Sihlalo, zinkokheli, ngqanga neentsiba zayo, ngale mini ndimi ndinovuyo, kananjalo ndinexhala, kuba kukho inkokheli esuka apha eyathi yasikhulisa thina bafazana bancinane. Yathi ke enye yeenkokheli zethu, xa sasiququzelela unyulo , umntu omdala xa ephazama uyayekwa. Nditsho ngokubhekiselele kule nto igqiba kuthethwa ngumama owandikhulisayo kulo mbutho, waza wakreqa. Ndithi umntu omdala xa ephazama, uyayekwa. [Kwaqhwatywa.] Ndimi apha namhlanje ndinenyhweba enkulu yokwenza igalelo ngale nyanga yabafazi. Xa ndiqala ukuvula umlomo wam, ndiyanibulisa nonke bantu abakwigalari. IGqugula looMama lasePalamente le-ANC lithe lanimema, lingajonganga ukuba ubani ukowuphi na umbutho ukuba nize kule galari nize kumamela ngale mini yenu. Malibongwe! [Kwaqhwatywa.]
Kwakhona, boomama beemvaba ngeemvaba, boomama bemibutho yezopolitiko, ndithi mandinichazele ukuba, thina singaba bafazi balapha ePalamente, abaphuma kwimibutho ngemibutho - ukhokele ke lo ndiphuma kuwo endingusihlalo wawo - siye savumelana ngokubhekiselele kule ntlungu ikhoyo kuMzantsi Afrika uphela, yabantwana abathi beziimveku, bazibone sele bengoomama besenziwa abafazi.
Namhlanje ndinovuyo kuba, mam' uCapha, Sodolophu waseOR Tambo; Somlomo kuMasipala weSithili saseOR Tambo, mam'uMadalane; lungu lekomiti kaSodolophu elinguDiko Eunice; Zuziwe Apleni, ozula-zula ehamba echola aba bantwana; Asanda; kunye nabantwana abane abangakwesi sandla sam sasekhohlo - andazi ukuba kutheni bekhethe ukuba sekhohlo - khanike nisukume nibonwe, bantwana. [Kwaqhwatywa.]
Mandikhe ndibeke ecaleni intetho yam ebhaliweyo. Ngabantwana aba. Siye sangqubanisa iintloko naba bantwana kunye nezi nkokheli eziye kubachola, safumanisa ukuba bazekwe beneminyaka eli-14 neli-13. Bathi, ukuba bebenelungelo lokungena apha, bebecela ukuba bangene ba ze kuma kweli qonga ndimi kulo, kuba aboyiki.
Sibuzisile kuba umthetho ngumthetho. Bathi ke aba bantwana ndize nditsho ukuba banesicelo sokuba esiya sikolo siseParlmaton, ababekwe kuso ngurhulumente kaMasipala weSithili waseOR Tambo ngelibabalekisayo, masingavalwa. Kukho ke abantu abazama ukuba esiya sikolo sigcina aba bantwana, masivalwe. Bathi aba bantwana, Mphathiswa wezeMfundo, mayingenzeki loo nto.
Bathi, Mphathisa wamaPolisa, besitsho ngesiMpondo sangaphaya emakhaya, "mababotshwe oomama nootata ababendisa bengabantwana, kuba basafuna ukufunda bona". [Kwaqhwatywa.] Kodwa ke, sithi ke thina bafazi abakule komiti ... (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Mrs B N DLULANE: Chairperson, leaders, President and hon members, today I stand here filled with joy, as well as with anxiety, because there is a leader here who mentored us as young women and who was just speaking. When we were campaigning for the elections one of our leaders said that when an adult makes mistakes you ignore him/her. I mention this with regard to what has just been said by one of the women who mentored us in this organisation and later defected. I say that when an adult makes mistakes, she should be ignored. [Applause.]
It is with great pleasure that I stand here today to make a contribution during this Women's Month. To start with, I would like to greet all the people in the gallery. The parliamentary Women's Caucus invited you, without considering which party you belong to, on your special day to come to this gallery and listen. Let the name of women be praised! [Applause.]
Women of various denominations, women from different political organisations, women in this Parliament - from different political parties under the leadership of the one I am a member and chairperson of - have reached consensus regarding the agony throughout South Africa. This agony is experienced by children who are still literally children, who find themselves being made wives.
Today I am glad to see Mrs Capha, Mayor of the OR Tambo District Municipality; Speaker of the OR Tambo Municipality, Mrs Madalane; member of the Speaker's Committee, Eunice Diko; and Zuziwe Apleni who goes around finding the children, and the four children seated on my left-hand side - I don't know why they chose to sit on the left-hand side! Could you please stand up, children? [Applause.]
Let me put my prepared speech aside. These are children. We met with these children, together with the leaders who found them, and we learnt that they were married at the ages of 14 and 13 respectively. They said that if they were allowed to come in here, they would like to stand at the podium where I am standing, because they were not afraid. We asked around to determine whether that would be permissible, because the law is the law.
These children are saying that I should mention that they have a request that the school in Pharmaton where they have been accommodated by the OR Tambo District Municipality as their place of safety must not be closed. There are people who are trying to have the school which accommodates these children closed down. The children, hon Minister of Basic Education, are saying that that should not happen. They are also saying, hon Minister of Police, in their isiMpondo dialect, that the women and men who married them off as children must be arrested, because they still want to go to school. [Applause.]
We as women in this committee are saying that a delegation of the victims of abduction and rape has supported the following structures: the Provincial House of Traditional Leaders in the Eastern Cape; the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa, Contralesa, in the Eastern Cape; the Rural Women's Movement in the Eastern Cape; the ANC Women's League in the Eastern Cape; and the SA Police network in the Eastern Cape. They have agreed to lobby Parliament to pass a law to abolish the "ukuthwala" [a form of African marriage arrangement in which all formalities take place after the unsuspecting bride has been taken away by her in-laws] custom, if it is done in this manner. [Applause.]
Sithi ke thina, singaba bafazi, siyayixhasa iCommittee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, iCedaw, iUnited Nations Children's Fund, Unicef, uMthetho waBantwana kunye noMqulu wamaLungelo. Mababotshwe, phoyisa, abantu abenza abantwana abafazi ngaphambi kwexesha. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[We are saying as women that we support the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Cedaw, the United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef, the Children's Act and the Bill of Rights. The police must arrest people who make children wives before they reach adulthood. [Applause.]]
For most of last week the news headlines that captured the attention of the entire nation revolved around two different but related subjects: young girls being abducted by men old enough to be their fathers under the guise of a traditional practice called "ukuthwala" [a form of African marriage in which all marriage formalities take place after the unsuspecting bride has been taken away by her in-laws], and a young woman being ridiculed owing to her appearance, for whom tremendous support has been shown by South Africans. Siyanibulela, bantu boMzantsi Afrika abahle. [We thank you, wonderful people of South Africa.]
In the past few days we have seen how South African society has rallied around young women who have experienced unfair treatment owing to the demeaning attitude of others against women.
A few lessons can be learnt from the events of the past few days. Every day we are faced with some form of inequality, unfairness, victimisation, abuse and disrespect directed at women. This has the impact of wearing women down.
The question that we have to ask ourselves is whether we as individuals are to blame for perpetrating many of these actions, and how we offer support to those among us who are suffering. Related to that, we should be asking ourselves how far we should go in celebrating success achieved by women. Also, we should be asking ourselves how we encourage each other and rally around those among us who are striving to achieve something better. Kuluvuyo nochulumanco kum ukufumana eli thuba lokubhiyozela le nyanga yoomama. Le ndibano yanamhlanje kule Ndlu yoWiso-mthetho yeSizwe sisikhumbuzo semizabalazo yamagorhakazi athi kwamhlamnene awasoze aphumle umntu ongumama esacinezelekile. Imbali seyitshiwo ngumama okhokele kwezemfundo osuka apha.
Ndinebhongo lokuthi lo mama uphinda asikhokele thina singabafazi bombutho olawulayo. [Kwaqhwatywa.]
Ngo-1912 oomama babonakalisa ubuqhawekazi nendzondelelo yoomama ekuziseni ubomi obungcono - ubusele utshilo mam' uAngie. Kwalandela iBantu Women's League ngo-1930 - ubutshilo wena Sihlalo olapha emva kwam. Besiqale ngombhiyozo ekuseni wayithetha le nto ndiyithethayo. Ndiyayiphinda abanye bebengekho - apho iinkokheli ezinjengomama Charlotte Maxeke zazibonakalisa ekukhokeleni amakhosikazi. Ngo-1918 oomama abakhokelwe nguCharlotte Maxeke bathi bandwendwela uLouis Botha, inkulumbuso yaloo maxesha. Baqhankqalaza baya eBloemfontein beqhankqalazela ukunyanzeliswa ukuba mabaphathe amapasi.
Ngexesha lemfazwe yesibini yehlabathi, apho ootata babengekho ukuze bondle iintsapho, oomama bayithathela kubo into yokondla iintsapho zabo ngokwenza umngcelele woqhankqalazo baye kwimizi-mveliso yokudla bayokuthabatha ukudla ngenkani.
Umqulu oqulathe iimfuno zoomama wathi waqulunqwa kwiminyaka engaphambili yoqulunqo loMqulu weNkululeko, ngoko ke kwaqala oomama. Ngo-1943 i-ANC Women's League yathi yabunjwa ngamakhosikazi afana nooLilian Ngoyi, ooIda Mntwana, ooZainab Asvat athi adlala inxaxheba enkulu. Baninzi ngekhe ndibagqibe ukubabala abo mama, ndingagqiba ixesha lam. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[I am happy and excited to get this opportunity to celebrate this Women's Month. Today's plenary session in the National Assembly is a reminder of our heroines' struggles, who vowed a long time ago never to rest for as long as women are still oppressed. The history has already been told by the Minister of Basic Education. I am proud to mention that she is also the president of the Women's League of the ruling party. [Applause.]
In 1912 women displayed heroism and perseverance in bringing about a better life, as you have already said, hon Minister Angie Motshekga. The Bantu Women's League then followed in 1930, as you mentioned, Chairperson, seated behind me. In the morning we started off with a celebration and you reflected on what I am saying now. I am repeating it because others were not present. Leaders such as Ms Charlotte Maxeke proved themselves as women's leaders. In 1918 women, led by Ms Charlotte Maxeke, visited Louis Botha, the then State President. They marched to Bloemfontein protesting against the pass law.
During World War II, when the men were at war and were unable to provide for their families, the women took over the role of providing for their families. They organised a protest march to loot various food factories.
The Women's Charter, containing the needs of women, was compiled years before the Freedom Charter; therefore, women started it all. In 1943 the ANC Women's League was established by women such as Lilian Ngoyi, Ida Mntwana and Zainab Asvat, who played a vital role. There are many such women and I cannot mention all of them, as my time would expire.]
Today, as the entire country dedicates August to celebrating women's achievements, some in our midst choose to insult women's leadership credentials of good standing gained through much pain and suffering over a long period of time in our history. An all-male provincial cabinet that is appointed with no sound justification in this day and age is an insult to our history. [Applause.] As if this were not enough, an hon Member of Parliament from the same political party poured salt into our wounds recently by describing women as only useful for domestic work in the kitchen.
As the women's parliamentary caucus we must support each other, irrespective of political affiliation. I have just returned from Botswana on a SADC mission. I was sent by this Parliament to Botswana to assist women there with representation in their parliament. The requirement, also set by SADC, is that we must strive to get 50:50 representation. I made a pronouncement there that here in South Africa we had 45% representation by women in Parliament. However, when I came back home I was faced with what I have just alluded to. We must assist women who are in political parties which do not recognise women as leaders.
Liphelile ixesha lokuba masiye ekhitshini. [The time for us to remain in the kitchen has gone.]
When putting emphasis on the theme for this year, "Together empowering women for gender development and equality", President Zuma reminded us that, and I quote:
This theme acknowledges that while measures have been taken to generally impact positively on the lives of women and the girl child, a number of challenges still remain especially with regard to the implementation of programmes to transform attitudes and harmful practices that manifest themselves against women and the girl child.
President Zuma further urges us:
... to look beyond our leaders and appreciate the role of women who are never in the news, but who make South Africa succeed.
These include the working-class women in the factories who work for long hours to support their families; rural women and farmworkers who till the soil for food and shelter; women who run households and raise children single-handedly in difficult socioeconomic situations; and grandmothers who look after orphaned and vulnerable grandchildren under conditions of extreme poverty. The President reminded us also to honour and empower these women whose silent contributions to the social stability of our country are often taken for granted.
Ndiye ndalibala ukuthi phakathi kwaba bantwana, ndikhunjuzwa kukujonga kule nto yam ndiyibhalileyo, kukho othe ene-14 leminyaka wahlukunyezwa ngokocantsi, yena nodade wabo oneminyaka eli-10, ngutata wakhe. Ngoko ke ibangathi uMongameli uyazivumisa ezi zinto, kodwa ke yinkokheli yelizwe umele ukuzazi. Kwaba bantwana ukhona obalekileyo kuba utata emhlukumeza emenza unkosikazi wakhe. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[I forgot to mention that among these children, I am reminded by my notes here, there is one who was sexually abused by her father at the age of 14, together with her 10-year-old sister. It seems as if the President predicts these things, but then he is the leader of our country and he should know. One of these children ran away because her father was sexually abusing her, making her his wife.]
Even the mother ran away from home. Esa sikolo sigcine nkqu nodade walo mntwana. [That school is even accommodating this child's sister.]
In our rich history there have been many ordinary women who have never been adequately recognised for showing great leadership capabilities during trying times. Such unsung heroines include Dora Tamane who organised activism in a squatter camp called Blouvlei in Cape Town, and Julia Mpanze who was very active in organising marches against the shortage of housing for women in Johannesburg in the 1940s. We also know that other women organised marches in kwaNdonga Ziyaduma [Johannesburg] where they were fighting for buses. Abanye abantu bayayazi ukuba kuphi kwaNdonga Ziyaduma. [Other people know where "Ndonga Ziyaduma" is.] Since the dawn of democracy in our country the ANC government has made great strides towards the achievement of legislative equality between women and men. Many women have benefited from the expansion in the provision of basic services, including water, electricity, sanitation and the provision of social security benefits, amongst other things. Government acknowledges that more still needs to be done.
Mama uRobinson, inene yayingekho ngela xesha langaphambili into yokuba kubekho abantu abeze kusibukela. Ezi zinto zaba bantu kuthiwa banemingeni balapha namhlanje, sezizakulunga izinto. Kungatshiwo ukuba asenzi nto okanye asibaqeshi kodwa iRoma zange yakhiwe ngosuku olunye. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Mrs Robinson, in the past there was really no such thing as people coming to watch us. The challenges experienced by the people who are here today will soon be resolved. It might be alleged that we are not doing anything or that we are not employing them, but Rome was not built in a day. [Applause.]]
Noting the importance of the social and economic empowerment of women, we must commend the fourth democratic government for establishing a fully- fledged Ministry dedicated to serving the interests of women, children and people with disabilities. The establishment of the new Ministry is an important milestone and will go down in history as one of the key progressive steps in addressing the challenges facing women. The role of Parliament and its members, and in particular the role and responsibility of women parliamentarians, is of utmost importance in nurturing and growing the seeds that have been sown by our heroines.
Parliament has established the multiparty Women's Caucus in line with, among other things, the principle contained in the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. This protocol takes into account the decisions on gender parity taken by the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government in July 2002. The protocol further calls for African Union member states to recognise that social, cultural and religious practices, as well as attitudes and mindsets, continue to militate against the achievement of gender equality and equity, which are central to democracy and development.
Considering the progressive ideals contained in this protocol, it is important that Parliament moves with haste to ratify the protocol, particularly because South Africa is one of the few countries that have not yet ratified it. It is important that this protocol is ratified before November 2009, for which time the next SADC Parliamentary Forum plenary meeting is scheduled. Ndiyabulela Mhlalingaphambili. [I thank you, Chairperson.] [Time expired.] [Applause.]