Picture: Ward 20 councillor, Itumeleng Maribe addressing the Women Empowerment symposium/Supplied
By OBAKENG MAJE
The Ward 20 councillor, Itumeleng Maribe said that even though women’s empowerment has been made significantly in various sectors, the marginalisation of poor women severely compromises the progress. Maribe was addressing the women empowerment symposium in Kameelpuits village, near Taung on Friday.
He further said the symposium was attributed to more than 20,000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 in protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women. Maribe added that, since the advent of democracy in South Africa, great strides have been made in changing the status quo.
“You will remember that we celebrate Women’s Month and it was imperative to have a symposium like this. Many women, especially in rural areas continue to be marginalised. However, we call on men to stand up and eliminate any form of discrimination against women. Instead, we need to empower them without expecting anything in return.
“Women are the pillars of the society and I am happy that, they continue to break the barriers across all sectors. The least that we could do is to give them support and ensure that they succeed in that mission. Furthermore, government policies and programmes have improved the living conditions of women,” he said.
Maribe said women in rural areas should also be allowed to make inroads and occupy strategic positions. He said nationally, a number of women are taking up leadership positions in areas previously dominated by men.
Meanwhile, on 9 August 2023, the president of the Republic of South Africa (RSA), Cyril Ramaphosa said: “Together, we thank the women of South Africa for the role they play in the life of our nation. We celebrate how far we have come in building a non-sexist society, where women are free and equal and enjoy the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution.
“We recall the suffering that women have endured for no reason other than that they are women. We remember the courageous struggles waged by women against oppression, from those who stood up against colonialism and slavery to those who risked jail rather than carry the hated dompas.”
Ramaphosa said, remember those women who took up arms against a violent regime, who organised workers to fight exploitation, who led political movements and civic organisations, and who were involved in the drafting of our new democratic Constitution.
He said, today of all days, they salute imbokodo, amaqhawekazi, the brave pioneers who marched to the Union Buildings on this day in 1956.
“We are still moved by the images of women like Lilian Ngoyi, Rahima Moosa, Sophie De Bruyn and Helen Joseph carrying armfuls of petitions from the women of South Africa. Today, all the women of South Africa, whether they are black, white, Indian, or coloured, have freedom and equal rights thanks to the bravery, activism, and sacrifices of the generation of 1956.
“Thanks to the struggles of women over the generations, all South African women have the right to vote, the right to work, the right to have control over their bodies, the right to property and equality,” he said.
Ramaphosa said despite hardship, deprivation and many difficulties, South African women continue to stand strong. He said they bring up children, many of them as single parents.
The Guardian 