Limpopo commemorates Women’s Day

Polokwane-Limpopo Province Premier Stanley Chupu Mathabatha has led the Executive Council in commemorating the 66th edition of the National Women’s Day at Chuene Resort outside Polokwane on Wednesday, 09 August 2022.

This year’s commemoration was held under the theme: “Women’s Socio-economic rights and empowerment; building back better for women’s resilience”.

Women’s Day is an annual commemoration of the 9 August 1956 protest march to the Union Buildings by approximately 20 000 women from all backgrounds who resisted the apartheid authorities’ imposition of pass laws that restricted the movement of black South Africans in the country of their birth.

Those women who fought tirelessly to bring apartheid to its knees comprised of Mama Charlotte Maxeke, Rahima Moosa, Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Sophie Williams, Dora Tamana, Ida Mntwana, Bertha Gxowa, Florence Matomela, Mohumagadi Madinoge and all other unsung heroines of our country in the main and Limpopo in particular.

In the democratic era, Women’s Day focuses the nation’s attention on the country’s progress towards gender equity and celebrates the diverse contributions of women to the development of our society and economy.

However, Women’s Day and Women’s Month also serve as a period during which the country reflects on the challenges that face women, and during which all sectors of society can discuss these challenges and develop or highlight agendas aimed at empowering and affirming women.

Today we celebrate the successes of women in politics, we celebrate the successes of women in business, we celebrate the successes of women in leadership, we celebrate women who are in the academia, we celebrate women who keep fires burning in our homes and we also celebrate the women who are in sports and most notably the recent South African Women’s National team affectionately known as Banyana Banyana’s triumph at the 2022 Women African Cup Of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco which also saw more than 4 players hailing from Limpopo Province.

“Our women in football have done what their male counterparts have been failing to do since after the 1996 African Cup of Nations, they brought the Women African Cup of Nations to our country. They are the heroes who deserve adoration and celebration. What is more humbling is that a good number of the players who represented South Africa in Morocco are from Limpopo. They are our homegrown queens.” Premier Mathabatha highlighted
In celebrating and honoring women of our country, Mathabatha called on all men to make a commitment and join hands in fighting against the oppression of women as he laments the ongoing Gender Based Violence in the province.

“We must make a commitment to fight against gender-based violence. We must join hands to fight against the emotional abuse of women. We must fight against the physical abuse of women. Together we must commit ourselves to fight against the ballooning rape culture in our society. We must raise our voices against the killing of women and children in our communities.” Mathabatha said

The Premier also urged the Policemen and Policewomen to improve their response time to incidents of domestic violence, including the abuse of children and to desist from the tendency to turn back victims of alleged abuses because they think that there is no strong case.
“The issue of sufficient or insufficient evidence is for the courts to deal with and not the police, we must also call on the police to desist from the tendency of not arresting perpetrators because of their social status in the society. We call on the SAPS to dedicate enough resources including manpower to tackle domestic abuse, which is out recent pandemic.” He added

There are many incidences where women are violated and even killed by people who have been released on parole.
Mathabatha said is calling for the overhaul of the parole system so that parole is no longer an automatic right but a rare privilege.

He insisted that criminals must spend at least two-thirds of their sentences before they can even be considered for parole with a consent of the victim being an overriding factor in parole considerations.

“Women should not fear to walk the street because a dangerous criminal has been let loose by the parole system.” He concluded
Since the democratic government took power in 1994, all Premiers in Limpopo Province have been men, but Mathabatha confirmed that the next Premier will be a woman.

By: Maano Nekhavhambe