SOUTH AFRICA: Women Call for 'Meaningful Change'

EDUCATION was recognised as a key element of female emancipation at the inaugural Women's Legacy Dialogue, an event that was "aimed at changing how women think".

Held at the Sandton Sun Conference Centre on 13 August, it was attended by top-notch, influential women, and was hosted by Kerishnie Naiker, a businesswomen, philanthropist and pharmacist. Speakers included Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane; Angie Motshekga, the minister of basic education; Claire Reid, the inventor and director of Reel Gardening; Monhla Hlahla, the chief executive of Airports Company South Africa; and Miriam Altman, the executive director of Centre for Poverty, Employment and Growth.

"For a long time, the setting of agendas that affect our lives has been predominantly initiated, managed and orchestrated by men," said Mokonyane. "Consequently, the rules, policies and programmes are inclined to exalt men and strengthen their dominant position in society. It is about time that we make a critical contribution that will propel meaningful change, change that is all-inclusive and whose benefit is bound to set all humankind free."

This dialogue should "seek ways of breaking the male stranglehold that smothers women's development and emancipation".

The premier pointed out that although great strides had been taken in improving the status of women under the democratic government, "we are not yet out of the woods". She said: "The girl child still remains the most abused and violated in society. Investment in the education of the girl child still remains insignificant."

When it was her turn to speak, Motshekga said it was encouraging that the inaugural dialogue was billed as a conference that must focus on what needed to change and on the role of women in bringing about a different outcome.

"It is due to the efforts of these selfless women that 54 years later, women can freely gather, as we have done today, to tackle challenges facing our country and contribute to the building of a non-sexist society."

She was referring to the women who took part in the historic Women's March in 1956 and their leaders. More than 20 000 women from all walks of life protested against the apartheid government's pass laws. Women's Day is marked as an annual public holiday the day of the march - 9 August.

Gender relations
South Africa was committed to transforming gender relations and to empowering women. This was done through the Constitution, which guaranteed the right to education, and as well as through the introduction of gender-sensitive legislation, such as the Domestic Violence Act and the Sexual Offences Act.

Motshekga quoted Pali Lehohla, the chief statistician at Engendering Statistics, who said in 2009 that "the early years of the 21st century have seen great improvements in the absolute status of women globally, with gender inequalities decreasing quite substantially in a number of sectoral areas such as education and health".

Continuing the focus on education, she said: "Quality education plays a fundamental role in transforming society."

Motshekga commented that her department delivered on goal three of the Millennium Development Goals, in which they called for the elimination of gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2015.

Challenge
Lynette Finlay, the chief executive officer of Finlay and Associates, made a call to arms. "From the government to the unemployed, from high-level corporate structures to entrepreneurial start-ups, from our elders to the young girls, from the rich to the poor, from every culture and language persuasion women need to take up the challenge," she said.

"We can all make a difference, and it starts with us, with an individual. Collectively the impact is just greater, but it still starts with one."

In closing, Mokonyane said: "It is my belief that this gathering can be enriched if we all channel our energies on what matters most, that which makes a difference in the struggle for women's emancipation.

"It should not be a ‘dialogue' that will go down in history as one futile exercise in which posture was the order of the day. Let this be a moment that we should also cherish because of the impact it will have in changing the status of women for generations to come," she said.

Noah, or Nurturing Orphans of Aids for Humanity, was a beneficiary of the event. For more information about the Women's Legacy Dialogue , visit the website.