Glenda Daniels
Gender activists from across the spectrum of political parties, NGOs, educationists and trade unionists slammed the government at a gender summit this week for withdrawing funds from a parliamentary committee on women while spending billions on defence.
The four-day summit, entitled Realising Gender Equality: Justice, Peace and Poverty Eradication, organised on the eve of National Women’s Day by the Commission of Gender Equality (CGE), was held to assess whether South Africa’s gender “machinery” is effective.
Three structures established to make South Africa a non-sexist society came under the spotlight the Office of the Status of Women in the President’s Office, the CGE and the parliamentary committee on women.
The government recently withdrew substantial funding from the parliamentary committee on women, headed by African National Congress MP Pregs Govender.
This week angry delegates said they were “horrified” at how Minister in the Office of the President Essop Pahad “harangued” women at the summit. But he did not succeed with the intimidation, they said. Pahad received a tongue-lashing for the government prioritising arms spending instead of improving the lives of women and eradicating poverty. In response he said the government would reconsider its funding to women.
“Last year, for the entire year, our budget was R150 000,” said Govender, who has vociferously proposed in Parliament that the government prioritise social spending over defence.
The summit’s workshopped topics included gender and the economy; women and HIV; women and land reform; women and the information age; and culture and tradition. Speakers included Minister of Communications Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, Wiphold CEO Louisa Mojela, Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, head of the Women’s Development Bank Zanele Mbeki, chairperson of the Human Rights Commission Barney Pityana and Minister of Social Development Zola Skweyiya.
For the first time at a gender conference since 1994, the old mantra of
“we have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go” was not sung. Instead, some new ideas were mooted.
For example, in a break with the government macroeconomic policy, CGE patron Zanele Mbeki said it was time to focus on objectives in the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP): “Women should campaign for specific recommendations in the RDP towards eradicating poverty.”
She said there should be a Cabinet committee on gender in addition to the three existing structures, but all these structures need adequate funding. She questioned whether present structures are being fully utilised and proposed a specific development fund for women.
South African Communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande proposed that a basic income grant as part of a social wage be considered by the government. This would “take the burden of domestic work away from women. Gender activists must shape such strategies for poverty alleviation.”
The financial independence of women was a critical issue for Mojela, who spoke at the gender and economy workshop: “Women earn 50c to every rand that a man earns. Business in South Africa has shown little interest in promoting gender equality. Forty-seven percent of companies in the country do not have a gender-promotion policy and 50% say they employ people who can do the job, which all shows a complete lack of [gender] understanding.”
Mojela said 49% of women are
in apprentice positions compared to 41% of men, while less than 41%
of companies had no sexual harassment policy and only 4% were in
the process of formulating one.
“The biggest challenge for us in the 21st century,” said Mojela, “is to build financial independence for ourselves. We need to look at innovative ways to do this. But stokvels and traditional saving clubs should not be side-
lined. They are not backward but very powerful.” She cited the United States as an inspiring example of a country where eight million women own their own businesses and employ more than twice that number.
Director of the National Economic, Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) Philip Dexter said it has to be acknowledged that South Africa is a patriarchal society, which can be seen in the way that gender issues at Nedlac get shifted to its development chamber. However, he warned against the common discourse of transforming the economy where black empowerment makes a “few blacks into millionaires with the notion that somehow this will make many blacks into millionaires”. Instead he proposed that women build strong organisations.
Pat Horn, international coordinator of Streetnet, an organisation of self-employed women, said seven organisations worldwide had sprung up
in recent years for women, who are part of the fastest-growing sector in economies the urban informal sector. She said women in this sector are organising themselves globally and sharing strategies through international alliances, and South African women are very much a part of this.
The summit heard frequent expressions of no confidence in men not excluding Catholic bishops.
Ndungane said: “Sadly, in most cases it is men who are the perpetrators of the heinous crimes of violence and discrimination. It is violent and abusive men who consistently create headlines and sow fear and disgust.”
Pitanya attacked the bishops on their controversial stance on condoms. “The recent Catholic Bishops Conference’s decision not to endorse the use of condoms in our fight against HIV/
Aids is a decision that might be theoretically justified but does not take into account the reality of our situation.”