on women to ensure healthy families and nations. Viva the women of South Africa, Africa and the world! Viva South African women, yesterday, today and tomorrow! [Applause.]

Ms H LAMOELA: Madam Speaker, women have been, and continue to be, a major strength in South Africa. With more than 90% of our families headed by and supported by women they had to endure many struggles. Women struggle under the triple jeopardy of racism, sexism and classism more than any other segment of our society. From the boardroom to the church, division is clearly still projected, in spite of having proven their abilities and potential in order to secure respect and understanding.

Today my focus is on women who have beaten the odds, survived the struggles and gained strength and character through the difficult and challenging situations our country has faced. Iemand vra eendag die welbekende skilder Amos Langdown, onlangs oorlede, waarom geeneen van die vroue in sy skilderye glimlag nie. Kalm antwoord hy: “Wie kan glimlag as jy so ’n swaar drag hout op jou kop dra?”

Ek kan nie anders nie as om ’n gevoel van ontevredenheid te ervaar as ek terugdink aan ons eie Saartjie Baartman wat in volle glorie teruggebring is na Suid-Afrika om vir altyd tussen haar eie broers en susters te ruste gelê te word; ’n vrou wat in elke opsig verneder, gebruik en uitgelewer is aan die noodlot; ’n vrou wat die mees ongevraagde omstandighede moes deurmaak. Groot ophef is van haar begrafnis gemaak en met trompetgeskal en in groot getalle het ons haar vaarwel toegeroep.

Vandag, ná bykans drie jaar, is dit hartseer om te sê dat dié vrou heeltemal vergete is. Verlate in die Hankey-gebied is haar graf met struike toegegroei; geen rigtingwyser eens om die plek waar sy begrawe is aan te dui nie; geen toeris om die spesiale vrou van gister se graf te besoek nie. Sou sy ooit kon glimlag met ’n drag hout nog só swaar op haar kop?

Nog so ’n vrou is Sindiwe Magona van Gugulethu, vandag een van ons beroemdste skrywers. Haar erkenning het in die buiteland geskied, nie eens in haar eie land nie. Tans reeds besig met haar agtste boek, bekwaam sy haar in die sestigerjare as onderwyseres en op agtienjarige ouderdom tree sy toe tot die onderwys. Ongelukkig raak sy swanger en moet sy noodgedwonge die onderwys verlaat. Sy trou en skenk geboorte aan nog twee kinders.

Weens werkverlies verlaat haar man haar en is sy genoodsaak om as ’n huishulp, destyds bediende, te werk om die pot aan die kook te hou. Menige aande wanneer sy letterlik niks vir die kinders te ete gehad het nie, het sy hulle om die tafel laat sit en sonder dat hulle dit besef het, slegs ’n pot water op die stoof gesit om voor te gee dat sy kos kook, wetende dat dit net ’n pot water is. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Somebody one day asked the well-known painter Amos Langdown, who recently died, why none of the women in his paintings are smiling. He calmly answered: “Who can smile if you are carrying such a heavy load of wood on your head?”

I cannot help but to feel dissatisfied when I think back to our own Saartjie Baartman who was brought back to South Africa in full glory, to be forever laid to rest amongst her brothers and sisters; a woman who had been humiliated in every respect, used and abandoned to her fate; a woman who had to suffer the most uncalled-for circumstances. A big fuss was made of her funeral and with fanfare and in large numbers we bade her farewell.

Today, after almost three years, it is very sad to say that this woman has been completely forgotten. Her abandoned grave in the Hankey area is overgrown with shrubs; not even a sign to indicate the place where she was laid to rest; not a single tourist to visit the grave of this extraordinary woman of yesterday. Would she ever be able to smile with a load of wood weighing that heavily on her head?

Another woman like this is Sindiwe Magona from Gugulethu, one of our most well-known writers today. She received recognition overseas, but not in her own country. Already busy with her eighth book, she is qualified who as teacher in the sixties and at the age of eighteen started with her teaching career. Unfortunately she fell pregnant and was compelled to leave teaching. She got married and gave birth to two more children.

Due to unemployment her husband left her and she was compelled to work as a housekeeper, a maid at that time, to make ends meet. Many nights when she literally had nothing to give the children to eat, she would let them sit at the table and, without them realising, she would only have a pot of water on the stove, pretending that she was cooking food, knowing all the while that it was just a pot of water.]

History can be a great teacher. It authorises the wise to learn from the past in ways that will enable the mistakes of yesteryear to be weighed carefully for the purpose of building a healthier future. I am now convinced that women are the ones holding homes together, willing to work at the most menial jobs to help support families. These unsung heroines have been sidelined through trying times.

Do we ever think of who are the first to be affected by job losses, lack of water and electricity, failure of maintenance of their households? Surely they are the first to suffer. It is rather sad to recall that this happened to the women of yesterday, it is happening to the women of today and I shudder to think that this might happen to the women of tomorrow.

Terwyl Mina, ’n vrou van ’n arm visserman op die Weskus, nog vier vissies vir ete vir haar kinders by haar buurman moet gaan bedel, terwyl sy nog ’n geldjie vir ’n broodjie moet gaan soek, terwyl viskwotas nog nie regmatig aan haar man toegestaan word nie, ken sy nooit die ware betekenis van demokrasie en gelykheid vir almal wat hierin vasgevang is nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[While Mina, the wife of a poor fisherman on the West Coast, has to beg her neighbour for another four fishes, while she still has to go looking for money to buy a scrap bread, and while fishing quotas have not yet been rightfully allocated to her husband, she will never know the true meaning of democracy or equality for all who are trapped in these circumstances.]

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: It is not the population; it is not the beautiful cities; it is not mineral resources; it is not crops – no, no, no - that make a nation. The kind of people that the country turns out at every stage in the development process is what constitutes a great nation.

Het u vergeet van ons eie Rhoda Kadalie, een van nege kinders van ’n township-predikant? Sy’t gebuk gegaan onder moeilike, versukkelde omstandighede, maar is gewis ’n geharde en toegewyde individu. Deur die wet op groepsgebiede moes sy vyf skole bywoon omdat hulle weens die apartheidsbeleid van die een area na ’n ander moes trek.

Tog word sy later dosent aan die UWK, en tans is sy direkteur van die Impumelelo Innovations Award Trust, wat self met die verligting van armoede help. Miskien kan sy vandag glimlag omdat die drag hout nie meer so swaar op haar kop druk nie.

Ek sidder om te dink dat dogters wat tans leerders aan die Groenheuwel Primêre Skool op Hermon is, dogters soos Vanessa en Calvinia, hulle lewe waag deur die gevaarlike elemente van die Bergrivier te trotseer net om op ’n skoolbank te kan sit. Uitgelewer aan armoede en omstandighede, veg hulle doelgerig en moedig voort om ook eendag ’n beter lewe te kan lei.

Dit is kommerwekkend dat ons onderwysdepartement nog nie die nood van hierdie dogters, die vroue van die toekoms, miskien die veelbesproke wiskundiges of wetenskaplikes, verstaan nie. hierin vasgevang is nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Have you forgotten about our own Rhoda Kadalie, one of nine children of a township preacher? She was subjected to difficult, precarious circumstances, but she is definitely a seasoned and dedicated individual. As result of the Group Areas Act she had to attend five schools, for they had to move from the one area to another because of the apartheid policy.

Nevertheless she became a lecturer at UWC, and is currently the director of the Impumelelo Innovations Award Trust, which itself assists in poverty relief. Maybe she can smile today because the load of wood no longer weighs so heavily on her head anymore.

I shudder to think that girls like Vanessa and Calvinia, who are currently learners at Groenheuwel Primary School in Hermon, are risking their lives when they brave the dangerous elements of the Berg River merely to get to school. Exposed to poverty and difficult circumstances, they are continuing to fight purposefully and bravely to live a better life one day too.

It is a cause for concern that up to now the education department does not understand the needs of these girls, the women of the future, and maybe its celebrated mathematicians or scientists.]

In conclusion, I’d like to say that as our women face the challenges of a bigger professional world, let us make sure that they are equipped to scale great heights. As we consolidate a beacon of hope for all women, we have to ensure that they play an integral role in mapping and shaping the future of our country. God bless the women of South Africa. Thank you. [Applause.]

The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION: Madam Speaker …

The SPEAKER: Is that a point of order, hon Minister?

The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION: Yes, it’s a point of order, but it was actually going to be a question.

Die punt van orde, Mevrou die Speaker, is of ’n mens eintlik kan lieg oor wie die vrag hout dra. [Tussenwerpsels.] [The point of order, Madam Speaker, is whether one may actually lie about who is carrying the load of wood. [Interjections.]]

The SPEAKER: There was no interpretation. [Interjections.] Anyway, the Minister was talking about what she would have wished to raise, had the hon member still been at the podium.

Prof A K ASMAL: Can you lower the rostrum so that everyone can see me? [Laughter.]

Madam Speaker, hon members of Parliament, my dear sisters and comrades, International Women’s Day is not a version of Mother’s Day, as would appear from some of our media, a commercial opportunity for card manufacturers or a chance for husbands to salve their consciences by presenting a bunch of flowers to their wives or lovers. [Laughter.]

In my speaking to you today - I am deeply grateful to the Whippery of the ANC for asking me to speak - I speak as a man who is not, I hope, some kind of an equivalent of the bunch of flowers.

This is really a day for applauding women’s achievements throughout the world, as we have heard from the first speaker, and to focus attention on the tasks, which lie ahead. It is a day for reflecting on how far our societies have come; how far we still have to go. We have not, in some cases, gone very far. We only have to look at the recent scenes on television news where men and women – yes, a few women – danced and sang and intimidated other women in support of a man in court on a rape charge. Whatever the eventual outcome of that case, it cannot be right for anyone to behave in a way that indicates that the man’s position, status and history outweigh the seriousness of the charges against him. It’s a betrayal of our constitutional support for human dignity and its call for respect for bodily integrity.

It’s a rights-based approach that I would like to touch on. Laws reflect social demands. Demands arise from needs. We have drawn on our side on international experience. In many cases, we anticipated what the world was to do in future.

The South African Constitution and its Bill of Rights are widely acknowledged as among the most progressive and inclusive in the world today. How did South Africa evolve from a country notorious for its human rights abuses to one that is today a leading light for other countries grappling with issues of oppression in its many forms?

We should ask ourselves how it is possible that out of the evil system of apartheid, we could adopt a Constitution in 1996 which identifies as the founding provisions the basic provisions in Article 1 that describes our country as a democratic non-racial and non-sexist state. No other constitution in the world has the reference to “nonsexism”.

This recognition of the special nature of women’s disabilities and the need for specific gender equality did not appear out of the bleeding liberal hearts of the drafters of the Constitution in 1996. It was the result of nearly four decades of struggle, of agitation and activism led by women, and supported by men. It is the particular genius of the ANC, which established the foundation on which we built the palace of 1996.

Therefore, for the first time in this House, I will quote Lenin. Lenin said: “Theory without practice is sterile. Practice without theory is blind.” We went into this whole process with our eyes open.

The human rights tradition of the ANC has been a history of expanding the scope of inclusion, as I call it, within which human dignity is affirmed. Our first Bill of Rights of 1943, in the African Claims document, clearly applied to both men and women. Its primary focus was on eliminating racial discrimination.

However, there were two proposals, apart from being way ahead of the times, which reflected the gender-emphasis of the drafters. The first was a demand for universal suffrage for all adults. The second concerned the revolutionary concept of equal pay for equal work. This is truly revolutionary, and it was long before the International Labour Organisation – as the Minister of Labour knows – got around to it. During the early fifties, the ANC developed new initiatives to assert women’s rights as human rights. The Women’s Charter of 1954, which no one has mentioned up to now, was a landmark in this process of asserting the rights of women and demanding freedom from discrimination on the basis of gender.

But long before that, a remarkable woman, Charlotte Maxeke, in an extraordinary speech at a conference in Fort Hare, in 1930, described movingly and vividly what became subsequently known as the “triple oppression of women”. It’s the most remarkable analysis of the migrant labour system and its effects, especially on the young and on women. She ended with an insight that was truly precocious – way ahead of the time. She said:

If you definitely and earnestly set out to lift women and children up in the social life of Africans, you will find that the men will benefit, and thus the whole community, black and white.

The emancipation of black women will liberate men, she implied, from the shackles that imprison my sex. I suggest that you read her extraordinary speech made at Fort Hare in 1930.

So, in the founding constitution of the ANC of 1912, women could not be full members with voting rights, but could be auxiliary members, nogal [at that]. In 1943, the year of the publication of the African Claims, the ANC finally extended to women full membership in the movement, the first liberation movement in the world to do so.

So, from the beginning, women participated in the Bantu Women’s League formed in 1919 under the leadership of Charlotte Maxeke; and the ANC Women’s League, launched in 1948, mobilised women in campaigns against pass laws, poor working conditions, high food prices, and the enactments of apartheid.

During 1954, the ANC Women’s League played a leading role in the formation of the Federation of SA Women, a non-racial organisation that drafted the Women’s Charter at its inaugural conference. This powerful formulation of women’s rights still stands as a reference point in contemporary efforts for the liberation and empowerment of women. It made an enormous contribution by expanding the scope of the human rights tradition of the ANC by insisting that the quest for human dignity must not only be nonracial, but also nonsexist. This, again, in 1954, was unheard of anywhere else in the world.

So, the Federation of SA Women realised Charlotte Maxeke’s vision of a non- racial organisation of women. But the federation also embodied her militancy, emerging in the context of the large-scale mobilisation of women during the 1950s - of course, in the 1952 demonstrations for freedom - and in the rural areas in protest against pass laws and other forms of apartheid oppression.

Accordingly, the demands of the charter were based on a rich history of struggle against all forms of oppression and gender discrimination. It mentioned that the Women’s Charter of 1954 called for the right to vote, the right to full employment opportunities, equal rights with men in relation to property, marriage and children, and for the removal of all laws and restrictive customs that deny women such equal rights, particularly traditional laws. The Women’s Charter called for compulsory and free education for all children, and the removal of laws that restrict movement and all oppressive laws.

In all of these legitimate demands of women’s rights, the Women’s Charter of 1954 shaped the character of the human rights tradition of the ANC, and the nature of the democratic dispensation in a liberated South Africa.

Claims for rights always involve struggle. Think of the remarkable struggle of revolutionary French women in 1794 against the wishes of men – revolutionary men - for the abolition of slavery during the adoption of the historic Declaration of the Rights of Man.

We celebrate this year the 50th anniversary, as a number of speakers have said, of our Women’s Day, 9 August, of the famous march on the Union Buildings by 20 000 women. It’s best known for the slogan, “Strydom! You have struck a rock.”

Although the march was organised to oppose the extension of the pass laws to women and for the repeal of all pass laws, the petition to Strydom ended in the language of rights when it said:

We shall not rest until we have won for our children the fundamental rights of freedom, justice and security.

The Freedom Charter, as you know, in the chronology of events, produced a major programme for political, economic and social emancipation. It became a beacon for women and men, united in the common struggle for dignity, equality and social justice.

For me, the most striking aspect of the Freedom Charter was that the charter laid down rights that are indivisible between men and women. But the ANC had not forgotten that a general approach to rights for all ignored the specific disabilities that women only suffer from.

So, building on the Women’s Charter of 1954, the negotiating stance of the ANC, as Comrade Minister Zola Skweyiya knows, reflected the need for specific references to women’s rights. In 1988, as a response to the need to clarify the ANC’s negotiating position, we produced the constitutional guidelines for a democratic South Africa.

The clarion call, with the first reference to affirmative action, the first reference in the debate in South Africa, was in the 1988 document. It was, as follows:

Women shall have equal rights in all spheres of public and private life and the state shall take affirmative action to eliminate inequalities and discrimination between the sexes.

So, affirmative action, we see, worked out in front of me today, and I congratulate the ANC for the 1988 document. [Applause.]

Women were no longer invisible, comrades and Madam Speaker. No political party could claim such a striking commitment, which was strengthened and expanded on the eve of negotiations when the ANC adopted, in April 1991, our constitutional principles for a democratic South Africa. It’s worth quoting, although I don’t have the time to quote in full, the provision headed “Nonsexist”. It was the first time such a phrase was ever used in the constitutional negotiations. “Nonsexism” then became part of the lexicon, the dictionary, of our negotiating discussions.

They said that -

The new Constitution must reflect the commitment to full, free and equal participation in the new South Africa. Law and practice keeps South African women out of their rightful place in helping to build democracy, enable a new nation to evolve, and deprives them of their human rights as individuals.

There has been a golden thread, a continuum in the road map for the route to the liberation of women we followed. A better life for women demands our commitment to the programme of full emancipation.

For those who are contented, those who will kill or offend against women who declare their HIV status, whether they are outside courthouses and boardrooms, as fathers or husbands, as traditional leaders, as employers or in Parliament, I draw attention to the stirring call of Ben Okri, the Nigerian writer:

They are only exhausted who think That they have arrived At their final destination The end of their road, With all their dreams achieved, And with no new dream to strive for.

We have not arrived at the final destination. We have moved from struggle to freedom, but we still have a long way to go. Malibongwe Igama Lamakhosikazi! [Praise the name of women!] [Applause.]

Mrs C DUDLEY: Madam Speaker, hon Ministers, colleagues, today the ACDP remembers the 20 000 women in South Africa who united in protest on 9 August 1956 against the unjust pass laws. These laws, we know, gave rise to influx control and migrant worker systems that ripped families apart and exposed women to abuse, poverty and violence. South African women have walked a long road since then, with laws that denied black women the right to ownership of property being scrapped only last year.

Our historical landscape is littered with the harsh reality of the degradation and suffering that arises when women are deprived of basic rights and resources. Tragically, the scourge of HIV has increased the vulnerability of women to the point that so many are even deprived of the privilege of raising their own children. These devastating circumstances eat at the heart of this nation with severe repercussions for society as a whole.

At the opening of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in February this year, it was observed that, and I quote: “The world is starting to grasp that there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women and girls.”

The ACDP acknowledges the extreme importance of the role of women in building a nation. This, however, is not a cop-out for men who have an equally important role, as God created men and women with distinctly unique and yet complementary characteristics that allow them to function as a team.

Many aspects of the struggle faced by women in Africa are not unique to Africa but are universal. Interestingly, it was the Age of Enlightenment, with its attendant emphasis on secular humanism, which saw men forcing women into one of two roles based on their affluence in society. Less affluent women were subjected to mandatory physical labour while privileged women became ornaments, and neither had rights.

This was a far cry from 17th century England where women were often in business – highly competent managers, merchants, brokers and manufacturers. The legal revolution that followed the Enlightenment resulted in the diminished status of women. The age of reason had ushered in an irrational supremacy for men, which led to a war between the sexes.

Women who are truly free do not pose a threat to men. They are trustworthy, generous and kind. They have moral, commercial and religious integrity and competence. Managing their homes and businesses with ability, they speak with wisdom and not out of malice. They are intelligent, care for the needy and are esteemed.

Women who are truly free protect their families. They do not destroy their unborn children, because they are inconvenient or a financial strain. A society that believes some should not have the right to live because of circumstances or poverty will become increasingly heartless and callous. Our children are growing up in a society that places no value on the miracle of life at conception, and we wonder at the increasing incidence of barbaric acts, violence, rape and abuse. It is this kind of society that will hero-worship an accused rapist and cruelly vilify an alleged victim. It is this kind of self-centred society that produces a father who arranges the murder of his own unborn child, and a young woman who arranges the murder of a boyfriend’s child. It is this kind of society that rapes tiny babies and little children. Women of Africa, break free from this curse. Make this an age of real hope.

Women in Africa today also suffer heartbreak as their children are forced to venture away from home, desperate for a better life and often survival for them and their families. Let us open our hearts to these women and their children, both male and female, who often suffer cruelly at the hands of officials in foreign lands. Let us in South Africa refuse to be numbered among these abusers.

The ACDP calls on the Minister of Home Affairs to lead the way in challenging and changing policies that add to the misery of refugees in South Africa. Let this be an age of real hope. Women of Africa, break free! [Applause.]

Ms P C P MAJODINA (Eastern Cape): Somlomo weNdlu yoWiso-Mthetho, Sihlalo weBhunga leSizwe laMaphondo kunye namalungu abekekileyo ezi ziNdlu zimbini, mandinibulise ngale njikalanga. [Madam Speaker, Chairperson of the NCOP and hon members of both Houses, I greet you all this afternoon.]

Indeed, I bring you warm greetings from the ANC – from the small corner of the Eastern Cape, the kind and friendly province. I first want to salute our grandmothers, our mothers and our leaders who have passed the baton to us after the 1956 march.

Amaqobokazana angalal’ endleleni yazini ukuba alahlekile. Yiloo nto ke bathi oomama babhinqa omfutshane, bangena ePitoli; zalunga izinto. Zange banele nje kukuthi: “Lumka Strydom.” Kodwa bathi: “Uza kufa.” Eneneni zange abaleke nje kuphela, koko wabaleka wade wafa. [Kwahlekwa.] Sinesizathu ke sokuba namhlanje sibhiyoze.

Ndibevile abantu abahleli ngakwisandla sam sasekhohlo besithi amakhosikazi akwiindawo zasemakhaya ayahlupheka. Thina asingomakhosikazi akuthethelwa, ngoba kukho imibutho phaya. Ukuba bebesithi banawo umbutho wamanina ophilayo bebeya kuvakala. Ixesha elininzi oomama basemakhaya benziwa abantu abangazi nto nangona yayingabo abantu abazalisa iibhasi noololiwe ababesiya ePitoli. Namhlanje sonke … (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)

[If young women have to sleep on the road, you should know that things are bad. That is the reason that when they marched to Pretoria, things started to change. They did not just say, “Beware, Strydom!” But they also said, “You will die.” It came about that he did not just run away, but he died while still in flight [Applause.] We certainly have a reason to celebrate today.

I have heard the people sitting on my left saying that women who live in rural areas are poor. We need no one else to speak on our behalf, because we have organisations there. We would understand it if they said there is a women’s movement. Women from rural areas are taken to be people who have no knowledge of things, even though they were the ones who filled buses and trains and went to Pretoria. Today, all of us …]

… can walk tall. The most significant development since the movement’s march was the coming into power of a new democratic government. The event evoked a sense of goodwill and hope for a brighter, prosperous, non-sexist and democratic future amongst South Africans. [Interjections.]

The SPEAKER: Order! There is a point of order.

Mr M B SKOSANA: Umama uthi laba abasesandleni sokunxele. Manje mina ngingapha kwesokunxele kodwa angishongo njalo mina. [Uhleko.] [The member says those on the left hand side. I am also on the left hand side but I did not say that. [Laughter.]]

The SPEAKER: We offer our apologies on her behalf. [Laughter.] Ms P C P MAJODINA: Enkosi Somlomo. Sidibene apha singamakhosikazi asuka mbombo zone zeMpuma Koloni emamele intetho yobekekileyo umama uSekela Mongameli welizwe. [Thank you, Madam Speaker. We are gathered here as women from all over the Eastern Cape listening to the speech presented by the hon Deputy President of the country.]

To the perpetrators of domestic violence against women, they should be careful because if they make women cry, God counts those tears. A woman came from a man’s rib, not from his feet to be walked on and not from the head to be dictated to, but from his side to be equal, under the arm to be protected, and next to the heart to be loved. [Applause.]

We are thankful to the ANC-led government that, knowing our rights as women, it gives us the power to identify and deal with any discrimination in order to break through the glass ceilings, learning from others who have gone before us, following in their footsteps.

In its January 8 Statement the ANC, having identified one of our historic milestones, made reference to the 50th anniversary of the 1956 march, which consolidated the role of women as one of the central players for our liberation, and which also helped to finally make the task of the emancipation of women one of the central tasks of the national democratic revolution.

Oomama boMzantsi Afrika izolo, namhlanje, nangomso! Umama obengenayo indlu nombane izolo, onayo namhlanje, uyabona ukuba umahluko ukhona eMzantsi Afrika. [Kwaqhwatywa.] [Mothers of South Africa yesterday, today and tomorrow! A mother who did not have electricity and a house yesterday who has it today, can see the difference in South Africa. [Applause.]

Our late president, Comrade O R Tambo, when addressing the women’s section conference in Luanda in 1981 …

… wathi ngenxa yemigushuzo yobumbano ehlanganisa oomama nolutsha …[… during the movement of bringing women and youth together …]

… said we are going to liberate this country and we are going to walk tall. Today we are walking tall; we are standing tall speaking to the nation today. [Applause.] As a collective in our various capacities we have a moral and historical responsibility of defending the gains obtained through the painful sacrifices by heroines such as Mama Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Charlotte Maxeke, Ma Albertina Sisulu and many other unsung heroines.

As we are living in the age of hope, South African women, through the efforts of the entire gender machinery, have developed a national policy framework. In our efforts to further realise the objective of the policy framework, the ANC resolved that there be 50% representation of women in local government. Given their lawmaking powers, Parliament and the legislatures have a central role to play in facilitating women’s empowerment and gender equality.

Teng diphephetso di teng, haholo ha re tshwanetse hore re lwantshane le hlekefetso eo re e bonang e etsahala ho bomme. [There are challenges, especially when we have to fight against the abuse that we see happening to women.]

Eli lizwe lisezandleni ezisulungekileyo ngokukhokelwa ngoonyawubezezolo, indlovu enomxhaka. Loo ngumsinga ogqumayo. Onokuthi ahlangabezane nomsinga uya kuzibona ewele ngaphaya kwawo. Eli lixesha lokuba sibahloniphe oomama ngendima abayidlalileyo ekubekeni eli lizwe kule ndawo likuyo namhlanje. Ewe, ithemba likhona eMzantsi Afrika, kwaye liya kuhlala likhona. Xa ndigqibezela, mandithi … (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)

[This country is in the capable hands of good, tried and tested leaders. This is a roaring stream that, as anyone who can come across it will find when crossing it. This is the time that we respect women for the role they have played to have this country where it is today. Indeed there is hope in South Africa, which will always be there. In conclusion, let me say…]

… there has been widespread support within the UN structure in the campaign to promote and protect equal rights of women. Our responsibility is to ensure that as government, through Asgisa, women have access to basic needs and resources, access to employment and economic empowerment, and access to land.

Masimbulele uKhongolozi ngokuthi ame, azinze xa ethetha ngamalungelo oomama. Ndiyabulela, Somlomo. [Kwaqhwatywa.] [Let us thank the ANC for standing up, and being firm when addressing women’s rights. I thank you, Madam Speaker. [Applause.]]

Ms M M MDLALOSE: Madam Speaker and colleagues, while most of the parties rely on the history of the struggle for women’s emancipation, Nadeco, as a six-month old party in this House, can only rely on its vision. It has a place for all women in a prosperous future.

As an introduction to my contribution in this debate, allow me to extend my appreciation and that of Nadeco for the honour expressed by the multiparty women’s caucus, which elected me as deputy chairperson. [Applause.] Thank you.

With regard to celebrating International Women’s Day in an age of hope through struggle to freedom, we do need to celebrate with all the women of this world. All women are the bearers of children, brooders, nurturers, homemakers, nation-builders - you name it. On the negative side, women are the ones who bear the brunt when things go wrong; when there is war, crime, death and violence. They easily get blamed for the injustices of this world. But today we are celebrating womanhood and the advancement and acknowledgement of women’s status globally. Even in this regard we still are faced with hardships. Nothing much has changed for the rural and peri-urban women. Socially and economically liberation is still something for tomorrow. The struggle for women is an age-old struggle.

NeNgcugce yafa ibulawela ilungelo lokukhetha abayeni. Namanje kusekhona umcabango wokuthi amalungelo abesimame agodlwe engxenye, kanti akithi qobo singabesifazane … [Even the women of the Zulu maiden regiment, iNgcugce, died. They were killed for refusing to enter into a forced marriage. Even now there is still that mentality that women’s rights are still with certain people, and this is not true. It is now all up to us as women …]

The topic “South African Women: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” is also still very relevant. The shrub Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow has the most exquisite perfume and flowers. This relates to all women as they are the flowers of the earth, and a liberated woman can give good life, spice the world, perfume it and make it a better place. Even in God’s eyes, the world was not perfect until a woman was created.

With this day we also need to nurture and teach our men the responsibility of being part of a family, a valuable component and a building block of society. Help men to love responsibility. The so-called culture has to change. Let us teach our sons to be better sons, better fathers, better lovers and better husbands. Let us celebrate our power of being influential and build better communities. Let us appreciate and encourage women’s efforts.

In celebrating this day both men and women should actually liberate themselves and change their mindsets. Thank you. [Applause.]

Ms M R MORUTOA: Hon Speaker, hon Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, of course, all protocol observed, it is true that today is better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than today. We are here to celebrate this important day on South Africa’s national calendar, which is understood against the backdrop of the political development of women spanning several decades.

The International Women’s Day is celebrated around the globe on 8 March 2006 and goes back to the early 20th century. It is said that in the year 1908, in the United States of America, socialist women organised the first national women’s day. This could not have come at a more appropriate time, when the UN Commission on the Status of Women is in session in the USA. This is also happening when we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the struggle by women. In South Africa there are many events during which women convey the message clearly and unambiguously. Women demanded the removal of all pass laws and all forms of permits restricting their freedom. Passes became the symbol and the passport to oppression, and resulted in women’s husbands becoming victims of raids, arrests, loss of income and long hours at pass offices.

Siwalwele ke namadoda. [We fought for the men too.]

Women feared the extension of pass laws to the female sector of the African population. They also realised that in order to assert themselves efficiently they had to organise themselves into movements, which grew into political movements. In those years in South Africa Thursday was regarded as a day when women from different ethnic and social backgrounds met for prayer.

Subsequently, new structures emanated from the meetings focusing on microfinance and economic support, and even savings clubs for women. These structures were formed as far back as 1950. There were prominent clubs, such as the Zenzele Club that was started by Comrade Josie Phama and Madiholo Xuma.

There was a turning point in 1956 with women asserting their rights. Since then women have become active in politics. Women such as Betty du Toit also fought for the emancipation of South African women regardless of race. In South Africa gender equality formed the core of the values in the struggle for a democratic South Africa. This value gained considerable strength with the advent of the new dispensation in 1994. Central to South Africa’s democracy is a commitment to gender equality and empowerment of women.

The SA Constitution creates an enabling environment for effective gender mainstreaming and gender equality. This approach draws on every department, even this institution itself, including the President, in directing the business as usual in a manner that ensures the realisation of gender equality.

The national gender machinery was established for the advancement of gender equality. This machinery comprises the Office on the Status of Women, Parliament’s committee known as the Joint Monitoring Committee on Improvement of the Quality of Life and the Status of Women and the Commission on Gender Equality.

In terms of the advancement of gender equality the role of the above- mentioned fora is immense. For instance, the Office on the Status of Women is responsible for developing a national action plan for mainstreaming gender within government structures to advance empowerment of women and gender equality. It is a nerve centre for developing and maintaining the national gender programme. Today, in particular, I will emphasise the role played by the committee in Parliament in monitoring progress with regard to the status of women and to improve their lives.

Improvements include the three provincial monitoring committees on the quality of life and the status of women that have just been established in three provinces. We have also embarked on a process of working with progressive men as partners in dealing with violence against women. In the past two years Parliament has been celebrating the Women’s Parliament including women from various backgrounds. We continue to celebrate and commemorate the 50th anniversary of the women’s march.

The committee monitors and assesses government policy, implements national and international commitments with respect to the Constitution of South Africa, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Cedaw, and the Beijing and Dakar Platforms for Action. It also monitors gender mainstreaming in government policies and programmes, including the national budget and fiscal framework.

One of the things we have achieved in this Parliament is the establishment of the multiparty women’s caucus, with Comrade Kiki Rwexana as the chairperson and Nomakhosazana Mdlalose as the deputy chairperson.

Baqhwabeleni izandla. [Ihlombe.] Siyabulela. [Give them a round of applause. [Applause.] Thank you.]

The ANC-led government is committed to the call of gender equality. It has shown this explicitly by nominating 50% of councillors from women. In 1981 the members of the Organisation of African Unity, of which South Africa was a member, adopted the African Charter of Human Rights and People’s Rights and the optional Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. Amongst other things, the Charter addressed the challenge of women and child trafficking.

It should be noted that this challenge not only affects the international borders, but has also become an increasing phenomenon within our provincial borders. Domestic service is frequently referred to as an area of labour into which people, particularly women and girls, are trafficked. But there has been little systematic research done into the relations between domestic work and human trafficking.

Those who are undocumented may also be forced into dependence on their employer as a result of their immigration status, fear of deportation or imprisonment with no other employment or survival opportunities. However, this should not be confused with a demand for trafficked labour. Rather it suggests mechanisms by which labour may be exploited and abused with impunity. Ezinye zezi zinto zenziwa sithi. Sicela abantu boMzantsi Afrika baqwalasele kakhulu ukuba oomama bangasetyenziswa ngokuthengisa imizimba yabo. Kuvumelekile ke kweli lizwe lethu ukubambisa abantu abaqhuba eli shishini. Ikomiti yePalamente ejongene nokuphuculwa kwempilo yamakhosikazi namadoda ngokulinganayo, i-JMC ngamafutshane, sele ikokwesithathu icebisa kule Palamente ukuba kufuneka kwenziwe umthetho wokukhusela amakhosikazi nabantwana kwezi zihange.

Esi simbo sokuthengiswa kwabantu sindikhumbuza iminyaka emininzi eyadlulayo, apho abantu babethathwa emantla eAfrika baweliswe ulwandle, baye kuphathwa njengamakhoboka kweliya laseMelika. Iza kuphinda yenzeke ke kwakhona loo nto ukuba asivuli mehlo. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)

[Some of the issues emanate from us. We ask people of South Africa to protect women against human trafficking. It is legal in this country to prosecute those who are involved in this business. The Joint Monitoring Committee on Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Women and the Commission on Gender Equality has made recommendations to Parliament with regards to the formulation of a law that would protect women and children against these criminals for the third time.

Human trafficking reminds me of what happened many years ago. It was a time when people from the North of Africa were sent overseas, to America, to be treated as slaves. This incident will recur if we are not careful.]

We covered immense areas in the fight for the rights of women. The challenge is the inculcation of those rights into the day-to-day lives of the masses.

I salute all the stalwarts who are present here - it seems they have left – such as Ma Seperepere, Ma Shope, Aunty Sophie du Bruyn and Comrade Amina Cachalia. Malibongwe! [Let it be praised!]

HON MEMBERS: Igama lamakhosikazi! [The name of women!]

Mrs M R MORUTOA: Ndiyabulela. [Kwaqhwatywa.] [Thank you. [Applause.]]

Ms N R MOKOTO: Madam Speaker, Chairperson of the NCOP and members, the struggle for women’s emancipation and empowerment has a long history that dates back to the many bold and brave acts aimed at gaining freedom by many women in the dark days of slavery, colonialism and apartheid. Although the need to address the goals of gender equity was recognised earlier by many in the ranks of the liberation movement, for us in South Africa the pursuit of black women’s rights has always been an integral part of the struggle against national oppression and all forms of discrimination.

We, the women of the world, remain troubled that today still- even after the UN has clearly pronounced its position on the need for equality and nondiscrimination among citizens of the world, particularly between men and women- for most countries the goals of women’s emancipation continue to be relegated to the remotest corner of their national imperatives. We are concerned therefore that some among us seem to have chosen a path of false dichotomy between women’s rights and human rights, and freedom for all.

The Beijing Platform for Action was a very important milestone in the search for equity and social justice by women around the world in general and for South African women in particular, because of the burden of triple exploitation.

The platform for action has had a phenomenal effect on the gender relations in our country, and there is growing evidence that more and more men are accepting the core responsibility with their women counterparts in order to build a prosperous and caring society that is based on the right of everyone to equality, freedom and dignity. Lest we lapse into complacency, more still needs to be done. This must be the defining character of this struggle across the ideological and political divide.

The platform has clearly articulated the core assumptions that are critical to women’s advancements and the achievement of gender equality. These include the gender mainstreaming strategy, integration of gender in the policy regime, and projects and programmes for sustainable development. This is absolutely critical, because in any state of underdevelopment, women are always on the bottom rung of the ladder and at the receiving end of environmental degradation, with all the accompanying unspeakable adversities for them and their children.

The motivation for the initial goals of the UN Decade for Women was to strengthen governments’ capacity to assess and detect the impact of policies on women. It would be a crime to be smug about our capacity to merely generate huge banks of empirical data about their condition without any direct positive social impact on their lives.

The agenda has moved further to highlight strategic objectives by assigning clear actions and roles to a wide range of key players, including government and other social partners. The platform for action strongly emphasises the need for political will and commitment on the part of governments to radically to confront these causes of inequalities in societies in concert with other role-players.

Young women have played a crucial role in the struggle for women’s emancipation and yet theirs remains a clouded, obscure and unrecorded history.

We are humbled by the bravery and determination of the then leaders of the women’s struggle, who in many ways were very idealistic and militant in pursuit of this noble idea and yet possessed such timeless wisdom at their tender age.

For the better part of the liberation struggle, women were able to infuse the much-needed lifeblood into the broader struggle for liberation in South Africa, because they never identified with the view that women’s struggles and other social struggles should be fought in silos. To this end, we salute our women leaders, mothers of our nation, like Lilian Ngoyi, Getrude Shope, Sophie de Bruyn, Amina Cachalia, Bertha Gxowa, Charlotte Maxeke, Winnie Mandela and those who saw their struggles as part of the national democratic revolution.

It is in this spirit that we call on all young women across the country to emulate the actions of these heroines and heroes of our struggles, sung or unsung. With women constituting about 54% of our total population of 44,8 million, and with 70% of this figure being under the age of 35, the importance of young women’s involvement in social endeavours to free our society completely cannot be overemphasised.

Despite the many legislative policies and policy efforts taken by our government to uplift the lives of women in society, many still face the constraints of the glass ceiling arising from the long legacy of triple oppression and exploitation. The fight against gender-based violence must continue to receive priority. It is in this regard that collaborative efforts across all sectors of our society must be encouraged.

As we celebrate this International Women’s Day, young South Africans need to commend government for advancing further the cause of women’s emancipation.

Today, like never before, women, particularly the young ones, are better placed to access the opportunities that they were previously denied. We must take full advantage of them. The power relations that have always denied young women the possibility to enjoy productive and sustainable livelihoods are gradually breaking down. Indeed, today is better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than today. We celebrate the age of hope.

This marks a progressive march towards a more transformed and egalitarian society that our forebears have relentlessly fought for, and we owe it to them to promote the culture of democracy and human rights in our day-to-day lives that must of necessity permeate throughout the struggle for women’s rights.

Worldwide the number of female members of parliament reached a high of 6 960, or about 16,1%, in 2005. This is according to the Geneva-based IPU, or Inter-Parliamentary Union. At home the ANC has, since the 2004 and 2006 general and local elections, significantly increased the number of women public representatives and continues to aggressively advocate for their increased presence in senior leadership positions in both the private and public sectors.

To quote just a few gains for the women, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf won the presidential elections in November to become Liberia’s first female leader as well as the first elected female president in Africa.

As we mark this important day on the international calendar of the womenfolk of the world, we dare not forget that many are still deprived of what many others take for granted. Their right of freedom, dignity and equality is still elusive. The job is not done until everyone in the world begins to speak of their plight and does something about it. Amandla! [Applause.]

HON MEMBERS: Ngawethu! [It’s ours.]

Ms S RAJBALLY: Madam Speaker, our colleagues from the NCOP and the Ministers, when I think of this great day that we have chosen to celebrate women, my mind travels along many paths. When I look back, I see many heroines that fought for our democracy and freedom, and gave us a voice in an era in which we were forbidden to let ourselves be heard.

I think of the daughters, sisters and mothers; heroines such as Albertina Sisulu, Fatima Meer, Lilian Ngoyi and Rahima Moosa, to name a few. I think of humanitarians such as the great and humble Mother Teresa who dedicated her life to feeding, sheltering, helping and loving the needy. Even if she could not save all those who died, they died knowing that someone cared for and loved them. That brings us even closer to home where most of us had the opportunity to be cared for and loved by our mothers, who today continue to be unsung heroines of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

I stand here as a voice representing the MF, its women and women globally. I stand here as a voice representing the potential, the strength and the rights of all women. I am proud to say that I was one of the women in the struggle for 40 years in the clothing and textile union. We fought and succeeded in achieving the rights and equal salaries for our women in the industry.

Women have always had the equal potential of productivity as their male counterparts, but the potential could not always be utilised. Today, I proudly boast a democratic South Africa where gender equity is firmly enshrined in our national Constitution and advocated as such.

Proudly speaking, our national government holds the highest seat percentage of women in Parliament through which hopefully the inclusion of more women in the sector shall be achieved. However, a great concern for the MF continues to be abuse and violence against women. We need women who are victim to such violence to come forward and accept our help. The first time you are a victim, but the second time you are a volunteer.

Please, we urge you victims of abuse and violence to come forward so we may apprehend such abusers and assist victims in safety.

I lastly take this opportunity to request all parents to invest equally in the education of their sons and daughters. In South Africa today, we are all challenged by poverty, disease, violence and the need to survive. Our struggle as women, mothers and daughters continues, but in this democratic South Africa they steer their ship against these rough seas. We are given the hope that the water shall ease and our struggle shall end in our victory.

We wish all the women of the world a happy International Women’s Day. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Mr J D ARENDSE: Madam Chairperson, poverty, underdevelopment and food insecurity are key concepts underpinning the discourse within developing countries. And in looking at the topic of women and sustainable food security, I will focus extensively on the role of women in developing countries. The consequences of food insecurity for various countries are clearly visible and appear in the form of deteriorating health situations and the breakdown of communities and family structures, as families are forced to migrate in search of a livelihood.

However, the centrality of women’s role in sustainable food security is downplayed as macroeconomics, political and social concerns are prioritised by governments. Women produce between 60% and 80% of the food in most developing countries and are responsible for half of the world’s production. Yet their key role as food producers and providers and their critical contributions to household food security is only recently becoming recognised. The constraints for women emerging and becoming part of the broader attempts within sustainable food security are immense, which shall be discussed later.

The definition of food security, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, has been defined not only in terms of access to and availability of food, but also in terms of resource distribution to produce food and the purchasing power to buy food where it is not produced. Given women’s crucial role in food production and provision, any set of strategies for sustainable food security must address their limited access to productive resources.

Women’s limited access to resources and their insufficient purchasing power are products of a series of interrelated social, economic and cultural factors that force them into a subordinate role to the detriment of their own development and that of society as a whole.

International initiatives and efforts developed especially since the 1975 World Conference on Women in Mexico have contributed to a greater recognition of women’s key participation in rural and other domains of development. However, much remains to be done.

Brown Sims and others, in an article on women as the key to food security, argue that over 800 million people in the developing world currently face food insecurity and that this challenge of meeting their food and nutritional needs is likely to become greater in the years ahead. One untapped source of agricultural growth to help meet these needs could lie, they claim, in reducing the bias against women in agriculture.

Women in developing countries play significant roles in maintaining the three pillars of food security – food production, economic access to available food and nutritional security. But, they play these roles in the face of enormous social and cultural economic constraints.

According to the authors, the sustainable production of food is the first pillar of food security. Women account for 70% to 80% of household food production in sub-Saharan Africa, 65% in Asia and 45% in Latin America and the Caribbean. They achieve this despite unequal access to land, to inputs such as improved seed and fertilizers and to information. Given equal access to resources and human capital, women farmers can achieve yields equal to or even, as some studies have shown, significantly higher than those of men.

Laws governing women’s rights to land vary widely. The weakness of women’s land rights result in an inability to use land as collateral to obtain access to credit. Despite women’s prominent role in agriculture, they do not get an appropriate share of agriculture extension advice and other services. One potential remedy to this is to increase the number of women trained as agricultural extension agents.

The second strategy is to give agricultural training to women working as community development or home-economics officers. A third strategy is for extension agents, whether men or women, to meet with farmers in groups. Agricultural research institutions also need to make use of women’s indigenous knowledge of farming systems, which has been largely untapped.

The second pillar of food security is economic access to available food. In recent years, studies have shown that improvements in household welfare depend not only on the level of household income, but also on who earns that income. Since income is a critical determinant of a household’s ability to obtain food, poverty is a major threat to household food security. The combination of poverty and gender inequality poses an even greater threat because of the nutritional benefits associated with increasing women’s income. The growing percentage of female-headed households around the world is cause for concern, for past studies suggest an association between female headship and poverty.

The third pillar of food security is the achievement of nutrition security. Nutrition security depends not only on sufficient food at the household level, but also on factors such as health and childcare and access to clean water and sanitation. Ensuring the nutrition security of the household through the combination of food and other resources is almost the exclusive domain of women.

The UN Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 formally recognised the right to food as a basic right. More recently, the international community has identified the reduction of poverty and hunger as crucial for development goals. At the 1996 World Food Summit, reducing hunger and food insecurity was declared an essential part of the international development agenda. Leaders from 185 countries and the European community reaffirmed in the Rome Declaration on World Food Security “the right of everyone to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger”. They further pledged to cut the number of the world’s hungry people in half by 2015.

In 1999, the UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights in the text of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights stated that the right to food is realised -

… when every woman, man and child alone or in community with others, has physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means of its procurement.

In Africa, Article 15 of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa specifically recognises the right of women to food security. The article places an obligation on states to ensure that all women have the right to nutrition and adequate food by providing women with access to clean drinking water, sources of domestic fuel, land and the means of producing nutritious food. States are further obligated to establish adequate systems for supply and storage to ensure food security.

But, how do the ideals and declarations translate into food on the table? Like the image of a farmer doing backbreaking work with a hoe, it requires hard work of a different kind. Political commitment, consultations with community, shared decision-making, transparency and education are some of the criteria needed to make food security a reality and decrease the estimated 800 million people globally who are undernourished and food- insecure. But all of this will in itself be useless unless there is recognition of the damaging role that factors like unfair trade terms and high debt burdens play in militating against food security.

In conclusion, the understanding of food security has evolved over the years through increasingly integrated attention to the social, gender, environmental, technical and economic dimensions of the problem. The challenge for the future will be to pursue a concrete attainment of equity in access to resources by women to produce food and purchasing power to buy food where it is not produced.

Specific policy measures are required to address the constraints facing women farmers and special consideration should be given to the needs of female heads of households. The FAO has recommended that such measures aim to … [Time expired.][Applause.]

Ms N M MDAKA: Madam Chairperson, hon members, as we celebrate the International Women’s Day in the age of hope through the struggle to freedom, our experience as women of this country can be drawn from the historic women’s march that took place on the Union Buildings in Pretoria some 50 years ago. This march firmly placed the women of our country in the frontline of our struggle for freedom, equality and women’s emancipation in general.

It is for this reason that, as we celebrate all the achievements we have recorded since the dawn of freedom and democracy in 1994, we should also think of those millions of women elsewhere in our country and around the world who are still victims of different forms of abuse. Our hearts, thoughts and prayers should also go to them as our struggle for the total emancipation continues. They themselves should feel part and parcel of our hard-won freedom and democracy. They should reap all the benefits that come with our democracy, especially the protection of rights as entrenched in our Constitution.

Our Constitution guarantees the rights to freedom and dignity and protects us from any unfair discrimination on grounds of gender. As we celebrate International Women’s Day today, we should not end this process here, but should at all times strive to ensure that all women enjoy the rights and the protection thereof as guaranteed in our Constitution.

The UIF therefore urges all women of our country and the world to continue to work together for the total emancipation of women that will free them from all forms of abuse, discrimination and inequality. I thank you, Madam House Chairperson. [Applause.]

Mof E S MABE: Ho Motlatsi wa Modulasetulo wa Ntlo ya NCOP, batsamaisi ba dipuisano ba hlomphehileng, Matona a hlomphehileng, maloko a hlomphehileng, bomme ba naha ya rona le lefatshe lohle, letsatsi lena la la 8 Hlakola, le ketekwang lefatsheng ka bophara, ke sehopotso sa kopano e kileng ya ba teng mane United States of America ka 1908. Mona Afrika Borwa re keteka letsatsi lena ka nako eo re ketekang dilemo tse mashome a mahlano tsa mohwanto wa bomme kgahlanong le dipasa ka selemo sa

1. Tlhaloso ya letsatsi lena e bohlokwa ho rona, jwaloka MaAfrika Borwa. Le bolela le ho hlalosa histori ya rona, haholo moo re neng re iphumana re saletse morao ntlafatsong le tlhomphong ya boleng ba bomme ka kakaretso ka dilemo tse fetileng tsa mmuso wa kgethollo.

Diketsahalo tse kang tsena tseo ke tlang ho di bolela, e leng ho tjheswa ha dipasa, mohwanto o bileng teng kgahlanong le tsela eo dipasa di neng di sebediswa ka yona selemong sa 1944, le selemo sa 1956 ha mmuso wa mehleng o ne o bea tshebetsong leano la dipasa ho bomme, ke tse ding tsa diketsahalo tse ileng tsa etsa hore bomme ba tswe ka bongata bo ka lekanngwang le 20 000 ho tswa ka dikgutlo tsohle tsa Afrika Borwa, ho kena mohwantong o neng o lebile Union Building ho isa ditletlebo ho mookamedi wa mehleng, J G Strydom.

Tsena ke tse ding tse ileng tsa etsa hore basadi ba Afrika Borwa ba eme ka maikemisetso a ho lwana ntwa ya tokoloho, ebile ba qolla ka ho phethahala ntwa ya tokollo ya bomme. Selemo sa 1994 se ile sa re bontsha tokoloho ya MaAfrika Borwa, eo ka lebaka la yona re ileng ra iphumana re le ka tlasa puso ya demokerasi, e etelletsweng pele ke African National Congress.

Molaotheo wa naha ya rona, oo ka puo ya Senyesemane o bitswang Constitution, Act 108 of 1996, o kenyelleditse ka hara ona karolo ya 187. Karolo ena ya molao e etsa bonnete ba hore tekatekano ya batho, e leng human rights, e elwa hloko, ho sa kgethwe hore ke monna kapa mosadi, le hore melao e thewang ya naha e ela hloko tekatekano ena.

Tse ding tsa dikarolo moo re kgonang ho bona tshebetso ya melao ena le ntlafatso ya maphelo a bomme le barwetsana, ke dibakeng tsena tse latelang. Ho tsa bophelo bo botle, moo bomme ba kgothaletswang ho phela bophelo bo lokileng, e leng … (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)

[Ms E S MABE: Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, hon facilitators, hon Ministers, hon members, mothers of our country and of the world, this day, February 8, which is celebrated all over the world, is a commemoration of the conference which was held in the United States of America in 1908.

In this country we celebrate this day at the same time that we celebrate fifty years of the march against passes in 1956. This day is important to us as South Africans. It tells our history, especially during the years of apartheid when our country had no respect for the development of the rights of women in general.

The manner in which passes were used in 1944 and in 1956 were some of the incidents which culminated in approximately 20 000 women from all over South Africa marching to the Union Buildings to submit a memorandum to the then President, J G Strydom. It was for those reasons that South African women decided to join the struggle for liberation, particularly the struggle for women’s liberation. The year 1994 marked the liberation of South Africans and a new age of democracy under the leadership of the African National Congress.

Act 108 of 1996 of the Constitution has Section 187 in it, which ensures that equality, which is a human right, is safeguarded, irrespective of gender, and that all laws are based on it.

Some of the areas where we can realise the implementation of such laws, as well as the improvement in the lives of women, are the following. The area of health, where women are encouraged to live …]

… a healthy lifestyle, making it a point that we, as women, do have check-ups, to be able to know our health status, whether it be to check for cancer or HIV and Aids, or any other disease.

Ho tsa thuto, Molaotheo ona o thusitse ka hore kajeno batho ba bomme ba na le hona ho isa bana ditsing tsa early-childhood development, hore ba tle ba be malala-a-laotswe bakeng sa thuto ya dikolong. Menyetla e kang ya ditsi tsa Abet ho bomme e bile teng ho ntlafatsa maemo a bona a thuto hore ba tle ba tsebe ho bapala karolo ya bohlokwa ntshetsopeleng ya naha ya rona.

Hona ho tlisitse monyetla ho bana ba banana ho bontsha bokgoni ho tsa IT le tsa bonono le tsa saense. Ho tsa tshireletso le polokeho, re na le melao e kgahlanong le tlhekefetso ya tsa motabo, empa hona ha ho bolele hore le batho ba bomme ba lokela ho etseletsa bontate ka ditlhekefetso tsa mofuta ona.

E meng ya melao e kentsweng tshebetsong, ho etsa bonnete ba hore bomme ba sireletsehile naheng ya rona, ke ena e latelang; Maintenance Act, Violence Against Women’s Act, Court Interdicts, le e meng e seng e boletswe ke dibui tse fetileng, ho thusa bomme hore ebe ba phela ka tshireletso ka hara naha ya rona.

Tsa tlhokomelo le ditokelo tsa banana le tsona di teng hona mona, tse kang tshireletso kgahlanong le lebollo la banana ba dilemo tse ka tlase ho 16, le mekgwa ya ho bolotsa banana (“female genital mutilation”) e fumanwang haholo dinaheng tse ka ntle, e leng e nngwe ya ditshita pakeng tsa semorabe le sedumedi le ditokelo tsa botho. Re a tseba hore tsena ke tse ding tsa diphepetso tse teng ka hare ho bomme, ho ya ka dinaha ka ho fapana.

Re ntse re thoholetsa le bomme ba rona ba kgethilweng jwaloka ho ba makhanselara mmusong wa selehae. Ho bona re re, “Pele a pele, mafumahadi! Hobane mme o e tshwara ka bohaleng.”

Sena re a tseba kaofela hore re se fihletse ka lebaka la leano la mokgatlo wa rona wa African National Congress wa kemedi ya 50%. Halala 50%, halala!

Modulasetulo, haholo re thoholetsa bahale bohle ba bomme ba ileng ba nka karolo mohwantong. [Nako e fedile.][Mahofi.] (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)

[With regard to education, the Constitution has enabled women to take their children to attend early childhood development centres to prepare them for school education. Opportunities provided by Abet centres to women have improved their standard of education and have also enabled them to play an important role in the development of the country.

This has given the girl child an opportunity to showcase her expertise in arts, science and technology. With regards to safety and security, the law protects women against sexual abuse, but this does not mean that women should frame men for sexual abuse.

Some of the laws that have been passed to ensure the safety of women in this country include the Maintenance Act, as well as the legislation pertaining to violence against women act, court interdicts and others that have been mentioned by previous speakers.

There are also matters pertaining to the care and rights of children, such as protection against initiation of girls under the age of 16, and female genital mutilation found in foreign countries, which causes conflict between tribal practices and religious beliefs. We are aware that the latter problem is one of the challenges women are faced with in varying degrees in different countries.

We congratulate our women who have been elected as councillors in the local government elections. To them we say, “Forward ever, women! Women are the backbone of humanity”. All these have been achieved because of the ANC policy, which seeks 50% representation for women. Viva 50%, viva!

Chairperson, we commend those women who participated in the march. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Mr S SIMMONS: Deputy Chairperson, today we are celebrating International Women’s Day, and we are having a debate about South African women, yesterday, today and tomorrow.

South African women have been at the forefront of the struggle for liberation. Most of these women’s individual and collective contributions are well documented, even those stories that are not popularly known, are also acknowledged. These actions have clearly set new standards and norms for women of today and tomorrow. The most important lesson I believe that South African women, today and tomorrow, could learn from their predecessors is that nothing shall come from nothing. Only effort and dedication is the ultimate requirement for achieving our individual and collective goals. In other words, South African women of today and tomorrow should not mislead themselves by thinking success will just come from affirmative action or gender equality programmes, but rather that it comes from effort and dedication.

South African women of yesterday have laid the platform for not only political freedom, but also socioeconomic liberation. This leaves South African women of today and tomorrow with the responsibility to ensure that our people achieve full socioeconomic liberation. This is a fact that, after more than 10 years of political liberation, the overwhelming majority of ordinary South African women and children have not achieved full socioeconomic liberation as they are still, like in the apartheid era, living in utmost poverty.

I want to direct a sincere and urgent appeal to the most senior woman in government, the hon Deputy President, to spearhead and fast-track initiatives that will ensure genuine socioeconomic liberation, to lift our women and children out of this current horrible state of poverty.

Finally, let us not get carried away by women’s celebrations, justified as they may be, but let us focus on the huge task and the long road that lies ahead for South African women to take their rightful place in society. I thank you.

Mr L M GREEN: Chairperson, hon members, I have the greatest respect for women because of the important role my mother played in instilling in me certain values which I have up till today. The FD joins this debate today in saluting all South African women on International Women’s Day for the courageous role they have played and continue to play in transforming our South African society from one which excluded and marginalised women to one which is becoming more inclusive.

We particularly wish to salute the many South African women who have paid a heavy price for the dream of having a free, democratic South Africa. There were those who were imprisoned, tortured, beaten and brutalised for either being active or for supporting their family members who were active in the struggle for a free and democratic South Africa.

Twelve years into our new democracy, we must raise the question today of where we stand as a nation in allowing women to take their rightful place as equal partners in government, the business world and civil society in general.

At the 50th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the UN Deputy Secretary-General said that although remarkable gains have been made since the commission was established 60 years ago to advocate women’s issues, the world community still had far to go on actual representation of women at the highest levels of national and international leadership.

The question that we must raise today is: What mechanisms are we prepared to adopt to ensure that we obtain a gender balance in our own Parliament, our own government, the economy and civil society in general?

Drude Dahlerup, a Swedish professor who led the first global study of gender quotas in politics, makes the following comment, and I quote her:

Gender quotas are neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for obtaining gender balance in parliament, but as long as discrimination or inequality persists, quotas are necessary.

The successful use of quotas in countries like Rwanda, where 30% of the seats in parliament were set aside for female legislators in the 2003 elections, has resulted in women increasing their representation from 15% to 49%, unseating Sweden as the highest ranking country in terms of women’s representation in parliament. What a glorious victory for the women in Rwanda! Rwanda has become a more peace-loving nation because of the intervention of the Rwandan women in the organs of power. In conclusion, I wish to commend and salute all South African women for their continued effort and contribution in making our nation a more peaceful and prosperous one. May God bless the women of South Africa. I thank you.

Mk G S SINDANE: Liphini laSihlalo weMkhandlu wemaProvinsi, Make Somlomo weNndlu yeSishayamtsetfo saVelonkhe, kanye neLiphini lakho, Make Gwen, sibingilela naSihlalo weMkhandlu wemaProvinsi, nemalunga lahloniphekile tisebenti tahulumende, sitsi siyanibingelela nonkhe malunga aletiNdlu totimbili.

Namuhla-nje sibuka loku lesite ngako lapha kutewuvakalisa kujabula kwetfu sitewugiya, sigcabashule lapho kugujwa khona Lusuku Lwabomake Lwemhlaba. Nyalo-ke sesiyatfola kutsi lesicubulo lesikhulumela etikwaso lesitsi: INingizimu Afrika itolo, iNingizimu Afrika lamuhla, iNingizimu Afrika ngemuso, ngiso lesisicinisa lidvolo sisinikete litsemba. Njengobe setikhulumile-nje Tindvuna lapha setichazile kwekutsi kahle hle ichamukaphi yona lentfo yekutsi lamuhla sitewugubha lomkhosi.

Sivile-ke kutsi bomake bakulamave laseNshonalanga bebaphishanekile baphishanekele kutsi kulungiswe tindlela tekusebenta. Labomake bebaphishanekile bashisekela kutsi bafakwe kulomgudvu lomkhulu welukhetfo. Bebanenshisekelo yekutsi kwentiwe ncono emisebentini nekutsi kubekhona kusitakala kutemfundvo, baphindze balwa nekucindzetelwa, nekuhlukunyetwa emisebentini. Nangitsi ngiyabuka, Ndvuna, ngibona shangatsi tsine njengeNingizimu Afrika sisalele emuva. Ngitsandza kubonga letiNdlu tombili ngekutsi tikubone kusidzingo kutsi nasigubha lomkhosi namuhla asitsi; iNingizimu Afrika itolo, iNingizimu Afrika lamuhla, neNingizimu Afrika ngemuso. (Translation of Siswati paragraphs follows.)

[Ms G S SINDANE: Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, Madam Speaker of the National Assembly and your deputy Mrs Gwen, greetings to the Chairperson of the NCOP, hon members and the public servants. We greet all members of both Houses.

We are here today to show our excitement as we celebrate the International Women’s Day. It is the theme for today that says: South Africa yesterday, South Africa today, South Africa tomorrow, that encourages us and gives us hope.

The Ministers who have spoken today have clearly explained how the celebration of this day came about. We heard that women of the Northern countries struggled for improvement in the manner in which things were done. These women struggled in order to be involved in elections. They wanted to see improvement in the labour sector, and assistance in education. They fought against oppression and harassment in the work place.

As I am observing, Minister, it looks as if we South Africans are still left behind. I would like to thank both Houses for seeing it fit that as we celebrate this day we should say: South Africa yesterday, South Africa today, and South Africa tomorrow.]

I think it is fitting that we actually also dedicate this day to South African women, looking at the rightful way and the rightful manner in which they participated in the historical struggles of this nation.

We are looking back at activists such as Mrs Ida Mntwana, Mrs Lilian Ngoyi. You can count many - the list is endless - because when you talk about yesterday, you think about all the stalwarts that came before us. We are fortunate today to be able to speak in the midst of the living stalwarts who can still hear us when we voice our dedication to them and commend them for their efforts.

Sibona kutsi ngeke lelilanga lihlale lingakhumbuleki. Tsine sibona kutsi akube sicalo seluhlelo lwetfu lesitabogubha ngalo Lomkhosi Wabomake Wema- 50, sikhumbule lela langa lapho sasishabasheka khona ngeminyaka yabo 1956. Akube ngusona sicalo sekutsi letinhlelo lesitibuketako lamuhla la ticale kusebenta.

Ngikhuluma kabi-ke, Ndvuna, ngobe ngibona letihlalo setite lutfo. Shangatsi sesikhuluma sodvwa … [Kuhlaba lulwimi.] Angati labanye, Ndvuna, kutsi ingabe bayalwati yini lolusuku kutsi lubaluleke kangakanani. Ngisho loku ngobe, kube bekuya ngami, njengobe bengisasho-nje kwekutsi loku akube sicalo sekutsi letinhlelo tetfu ticalise kusebenta, bekufanele ngabe sisonkhe kuze sikwati kuhlela kahle kutsi indlela leya embili itawuhambaphi. (Translation of Siswati paragraphs follows.)

[We are saying this day can never be forgotten. We are saying this should be the beginning of our programme of celebrating the 50th anniversary of Women’s Day, thinking back about that day when we struggled in the years of

1. This must be the beginning of making the programmes that we are reviewing today to start working.

My speech, Minister, is now irrelevant because I see these seats are now empty. It looks as if we are talking to ourselves. [Interjections] I do not know about others, Minister, whether they know how important this day is. I am saying this because if it could be my will, as I was saying that this should be the beginning of making our programmes to be in operation. We were all supposed to be together in order to start planning properly as to how we should move forward.]

Let me hasten to dedicate this extremely important day to all the women of the world – that is why we talk of International Women’s Day. Also, when we do that, we include young and old women who, across the racial spectrum, gave birth to all of us - humankind.

Siswati: Bengitsi nitawushaya tandla bomake, kodvwa lokuthula kusho kona kutsi anati kutsi … [Tandla.] Shangatsi asati kutsi ngitsi labente kutsi lamuhla letiNdlu totimbili tibe nebantfu, netindvuna letilalelwako, kungenca yemizabalazo yetfu. Ngitsi labaletsa bantfu emhlabeni.

Ngiyacabanga kutsi kubalulekile kutsi sisababuka njalo kuhle sibukisise nalenyanga lesigubha ngayo lomkhosi, lekuyinyanga yeNdlovana. Lenyanga ngulena lekukhunjulwa ngayo emalungelo ebantfu. (Translation of Siswati paragraphs follows.)

[I thought women will applaud, but this silence suggests that you do not know … [Applause.] Seemingly we do not know that we are the cause for both Houses to have people today, and the Ministers who are being listened to, it is because of our struggle. It is us who brought people to the world.

I think it is important that while we are observing them, it is good that we also observe the occasion, which is the month of March, the month in which we commemorate human rights.]

The month of March is human rights month, which is really fitting because when you look back to March 1, we all had an opportunity to cast our vote in order to have more women represented in decision-making, something that really needs to be applauded. [Applause.]

I would be failing if I did not recognise one of our ancestors, a young women then. She is umama uSarah Baartman, a young Khoisan woman who had to endure gross humiliation and primary human rights abuse at the hands of the colonial slave masters. She never had an opportunity to receive a decent and dignified funeral. Instead her body was mummified and stuffed, to be displayed to the whole world as a symbol of ridicule and insignificance.

As representatives, among others, who against all odds managed to rise from the ashes, they stood up to be counted and to demonstrate their enduring strength and resilience by saying to the whole world: Let the violence against women and their suppression sublimate into oblivion; let it be a thing of the past that will never again see the light of day.

Ngisasho njalo, Sihlalo lohlon, ngitsi ngibukisisa lapha indzima leseyihanjiwe. Ngibevile, balingani bami lapha, labanye bayakhohlwa kutsi babomake. Bayakhohlwa nekutsi … [I am still saying, Hon Chairperson, that I am carefully looking at what has been achieved. I heard my colleagues here; some are forgetting that they are women. They are also forgetting that …]

… there was this federation of South African women, led by the ANC Women’s League, which was inclusive of the broader progressive working- class women of all colours from all walks of life. I heard them talking as if this was something that needed only to be accorded to the ANC. But, I think, we need to look back at one of our leaders: uSol Plaatje …

… ngesikhatsi abona labomake batigcugcutela bona kutsi bafuna kulwa nalencindzetelo yekutsi kwetfwalwe emapasi. Simuva lapha babe Sol Plaatje ngesikhatsi acaphuna, aphawula atsi … [When he saw that these women mobilised themselves and said they wanted to fight this oppression of carrying passes. We hear Mr Sol Plaatje when he says …]

I quote:

They don’t care even if they die in jail. They swear they will cure that madness. They will stop protests only when the law prevents policemen from stopping and demanding passes from other men’s wives.

Nawulalela lapha uyabona kutsi lomholi lobaluleke kangaka we-ANC, uyatfola kutsi kukhona lapho abona khona kutsi labomake batimisele ngempela. Nalamuhla-nje siyababona labomake kutsi basatimisele basaya embili. (Translation of Siswati paragraph follows.)

[When you listen here you can see that this important leader of the ANC could see that these women were really determined. Even today we can see that these women are still determined and going forward.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P M Hollander): Thank you, hon member. Your time has expired.

Ms G S SINDANE: Thank you. I could have spoken more. [Applause.]

Mrs J N VILAKAZI: Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers, members and all protocol observed, there is a plant commonly known as the Yesterday-Today-and- Tomorrow bush. Its flowers bloom white. The next day they become mauve and the last day purple.

When looking at yesterday, women in South Africa were like the young flowers: fresh, innocent and full of promise. Many will say that women of years past were ignored or not given a chance but I would like to disagree with that. Women were honoured in their families and communities. Women were honoured amongst themselves.

If we look at all the protest marches that were organised by women for women during the apartheid days, we can see that they were empowered. They were honoured, amongst themselves. Although access to education was limited, it was women who ran households and communities. We were able to plan, organise and delegate.

Yesterday, men dominated many professions but there were professions that were untouched by men, such as nursing. It was women who cared, touched and nurtured the patients and allowed the doctors to believe they were the ones who made the difference. I would like to take this opportunity to honour our IFP leader, Dr M G Buthelezi … [Interjections.] Just listen, please. I would like to honour him for just being the first to initiate women into police services and administrative positions in KwaZulu-Natal. We must honour him for that. [Interjections.] Yes, it is okay.

When looking today at South Africa, women are honoured in every sphere of society, from home executives to professional and political arenas and so on. There is no longer a professional divide amongst sexes. Complementary to that … I know you are not going to howl at me now. [Laughter.] Complementary to that, I would like to honour the President of the country. We must give praise where praise is due. Don’t howl and then when … [Laughter.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P M Hollander): Thank you, hon member, your time has expired.

Mrs J N VILAKAZI: At least I said what I wanted to say. Thank you very much.

Mrs S V KALYAN: Chairperson, the hour is late and many of the wonderful women here still have another shift to do once they leave Parliament. This has been the way of life since women joined the world of work.

In 1956, the women of South Africa took a stand on issues like housing, food prices and permits. Thirty years later we have a Constitution, which protects many critical rights regarding women, like the right to equality, the right to freedom and security, freedom from violence and the right to make decisions concerning reproduction. However, I submit that the struggle for women is far from over.

Today, issues facing us are in the form of domestic violence, sexual violence, HIV/Aids and gender discrimination. Much more needs to be done to eradicate rape and other forms of gender-based sexual violence.

It is a shame that, despite our democracy, South Africa has the highest rape statistics in the world. Between April 2004 and March 2005 a number of 55 114 cases were reported to the police and only seven per cent resulted in convictions. It is my considered opinion that the real figures of rape are much higher, but owing to the stigma of reporting, and the secondary trauma associated with it, many rapes go unreported.

South Africa has a gender hierarchy in which women are generally subordinate to men. While we have rights on paper, the reality is that gender politics and behaviour of men towards women have not kept pace with change.

The UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that we must encourage men to replace risk-taking with taking responsibility. I would like to echo his words to men to take action to support gender equality. The Men as Partners programme encourages men to take a stand against violence against women and to become more involved in curbing the HIV/Aids pandemic.

A study done in September 2005, where 11 904 persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years were surveyed, found that 15,5% of women were HIV positive compared to 4,8% males - that is three times more females than males. Risky sexual practices and denial of the use of condoms have contributed to the higher prevalence in women. Our country’s HIV prevalence rate has increased to 24,8% and women make up 58% of this number.

It is important to work with men because often gender roles encourage men to act in ways that compromise the women’s state of health, thereby exacerbating the impact of the Aids pandemic on women’s lives. Working with men can make a big difference. They can promote new and egalitarian modules of masculinity based on equality and mutual respect, as opposed to those based on fear and dominance.

Two men leaving the High Court today made threatening gestures to Powa members. These women felt that their constitutional right of freedom of expression was severely infringed. As a result of this week’s events, People Opposing Women Abuse have started a one-in-nine campaign. The aim of it is to ensure that the courage and the action of women who speak out about abuse are affirmed. I urge all of you sitting here today to support that campaign. We need to create a safe environment for women.

We have heard a diverse range of views on the topic at hand today. However, the common, collective thread is that women are the pillars of society.

In conclusion, I would like to speak a few words from a poem by Patricia Riley, entitled Imagine a Woman:

Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is a woman. A woman who honours her experience and tells her stories. Who refuses to carry the sins of others within her body and life.

Imagine a woman who believes she is good. A woman who trusts and respects herself. Who listens to her needs and desires, and meets them with tenderness and grace.

Imagine a woman who has acknowledged the past’s influence on the present. A woman who has walked through her past. Who has healed into the present.

Imagine a woman who values the women in her life. A woman who sits in circles of women. Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she forgets. Imagine yourself as this woman.

Thank you.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Chairperson, women transform parliaments by being themselves. Their presence in parliament and their active participation in the legislative process are necessary for the articulation of women’s issues. Women change parliament to make it reflect the society they want to create. These are some of the conclusions of the meeting of women speakers of parliament organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union at the UN headquarters last week and attended by half of the women speakers of the world. I had the honour of representing you there, hon members. [Applause.]

While it is true that one woman can make a difference, it is equally true that women will only have a significant impact on parliament if they are present in sufficient numbers. The statistics gathered by the Inter- Parliamentary Union on women in politics revealed that we are far from equality despite certain progress.

During the opening of South Africa’s first democratic and representative Parliament on 24 May 1994, former President Mandela committed Parliament to gender equality and women’s emancipation. He said, and I quote:

… freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression.

All of us must take this on board that the objectives of the Reconstruction and Development Programme will not have been realised unless we see in visible and practical terms that the condition of the women of our country has radically changed for the better and that they have been empowered to intervene in all aspects of life as equals with any other member of society.

Indeed, the 117 women members who graced Parliament, representing the millions of South African women together with the later election and appointment of Dr Frene Ginwala and Ms Baleka Mbete as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the NA, affirmed this statement. These women and many others contributed to the drafting of the Constitution to ensure that the issues that affected their lives were reflected.

Today South Africa’s Constitution protects many critical rights for women, including the right to equality, the right to freedom and security of person, the right to make decisions concerning reproduction, and the right to security and control over their own bodies. Our Constitution offers hope to the poorest of the poor. It offers the right to education, to property, to a clean environment, to adequate housing, and to health services.

While there are a number of challenges that are yet to be addressed, inroads have been made in terms of which one such big gain is our Constitution, the highest law in the land. Men and women spent sleepless nights in order to come up with a product that is envied by the entire world, that is our supreme Constitution.

Section 9 of the Constitution in the Bill of Rights guarantees equal rights for all South Africans. It elaborates on all of these rights and makes guarantees for legislative measures for the promotion and protection of these rights.

Section 9 also stipulates that neither the state nor any individual can discriminate against anyone on the basis of, amongst other things, sex, creed, race and gender. The Constitution of South Africa has allowed that measures be put in place to guarantee the protection of these rights. All these and many others are a clear constitutional commitment to gender equality.

Chair, when you speak at this time of the day most of the things that you wanted to say have been said, which makes it easier because I don’t think I have much time.

Since 1994 Parliament has been involved in the repealing of apartheid laws that divided and subjugated women and society at large. It is encouraging that the parliamentary theme for this year will be focused on revisiting past legislation and assessing its impact, particularly on gender imbalances.

Women transform parliaments by being themselves. I repeat this. I think I’ll have enough time to say it four or five times before I sit down, because if we are being ourselves we will then know what women issues are, we will know how to participate and to make sure that we impact positively on behalf of those women.

As we stand here, whatever we say, we are saying on behalf of almost 46 million people. So we need to take our roles as members of Parliament very, very seriously. It is because of those people and because of some people who are not alive today, who gave their lives for you and I to be here, that we need to make a difference.

We have revitalised the women’s caucus, and to this end I need to congratulate the Chair and Deputy Chair. I’m sorry that I didn’t see the chairperson when I was looking around. The hon Rwexana is now the chair of the multiparty caucus and the hon Mdlalose is the deputy chair of the multiparty caucus. Congratulations! I thought you would give them a big hand. [Applause.]

It has taken us almost two years to constitute this body, again because we are not being ourselves. If you ask why it had to take two years to have the women’s caucus, the blame cannot be found anywhere except with us. So at last we have the caucus, and we hope that you are going to help the caucus in doing its work.

We’re expecting the caucus will reflect a microcosm in the nature and diversity of our society. The multiparty caucus, in its nature, will allow for this forum to address a multiplicity of issues that affect women across all parties within Parliament. I attended the meeting at which the two ladies were elected. I must say that, on issues that bring women together, women are a formidable force.

Parliament is an institution in which the women of our country find refuge and expect that their plight will receive adequate attention. It is also within the governance principle of this country that other state institutions should take an example from Parliament. Parliament must lead and Parliament must be a good example.

The plight of women in South Africa is in line with the international community. Parliament should, in its capacity as a member of a number of international bodies, such as the UN, the CPA, the Pan-African Parliament, the SADC and the IPU, seek methodologies for addressing the many challenges that continue to face women.

As we gather today to reflect on our work as women - looking at defining moments, celebrating achievements and highlighting challenges - we need to ask ourselves about the efficacy of strategies that we can employ globally within the very institutions of which we are members.

I don’t have much time, and I also must lead by example.

It is 50 years after the glorious march, and during lunch I had an opportunity to sit next to the deputy speaker of the Gauteng legislature, who is one of the women who marched on that day. I said: “Aunt Sophie, how do you feel 50 years later?” She had a smile and tears at the same time, because it has paid dividends. But, at the same time, a lot of people lost their lives unnecessarily. That sums up the pain and the pleasure that she was going through.

Unfortunately, there is no optional extra time for presiding officers; otherwise I would be sure of an extra minute!

We compare very well to other countries. New Zealand is an interesting example. It is almost like South Africa in that nearly all the top positions are currently held by women, including that of prime minister, governor general and presiding officer of parliament.

A quick look at the number of women heads of state – holding the highest positions of government – at the end of 2005 reveals the following. In New Zealand Helen Clark assumed her third term as prime minister after forming a new government in October 2005. In Europe a record number of women held top political office, for example in Estonia, Finland and the Ukraine. In Germany Angela Merkel became the country’s first female chancellor in November. The first elected female African head of state, our own sister and mother, Liberia’s Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, won a runoff election in November 2005. Our own Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, is now also in the records of the world because South Africa has shown that we lead by example.

Now, in conclusion, Madam Deputy Chair, I want to congratulate you and the other presiding officers on involving Parliament in the affairs of the poorest of the poor in our country true to the vision of Parliament: a people’s parliament.

Some of us are very tired because the day started very, very early this morning with celebrations. I think it is still going on, because from here we are going to Langa and somewhere else. That is why I had to go out because I had the wrong speech – it was for something else.

In conclusion, I’m mentioning this … yes, two conclusions; that’s fine. At times there are three. This morning we unveiled the Keiskamma tapestry, an art project that is 112 metres long and hand-embroidered. This tapestry is a product of the women of Peddie in the Eastern Cape. Some of these women were with us for a very long period. In my earlier speech I was actually making mention …

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M N Oliphant): Thank you, Deputy Speaker. Your time has expired.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, let us remember that women transform Parliament by being themselves. Their presence in Parliament and their active participation are necessary for the articulation of women’s issues. Women change Parliament to make it reflect the society they want to create. Thank you. [Applause.]

The MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: Thank you, Madam Chair, hon members, it is indeed a great pleasure for me to close today’s debate for as the previous speakers indicated some of us today started extremely early, but I think it was well worth it.

Cabinet, on 7 December 2005, tasked the Department of Arts and Culture to lead the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the women’s Anti-Pass March of August 1956. It also approved the establishment of an interministerial committee to co-ordinate this year’s celebrations.

Today, 8 March, is National Women’s Day and we unveiled a significant portion of a year-long programme of which this debate is a part. International Women’s Day was born in the struggle for the rights of women during the first two decades of the twentieth century. The day was inaugurated by the parties and the movements of the left. In Europe it was the Social Democratic Party, the trade unions and the working class women’s suffrage movements that led the way. In the Americas it was the Socialist Party’s national women’s committee who first sounded the clarion call to dedicate one day to the struggle of women for equality and the franchise.

In 1913 the date 8 March was chosen as International Women’s Day after the famous “bread and roses strike” by women workers in New England. Ironically, here in South Africa in 1912, the administrator of the then Orange Free State sought to extend the pass laws to apply to African women. To protest this infringement in March 1912, the African and Coloured women of the Orange Free State sent a petition to the then Prime Minister Louis Botha, appealing for redress.

Like another Prime Minister some 40 years later, Louis Botha did not have the courage to meet the women’s delegation. Instead, the delegation of six women from Bloemfontein was directed to meet the then Minister of Native Affairs, Henry Burton, to whom they handed their petition bearing 5 000 signatures, demanding that Parliament repeal the pass law ordinances of the Orange Free State. The government’s failure to respond sparked one of the earliest defiance campaigns in this country. Hundreds of women from Jagersfontein, Winburg and Bloemfontein were arrested in the course of that campaign. Chanting slogans and singing, the women confronted the police and even engaged them in pitched battles. Faced with the determined resistance of the African women of the OFS, the administrator finally relented. In 1919 the ordinance was allowed to lapse.

Passes and the pass laws have a long and brutal history in South Africa. The first such laws were introduced and applied to the slaves at the Cape in 1760. In 1809 the British governor of the Cape passed a law that required all Khoikhoi, including women, to live in one place. If a Khoikhoi sought to move between two parts of the Cape, he or she required government permission in the form of a pass. From 1809 onwards, slaves, as well as free people of colour were required to carry a pass here in the Cape Colony.

Passes were not merely instruments to control the movement of people. They were at the hub of a repressive system and labour-coercive laws aimed at compelling the African peasant to join the modern labour force and, once so employed, to place them at the cruel mercies of their employers. A pass- bearing native, as you were then called, could not change his job without government permission, could not move from one place to another without permission, was not recognised as an employee in terms of the law and consequently could not benefit from any industrial conciliation decisions. While a pass-bearing native could join a trade union if he so wished, no employer was obliged to recognise such unions, let alone to bargain with them.

All African men, with the exception of a handful, referred to in a patronising manner as exempted natives, were required to carry a pass and had to produce it for inspection on demand by the police or any other authorised state officials. Carrying a pass symbolised the inferior political and social status of Africans. Like the yellow star the Nazis forced the Jews of occupied Europe to wear, it was the badge of slavery.

After the NP took office, subsequent to the 1948 elections, amongst its priorities was the extension of the pass laws to African women. Moving with deliberate speed, they drafted legislation and in terms of a very cynically named Natives Abolition of Passes and Consolidation of Documents Act of 1952, introduced what became known as the dompas, the so-called reference book, which was in effect a personal dossier carrying details of permits to seek work, to work, to reside, tax receipts and a whole range of other details relating to the bearer.

In 1955 the then Minister of Native Affairs, the notorious Dr H F Verwoerd, introduced a Bill extending this system to African women. It is important to note that the NP Cabinet that piloted that law through Parliament did not contain even one single woman; not that it would have made any difference, but it is important to note nonetheless. Resistance to these measures was almost instant. Lilian Ngoyi, one of the leaders of the then recently founded Federation of SA Women, explained the response of the women in these terms:

Men are born into the system and it is as if it has been a life tradition for them to carry passes. We as women have seen the treatment our men receive. When they leave home in the morning, you are not sure they will come back. We are taking it very seriously. If the husband is to be arrested and the mother, what about the child?

The militancy displayed by the women surpassed all expectations. In the rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal open rebellion and armed incidents took place. In the area that today is called the North West Province, there were also outbreaks of rebellious activity as opposition to the law took root. In the Limpopo Province the resistance to the pass laws merged with the resistance to the Bantu Authorities Act of 1951.

Speaking on this morning’s broadcast on SABC2, Mrs Sophie Williams de Bruyn, who was here earlier today, explained that despite the scepticism of many of the male leaders of the ANC, the women were determined to proceed with their march; organising from city to city, from town to town, from village to village, the women succeeded in galvanising thousands. Working out of a basement in the ANC’s Johannesburg head office, they produced the leaflets, the explanatory pamphlets in a number of African languages and arranged accommodation, food and transport for the thousands of women who were expected at the march.

The massive demonstration of women in Pretoria on 9 August 1956 was the culmination of months of painstaking, unglamorous organisational work. Almost 20 000 women drawn from all racial groups managed to reach the Union Buildings in what was one of the biggest mass demonstrations of that decade. An unknown number did not reach Pretoria because their buses were turned back or they were detained and otherwise harassed by a government that was deaf to the demands of the ordinary South African. It took three more decades of struggle to have these obnoxious laws struck from our statute books.

The Women’s Charter adopted by the Federation of SA Women shortly after its inauguration, demanded the full franchise for all South Africans, equality of opportunity, equal pay for equal work, equal rights to property, equality in marriage, the removal of all laws and customs that denied women equality, paid maternity leave for working mothers and free compulsory education for all children. It is a matter of pride that many of the demands in that Charter have been realised in our Constitution. Despite this achievement, there still remain a number of degrading laws affecting specifically African women, which have still not been expunged from our statute books. This year, 2006, government must act to have all such laws removed from our statute books.

Every community in this country derives from powerful, patriarchal traditions and we have witnessed some of the more disturbing aspects of the sort of aggressive masculine behaviour these traditions have engendered at the Johannesburg High Court yesterday and on previous occasions. Whatever the merits of the case against the ANC Deputy President Jacob Zuma, it cannot be acceptable that a woman, who has recourse to the law to protect the integrity of a person, should be subjected to such gross abuse. I take this opportunity to call upon those responsible to stop this and to stop it now. [Applause.]

It was in recognition of the central role women have played in the struggle for freedom that in 1995 the democratic government declared 9 August South Africa’s Women’s Day. It was done as a tribute, not only to the thousands of women who marched on that day in 1956, but also as a tribute to the pioneers of the women’s movement in this country, dating back to 1912, when Mrs Charlotte Maxeke led the way in establishing the ANC Women’s League and encouraging women to get engaged in the struggle for freedom.

It is a tribute to the thousands of women, of all races, who struggled for the enfranchisement of South African women during the 1920s, only to see their struggles betrayed by the packed government of Barry Hertzog that only enfranchised the white women. It is a tribute to the thousands of stalwarts who were at the forefront of the working women’s struggles during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s that led to formation of powerful unions in later years. The roll call is far too long for us to recall. I will restrict myself to only a few names: Charlotte Maxeke, that indomitable educationalist and freedom fighter who after graduating from a university in the United States, found the Wilberforce Institute in Everton.

We recall too the names of Cissy Gool and of her sisters in law, Jaynab and Amina who were amongst the leaders of the National Liberation League and the Non-European United Front of the 1930s. The names of Ray Alexander Simons, Elizabeth Mafikeng and Elizabeth Abrahams will always be associated with the struggles of women.

We also remember the names of Mrs Amina Pahad and Mrs Gadijah Christopher, who were amongst the first volunteers to occupy the site of the 1946 Passive Resistance Campaign on Umbilo Road in Durban. We recall too the names of Dora Tamana, Winifred Siqwana, Ida Mntwana, Bertha Mkhize, Florence Matomela and other stalwarts of the 1950s, who led militant women’s formation for the rights of workers and the rights of women.

There were also the women, who formed the Black Sash, first to protest against the disenfranchisement of the Coloured voters during the 1950s but who later played an important role in the united front of anti-apartheid forces that developed in the last three decades of apartheid. We recall too that stalwart of liberalism in South Africa - a tradition that is regrettably being sullied in our day - Helen Suzman, whose probing questions helped exposed the crimes of apartheid during the 1970s and 1980s.

There were also the hundreds of women who passed through the prisons of apartheid as detainees and as political prisoners. They are our martyrs, amongst whom we count Ruth First and Dulcie September, who was murdered in Paris and whose murder still remains unexplained even today.

When we cast our eyes around this Chamber today, we can note with great pride the number of women in Parliament, the number of women in Cabinet and the fact of a woman as Deputy President of South Africa. [Applause.] If we have come that far today, it is because we stand on the shoulders of the female giants who preceded us. May we all prove worthy of their commitment and sacrifices. Thank you. [Applause.]

Debate concluded.

The Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces adjourned the Joint Sitting at 17:48.