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SA women to march again
10 August 2004
Women's Month 2004 - which kicked off in earnest on 9 August, the 48th anniversary of the day South African women marched to Pretoria in protest against apartheid's pass laws - will culminate in a Women's March and Concert at the Union Buildings on 31 August.
President Thabo Mbeki, speaking at a Women's Day ceremony at Atlantic Stadium in Witbank, Mpumalanga on Monday, paid tribute to SA's struggle heroines - people such as Charlotte Maxeke, Margaret Mncadi, Helen Joseph, Lilian Ngoyi, Florence Matomela and Victoria Mxenge - saying they had demonstrated the true meaning of courage in pursuit of equality and freedom.
Women's Day marks the 48th anniversary of the historic march of women to the Union buildings in 1956 in protest against pass laws that required Africans to carry a document on them to "prove" that they were allowed to enter areas reserved for white people under apartheid.
Women's Month celebrates and commemorates both the
contribution of women to the struggle for freedom in South Africa and the progress that has been made towards their empowerment.
The Office of the Status of Women in the Presidency said in a statement that the August 31 march would form "part of the process to recall the historic role of women and their sacrifices for freedom and democracy".
The Department of Arts and Culture has put together a Women's Concert as part of the celebration, featuring the Mahotela Queens, Khadja Nin, female band Mazet Zet, traditional dancers Inala and the Tribhangi Indian Dance group.
A Women's Caravan, a mobile information and service delivery truck, will also be reaching out to communities in the remotest corners of the country this month.
The caravan will exhibit the achievements of South African women since 1994, and provide services such as verification of marital status, registration of customary marriages, social grants services, polio vaccination, and services related to
micro-credit and small business development.
Source: BuaNews
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