PREMIER'S SPEECH
Chairperson
Honourable members of the executive council
Comrades
Ladies and gentlemen
Members of the Alliance.
“Wathinta Abafazi wathint imbokodo! Amandla!
MALIBONGWE
The theme of these festivities is adroitly captured as: “WOMEN UNITE IN ACTION FOR EQUALITY AND A BETTER LIFE, FARANANI, EENHEID, HANGANANI AND UNITY”
This theme teaches us simple lessons, that when women decide to unite and take action for a good cause, nothing can stand in their way. Captured, vividly clearly, also, in the theme of today's celebration is the goal of correcting past inequalities and inequities.
I am proud to be standing in front of you today because I feel the intensity that is oozing out of you. I know deep down in my heart that today we are breaking new ground.
I believe I am right when I say we are gathered here to celebrate the resilience of our women. I have seen in my life households that live in abject poverty. Families without any means to make a basic living but what has always struck me as a mystery is how mothers manage to scrape here and there and be able to put supper on the table for their children.
Many of you have grown in families that did not enjoy the chance of having both parents under the same roof. This could have been as a result of an array of reasons.
Some of which could have been that the father had been a migratory worker or an irresponsible father just decided to desert his senses and responsibilities.
What is a mystery to me is how the women have been able to feed, clothe and send their children to school. This lends more credence to my assertion that ABOMAMA BABAMBA UMESE NGAPHO UKHALIPHE NGAKHONA.
Women, ladies and gentlemen played a pivotal role in the liberation struggle as members of the ANC and Allied organisations, as trade unionists and in other capacities.
They carried out militant campaigns, as I have already illustrated earlier in my speech, against pass laws. They also carried on their shoulders the burden of participating in the underground and armed struggle of the then banned liberation movements.
Many women suffered restriction, imprisonment, torture and even assassination at the hands of a brutal racist regime.
Realising that women are a force to be reckoned with in the struggle for liberation, the ANC formed the Women's League in 1943, followed by the formation of the Federation of the South African Women (FSAW), a multi-racial body on 17 August 1954 which was to be a wing of the ANC Women's League charged with the focus of organizing a united struggle against apartheid.
Brutal and ruthless systematic attacks waged by the regime managed to repress the Federation of South African Women to the state of non-functionality by 1960, but, as the saying goes: “You can't put a good women down forever” on 9 August 1990 with the unbanning of the ANC and other Liberation movements, like the proverbial Phoenix the ANC Women's League rose from its ashes and re-launched in Durban.
Over the history of the common exploitation and oppression of men and on the basis of colour has led to a combined fight against the system instead of a battle of women against men for “women's rights”. While it is true that women desire their personal liberation, they see that as part of the total liberation movement.
It is a fact that overt leadership of our struggle against the draconian system of apartheid has been dominated by men, the obvious fact that has not been adequately given the attention it so richly deserves, is that some informal segments of society controlled by women in raising basic issues, organizing and involving the masses has become more increasingly recognized.
The organizing of women dates back to 1920, principally in the laundry and clothing, mattress, furniture and business industries. This is where unionization of women started germinating.
In the 1930s women trade unionists were in the leadership of opposition towards the growing Afrikaner nationalism and apartheid unions. They sought free compulsory education for all races, and an end to Job Reservations by race and training for all the races.
With the assumption of power of the National Party in 1948, we saw a rise and strengthening of women and black industrial workers in organized labour action. I have already told you what the Nationalist Party Government did to the plight of this mass mobilization.
Actual they used legislation of “Kragdadigheid” such as the Industrial Legislation Commission Act, of 1950, Suppression of Communism Act, (Which afforded them to ban 56 trade unions by 1955, the Industrial Legislation Bill (1956) made job reservation a law.
Despite all these cunning, shrewd and brutal desperate moves by the regime our women continued to lead strikes, even though strikes by Africans were illegal. AMANDLA! AMANDLA! ALUTA CONTINUA!
On January 1953, hundreds of men and women assembled in the Langa Township, outside Cape Town, to protest the impending application of the Native Laws Amendment Act. Delivering a fiery speech to the crowd Dora Tamana, a member of the ANC Women's League and a founding member of the Federation of South African Women, declared:
“We, women will never carry these passes. This is something that touches my heart. I appeal to you young Africans to come forward and fight. These passes make the road even narrower for us.
We have seen unemployment, lack of accommodation and families broken because of passes. We have seen it with our men. Who will look after our children when we go to jail, for a small technical offence – not having a pass?”
Between 1955 and 1956, one hundred and forty six delegates, representing 230 000 women from every nook and cranny of South Africa attended the first National Conference of Women. According to the Federation of South African Women's constitution, their objectives included:
“To bring the women of South Africa together to secure full equality of opportunity for all women, regardless of race, colour or creed; to remove social and legal and economic disabilities; to work for the protection of the women and children of our land.”
This gave birth to the world acclaimed “Women's Charter” written in this conference, which called for the enfranchisement of men and women (i.e. giving them voting rights) of all races, equality of opportunity in employment; equal pay for equal work; equal rights in relation of property, marriage and children, and the removal of all laws and custom that denied women such equality.
The Charter further demanded paid maternity leave, childcare for working mothers, and free and compulsory education for all South African Children.
Although the Federation acknowledged the primary tasks at hand was the struggle for national liberation, it also highlighted that the struggle would not be won without the full participation of women. Applying the distorted version of “tribal” law, which had governed the pre-industrial African society.
Some courts of law continued to regard African women as perpetual minors under permanent tutelage of their male guardians.
Women's property rights were severely limited and control over their own earnings minimal. In answering these huge disparities and inequalities the Women's Charter” did not hesitate to deal with them.
According to the Charter, laws governing African marriage and property relations had “lagged behind the development of society (and) no longer correspond to the actual social and economic position of women”.
As a result, “the law has become an obstacle to the progress of the women, and therefore, a brake on the whole society.”
The blame for “ this intolerable condition” rested in part with “large section of our menfolk” who refuses “to concede to us women the rights and previledges which they demand for themselves.” The Charter concluded:
“We shall teach the men that they cannot hope to liberate themselves from the evils of discrimination and prejudice as long as they fail to extend to women complete and unqualified equality in law and practice …… freedom cannot be won for any one section or for the people as a whole as long as we are kept bondage.”
It is interesting to note, ladies and gentlemen that the demands laid out in the “Women's Charter” were ultimately incorporated into the hallmark “Freedom Charter “, adopted by the Congress of the People in Kliptown on June 25-26, 1955.
These two days of celebrations and commemorations are a build up to the big event on August 9.
Let me conjure up some spirit of power that is in and around you like an aura, by chanting the slogan that was chanted by 20 000 women in a second march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, while waiting for the Prime Minister Strijdom and the Minister of Native Affairs Dr. H.F. Verwoerd but as you all know, the two “gentlemen of honour” did not bother to come and accept the petition.
Wathint? Abafazi, Strijdom!
Wathint' imbokodo uzo kufa!
Now you have touched the women, Strijdom!
You have struck a rock
(You have dislodged a boulder!)
You will be crushed!
Women from all walks of life have been involved in the struggle for liberation. They selflessly and relentlessly challenged the system. In Nelspruit, for instance, in 1957, women attacked the car of the magistrate when he announced that passes would be distributed.
When five women were arrested, 300 women marched to demand their release. Police made a baton charge and then opened fire. Four people were hurt. The following day, the women organized a strike. Police fired on crowds again and eight Africans were wounded. When the police conducted extensive raids they arrested 140 people. The women were forced to accept the passes.
This is but one account of the siege that women have had to go through. Far more intense and fatal debacles took place on a countrywide scale. I do not have to remind you of the Sharpville massacre, ladies and gentlemen.
This commemoration is held every year in March throughout the country and my guess is on 9 August 2000 most speakers would elaborate on the abominable and dreadful events of that day.
My talk to you so far has been geared at bringing a factual perspective on historic events that have led to the celebration that we are having today. Some of you were not even born when the long and protracted struggle began.
For the sake of brevity I have skirted the issues and only selected a few historical future-shaping occurrences that are aligned to the chosen theme of the day.
What I have been saying, basically, to you is that it is in a united action that you will be able to achieve your goal of “EQUALITY”.
In my speech I also acknowledge that your struggle against for liberation had and still is to be waged on two fronts.
One is the struggle for a better life for humankind. On the other hand your struggle must focus on liberating yourselves from the bondages at a home-front level.
The latter kind of battle is a very delicate one because it is deeply embedded on cultural stereotypes and even more daunting because you have to challenge the people you love, the people who, like you, are also on the receiving end of political, economic and all social ills.
On the political front, our struggle has paid off. Men and women of all races have been enfranchised, however, on the economic arena, there is still a longway to be traveled.
Political power without economic emancipation to me is like having the best crockery and cutlery without the food that must be put on these utensils.
Violence against women has always existed in this country but it is only now that we are beginning to talk about it. I feel things are moving at a snail pace towards the eradication of abuses on women.
However, I also acknowledge that it is a matter of national concern and is being debated at the highest levels of government.
I urge women to unite and help government to fight violence against women with all its might. To this score in my office I have set up an office that deals specifically with the plight of abused women. I am talking here about the Office on the Status of Women. Part of the objectives of women organisations is to teach the men how to behave appropriately.
The World Bank in their report, have observed that teaching the women basic or elementary education to the level of standard two has tremendously elevated their households standards of living and significantly reduced the mortality rate of children.
I want to stress to you that in your organisations you should encourage each other through you policies to acquire skills through education.
Government has introduced a policy of Affirmative Action to enhance the changes of women in management position. Today, we have Minister in our National and Provincial Government who are women.
We also have women in senior management positions in our administration. This is a step in the right direction, however, I must admit, there is still a lot of improvement that needs to be done. Our policies make room for work place and gender focal points in every department. This is proof that we are taking the woman's plight seriously.
We invite you to make submissions in forms of proposals on how to fast track these ideals.
Lastly, allow me to encourage women to follow in the footsteps of companies like Wiphold, which is listed in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
This company is owned by women and is holding its own against a cutthroat market that is predominated by men. In your organisations start cultivating the Entrepreneurial spirit and acumen.
Solicit advice from the SMME desk in the Department of Economic Affairs. Sometimes you may find it easier to create a job for yourself and others than to get a job in an already saturated market. Enjoy the proceedings of the day and remember the women hero's.
Some have fallen, and cherish their heroic deeds. More than that learn from them and apply their teachings to create a better life for all.
I THANK YOU : ALUTA CONTINUA!