Gaye Davis
DEPUTY President Thabo Mbeki has pledged that a woman=20 will be first choice to fill any minister’s or deputy=20 minister’s post that becomes vacant in future.
Mbeki made the commitment when addressing women from=20 NGOs countrywide, who gathered at Midrand last weekend=20 in preparation for a global forum on women, which=20 starts in Beijing at the end of August.
Mbeki also said the government would try to ratify the=20 United National Convention on the Elimination of All=20 Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw) by August=20 9 — Women’s Day. And he said the proposed Office on=20 the Status of Women — long-awaited national machinery=20 to promote women’s advancement — would be based in the=20 Office of the State President.
His pledges were met with delight by delegates. Nomtuse=20 Mbere, convenor of the non-governmental organisation=20 (NGO) planning committee for Beijing, said while the=20 name of the Office on the Status of Women could change,=20 it would “ensure all ministries work towards the=20 advancement of women” by liaising with ministry-based=20 gender desks and scrutinising budgets. Women wanted it=20 based in the President’s office, she said. “If it was a=20 separate ministry, it would not have enough power.”
About 1 300 NGOs are accredited for a global NGO forum=20 to run from August 30 to September 8 at Huairou, a=20 Chinese resort town some distance from Beijing. It is=20 designed to complement the United Nations-sponsored=20 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing’s Asian=20 Games Village, which runs from September 4 to 11.
“Beijing will be a conference of commitment on the part=20 of governments, which will set the agenda as far as=20 women are concerned for the next 10 years,” Mbere said.=20 “The Midrand conference was a chance for women in civil=20 society to identify what they want the government to=20 commit to.” Major areas of concern included the burden=20 of poverty borne by women, the need for economic=20 empowerment, employment creation and affirmative=20
Proposals would go to the National Preparatory=20 Committee for Beijing, chaired by deputy minister of=20 welfare Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi.
The 30-strong South African government delegation, to=20 be led by Speaker of the National Assembly, Frene=20 Ginwala, will include a number of reserved places for=20 NGO representatives.