Women’s Day statement

9 August 2022

Parliament's Presiding Officers, Speaker of the National Assembly (NA), Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Mr Amos Masondo, join South Africans in commemorating and celebrating Women's Day today.
 
This day remains a reminder of the unbreakable spirit of women, as represented by the 1956 generation of courageous and gallant women who marched against the unjust and oppressive apartheid laws that required women to carry Pass Laws. A Pass was an identity document that restricted and prevented black people from entering certain areas in the country of their birth.
 
On 09 August 1956, a multitude of over twenty thousand brave women, which included Lillian Ngoyi, Hellen Joseph, Sophia Williams, Rahima Moosa, and others, gathered and marched to the Union Buildings against the proposed Amendments to the Group Areas Act of 1950 and the oppression of women in general.
 
The march marked a turning point in the South African’s struggle history, and shook the foundations of the system of inequality, patriarchy and oppression, as thousands of women rebelled against the unjust laws that sought to reduce them, even beyond the evil of racial discrimination, into mere subjects of men. 
 
Although 1994 democratic breakthrough brought to an end centuries old system of colonialism and apartheid in which black women bore the greatest suffering, women of today are still faced with insurmountable challenges of poverty, inequality, and gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). South African women contend with high rates of domestic violence, rape, and murder.
 
The Crime statistics for the first three months of 2022 painted a "horrific picture" of the extent of violence women and children in South Africa face. 
 
According to the crime stats, 13,799 sexual offences were reported to the South African Police Services (Saps) between January and March 2022, of which 10,818 were cases of rape.
Just recently, a week ago, eight women were reportedly raped by men conducting illegal mining activities on disused mines outside Krugersdorp in Gauteng. Several suspects were arrested and made court appearances. 
 
As a responsive people's Parliament, the institution reviewed and passed bills to address gaps identified to strengthen the state's capacity to deal with the scourge of gender-based violence in South Africa. 
 
The three bills are the Criminal Law - Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Bill, the National Register for Sexual Offences Bill, and the Domestic Violence Amendment Bill, which have since been signed into law. These bills aim to strengthen efforts to end gender-based violence, with a victim-centred focus on combating this dehumanising pandemic.
 
Parliament is committed to defending the rights of all South Africans, particularly women and children, and condemns these heinous acts of violence against women as they derail the gains of our hard-earned democracy attained through bloodshed.
 
The Presiding Officers have called on law enforcement authorities and the courts to utilise all available legal instruments to protect women and children and leave no stone unturned to ensure severe sanctions on those guilty of the rapes. Such barbaric behaviour has no place in South Africa. They called on all South Africans to be active citizens and join hands to continue fighting this scourge. Parliament urges all men to play an active role in preventing all forms of abuse, particularly GBVF.
 
Parliament has been hard at work over the past year addressing the issues of gender mainstreaming and equality issues by reviewing the entire women's rights regime to assess the efficacy of existing systematic and institutional mechanisms across the three spheres of government. Targeted oversight campaigns across all provinces to oversee the implementation of the 2021 Women's Charter for Accelerated Development have taken place this year.
 
The reviewed process is part of Parliament's responsiveness to the people's needs to eradicate hunger, poverty and inequality in society. Today, we urge all South Africans to work together in order for the next generation to inherit a South Africa free from all social ills.
 
Despite all the prevailing challenges, South African women continue to rise to great heights in different areas of leadership and responsibility. Since 1994, Parliament has passed various anti-discrimination laws that, amongst others, have enabled the advancement of women in key positions of authority. While the situation is not entirely perfect, it is a considerable progress upon which all sectors must continue to improve.
 
As we salute and recognise women of this nation and their role in our society this month, we once again express great pride in our African Champions, Banyana Banyana, for their historic success at the recent Women African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) 2022. We continue celebrating this historic victory and call upon the football fraternity, government and corporate South Africa to attend to the discriminatory pay disparities between women and male football players. Parliament will continue to ensure that those charged with this responsibility are held accountable, through our oversight function, so that this great anomaly and injustice is corrected.
 
Happy Women's Day South Africa!

Issued by Moloto Mothapo, Media Officer, Parliament, 9 August 2022