Minister Chikunga highlights key legislative wins for SA women

Minister of Women, Youth, and People with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, says since the dawn of democracy 30 years ago, women have found their voice and claimed their rightful place in society.

She highlights the Public Procurement Bill, Domestic Violence Bill, and Gender Equality Bill as key victories that women can celebrate as the country marks Women’s Day on Friday.

She was speaking from Pofadder in the Northern Cape Province where President Cyril Ramaphosa leads the country’s official Women’s Day celebrations.

Chikunga says women’s empowerment can’t just be about the training of women. It is essential to have plans of what will be done for women after the training.

“We will be looking for exit strategies after you have done everything after you have incubated women, what then? We asked this question even of women who came from India being Solar Mamas and I said before we send others back to India we have to respond to the question of exit strategy. What about these women? We now have a team looking into that and for sure those women will actually assisted in terms of being absorbed in the market. So when we send others we have a clear programme on what to do when they come back.”

Women’s Day | Chikunga on the significance of Women’s Day as SA commemorates 30 years of democracy

The Minister says unlike the women who marched to the Union Buildings in 1956 against pass laws being extended to them – women are now able to have their voices heard without fear of persecution.

She says strides have been made towards the liberation of South African women, adding that women are now protected by the Bill of Rights and some can even sit at the same table as their male counterparts.

“We are equals to men, we are Ministers, we are Deputy Ministers. We are Members of Parliament, we are senior officials, we are CEOs out there in the private sector. We are also now able to air our views and put our demands without any fear of being arrested like those women in 1956 when they marched, eventually, they were arrested. No one arrests us today when we air our views and demand what we think is rightfully for women.”