However, I would like the House to note that our concern is that in the public hearings that are being conducted by the NCOP as we speak, most of the women are subject to rude interjections and are silenced, and they are not allowed to participate. In some provinces, women were told they were not invited and should not be there. In this way, women's right to self- representation has been denied. This behaviour cannot be allowed to persist in a democratic South Africa.