Hon Speaker, Ministers in the House, Deputy Ministers, members, leadership from the NCOP and all the guests present, this year we are commemorating the 53rd anniversary of the heroic march of more than 20 000 women to the Union Buildings. This year we commemorate that under the theme: "Working together to empower women for development and gender equality". Every year in this month, as South African women we remember the sacrifice, the commitment, the dedication and the unity in action of the women of the '50s. It was on this day that women demonstrated that they were very strong, that they were powerful and, indeed, that they were a strong species.
This day marks the culmination and continuation of the great and heroic struggle of women. It is a history that not only demonstrated to the apartheid regime that tampering with women could be dangerous, but also demonstrated to women themselves that, indeed, they were as hard as a rock. That is why, when they were in front of the Union Buildings, they said: "Wathint' abafazi, wathint' imbokodo." [When you strike a woman, you strike a rock.] And, indeed, that demonstrated that women were nothing other than strong rocks.
The 9th of August always gives us, as women activists, an opportunity to critically re-examine the history of the march and the foundations of the women's movement. This day offers us an appropriate opportunity to reflect on the current situation of women in the country in relation to the progress made since the installation of the democratic government. We use this month to assess the successes we have achieved and the gaps and the tasks that still lie ahead. It is fitting that 53 years later we examine this against the backdrop of the history of the women's movement and the history of our struggles. And more importantly, when we look at this day, we should also look at it to learn the lessons that enabled those women to be the rocks that they were.
One of the key lessons that we should not forget or even undermine is the representivity of women across race, colour, age, creed or any other factor that divides women. The delegation of a mixed group in terms of age and race was not accidental. The submission was made by Lilian Ngoyi, Rahima Moosa, Sophie Williams-De Bruyn and Helen Joseph. And that, at all times, should be a reminder to us as women that despite our differences, despite our political divides, despite our age divides, we as women need each other and should at all times hold hands and fight for the development of women.
What is also important and worthwhile about this day is to note that it has been a sustained history of struggles not only in the political sphere, but also for the social and economic rights of our people.
It is important to view this in the context of what hon Minister Nzimande said in the article he wrote for the SA Communist Party. He said:
... the struggle for women's emancipation cannot be understood outside its relationship to the national and class struggles. A one-sided emphasis on gender without understanding the national content (whose principal feature is primarily, but not exclusively, race) of these gender struggles is bound to lose sight of the vast differences in opportunities between black and white women.
It is also worth noting that women were left out by even the most progressive structure, the ANC. It was through their own struggles that, again, women stood together and fought for their space within this most progressive structure, the ANC. It took the ANC decades and generations to recognise the rights of women; and we shouldn't take it for granted that it will continue if we don't organise ourselves and stand united as women.
Year after year as we celebrate this day, we can take pride in ourselves and say that, indeed, as this current generation we stand on the shoulders of those brave heroines who came before us. Through years of consistent organising and mobilising, women struggles have come of age politically. The commemorations of this day should continue to remind us that women are very resilient, and we always have to celebrate our amazing spirit of thriving in the face of difficulties.
What is more important is not to gloat over our past history and pride ourselves on where we come from, but to ask ourselves what is still left for us as the current generation to do to take the struggle for women forward.
Indeed, as women we can pride ourselves, especially through the progressive policies of the ANC, on the fact that in our lifetime a platform has been created for our voices to be heard in the political arena. We have made great advances in the areas of political representation and decision- making.
We have also made great progress in meeting social needs. As the Minister of Basic Education, I can say South Africa can take pride in being amongst the best in the area of education. We have created access for girl children. In terms of access for girl children in schools we are amongst the best countries. [Applause.]
Special measures have been taken and are under way to address the needs of rural women, who continue to be the most oppressed. Different measures are being taken to empower women through different institutions that are necessary to empower women. More exciting is the establishment of the Women's Ministry by the President, the Ministry which is meant to consolidate our programmes and continue empowering and developing women and ensuring that women's issues are not marginalised, but continue to be mainstreamed within the general work of government.
The second challenge that continues to face us is violence against women and children. It is very sad that even during the month of August, while women have been doing a lot of advocacy and raising concerns, violence against women continues as if nothing is happening. Women in this very month of August continue to be killed and raped, and to experience different forms of violence.
It is a very disturbing factor. I am calling on government to view violence against women as an emergency. As much as police are able to respond when there is a report of money stolen, we think they should also respond and arrest old men who sleep with 12-year-old children under the pretext of culture. It is an illegal issue, and they should be arrested! There is nothing to debate about. [Applause.] Sex with a minor is statutory rape. We expect that those men who kidnap kids for purposes of sex, ukuthwala [a form of African marriage arrangement], must be arrested. [Applause.] We are calling on our police and the community to act decisively. It is disturbing to know that a man who has fathered all his children's children and is now raping his grandchildren has still not been arrested. The community has taken the law into its own hands by chasing the man. The police had done nothing about it. They seem not to see it as a crime, but we think it is a crime. There is nothing to discuss. The police should have arrested this man long before the community arrested him. [Applause.]
During this month, in addition to raising problems, we want to bow our heads in respect to all those women, especially the poor women, who, under very difficult global financial conditions, continue to manage their single- headed households and raise their children in the best way they can. Our women continue to be dogged by patriarchy and all its negative effects. A lot has been done, but we think much still remains for us to do.
We need to work in partnership as women, across our political divides or any other divides. We need each other. If you are raped, you are not raped as an ANC or a DA woman, but as a woman. Therefore, it is incumbent upon women at some point to come together and confront all the demons which are still facing us. We have to take the struggle of women to higher levels and consolidate the gains that we have already achieved in pursuit of a truly democratic, nonracial and nonsexist South Africa.
We have to strengthen our women's organisations and the roles and responsibilities of women in all our national structures, and seek common areas of action amongst all progressive women's organisations. We have to continue to fight for gender equality and strengthen the gender machinery within government. We have to ensure that commitments made by our government, and obligations on our government regarding the rights of women, are implemented. We should be able to monitor that and urge government to act on what is right and what is wrong, and treat anything that affects women as an emergency.
We want to deal with the concrete concerns and the aspirations of women in general and working-class women in particular. We have to continue to pay special attention to the developmental needs of the most vulnerable women in society, and in particular the rural women.
What is more important is to document the history of women. We are very proud as progressive women that at least one city has erected a statue of a woman in its municipality. MaBaard's statue is the first woman's statue that the City of Kimberley has erected. This symbolises the fact that, as women, we have played our role.
Before I run out of time, I want to comment on the interesting debate taking place in the committee, led by our highly respected gender activist, which relates to the establishment of the Women's Ministry. I think two issues are being debated. One is the fact that a Ministry of Women has been established and the second is the clustering of the Ministry.
The argument is that when a Women's Ministry is established, it is going to be marginalised, and there won't be any mainstreaming. I don't know where that comes from. The President in his speech in Vryheid said:
The current Ministry is going to help mobilise for the participation of the three sectors in all spheres of government. Because women's issues are cross-cutting in nature and cannot be addressed solely by one Ministry, the Ministry will have to ensure mainstreaming of gender, children's rights and disability considerations in all programmes of government.
Therefore, the speculation that gender will not be mainstreamed is unfounded. The fact of the matter is that the machinery we had was not functioning effectively and adequately and there was a need to consolidate. The Women's Ministry is a consolidation of existing programmes. It is nothing new. It is unfortunate that people who are supposed to help us move forward in identifying what the challenges are and how we address them, raise debates which are neither here nor there.
The next debate, also raised by our honourable and respectable gender activist, is the clustering of the Ministry. This is the debate regarding the fact that if you cluster the Ministry with children and people with disabilities, the assumption is that women are vulnerable. I am not sure about this. If the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries clusters fish and carrots, do they become the same? [Laughter.]
The fact of the matter is that children's issues, issues of disability and issues of women, in terms of the approach, need co-ordination and mainstreaming. It is the function, and the approach on how we address the matters, which make them common, not because when women and disabled people are brought together they will all be vulnerable. [Applause.] What is also unfortunate, I think, is that in some areas those sectors do indeed share common issues.
I would like to make our respectable gender activist aware that the issues of women are not frivolous. They are not issues for academic debate; they are too serious for that.
I think we should come together as women. As much as we have our own issues elsewhere, as much as we might have our own political orientations, the issues of women affect us equally, and therefore we should not rubbish an attempt to take the issues of women forward. We are calling on all women to join hands and work towards the achievement of our dream.
If we can deal with some of the main issues that affect women, we will be very close to addressing our millennium goals. Three of those goals are around women. If all of us as women can do this, even assisted by the state, government will quickly realise its objectives. The millennium goal around poverty: the most affected people are women. The issue of gender equity: the people affected are women. The goal on illiteracy: it affects women. If we are true to our commitments, nationally and internationally, and address women's issues much more seriously and coherently, we will be very close to addressing our millennium goals.
In conclusion, it has been a privilege to participate in this debate. It is one of the most beautiful and meaningful debates, because women's issues are more serious than anything else. I think it is important that the House come together to address issues that affect this sector. I thank you. [Applause.]