10 August 2006
Unless South Africa's public and private institutions make serious efforts to close the gap between policy and practice on empowering women, they will be guilty of dealing in "empty rhetoric", says President Thabo Mbeki.
And as long as South Africa is plagued by domestic violence and the rape and abuse of women and children, the country and its people will not truly be free.
Addressing thousands of people gathered at the Union Buildings in Pretoria to celebrate Women's Day on Wednesday, Mbeki said the women of the 1950s did not sacrifice their lives in the freedom struggle "only to continue living as second-class citizens in a free South Africa.
"They did not fight for the liberation of this country to be told, in a liberated South Africa, that there are special positions reserved for men only.
"Thus, when we demand, as we will always do, that women must have equal access to all opportunities our society provides, as well as all positions of authority, in the public and private sectors, we are not extending any favours to our women," Mbeki said.
Empowering women who deserved high positions would merely be acknowledging the sacrifices women had made in contributing to a non-racial, non-sexist South Africa.
Mbeki said that while the country's private institutions had produced impressive draft plans on women's empowerment, "actual practice is often worlds apart from stated policies."
He advised both government and business institutions to develop yardsticks to measure progress made towards implementing their empowerment plans if they were to avoid "empty rhetoric".
Fifty-fifty representation
Mbeki noted that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which had just conducted
successful elections, had recently amended its constitution to allow for equal representation of men and women in all spheres of its government.
Switching in this part of his address to isiZulu, Mbeki told his audience that the DRC was ahead of South Africa with its 50/50 approach to women's representation.
"Already, and far ahead of us in this regard, the constitution of the DRC provides for gender equality in the various institutions of state," he said. "I believe we also have to follow in the Congolese' footsteps and increase representation of our women in the state to 50 percent."
Violence, poverty
On the problems women face outside the workplace, the President urged men in the country to bring an end to domestic abuse and all forms of violence against women.
He called on the leaders of all sectors of society to be join in the government's programme "to help eradicate the sickness that results in the abuse and murder of women and children."
At the same time, he said, a major challenge remained that of defeating poverty and poor access to resources - the brunt of which was felt by women in the country.
"We have to ensure that the economic wealth we generate is shared in a manner that benefits the poor, including the women in the rural and urban areas of our country," Mbeki said.
"We must uphold the perspective that none of us is free unless the women of our country are free - free from race and gender discrimination, free from poverty and loss of human dignity, and free from fear and violence."
SouthAfrica.info reporter and BuaNews
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