According to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the largest barrier to attaining complete and meaningful gender equality is the prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV).
The President discussed Women’s Day, which will be observed on Tuesday, in his weekly email.
He emphasized the need of eliminating all types of violence against women and children for the development of the country.
“Even as we strive together to eradicate gender-based violence in society, we shouldn’t downplay the strides we have achieved toward creating a non-sexist society.
The President said, “We must honor those who continue to lead the way while also celebrating the many accomplishments of women in our nation.”
He urged men to start with their own attitudes and behavior in order to be a part of the solution.
We must realize that we have gone a long way and that we still have a long way to go as we seek to achieve gender equality in all spheres of life, he added.
On Tuesday, South Africa will celebrate the day in 1956 when tens of thousands of women protested against apartheid laws by marching on the Union Buildings.
“Everyone is aware with the classic photo of Rahima Moosa, Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, and Sophie Williams de Bruyn striding resolutely up the steps of the Union Buildings’ amphitheatre on that momentous day.
“Thousands of petitions from women around the nation to Prime Minister JG Strijdom were in their possession. We are women of all races, and we come from the cities, the towns, the reservations, and the villages, the petition’s opening line reads.
The President said, “We came as women united in our mission to free the African women from the degradation of passes.
The President said that women today in South Africa have access to basic freedoms and rights that were denied to their grandmothers and great-grandmothers.
“Women may now develop in any sector of work, pursue their academic interests wherever, and start their own enterprises.
“Women’s representation in the workplace, in government, and across society continues to rise thanks to employment equality laws and other initiatives of the democratic government,” he stated.
The most recent assessment of South Africa’s progress toward the SDGs shows that the nation is moving in the right direction toward achieving gender equality.
depiction of women
President Ramaphosa emphasized that there are a number of fields in which female participation has increased.
“Members of the National Assembly make up 46% of Parliament. Currently, women hold 44 percent of senior management positions in the public sector, making up 62 percent of the whole workforce, he said.
The appointment of the first woman to lead the National Prosecuting Authority and the first female Directors-General of the State Security Agency and the Presidency, according to President Ramaphosa, has advanced the agenda for improving women’s representation.
The first female deputy national commissioner of the South African Police Service was appointed last week, while Justice Mandisa Maya was named the country’s first female deputy chief justice last month.
Nearly half of all magistrates and 114 out of the 256 judges on the Bench are female, he noted.
sexual and reproductive health care rights
The right to reproductive healthcare, which is protected by our Constitution, is another area where progress has been made, according to President Ramaphosa.
He said that unlike many other nations, South African women had access to safe pregnancy termination and contraception via the public health system.
“The democratic State has sought to remove all anti-women legislation, and throughout the years our courts have ruled against policies and practices that unjustly discriminate against women on the basis of maternity, sexual orientation, or other criteria,” he added.
According to the president, the nation has rules that protect women from harassment at work and address more contemporary kinds of victimization of women.
According to him, women in traditional cultures have the right to inherit property, engage into contracts, and own land.