Speaker, the ANC government's consideration that it would assist people with building materials and encourage self-involvement in the provision of housing needs is bearing fruit, as the women's building project, a partnership project between the Department of Human Settlements, the private sector and the community, has built 100 houses in Brandfort in the Free State, of which 55 houses were built by women under the supervision and guidance of qualified builders. This is part of an annual co-ordinated initiative geared to commemorating, during Women's Month, the 1956 Women's March to the Union Buildings against the apartheid pass laws.
This project is aimed at raising consciousness of the construction sector and women's role in it. The project promotes volunteerism and women's access to economic opportunities in human settlements. Women volunteers are mobilised and trained to lay bricks, to plaster and to build foundations to construct 100 houses during Women's Month. One of the beneficiaries that received her house was 102 years old.
The ANC acknowledges that much has been done to recognise and empower South African women. However, we share the view that the struggle for women's emancipation remains an incomplete project if choices women have to make are primarily influenced by their economic status. The ANC will continue to be at the forefront of struggles that ensure that the emancipation of women is not merely a dream but a reality. Thank you, Speaker.