Government launched the women’s month on 31 July 2024 and on 9 August commemorated the Women’s Day in the Northern Cape.
This year’s Women’s Month commemoration held under the theme: “Celebrating 30 years of democracy towards Women’s Development” marks the 68th anniversary of the historic march of thousands of South African Women from all walks of life to the Union Buildings in 1956 in protest against the introduction of apartheid pass laws for black women in 1952.
During Women’s Month we celebrate women as active agents of change and social transformation. The commemoration also allows us to take stock of achievements and the challenges that remain while mobilising support for the further development of women.
This year’s Women’s Month takes place at the time the country is commemorating the 30 Years of Freedom and Democracy, making this year’s Women’s Month an important juncture for collective reflection on how we have empowered and advanced the rights of women in our democratic journey.
We also this year celebrate 30 years of the Women’s Charter, which was established to drive equality. During Women’s Month we will advance the Women’s Charter for Accelerated Development that was formulated in 2021. It aims to accelerate economic reforms to unlock women’s economic progress.
A number of socio-economic empowerment programmes and events will take place during the month including a trade expo, fashion show, and social dialogues.
Government departments will host a variety of activities throughout the month to commemorate the Women’s Month.
Dialogue
The Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities together with the University of South Africa (UNISA) and United Nations Women is hosting a dialogue on Women, Democracy and Leadership in South Africa today.
Women in the economy
The Women Economic Assembly (WECONA) will launch its research project findings on the “Economic Empowerment of Women in South Africa’s Property Sector”, at UNISA in Pretoria. The WECONA study focuses on using evidence-based methods to explore and address the challenges faced by women in the property sector and sub-sectors and also identify opportunities for their economic empowerment.
The Charlotte Mannya Maxeke Foundation and Freedom Park in promoting social cohesion and discussing issues that delay women’s empowerment as a threat to gender equality will host a Women Inclusivity Dialogue: Assessing Progress 30 Years Later Celebrating 30 Years of Women Empowerment. The dialogue seek to find solutions to justice and equality for women led by women.
The Department of Transport will host an information sharing session for Cross Border Women Operators, to increase participation of women in the cross-border market that leads to transformation of the industry and to encourage to consider other sectors within the cross-border market as permit holders of cross border trading.
The Department of Mineral Resources will host a Women in Energy and Mining Symposium share opportunities in the Energy and Mining and Sector assess progress in terms of implementing the energy sector strategy for women in energy and mining youth and women with Disabilities.
Youth initiatives
On the 12th of August, the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DPWYD) in partnership with the NYDA launched the Job Shadowing Programme at the NYDA Office and all nine provinces through the respective Offices of the Premier.
The Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI) Quarter 1 report was released last week, the PYEI is South Africa’s most comprehensive effort to address youth unemployment. Its goal is to enable more young people to move from learning to earning.
It is not replacing the many ongoing efforts, but seeks to coordinate, accelerate, and enhance existing programmes and unblock pathways to employment, training and youth enterprise. Additional resources drive the development of innovative approaches. The PYEI is committed to addressing the gender gap in employment and a significant achievement of the intervention is that 70% of the opportunities have been secured by young women.
Women in law enforcement
The SANDF Parade in celebration of women in uniform supported by men in solidarity with the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security that was adopted by the UN Security Council on 31 October 2000. The resolutions acknowledge the disproportionated and unique impact of armed conflict on women and girls.
In the Northern Cape, a Provincial Law enforcement parade will be held in Kuruman, to display a disciplinary approach which encourages service delivery in various sectors of government which further advocates the empowerment of women.
The South African Police Services has also started a campaign to highlight and celebrate women in the services who are behind major crimes operations and also various fields within the law enforcement such as forensics, crime intelligence and criminal investigations.
Public engagements and awareness campaigns
Across provinces, various community dialogues and workshops will take place on Gender Based Violence (GBV) initiatives. Government in partnership with the Civil Society will hold the 3rd National Men’s Day Against GBVF which will be officiated by The Deputy President Paul Mashatile and His Majesty the King Misuzulu kaZwelithini on 24th August 2024.
The event led by the Goodmen Foundation in partnership with DWYPD, seeks to use this event to increasing awareness about the impact of GBVF in our society, educate citizens about gender equity and profile support available for survivors and facilitate healing. All these objectives are informed by Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 of the National Strategic Plan for GBVF, which at its core calls for strategic collaboration between government and civil society sector for its full implementation.
Women in transport
The National Aviation Gender Summit (NAGS) 2024 themed “Lift as we rise: The journey towards 2030!” will examine the progress made by the South African civil aviation industry towards this goal. The summit will focus on addressing gender transformation gaps within the sector and emphasise the significance of mentorship in promoting gender equality.
The NAGS 2024 is targeting female aviation professionals and various industry representatives with responsibilities and a personal stake in issues of gender equality and diversity.
Women in the public service
Various provincial heads of departments and Directors General with Senior women managers will host the public service women management week to evaluate and monitor progress on the implementation of women empowerment and gender equality programmes in departments.
Ending the scourge of GBVF requires the efforts of government, private sector, civil society and every member of society. It is the responsibility of all South Africans to end the culture of silence around gender-based violence and protect the women and children.
In elevating the fight against Gender Based Violence in his 2024 State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Cyril Ramaphosa initiated / launched the Anti Gender Based Violence (GBV) campaign, in which he called upon all South African men to unite in ending GBV.
The pledge was signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Deputy President Paul Mashatile at the Women’s Memorial at the Union Buildings on 27 March 2024, followed by male Ministers and Deputy Ministers. Members of society are encouraged to also sign the pledge on https://www.stateofthenation.gov.za/endGBVF/take-the-pledge.
Government continues to uphold its constitutional responsibility and national priority to protect, promote and advance the rights of women and persons with disabilities and the 2024 Women’s Month programme seeks to shine a spotlight on women in diverse fields and the strides made for advancing gender equity in the past 30 Years of Freedom and Democracy.
Further details on the events listed above as well as additional events are listed on Women’s Month calendar which can be located on www.gov.za.
Enquiries:
Nomonde Mnukwa
Cell: 083 653 7485
