This year we also mark the centenary of the 1913 Natives Land Act. The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has committed itself to ensuring that rural women are prioritised as beneficiaries of the land reform programme to redress the imbalances created by the Natives Land Act of 1913. Women and children were the greatest victims of that horrific Act. Women continue to be marginalised and discriminated against in terms of economic opportunities, the labour market, and credit and finance. In addition, a life of abuse, discrimination and violation of their human rights remains the harsh reality for the majority of women in our country.