South African women in dialogue
Tumelo Modisane
4 July 2005
More than a thousand women from all sectors of society will meet in Pretoria on Tuesday to take part in the third annual South African Women in Dialogue (Sawid) forum.
The forum, which runs at the the University of Pretoria until 8 July, will be addressed by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and the president of the Pan African Parliament, Gertrude Mongella.
Other speakers include Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbethe and Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa.
The primary objective of this year's Sawid is to receive a report on the United Nations 49th Commission on the Status of Women held in New York in March, where the implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action was reviewed.
The forum will also assess South Africa's performance in terms of development in general and women in particular.
Participants will also be able to reflect on the impact of the
Sawid dialogues since 2003 and strategise on the way forward at national and provincial levels.
The Sawid forum was initiated by the spousal office and first lady Zanele Mbeki, its chief patron, to provide a platform for ongoing dialogue between South African women.
This was done to establish a common national agenda for the development of women and to strengthen pan-African women's partnerships in conflict resolution and the management of peace and stability.
Sawid does not have formal organisational representation or membership.
It is a voluntary association of women from government, non-government and community-based organisations, coordinated by a volunteer national steering committee as well as provincial steering committees that were identified during the 2004 dialogue.
Sawid successfully hosted two national forums in 2003 and 2004 as well as the fruitful coordination of two separate peace dialogues among the women of the Democratic Republic of
Congo and the women of Burundi in 2003 and 2004 respectively.
Source: BuaNews
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