Voorsitter, as 'n plattelandse vrou sal ek vandag my plig versuim as ek nie hulde bring aan mev Wilhelmina Ruiters, 'n 46-jarige plaaswerker van Rocklands, wat met behulp van die Hauptfleisch Van der Merwe Stigting van Bronaar Plase haar studies as eerstejaarstudent in maatskaplike werk aan die Universiteit van Suid-Afrika begin het.
As gemeenskapswerker het hierdie vrou twee jaar gelede haar matriek deur Adult Basic Education and Training voltooi. Sy is tans druk besig om voor te berei vir haar eerste eksamen op 23 en 24 Maart aan Unisa. Trots was ek toe sy nogal erken het dat, alhoewel alles in Engels en nie in haar moedertaal, Afrikaans, gedoen word nie, sy niks sal toelaat om haar te verhoed om haar doel te bereik nie.
Nog so 'n vrou wat lank reeds besef het dat geletterdheid 'n kardinale rol in die bemagtiging van persone, veral in die platteland, speel, is mev Stella Meduna. Toe sy nie 'n klaskamer in Uitenhage in die Oos-Kaap kon bekom nie, het sy 'n bus gekoop en daarin 'n klaskamer begin. Sulke inisiatief van vroue, wat lankal reeds besef het dat honger en armoede deur geletterdheid bekamp kan word, moet aan die groot klok gehang word. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mrs H LAMOELA: Chairperson, as a rural woman I would be failing in my duty if I did not pay tribute to Mrs Wilhelmina Ruiters, a 46-year-old farm worker from Rocklands who, with the assistance of the Hauptfleisch Van der Merwe Foundation of Bronaar Farms, has commenced with her studies as a first-year student in social work at the University of South Africa.
Two years ago, as a community worker, this woman completed her matric through Adult Basic Education and Training. She is presently preparing for her first examinations at Unisa on 23 and 24 March. I was proud when she even conceded that, although everything was in English and not in her mother tongue, Afrikaans, she was not going to allow anything to keep her from reaching her goal.
Another such woman who realised long ago that literacy plays a critical role in the empowerment of people, especially in the rural areas, is Mrs Stella Meduna. When she could not obtain a classroom at Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape, she purchased a bus and established a classroom in it. Such initiative, from women who have long since realised that hunger and poverty can be combated through literacy, should be widely broadcast.]
Stella Meduna and Wilhelmina Ruiters, we salute you.
As the 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goals draws closer, the challenge to eradicate poverty and hunger and empower rural women goes beyond meeting the goals set. Success will be measured in terms of lives saved, of women uplifted, educated, skilled, resourced and improved to the extent of them being able to fend for themselves and their families.
Millennium Development Goal 3, and I quote from the report of 2011:
... is clear on the progress made by our country in increasing the proportion of women in decision-making positions in the political sphere and, as stated, ranks third globally on women's participation in Parliament. However, it failed dismally when it comes to progress made for rural women.
Prominent issues such as access to adequate basic and higher education for girls, a lack of gender-sensitive education, safety and the abuse of women and girls are but a few issues still violating rural women and girls' rights to freedom, dignity and equality.
Dissemination of information, which is a great tool for empowerment, especially for rural women, is of pivotal importance and should be considered a priority in order to allow these women to be well informed about their rights - which they so badly need in our democracy and which are, in so many ways, often violated. Information should be distributed, especially in their own languages, at libraries, information centres, in communities and on farms and, where necessary, explained, to allow women to take part in issues concerning their wellbeing. Far too few engage in programmes set out by departments, if these ever reach the women in rural areas.
Voorsitter, jong vroue op die platteland word daagliks met geweldige uitdagings gekonfronteer. Baie van hierdie jong vroue moet f ver afstande afl na die naaste skool - wat reeds swak toegerus is - f hulle moet onderwysers trotseer wat geensins toegewyd is nie en waar infrastruktuur een van hul grootste uitdagings is. Al hierdie faktore plaas geweldige druk op jong meisies, wat dan ook nog huishoudings moet bestuur waar ouers hulle deur MIV/Vigs ontval het.
Swak dienslewering op die platteland - en hier kan ons weer verwys na die oop-toiletsaga van Viljoenskroon, waar die menswaardigheid van vroue, veral arm plattelandse vroue, geweldig bedreig word - het 'n beduidende impak op die lewe van vroue.
Twee weke gelede is rou menslike afval wat in strate in Ritchie, Noord-Kaap uitloop, bespeur. Die gesondheidsrisiko vir vroue en kinders het 'n negatiewe impak op die voortbestaan van arm plattelandse vroue. Le beloftes van die huidige burgemeester, me Agnes Ntlangula, dra geensins by tot 'n beter lewe vir hierdie arm plattelandse vroue nie.
Hierdie toedrag van sake het 'n groot sosiopolitieke en sosioekonomiese impak op plattelandse gemeenskappe en, alhoewel ons groot strategiese planne het om armoede en die bemagtiging van plattelandse vroue in werking te stel, het ons reeds lankal vergeet van al die ongemplementeerde stukke wetgewing waarby hierdie vroue so goed kon baat. "Food banks", soos dit bekend staan, kan groot uitkoms en verligting vir honger-geteisterdes in die platteland bring. Ongelukkig word dit slegs in groot dorpe of stede aangetref. Plattelandse vroue is dus aan hul eie lot oorgelaat vir oorlewing.
Voedingskemas by skole op die platteland bring uitkoms vir kinders en selfs families, maar gedurende skoolvakansies is daar geen heenkome nie. Ons wil regtig nooit weer 'n situasie waarneem soos die een waar drie kinders in 'n mielieland in Noordwes omgekom het nie. Gemeenskapswerkers moet hul plig nakom en help dat identiteitsdokumente betyds vir arme, soms ongeletterde, plattelandse vroue bekom word.
Gereelde monitering moet geskied om projekte wat gemplementeer word, te evalueer. Nie-regeringsorganisasies implementeer reeds 60% van wetgewing, tog word hul toelaes hul ontneem, soos nou weer die geval in plattelandse dele van Limpopo. Is dit hoe ons vroue wil bemagtig?
Hierdie situasie dra by tot versukkelde omstandighede en groot uitdagings tot oorlewing op die platteland. Besprekings van hierdie situasie met provinsiale departemente is van kardinale belang. Hierdie instansies gaan reeds gebuk onder groot tekorte van broodnodige dienste soos byvoorbeeld maatskaplike werkers, om net een te noem. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, young women in the rural areas are confronted on a daily basis with enormous challenges. Many of these young women have to travel long distances to the nearest school - which is already poorly equipped - or they have to brave teachers who are not in any way committed and where infrastructure presents one of their biggest challenges. All of these factors are placing enormous pressure on young girls, who also still have to manage households where parents have been lost to HIV/Aids.
Poor service delivery in the rural areas - and here we take another look at the Viljoenskroon open toilet saga, where the dignity of women, especially poor rural women, is under threat - has a significant impact on the lives of women.
Two weeks ago raw human waste was observed spilling out into the streets at Ritchie, Northern Cape. The health risk to women and children has a negative impact on the survival of poor rural women. Empty promises by the current mayor, Ms Agnes Ntlagula, will in no way contribute to a better life for these poor rural women.
This state of affairs has a big sociopolitical and socioeconomic impact on rural communities and although we have vast strategic plans to combat poverty and effect the empowerment of rural women, we have long since forgotten about all the unimplemented pieces of legislation from which these women could have benefited so well. Food banks, as they are known, could be a great relief for the hunger-stricken in the rural areas. Unfortunately they are only found in large towns or cities. Rural women are therefore left to their own devices for survival.
Feeding schemes at schools in the rural areas are providing relief for children and even families, but during school holidays there is no refuge for them. Never again do we want to witness a situation such as the one where three children died in a maize field in North West. Community workers should perform their duties and assist poor and often illiterate rural women in obtaining their identity documents on time.
Constant monitoring must take place to evaluate projects that are being implemented. Non-government organisations are already implementing 60% of legislation, but still their allocations are being withheld, as is currently the case in rural parts of Limpopo. Is this the way in which we want to empower women?
This situation is contributing to the ruinous circumstances and big challenges regarding survival in the rural areas. Discussions with provincial departments regarding this situation are of vital importance. These institutions are already burdened by sizeable shortages of much- needed services such as, for instance, social workers, to name just one.]
The Phelophepa Train with its 17 carriages could, for the past 17 years, only reach five of the nine provinces of our country. Budget constraints are given as the main reason. This train provides health care services to the poor in the rural areas. Witzenberg - which consists of Ceres, Wolseley, Tulbagh and Op-die-Berg, with approximately 1 200 farms and 80 000 residents - will never have the privilege of sharing our health care services from this train, as the railway line between Wolseley and Ceres was closed down in 1995, without any participation of the community on this matter. Public-private and government partnerships need to be explored so as to allow this community to take part in much-needed services rendered by the Phelopepha as well as the loveLife trains, as teenage pregnancies and tuberculosis are growing and these young girls will again become the victims of poverty, abuse and hunger. Urgent measures surrounding these issues should be investigated.
Terwyl daar redelike vordering met die implementering van sekere stukke wetgewing rakende vroueregte gemaak is, moet ons aan u oordra dat vroue, en veral arm plattelandse vroue, nie meer bereid is om te wag op beter dae wat deur le beloftes aan ons voorgehou word nie. Daadwerklike optrede in familieverband, waarby mans en seuns ingesluit word, om gouer groter hoogtes in gelykheid van vroue te bekom, is kritiek. Beleide rakende die welsyn van vroue, veral in plattelandse gebiede, moet bespoedig word, om sodoende doelwitte te kan bereik, veral omdat die grootste persentasie van plattelandse vroue nog nie op 'n onafhanklike inkomste kan staatmaak nie. [Tyd verstreke.] [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[While there has been reasonable progress with the implementation of certain pieces of legislation concerning women's rights, we have to communicate to you the fact that rural women, and poor rural women in particular, are no longer prepared to wait for the better days that are being held up to us in empty promises. Decisive action in the family context, where men and boys are included, to attain higher levels of equality for women much sooner, is essential. Policies concerning the welfare of women, particularly in rural areas, must be expedited in order to reach certain targets, mainly because the largest percentage of rural women are as yet unable to rely on an independent income. [Time expired.] [Applause.]]
House Chair, five days ago, on 8 March, the world celebrated International Women's Day. Today we celebrate this day under the theme "Empower Rural Women - End Hunger and Poverty". Yes, the theme is indeed suitable for the current status of many women in our country, not just rural women. In 2008, 68% of African women were living in poverty, compared to 60% of African men. In three predominantly rural provinces - Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo - 60,1% of women were living in households with an income below the poverty line.
Poverty is the principal cause of hunger. According to the United Nation's general facts about poverty, more than 800 million people in the world go to bed hungry every day, and 500 million of these are adults.
Apha eMzantsi Afrika kukho abantu abadala ababulawa yindlala kodwa abaziwa. Akutshiwo ukuba indlala ngunobangela wokusweleka kwabo. Indlala ibangelwa kukungabikho kwamathuba engqesho, ukungabikho kwezakhono, ukungafumani mathuba okufunda, kwanokungafumani amalungelo okuba nomhlaba nemali- mboleko. Nanku ke umbuzo: Ungakanani umgama osele uhanjiwe ngurhulumente ukuqinisekisa ukuba abasetyhini bafumana umhlaba ngaphandle kwezithembiso nokuzinikela? (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Here in South Africa there are unknown elderly people who are dying of hunger. It does not mean hunger is the cause of their death. Hunger is caused by a lack of job opportunities, a lack of skills, a lack of access to education and a lack of access to land and to the ability to make cash loans. So, here is the question: How far has the government gone in ensuring that women have access to land - besides promises and commitment?]
Many rural women are involved in communal farming, which is the most neglected sector. We only ever hear about small-scale and commercial farmers. What is the government doing to assist these communal farmers in terms of land, skills, access to markets and credit? How many women are the beneficiaries of land restitution?
Bangaphi abasetyhini abazingomba isifuba besithi: "Lo mhlaba ngowam.?" [How many women can boast and say: "This land is mine.?"]
The Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities should lobby all government departments and the private sector to mainstream the microfinance needs of rural women, who are economically marginalised. These women will revive the depressed rural areas' economic outlook, create jobs and reduce poverty.
Hunger is also a cause of poverty. Hunger causes malnutrition and poor health indicators. It can lead to even greater poverty by reducing people's ability to work and learn. Poverty in rural areas means having to walk long distances every day in order to collect water and firewood.
Ukuya kukha amanzi emlanjeni kulindeleke ukuba kube yingxaki enkulu ngenxa yokuguqu-guquka kwemo yezulu. Ukuhamba umgama omde usiya kukha amanzi okanye usiya kutheza iinkuni kubeka abasetyhini esichengeni sokuba ngamaxhoba odlwengulo nohlaselo. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.) [Fetching water from the river is expected to be a huge problem because of climate change. To walk long distances to fetch water or to collect wood puts women at risk of falling victim to rape and violence.]
In the 2009 state of the nation address, rural people were promised comprehensive rural development in order to develop vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities. We acknowledge the pilot projects in some rural areas ... nangona abantu basemakhaya besalindele ukuza kukaNxele. [... even though rural people have been waiting for a very long time.]
Please, roll out the programme ... iyafuneka. Enkosi. [... it is needed. Thank you.]
Chairperson, the IFP welcomes the debate. However, I hasten to add that women still suffer and bear the brunt of poverty, disease, unemployment and social ills. KwaZulu-Natal has a larger proportion of females than males and women carry a heavier burden of poverty. Women are more vulnerable to HIV and Aids. Women and children are being trafficked across the world as commodities to be bought and sold.
Even more disturbing is the fact that some families are grooming their daughters for prostitution. Is this the type of society we want for our children? Where are the moral, spiritual and social values? As a mother, daughter and grandmother, I shudder to think how we can be grooming our children to sell their bodies through prostitution and sell their flesh for money and material comforts. Is our country becoming another Sodom and Gomorrah?
While it is true that we have attained legal equal rights for women, there is still much that needs to be done for social practices and prejudices to catch up with legal precedents. How can we boast of all the accomplishments when our women are dying of Aids, are still being raped, abused and left in the dire straits of poverty?
So, today we should also take the time to reflect on areas where we have fallen short of the noble ideals of our Constitution because rights on paper do not always translate into rights in practice. In fact, we are finding that as women achieve freedom in some areas, their freedom in other areas is being lost.
Women now have equal access to jobs, but jobs are just not there. Women are still being harassed at the workplace. Women are still not economically empowered. Pass laws are gone, but the streets are too dangerous for women. Women still cannot walk the streets at night or during the day. Apartheid planning has ceased, but informal settlements are growing. Child-headed households are on the increase.
There are too many women still relying on men for an income; too many sugar daddies; too much abuse. [Interjections.] Can we say we have done enough? The answer is no. This means we need to focus on the bigger picture of rapid and sustained economic growth.
It was the leader of the IFP, Prince M G Buthelezi, who told us that there is nothing that women cannot do. Let us come together and ensure that the struggle for women's rights continues. Let us do the impossible. Let us fight to ensure that women are truly free. Mama Dlulane, the IFP is doing the job. I am really doing what she says the opposition parties must do. She says we are not helping to fight, but just last week Mr Ndlovu issued a statement on behalf of women, which was discussed in the caucus. This is how the IFP is. [Applause.]
Chairperson, each year Women's Day is celebrated globally on 8 March. This year we proudly support the theme "Empower Rural Women - End Hunger and Poverty". Women are the cornerstones of families and communities. They are our caregivers. They are our mothers, aunts, sisters and daughters. They are often breadwinners or sole providers.
On the African continent, women contribute more than 70% of the total food production. They plough the land and raise the livestock. Strong and caring, resolute and determined, these are the images of women in even the most destitute areas of our country. Natural disasters and climate change often have the worst and greatest impact on women. They are the first to go hungry in order to provide for their children. They are the first to go cold through many winter nights in order to keep their children warm.
Women play a very important role in agriculture and rural development yet remain one of the most vulnerable groups in the society. It is sad to know that almost three years ago, the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities was established with the mandate to facilitate the advancement, empowerment and socioeconomic development of vulnerable people, including women. To date, this department has done very little to improve the plight of vulnerable women.
Volhoubare ontwikkeling kan slegs bereik word mits vroue op gepaste maniere bemagtig word. Vroue se begrip van hul omgewing en die probleme wat daarmee gepaard gaan, is uniek en moet ingespan word ten bate van hul gemeenskappe. Die eerste stap om dit te doen, sou wees om landelike vroue te bemagtig deur hulle as instrumente te gebruik in die oorlog teen hongersnood en armoede. Die beste opsie sou wees om vroue in die landbousektor op te neem en op te lei. Ons Grondwet waarborg universele menseregte en is geskoei op die beginsels van menswaardigheid, gelykheid en vryheid. Ons het dus 'n verantwoordelikheid teenoor ons moeders, susters, tannies en dogters om hul regte te beskerm en te bevorder. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Sustainable development can only be achieved if women are empowered in appropriate ways. Women's understanding of their environment and the problems coupled with it are unique and has to be utilised to the benefit of their communities. The first step to achieve this would be to empower rural women by using them as instruments in the war against starvation and poverty. The best option would be for women to be taken up in the agricultural sector and to train them. Our Constitution guarantees universal human rights and is based on the principles of human dignity, equality and freedom. We thus have a responsibility towards our mothers, sisters, aunts and daughters to protect and promote their rights. [Applause.]]
Chair, before turning my attention to South Africa on this International Women's Day, my thoughts have been turned to women in the Middle East. I am reminded at this time of one Middle Eastern woman in particular. As the sun set on Thursday, 8 March, the eve of International Women's Day, it marked the time prescribed in Esther, chapter 9, for Jews to remember their deliverance from the plans of the then prime minister of the Persian Empire to exterminate them. Esther, chapter 4, verse 14 records Mordecai's challenge to Queen Esther:
If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?
Jewish people face a disturbingly similar situation today as the prime minister of Iran, the Persia of old, threatens to destroy Israel. Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is quoted as saying: "This origin of corruption ..." - referring to Israel - "... must be wiped off the face of the earth." This statement amounts to incitement to genocide by a nation, which is contrary to the International Convention on Genocide, of which South Africa is a signatory.
Thousands of Iranian missiles are aimed at Israel and Iran funds the armies of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Both express similar aims. Currently, Iran, the former Persia, is developing nuclear capabilities, which, they claim, will be used for peaceful purposes. All things considered, is it any wonder that Israel feels the need to defend itself - its men, women and children?
South Africa is one of the few countries in the world that supports Iran's nuclear programme. We also abstained from the UN resolution to send the issue of Iran's nuclear programme to the Security Council. Yet, South Africa is the only country in the world to have developed nuclear weapons and then destroyed the entire programme, an example all people, women and children no less in the Middle East Region would benefit from if Iran were encouraged to follow suit. What will our silence cost not only the people of Israel, the people of Iran and the entire Middle East but also the people of South Africa?
Women in Africa are also key to saving lives, as nearly three-quarters of South Africa's food is produced by women. In South Africa, half a million families grow food and raise animals at subsistence level or below and the vast majority of those families are women-headed. Food security requires market access and doubts have been raised regarding the budget's ability to enable women to gain access where it is needed. A huge difference could be made for thousands of women farmers, if, for example, rail upgrades were to include rural stations, rural and small-town marketplaces were regenerated and degraded roads were repaired.
After 101 years of celebrating Women's Day internationally, its success is said to be measured by three things: The level of increased awareness for overcoming inequalities for women; the levels of action and finance that are allocated directly ... [Time expired.]
Modulasetilo le Maloko a a tlotlegang a Palamente ... [Chairperson and hon members ...]
... I am honoured and humbled to be part of this debate on the celebration of International Women's Day. International Women's Day events are observed and celebrated annually in honour of women's advancement. They also diligently remind us of the continued vigilance and action required to ensure that women's equality is gained and maintained in all aspects of life. It is a day to reaffirm our commitment to the work done by women towards economic, political and social achievement of women's past, present and future. The IWD event, as it is commonly known, is celebrated worldwide, ranging from small informal gatherings in the dusty streets of Marapyane to large, highly organised events.
Allow me to quote uTata Nelson Mandela when he said at the opening of Parliament in 1994, "Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression."
As we celebrate this day, we need to ask ourselves: Are things getting better for the rural women of South Africa or worse or are they staying the same? If things are getting worse, as a patriotic citizen of this country, I am asking: Why are they getting worse? What is it that I can do as an individual and as part of the collective to address them? If they are getting better, the question arises whether they are getting better fast enough for women who have been subjected to oppression for hundreds of years. In this case, I will align myself with the President of this country, J G Zuma, when he said, "We must work harder, faster and smarter so that we can be able to change the lives of the women of this country and the people of this country." Approximately 52% of South Africa's total population is women and, of this, almost half - 47% - are living in the rural areas. Thus, it is imperative that poverty alleviation and skills development programmes should target women in their individual capacities as the heads of households. Efforts towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals will not be credible without the full and equal participation of rural women in decision-making.
Fortunately, our country is on track in terms of women representation in Cabinet, legislatures and local government. More attention should be given to the public administration, private sector and other civil organisations.
Rural women have the greatest difficulty in accessing education, health and other basic services. Where there is no running water, they are the ones who have to walk long distances to fetch water from the rivers, to be used by entire households. They are the ones who have to go into the bushes and collect wood so that children do not go to bed on empty stomachs. They are literally keeping the fires burning and keeping families together while many rural men are working and caught up in urban areas.
As young women, we want to thank, acknowledge and convey appreciation for all the women of this country, as well as to honour the capable leadership of women such as Ms Lilian Ngoyi, Mrs Sophia de Bruyn, Ms Charlotte Maxeke, Mrs Albertina Sisulu - the list is endless. We salute all the women for their sacrifice and dedication to the struggle for a nonracial, nonsexist and a democratic society. We have seen a number of programmes, policies and initiatives that continue to give life to women out there. We acknowledge the progress we have made thus far, but much more still needs to be done.
Fa re dira mmogo, re tla fenya. Maloko a a tlotlegang a Palamente, mokgatlho wa ANC ke mokgatlho o o reetsang e bile o na le dikgatlhego tsa bomme le set?haba ka kakaretso. Fa o lebeletse mananeo a thuto a naga ya rona, a tokafetse. Re bone dipholo tsa marematlou mo ngwageng o o fetileng di re itumedisa. Re bona baithuti ba le bantsi kwa dikolong e le basetsana e bile kamogelo ya bona kwa dikolong e kwa godimo. Le fa go na le mathata a mangwe a a dirang gore ngwana wa mosetsana a seka a fetsa sekolo, puso e e eteletsweng pele ke mokgatlho wa ANC e etse seno tlhoko e bile e a se sekegela.
Modulasetilo, re rata go akgola Mme Nomvula Mokonyane fa a neile baithuti ba marematlou ba le 1705 madi a go ya go tsweletsa dithuto tsa bona pele. Gareng ga palo eo, ba le 1200 ke basetsana. Re a go akgola mme, o ka se ikotlhae. Fa o ruta ngwana wa mosetsana o ruta set?haba. Re dira boikuelo go diporofense go ralala naga gore ba dire jalo gore lehuma mo nageng ya rona le se itelekele. Re dumela gape gore mananeo a tshwana le porogerama ya TechGirls a a rotloetsang le go ngoka bana ba basetsana go fitlhelela kitso e e farologaneng kwa ditirong, a a bileng a ba rotloetsa go dira dirutwa di tshwana le dipalo le saense, a botlhokwa. Re kopa gore a atolosetswe le kwa metseselegaeng ya rona. (Translation of Setswana paragraphs follows.)
[By working together, we can overcome these challenges. Hon members, the ANC is an organisation that listens to its people and has the interests of women and society in general at heart. Educational programmes of our country have improved. We have achieved satisfactory matric results last year and we have noted an increase in the enrolment of girl learners in our schools. The ANC-led government is taking into account the challenges that prevent girl learners from finishing their schooling and is looking at appropriate measures to deal with them.
Chairperson, we would like to congratulate Mrs Nomvula Mokonyane for awarding 1705 matric learners bursaries to further their studies. Of these, 1 200 were girls. We congratulate her. She will not regret what she has done because when you educate a woman, you educate a nation. We therefore would like to appeal to all the provinces to do likewise so that poverty alleviation can be combated through education. We agree that the initiatives like the TechGirls programme, which encourages and supports girl learners to acquire diverse skills and to study subjects like mathematics and science, are important. We suggest that these initiatives be extended to our rural areas.]
House Chairperson, although rural women are assuming an increasingly prominent role in agriculture as producers of food in developing countries, they remain the most disadvantaged in the sector. The UN Food and Agricultural Organization estimated that rural women were responsible for half of the world's food production and produced between 60 to 80% of the food in most developing countries. They find it more difficult to gain access to valuable resources such as land, credit, agricultural inputs, training and services that would enhance their production capacity. Since they are less educated, they also lack the ability to handle the bureaucratic aspects of obtaining loans.
Women's co-operatives need to be strengthened and supported so that the number of hungry people in our world could reduce by as much as 150 million and the total agricultural output could rise by up to 4%. Another challenge is the lack of a network and access to marketing facilities. Rural women are exploited in the sense that intermediaries will buy their products at low prices and then sell them at higher prices, thus making a huge profit.
Modulasetilo, re le mmuso o o eteletsweng pele ke ANC, re tsere boikarabelo go tokafatsa matshelo a batho. Re dumalane gape gore ditiro tse di maleba di tla ya kwa metseselegaeng; ra itlama gore thuto e tla fitlhelela batho botlhe go sa kgathalesege gore o wa mmala ofe le gore metseselegae ya rona e tla tlhabololwa gore batho ba fitlhelele metsi le ditsela, mabala a metshameko le maokelo. Gape re ikaelela go busa mengwaga e e fetang sekete e e tlang. [Legofi.] (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[Chairperson, as the ANC-led government we have taken the responsibility of ensuring that the lives of the people are improved. We have also agreed that important service delivery be expanded to the rural areas. We commit ourselves to ensuring that the right to receive education is extended to all the people without considering the colour of their skin; and to ensure also that rural development takes place and our people receive basic services such as water, road infrastructure, sporting facilities and hospitals. We also intend to rule for more than a thousand years to come. [Applause.]]
In conclusion, let me remind the people of this world that it is a violation of human rights when women and girls are sold into slavery or prostitution. It is a violation of human rights when women are dosed with gasoline, set alight and burned to death because their marriage dowries are deemed too small. It is a violation of human rights when individual women are raped in their own communities and when thousands of women are subjected to rape as a tactic or a prize of war. It is a violation of human rights when a leading cause of deaths worldwide among those aged 14 to 44 is the violence they are subjected to in their own homes. It is a violation of human rights when young girls are brutalised by the painful and degrading practise of genital mutilation.
If there is any one message that should echo forth from this House it is that human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights. Ladies, you are the mothers of our future world. You are precious, you are special and are the mothers of our sons and daughters. Be humble and proud because you are entitled to a lovely and vivid name. Enkosi. [Thank you.] [Applause.]
Chair, the United Nations, reports that the number of women living in poverty continues to increase disproportionately to the number of men, particularly in developing countries, South Africa being one. Poverty is particularly acute for women living in rural households. Women's poverty is directly related to the absence of economic opportunities, lack of access to economic resources, credit, land ownership and inheritance, limited access to education and minimal participation in decision-making processes. More often, poverty forces women into situations in which they are vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Women contribute to the economy and to combating poverty through both remunerated and unremunerated work at home, in the community and in the workplace.
The economic empowerment of women is therefore of critical importance to the eradication of poverty. Women are mothers, givers and nurturers of life. We are born of women and we all carry a responsibility to change the status quo of women as it relates to poverty. The feminising of poverty is unacceptable. We must all condemn in the strongest terms that in the world women produce about 80% of food yet own 1% of land.
When the majority of people living in poverty are women, it means the majority of our children live in poverty, and that is a sad state of affairs. We who are gathered here are the voice of those voiceless women. As much as we must magnify the issues of rural poverty and more, we must be mindful of our responsibilities and suggest ways in which problems can be addressed.
Among other things, we must restructure and target the allocation of public expenditure to promote women's economic opportunity and equal access to productive resources. We must address the basic social, educational and health needs of women, particularly those who live in rural areas. We must continue to formulate and implement specific economic, social, agricultural and related policies in support of rural female-headed households. We must at all times strive to be empathetic to women's poverty and make an effort to affirm women in their daily struggles. Each one of us here can make a difference. [Applause.]
House Chairperson, women are the first victims of any crisis and face tremendous challenges. Yet they have the required patience as they demonstrate complete determination, marching forward trying to change their hopes into reality and their desires into magnificent joy and overwhelming success. The MF strongly believes that government must develop specific policies, including relief in income tax, engagement of self-help groups and microfinance to show positive results in the advancement of women.
The UN Charter signed in 1945 was the first international agreement to have formed the purposes of equality between men and women. Sonia Gandhi said: "Women should understand that daughters and sons were equal in every aspect and should be given equal opportunities." The notion that rural women should stick to the home and are politically inept is an inaccurate assessment. The mobilisation of women throughout the global arena is crucial for meaningful change and the centred struggle for equality, peace and development. However, 70% of the world's poor live in rural areas, and 70% of the world's poor are women. No segment of rural society experiences the burden of rural poverty and hunger like rural women do.
If we are serious about achieving sustainable development, peace, security and full respect for human rights, the empowerment of women must be a central feature for South Africa to help address social, economic and political challenges across the world. Women will continue to endure hardship in every facet of life unless we reach consensus that the eradication of their challenges is a national priority. Measures to address these challenges should be formulated and implemented in consultation with rural women until victory is achieved, delivering all women from poverty and hunger.
The MF notes that women throughout the world have demonstrated great passion in the service of their country and community, even juggling the demands of career and family. In doing so, women provide the much needed social glue that bonds families and countries together. They make a boundless contribution to the world and this is likely to continue and accelerate. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
House Chairperson, we are debating International Women's Day today to recognise that in order to secure peace, social progress and the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms we require the active participation, equality and development of women. We also want to acknowledge the contribution of women to the strengthening of international peace and security.
For the women of the world, the symbolism of this day has a wider meaning. It is an occasion to review how far we have come in our struggle for equality, peace and development. In our plight to empower women, we need to assess the current status of rural women. The DA realises that women's poor access to infrastructure in rural areas limits their opportunities to reduce poverty and hunger.
Rural women spend more time than urban women and men in reproductive and household work, including time spent obtaining water and fuel, as well as caring for children and the sick. Collectively, women from sub-Saharan Africa spend about 40 billion hours a year collecting water. This is because of poor rural infrastructure and services, as well as culturally assigned roles that severely limit women's participation in employment opportunities. This is also the case in most rural villages in South Africa.
As an important source of livelihoods for the poorest, agriculture is a means to eradicate extreme poverty, especially for rural women. More than 60% of employed women in sub-Saharan Africa work in agriculture. The substantial involvement of rural women in agriculture primarily as unpaid or contributing family workers highlights the importance of developing policies and programmes that address the needs, interests and constraints of women in the agricultural sector.
The UN Food and Agricultural Organization estimates that rural women are responsible for half of the world's food production and produce between 60% and 80% of food in most developing countries. Despite their contribution to global food security, women farmers are frequently underestimated and overlooked in development strategies.
Improving agricultural productivity is a key component in economic development. This includes the revamping and strengthening of extension systems to be more responsive to and inclusive of women; addressing structural barriers to women's access to productive resources; and improving financial systems to respond to the needs of rural women producers and entrepreneurs.
Environmental degradation has a great impact on natural resources, which rural women rely on for their livelihoods. Reduced quality and availability of land, game, forests and aquatic resources increase rural women's time burden and reduce their capability to cope with shocks and climate change.
This is a tip for the 2014 elections: Research suggest that women express more concern for the environment, support policies that are more beneficial to the environment and tend to vote for leaders who care about the environment. Remember that in 2014!
For rural women and men, land is perhaps the most important household asset to support production and provide for food, nutrition and income security. An international comparison of agricultural census data shows that due to a range of legal and cultural constraints in land inheritance, ownership and use, less than 20% of landholders are women. This drops to less than 15% in sub-Saharan Africa.
In most sub-Saharan countries, information problems surround the use or ownership of land. In many places, it is not clear who owns what land; how long they have used the land; or if they have any claim to the land. Historically, land titles were registered in the name of a male household head, regardless of women's contribution to the household. Traditional customary law can have the effect of counterbalancing equality legislation. Women are generally not represented on traditional rural structures and many traditional customs do not allow women to inherit land, making it difficult for them to be owners and producers.
In addition, the traditional barriers to land ownership increase the risk profile of women by financial institutions. Tradition can therefore compound the vulnerability of rural women. Ownership rights are critical to securing a sustainable livelihood and income. The lack of these rights is one of the main sources of women's insecurity. When women own and control resources and family assets, they have increased decision-making power in the household and are more like to allocate resources to support the welfare of all family members, so reducing poverty and hunger.
Another key to ensuring rural women's empowerment and eradicating poverty is to address power relations and persistent norms and beliefs that maintain gender-based violence. According to a multicountry study conducted by the World Health Organisation, rural women report more experiences of physical abuse than urban women. Police, counselling and legal services may be more difficult for women to access in rural areas than urban areas, due to distance, lack of transport and distance to services.
In conclusion, our Constitution contains many rights that are meant to benefit all women and will improve the quality of life for even the poorest woman in rural areas. It is therefore our collective responsibility to ensure the implementation of programmes aimed to empower women of South Africa in an attempt to reduce poverty and hunger. [Applause.]
Chairperson, comrades and colleagues, some 101 years ago, 8 March was a socialist holiday that was originally established by Socialist International. It is now celebrated by women's groups around the world. In many countries it is a national holiday and it has been officially recognised by the United Nations. We say thank you to Clara Zetkin.
On 09 August 1956, progressive women in South Africa, ably led by none other than our own Aunt Sophia de Bruyn, Lilian Ngoyi, Lillian Diedericks, Florence Matomela and Helen Joseph, were influenced by the socialists of the world and clearly determined to emancipate themselves and the nation from apartheid colonial order, whose legacy remains with us even today. They proclaimed, "Wena Strydom, wathint'abafazi, wathint'imbokodo, uzakufa!" [Strydom, you strike a woman, you strike a rock, and you will die!]
Women in the rural areas continue to be hardest hit by being exploited by the colonial land thieves as tillers of the soil - soil stolen from them and their forebears by force. They were oppressed as black women by the racist system of apartheid. At home, patriarchy perpetually renders our homes a battleground against male chauvinism.
If we had to dig into this issue, or if we had a Truth and Reconciliation Commission on land, I am certain - I say this to hon members here on the left - the truth would have come out about whose land they continue to own to this day. [Interjections.]
That became a South Africa colonised by white settlers, who settled in the same areas and shared the same borders with the colonised, the African people, but they were in control of the means of production. While the apartheid laws entrenched this special type of colonialism, a number of us as men continued to subject women, viewing them as objects for the kitchen and regarding certain chores as the domain of women. From time immemorial, women have been at the forefront of fending for their families and communities in rural areas while the men had gone out looking for work in the mines and factories in urban settlements.
Once again, "When you teach a progressive women, you empower a nation." That remains our battle cry in the emancipation of women. You don't just teach any women, but a progressive woman ... [Applause.] ... because there are women out there who lead parties but there is a big question mark behind whether they continue to be progressive or not. [Interjections.] Our wonderful Constitution, which we fought and died for, marked a welcome departure from our ugly apartheid past by reconceptualising access to land for the previously disadvantaged, especially women, as a basic human right through restitution policy and land tenure and redistribution programmes. In short, women's rights are human rights. Furthermore, in 1997 our constitutional principles gave rise to a gender policy in land reform. Its main task remains that of ensuring gender equity in land access and the effective participation of women in decision-making.
Comrades, the New Growth Path and Integrated Growth and Development Plan enjoin us as follows, and I quote:
There is growing consensus that creating decent work, reducing inequality and defeating poverty can only happen through a new growth path founded on a restructuring of our South African economy to improve its performance in terms of labour absorption as well as the composition and rate of growth.
Key among the drivers of this consensus is infrastructure and added value chains in agriculture and mining, among others. As we move towards land and agrarian reforms, the role of rural women becomes important not only in participating in the land acquired through state assistance but more in the area of the processing of primary products produced from the land and with other added value and access to markets. These form part of the restructuring of our economy with the aim of creating new jobs and establishing new businesses through value addition in our primary products.
Alongside the New Growth Path, the Integrated Growth and Development Plan's 20-Year Vision must be shared in order to bring food to the country and to the nation. Agroprocessing is at the centre of these development plans. As the people living with disabilities proclaimed, "Nothing about us without us", so rural women shall declare.
South Africa can no longer afford to be a net importer of processed food. South Africa cannot be an importer of beef, chicken, potatoes, sugar and wheat, among others, while we have an abundance of land, skill and women "personnel" in rural settlements.
HON MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
In meeting the targets of the Millennium Development Goals, the empowerment of women in the field of training and employment becomes critical. President Oliver Reginald Tambo, declaring 1984 the Year of Women, had the following to say about the emancipation of women:
It will be our special task this year to organise and mobilise our womenfolk into a powerful, united and active force for revolutionary change. This task falls on women and men alike - all of us together as comrades in the struggle. We wish to stress the need at the present hour for the emergence of a political scene with a women's movement that is politically and organisationally united.
Our struggle needs and demands this potentially mighty force. Our struggle will be less than powerful and our national and social emancipation can never be complete if we continue to treat women of our country as dependent minors and objects of one form of exploitation or another. Certainly no longer should it be that a woman's place be in the kitchen. In our beleaguered country that woman's place is in the battlefront of our struggles.
Fellow South Africans, marching alongside the women of our country, we shall conquer the stereotypes of male chauvinism in our society, for we believe in equality. It is our task, through responsibilities and concrete programmes, that as Parliament, government and business, in the mines, on the sea and in society in general, women are given tasks they deserve as equally as their male counterparts, ourselves. Our traditional leaders, largely male, are urged to play their role in empowering the women of our country through opportunities like land ownership and businesses associated with this.
The threat of climate change demands of all of us to close ranks -women and men, black and white, rich and poor. Droughts and floods hit the vulnerable and the poor the hardest for they have very little means, if any, to fend for themselves. Rural women are the most immediate victims of these disasters.
Through empowerment and being accorded responsibilities, the women of our land will have the ability to stand tall and be counted among the many in society who are independently rising to the challenges imposed by apartheid colonialism.
The white liberal women in some nongovernmental organisations must stop being the voice of rural women. They have a responsibility to empower and accord them with opportunities to rise to the challenges of exploitation and stereotypes of male patriarchy in our society.
As part of driving empowerment, training in a variety of skills becomes urgent towards real mainstreaming of gender equity, both in government and business and society in general. Equally important is accessibility and affordability in finance for our farming womenfolk in the rural areas. Procurement from rural women involved in farming, among other activities, by correctional service centres, schools, hospitals and other centres of government will certainly go a long way towards growing rural women's businesses.
In conclusion, listening to the hon member Lamoela, no amount of patronising shall empower our rural women. They have a voice and the power and energy to articulate their own plight when given the opportunity to be empowered. What can you expect from a liberal, by the way? [Interjections.]
Here is a tip for 2014 for the hon Steyn: Watch the space when some DA members shall openly be declaring their ANC affiliation, come 2014. [Laughter.] [Applause.] Once again, you teach a woman, you empower a nation. Malibongwe! [Praise to the women!] Wathint'abafazi! Wathint'imbokodo! [You strike a woman, you strike a rock.] I love you all. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Order, hon members. I'm glad that I didn't hear the phrase "corrective rape"in this debate. There is nothing like corrective rape. It is rape, and it is a heinous crime. If you say "corrective" rape, you are legitimising the act. I think we should all tell our people at home that there is nothing like corrective rape. It is just rape.
Debate concluded.