Malibongwe!

A massive audience of over 21 000 people, predominantly women, converged on the Harry Gwala Stadium in Sasolburg, Free State on August 9 to commemorate National Women’s Day 2015. 

It was the 20th Woman’s Day celebrated here, and had the theme “Women United in Moving South Africa Forward”. The day also marked the 59th anniversary of the 1956 women’s march to the Union Buildings. 

Dignitaries included Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, Minister in the Presidency for Women Susan Shabangu, Minister of Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa, Free State Premier Ace Magashule, new leader of the ANC Woman’s League Bathabile Dlamini and MECs, mayors and counsellors from the Free State and other provinces.

A number of women’s organisations were also present, as were veterans of the liberation struggle including activist Sophie Williams-de Bruyn.

Keynote speaker President Jacob Zuma said the day was designated to celebrate the gallant contribution of South African women to the struggle for liberation and the attainment of the democracy we enjoy in our country.

“National Women’s Day also provides an opportunity to track the progress made in the advancement of women and in improving the quality of life of all women in our country, especially the poor and the working class,” he said. 

“We declared the year 2015 as the Year of the Freedom Charter and Unity in Action to Advance Socioeconomic Freedom. It is for this reason that today we are releasing the Report on the Status of Women in the South African Economy, and the focus of Women’s Day 2015 is the economic empowerment of women.” 

Zuma paid tribute to stalwarts of the struggle, describing them as an “embodiment of 102 years of a relentless forward march to total emancipation, land rights, equality, justice and democracy” and saying that the strides we have made as a country are attributable to “endless sacrifices and the courageous spirit displayed by heroic stalwarts who paved the way”.

“Their sacrifices remind us that our freedom came about through blood, sweat and tears. Unarmed and defenceless, women challenged the might and brutality of successive oppressive regimes in order to ensure that future generations live in a South Africa that truly belongs to all.”

Freedom Charter

Zuma said: “We also pay tribute to thousands of women, whose names we may never know, who suffered and fought for the freedom we enjoy today. South African women gave their time and commitment to the liberation movement, often at a great personal cost, without any expectation of position or reward.”

He said that this is also the 60th anniversary of the Freedom Charter, which was preceded by the 1954 Women’s Charter. “This is a clear indication that women were in their own rights pioneers in the struggle for liberation.” 

The Freedom Charter of 1955 together with the Women’s Charter, which developed and influenced the 1994 Women’s Charter for Effective Equality, anchored the fundamentals of the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. 

The Women’s Charter called for the right to vote and be elected to all state bodies, equal pay for equal work, equal rights in relation to property, land rights, marriage and children and the removal of all laws and customs that denied women such equality.

Zuma said the lesson learned from the struggle for liberation is that “without women working side-by-side with men, we will not become the prosperous nation envisaged by the Preamble of our Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.

“Also, if we are to succeed economically as a country, women must participate at both the micro and macro levels of the economy.  They must not be relegated to micro operations and the informal economy, as has been the case.

Equal treatment

“The Employment Equity Commission indicates that in spite of all the efforts, remnants of unfair discrimination still persist in a number of areas in our country, especially in the labour market. 

“Women are discriminated against on the basis of pregnancy or marital status. They are also subjected to pay inequality and sexual harassment. These [issues] must be addressed, as all citizens are entitled to equal treatment.” 

Tracking the progress made by youth, especially young women, is also a government priority and during Youth Month the achievements of youth were showcased and young women introduced who are engineers, electricians, plumbers and businesswomen, as well as young people who are excelling in energy, defence, business, science and technology.

“This demonstrates that we are making steady progress in education,” said Zuma. “The future indeed looks bright as we have 99% of children between the ages of 7 and 15 years attending school.  We thank South African parents for this achievement! 

“The attendance figures for our mass adult literacy programme, Kha Ri Gude (Let us Learn) also reaches a large number of women.”

In the area of health, Zuma said: “We have a very good story to tell. According to the 2014 mid-year population estimates released by Statistics South Africa, the life expectancy for women increased from 55.7 in 2002 to 63.1 in 2014.

“Our fight against HIV and Aids has been among the important interventions that have improved the lives of our people.

“The United Nations Aids agency announced on July 14 in a report How Aids Has Changed Everything – Meeting the MDG Targets that the world has met and exceeded the Aids targets of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6 and was on track to end the Aids epidemic by 2030, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Higher life expectancies

“The organisation further declared that the goal of 15 million people on life-saving HIV treatment by 2015 has been met and exceeded — nine months ahead of schedule.”

According to Zuma, the report counted South Africa as one of the countries that has made significant strides in halting and reversing the epidemic and that South Africa has turned around its decline in life expectancy within 10 years, rising from 51 years in 2005 to 61 by the end of 2014, on the back of a massive increase in access to antiretroviral therapy. 

South Africa is also listed in the group of countries that have reduced the number of new HIV infections by at least 20%. Of the 15 million people globally on HIV treatment, more than 3.4 million are in South Africa, with deaths associated with HIV and Aids in South Africa significantly declining by 58% since 2010.

“Indeed, our people are living longer and many are now able to work and live healthy lives due to the availability of treatment,” he continued, “However these wonderful results announced in the report should not blind us into complacency. The fight against HIV and Aids continues. The fight against the stigma and the support for all infected and affected by the virus should continue. 

“Work also continues to improve patient care at our hospitals and clinics, to ensure better services for women and children.”

Zuma mentioned the June African Union (AU) summit, themed Women Empowerment and Development towards Agenda 2063, and that among the highlights of the summit was the launch of a major drive to support women in agriculture. 

“The Chairperson of the AU Commission gave each head of state and government a new tiller as a symbol of the need to provide women access to modern technology, land, credit, and extension services in order to empower women in agriculture and agro industry. The AU intervention is in line with our own programmes of promoting women in agriculture, programmes such as Fetsa Tlala (eradicate hunger), providing women with seeds and implements.”

It is a sad reality that amongst the poorest of South Africa’s citizens, social grants are not just supporting the person concerned, but are the sole income for many families. Zuma mentioned the “positive impact the provision of a social wage package has had in reducing poverty in the country,” saying these grants “continue to be among the most effective poverty alleviation mechanisms of the democratic government”.

“These include free primary health care, no-fee paying schools, social grants — most notably old age pensions and child support grants — the RDP housing and the provision of basic services to households, namely water, electricity and sanitation. Through these services government cushions the poor from poverty and destitution.”

Economic pressure

“They will continue to be so [poor], given the difficult global economic situation.  The economy is still not growing enough to create more jobs. Unemployment, poverty and inequality remain stark realities and we are therefore concerned about the talk of massive job cuts in the mining and steel sectors. 

“While we understand the economic pressure that some sectors are facing, we urge business to contain the difficulties as much as possible and not to resort to retrenchments at the first possible opportunity. Retrenchments would have a huge negative impact on the social and economic landscape in the affected provinces and will affect scores of families and communities,” said Zuma.

“We trust that business and labour will engage fruitfully on this matter. Government stands ready to support and assist wherever possible.”

More women graduate than men

The report of the Commission on Higher Education (CHE) reveals that overall women are more successful in their studies. In 2007, 59% of graduates were women, although only 55.5% of all enrolled students were women. At the universities of technology, 55% of graduates were women; they comprised 51% of enrolments. 

In the comprehensive universities 62% of graduates were women, while they made up 57% of enrolments and at the universities, 59% of graduates were women, and comprised 56% of enrolments. In the education field more than 70% of graduates are women; in the human and social sciences, more than 60%.

Women in top positions

Woman’s Day rally in Sasolburg, President Jacob Zuma said that significant progress has been made in areas such as legal status, attitudes, women’s involvement in decision-making, especially at the political level, in employment, education, ownership of homes and businesses, the justice system, and economic participation. 

He cited the following statistics as examples of how much progress has been made:

– Women’s representation in the National Assembly moved from a mere 2.7% pre-1994 to the current 41%;

– Women lead us in Parliament, with both the speaker and the chairperson of the National Council of Provinces being women;

– Representation of women in Cabinet following the 2014 general election stands at 43%, with deputy ministers being at 45.9%;

– Local government levels are showing steady progress in the representation of women and following the 2011 local government elections, the representation of women on local government councils is at 38.4% compared to 28.2% in 2000;

– Women constitute about 33% of all the judges in the judiciary. The judiciary had two (white) women in 1994. There are now 61 women judges of whom 48 are black, and there are two women judge presidents and a woman deputy judge president;

– Women constitute about 41% of the total magistracy and women are also represented in the Judicial Service Commission and the Magistrates’ Commission;

– Women make up almost 40% of the senior management service in the public service; and

– Diplomatic appointments of women have also equally increased dramatically. In 2001, only eight women, constituting 17.4% of the total number, were serving as heads of missions abroad. As of 2014, women accounted for 29% of appointed ambassadors, high commissioners and consul-generals. 

Zuma said: “There is still much room for improvement. While the public sector continues to improve the status of women, the private sector still lags behind and the Employment Equity Report indicates that in 2014, women still accounted for only 21% of top executive management positions and 32% of all senior management positions.

“Women appear to be stuck at both middle and junior management levels, where they account for 45% and 43% respectively. It would be good to have more women serving on the boards of directors of corporate South Africa.”