08/08/2022
For immediate release
09th August 2022
THE ANCWL STATEMENT ON THE COMMEMORATION OF THE HISTORIC 1956 AUGUST 9TH WOMEN’S MARCH: WOMEN’S SOCIAL ECONOMIC RIGHTS AND EMPOWERMENT.
The ANCWL joins the women of South Africa in commemorating the women’s month and day by paying tribute to the courageous women of 1956 who took a stance against the oppressive apartheid regime. They demonstrated that women have never been bystanders in the struggle for liberation, this was consistent with the stance that women of earlier generations had taken against the oppressor. The generation of 1956 in their resilience confronted the apartheid patriarchal regime through the highest form of mobilisation of the time and were prepared to pay the highest price. We pay tribute to all the women that marched to the Union building and the majority in the communities who supported the march. Their efforts will never be in vain.
This year’s theme of women’s social economic rights and empowerment must translate directly to the lived realities of women and must seek to provide solutions that change their quality of life. The social economic positioning of women continues to deteriorate with rising numbers of crime and economic violence which affects them more. It is for this reason that we believe that the economic reconstruction and recovery plan must be deliberate in empowering women and creating opportunities that will benefit women from all walks and sectors.
The full participation of women in the financial sector, mining, agrarian reform and land ownership, ocean economy, education, manufacturing, and construction, technology, wholesale and retail, media, creative arts and governance among many others is non negotiable and we call on all women of our great nation to join us as we demand equal representation and participation in all these sectors. The time is now or never!
The ANCWL will be joining women in all nine provinces in commemorating this historic day. Our NTT will be in KZN joining the main event which will be addressed by the President of the ANC and South Africa. Through out the month, the ANCWL with all its structures will host different programmes and campaigns as adopted by our NTT and PTTs. Our focus will be to mobilise and work with women from all sectors, the LGBTQIA+, women with disability, and young women. In our pursuit of generation equality, no woman must be left behind.
We are extremely disturbed by the sky rocketing numbers of women and children who are violated in the hands of men. The growing numbers of r**e cases and murders of women, children and the LGBTQIA+ community continue unabated despite the many calls and measures put in place. This calls for us as a nation to reflect further on what must be done structurally, institutionally, and socially to combat the violence on women and children. Law enforcement agencies must table a plan before South Africans on how they are all individually and collectively confronting the GBVF pandemic. The private sector must clearly play a role in fighting this pandemic, just like all government and public institutions have been doing. Everybody must be held accountable until our communities are safe again. We call on progressive men to take a stance against GBVF, they must declare in whose name are women and children killed every day.
We will mobilise our members who are members of the ANC in good standing to ensure that our submissions to the policy conference of the ANC becomes part of the discussions of ANC branches, regions, and provinces in preparation for the 55th national conference. Among our submissions, we believe that the adoption of 50% gender parity in the officials of ANC structures will be significant and symbolic in celebrating 66 years since the election of our President Lilian Ngoyi in the NEC of the ANC. The distribution of free sanitary towels to women and girls is one of our submissions which is more urgent now than ever.
The ANCWL will host its women’s month closing event in the Free State Province where we will launch our Lilian Ngoyi Brigade. The symbolism of closing our women’s month programme in Free State is to show commitment to our struggles by going back to the very venue and province where the ANC was founded in 1912. We will intensify our cognitive Molo Makhelwane campaign by launching the Lilian Ngoyi Brigade to create a network and platform for women to provide support to one another in the fight against GBVF and to reclaim our communities. President Lilian Ngoyi is a pioneering woman and a doyen of our struggle who was fearless and was the first woman to serve in the ANC leadership in 1956 December. The brigade will mobilise women to respond to unemployment, inequality, and unemployment and how such relates to violence against them.
We acknowledge that more strides have been made in the struggle for the emancipation of women, and furthermore needs to be done. We will use this month to reflect and to celebrate those who came before us. We recommit ourselves to working with all progressive women organisations and communities, build popular fronts and confront patriarchy. We salute all women who stand to make a difference daily, both the sung and unsung heroines who sustain us daily.
Happy women’s day and month
Issued by the ANCWL
Cde Maropene Ramokgopa
National Coordinator
Cde Meokgo Matuba
National Spokesperson
Enquiries
Pheladi Moruthane
074 481 8912
