Speaker, Chairperson of the NCOP, Deputy Speaker, Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Members of Parliament, comrades and friends, I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to address this Joint Sitting of Parliament on this important occasion to commemorate International Women's Day.
We join the nations of the world in celebrating the significant contributions made by women in building a more humane society. This is also a day to reflect on women's struggles and the structural barriers that continue to impede women's progress in ways that often erode the gains we have made over the past years.
As has already been indicated, the theme of this year's celebration is "Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All", which reminds us that we need to focus on the unfinished agenda of advancing the rights of women and ensuring that they have equal opportunities and rights in all facets of life. This theme accords the global community and our nation the opportunity to reaffirm the crucial commitment to equality, freedom and the advancement of women.
Since time immemorial, women across the world have fought hard for their place in society, until they achieved very encouraging progress indeed, progress to which many speakers who have come to this podium before me have alluded, and which continues to inspire pride and confidence in our women.
At the same time, there are still many women within and beyond our borders who live under conditions of vulnerability and distress.
In this context, we express our solidarity with the people of Haiti, Chile, Uganda and Turkey, particularly women, as they struggle to rebuild their families and communities following the natural disasters that have befallen them recently. As South African women, we also express solidarity with the women in strife-torn regions, especially Palestine, Darfur, Somalia, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan and Iraq. There are also many other countries where women live under difficult conditions - still in this day and age.
In particular, the Haitian situation has left citizens of the world in great shock. It is for this reason that we join human rights activists across the world in paying homage to the three popular Haitian women's rights activists and many other women who died in the devastating earthquake: Myriam Merlet, Magalie Marcelin and Anne Marie Coriolan were among the tens of thousands who died in the earthquake. They were described as enterprising activists who had taken on a legal and social system which, in Marcelin's words, "treats women's bodies as commodities". They helped bring about protection for domestic workers and legal equality in marital and family relations between men and women. They also led campaigns to name streets in Port-au-Prince after famous Haitian women.
It is for this reason that we must congratulate the ANC Women's League for partnering with Shoprite in mobilising all South Africans to buy and donate items suitable for women and children in Haiti, Chile and Uganda, and also show our compassion and solidarity. [Applause.] We are urging all hon members to follow suit, because the ANC Women's League, our leader, has spoken and provided leadership. [Applause.]
Since women make up 70% of the world's poor and two thirds of those whose literacy levels are low, it is understandable that we, as women, will always have extra obstacles in obtaining women-specific aid and services, just as the women in those countries are experiencing right now. I must point out, though, that despite the bleak forecast for women in a crisis, women are not simply damsels in distress. We take centre stage in preventing disasters and reconstructing our communities after disasters occur. Women are more likely to prepare family emergency plans and are also aware of who will need the most help in their community. We are also the ones who take on the responsibility of organising the reconstruction of homes and community structures.
In South Africa, we pride ourselves on government's achievements in advancing the position of women in all spheres of South African society, contrary to other hon members who have stood at this podium to actually condemn the work that has been done. We believe that a lot has been done. However, we are not oblivious to the challenges that still lie ahead. We know that poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and poor health still weigh heavily on women.
We are conscious that in achieving the national goal of eradicating poverty we must empower women, because poverty has more negative effects on them. This is a result of the unequal power relations between men and women and of women's multiple roles and tasks compared to men.
We recall that too many women across our country are feeling the effects of the economic crisis. Since 2009 our country's economy has suffered huge job losses, mainly due to the global financial crisis.
In his state of the nation address, President Jacob Zuma indicated that the financial crisis had cost our economy about 900 000 jobs. Many of these job losses were found in sectors such as the clothing, textile and export industries, in which women form the largest percentage of the workforce. We know all too well that when women lose their jobs, it has a huge effect on a large number of people, primarily children.
In this regard, we should commend the government's effort to cushion the effect of retrenchments through the expansion of social safety nets, investment in infrastructure and the introduction of training programmes for those facing retrenchment, so that they can upgrade their skills and improve their chances of being absorbed into alternative employment or income-generating activities. Our desire is that women be given an opportunity and the necessary support to free themselves from the clutches of poverty. As government, our priority is to ensure that women and their families get the necessary support through the provision of public services and access to decent work opportunities in both the public and private sectors of the economy.
As I conclude, I think I should address some of the issues raised by other members who came to the podium before me. We would like to indicate that South Africa has one of the best constitutions worldwide. Contained in our Constitution are rights debated by us as a nation. Amongst other things, there are cultural and all sorts of other rights. So it is not right for hon members to come here today and question and debate some of those rights, as if they were not part of those discussions.
For instance, what kind of work one can do is actually a choice. How many women a husband can take is somebody's choice. That is my choice. [Interjections.] [Applause.] The reality is that our Constitution contains that choice. It gives you a choice. Leave those who want to practise their choices to do so, so that we live together harmoniously as a society. It shouldn't be that what is good for me must be good for others and, if something is bad for me it must be bad for others. Let us leave people to practise their choices.
As we join the rest of the world in celebrating women's contributions to family and society, we want to call on our government and the entire society to mobilise all South Africans, against all obstacles standing in our way - social, cultural, and psychological - to build a nonsexist and prosperous society. That includes the hon member Groenewald, who happens to be from my province. Before pointing a finger at the Minister of Police, we should ensure, in our own little corner in the North West province, that an African woman is assisted by the hon member's organisation to establish a farm and become a very successful farmer. [Interjections.] That is not happening. [Applause.] Let us not stand at this podium and point fingers, and speak of things that we ourselves are not doing. South Africa has a very good Constitution and we should all adhere to it and help one another.
As for this government of the ANC, it has delivered a lot on behalf of women. We want to thank former President Thabo Mbeki, hon President Jacob Zuma, former President Nelson Mandela and all those who have led us in this organisation in taking up the struggles for women, particularly our current President, Comrade Gedleyihlekisa Jacob Zuma. Lead the society! [Applause.] Don't allow people to question your ability to lead, when in fact they should be focusing on the work that this nation requires. I thank you. [Applause.]