Chairperson, Minister Mayende-Sibiya, hon Ministers, Deputy Ministers present, hon members, our guests up in the gallery, and a special welcome to our guest Senator Tom Mndzebele and his delegation from the Swaziland parliament. [Applause.] The post-1994 situation has presented new democratic realities for South Africans, in general, and South African women, in particular.
Two decades have seen - from the birth of our democracy after the 1994 elections - a commitment by our government and civic organisations, as well as the development and upliftment of women. The likes of Sarah Bartmann, Charlotte Maxeke, Dorothy Nyembe, Mama Winnie Mandela, Mama Shope, Mama Albertina Sisulu, Mama Bertha Xowa, Mama Lydia Ngwenya, MaNjobe and many more women in the struggle must never be forgotten.
Our Constitution entrenches gender equality and form the basis for transformation of gender relations. The equality clause in our Constitution owes its origin to - amongst other gallant struggles - sacrifices and indomitable spirits of women during the colonial and apartheid eras. It should be remembered that gender equality and women's rights formed the axis of many demands and petitions of women activists. It did not just come on a tray.
Consequently, the current constitutional democratic dispensation bears indelible insignia of struggle against oppression and discrimination from the early 1900s to the present moments. It is worth mentioning that the national liberation struggle has, in the main, been about the creation of a nonsexist and nonracist democratic society for all.
The ANC's Freedom Charter and constitutional guidelines and, ultimately, the Constitution of our country seek to build a caring democratic society for all. The Bantu Women's League under the leadership of Mama Charlotte Maxeke spearheaded struggles for the rights of the oppressed people. At that time, the ANC Women's League was also involved in campaigns against poor working conditions, pass laws and the enactment of apartheid. We would recall women from various different backgrounds who took lead in the fight against the notorious 1913 Land Act.
In 1994, the ANC women's League played a leading role in the building of a nonracial Federation of South African Women. At its inaugural conference, it then drafted the Women's Charter. The Women's Charter called for equal rights with men in various relations, the right to vote and the right to full employment opportunities. It was at this period that the ANC Women's League identified a need for a broader structure that will unite all women around issues affecting women and society.
Currently, this objective has been achieved through the successful launch of the PWM in August 2006 in Bloemfontein. The key role for the women's movement is to build a nonracial and a nonsexist society which will result in the emancipation of women. The ANC Women's League appreciates the current position of women and, despite challenges, supports the women's movement as a broad front of various women's organisations, feminist- orientated groups, researches, faith-based organisations and policy makers.
There are other women formations in different communities that should take up local struggles affecting women. Women empowerment should always respond to the fact that women are not a homogenous group, but have diverse backgrounds and interests.
As early as the 1990s, women rose up to positions of leadership within the structures of the ANC, despite entrenched structures of patriarchy. During the transition period and the post-1994 democratic breakthrough, women representation and popular participation in politics and leadership were on the agenda of the ANC and the Government of National Unity. From this period on, there was a noticeable vibrant engagement on women representation and participation, drawing from continental and global gender relations.
The ANC's constitution provides for a quota of not less than 50% of women in all structures to ensure effective participation in the fight for the emancipation of women. The ANC is committed to the emancipation of women, hence the entrenchment of the 50-50 principle in its constitution. The 50% gender balance is a huge achievement within the Progressive Women's Movement at present. Women have come a long way to adopt that position in the ANC's constitution - the binding document.
Comrade Thenjiwe Mthintso's excellent work focuses on the women's question and gender relations within the national democratic revolution, NDR, and the state. The women question quotas or the 50-50 approach relate to women representation and the number of women in all decision-making structures. She argues that significant numbers of women facilitate access of women to decision-making structures or bodies to fight against their marginalisation, poverty and apathy. However, women need to be mobilised and empowered through education and emancipation.
Concurrently, the perspective and policy of the ANC and other feminist schools of thought advocate transformation of gender relations. This implies changing patriarchal power relations through gender conscious women and state intervention. This further implies that it is not a given fact that the presence of women in leadership and politics would open up space for more women to swell leadership ranks and overthrow patriarchy.
An ANC Today edition criticises the gender blindness of the decision of one woman in a position of power and illustrates the complex nature of the circumstances of women. It uncovers the image of the all-male Western Cape provincial cabinet appointed by a female premier with disregard to the ongoing changes in various levels of governance. A question should then be asked whether there were no capable women in the province. These are some of the contradictions that the PWM should take up in a programmatic manner to isolate and undermine patriarchy and its proponents.
The South African government is committed to the spirit of nondiscriminatory practices and equality of all persons, irrespective of gender or sex, in line with the Bill of Rights as entrenched in the Constitution. The evolution of women representation on national, regional and international level takes place within a broader gender balance of power in accordance with the international law and international instruments.
Accordingly, SADC, the AU, the UN and other protocols and instruments seek to ensure women's representation in all decision-making structures. Data also shows the differing attitudes of various countries concerning the representation of women in their parliaments.
The Constitution and democracy have presented us with various mechanisms to advance gender transformation such as the Bill of Rights; the establishment of comprehensive national gender machinery; high representation of women in government structures; and an accelerated process aimed at the eradication of gender-based violence. Part of other widely noted achievements include the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, which allows all women access to termination of pregnancy under certain circumstances, helping to improve the rights of women and reducing the health risks associated with illegal abortions.
Primary health care was introduced with major benefits for poor rural women. The Department of Health distributes female condoms to try to protect women from HIV infection. Thank you, Chair. [Time expired.] [Applause.]