Chairperson, thank you for this opportunity. I also thank Mr Waters for sponsoring this debate for discussion this afternoon.
Last Saturday I spoke at the funeral of a young lady at Soshanguve. She had gone to the clinic in Soshanguve to pick up her tablets and she actually sent a text message to her older sister on what she was going to be doing after that. The family did not know that two hours later they were going to find her lifeless body.
Now this is not a matter where we can point fingers at anybody. We need to point fingers at ourselves, because this violence knows no colour, no politics, it knows nothing. It is something with regard to which we must all use the might that we have to assist government to fight this. Most of the time the perpetrators are known to the victims and the victims are unsuspecting until they lose their lives.
We hear of these stories in our country over and over again. We should also be mindful of the fact that of the more than 45 million South Africans in our country, we are the chosen ones to represent them. This actually becomes the responsibility of all of us, collectively, to work together and ask, as public representatives, are we doing enough in our constituencies, are we assisting our constituencies, are we bringing awareness to our constituencies? Even if we use a podium like this to debate from and show how bad the situation out there is, we should also match it with what we as individual members of Parliament are doing.
To that end, when we start the 16 Days of Activism on 25 November, I would like to collect all the information from all the places I will be working at during the constituency period and I would like Members of Parliament who'd like to join me in that report that we have to table to the 4th Parliament, to do so - to say that in my area in the Northern Cape I have been to these areas, and this is how I've assisted the police. We have all been called by the police, not now, Minister, during Steve Tshwete's time, to volunteer as Members of Parliament.
One thing we know is that the community knows us, they have elected us. They will trust us. So if we dedicate an hour or two at any police station nearest to you, and say you will be there to assist, you may relieve with reception work - by relieving a policeman or woman from the reception area, you are actually allowing them to do the dedicated functions of a police officer.
We are not saying that you should go and arrest people, but do those things that you could do; like making photocopies, sending e-mails on their behalf - things that will actually free the police officers and get those people to tend to the work that they are supposed to do. I will still write to you, hon members, to find out how many of us did heed that call, the call was given to us almost ten years ago and I don't remember if we have actually done what we were supposed to do.
Sixteen Days of Activism is actually a campaign that says from 25 November to 10 December, we focus on campaigning around the issues that affect women and children, but that doesn't mean that on midnight of 10 December it is freedom for men and that perpetrators can do as they please because the 16 days are over. We are saying that for 365 days, and a quarter in some years, we are going to fight for the protection of women and children, because they happen to be a vulnerable group. I am talking on behalf of everybody here.
This matter is also receiving attention at the UN. You know that Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon added another impetus to the campaign by launching a multiyear campaign to intensify action to end violence against women and girls. This approach seeks to sustain the campaign beyond just the annual 16 Days of Activism. This campaign, which was launched by the UN, will deliberately run from 2008 to 2015, so that it runs alongside the MDGs. We welcome this and would also like to be seen to be part of it. We know that our MDGs are not always so recognisable, but let us continue working hard and make sure that we give this multiyear campaign, as launched by the UN, our support.
Of particular relevance to us as parliamentarians, of the three key areas that were mentioned by the UN, the area that we want to participate in and that we think we can give meaning to, is, to draw from a clause in the UN General Assembly, resolution 61/143, which reads thus, "... to review, where appropriate, revise, amend or abolish all laws, regulations, policies, practices and customs that discriminate against women".
That is a function that we know better than all other functions and that is what we have to look at. We have passed many pieces of legislation, but whether the legislation works for our people is something we have to look at. We must do this through an exercise that evaluates and, where there are gaps, we must tighten the legislation. We also need to have a session where we talk about implementing that legislation. Have we monitored sufficiently whether the laws are being implemented, and whether the laws are even known to people? Do we go back to our constituencies and tell people we know that these five Bills were passed, and whether they know what they imply? If we can use whatever resources we have available, or even say that we don't have enough resources, because we tend to want to give feedback and go back to our communities - I am sure we will find ways of getting money somewhere to assist Members of Parliament to ensure that we see to it that there is implementation.
It means nothing if we are going to be talking about having passed more that 1 200 pieces of legislation by now, but when we go back to our people, they are still faced with the same problems. Our people know who the perpetrators are. They are scared. What is it that we are doing?
Women, in particular, like clothes, Minister: at times we go into the shop to buy them, at times we don't get to the shop to buy them, but we still get the clothes anyway. At times we need those earrings, because I saw this or that Minister wearing them and I will get them, whether I have the money or not and I don't pay or have a receipt for it.
What I usually say is that if you get any goods without getting a receipt for it, you are no less guilty than a person who has a gun; you are the same. For you to have those kinds of things shining on your body, some people have had to lose their lives. Some children have lost their parents for you, because we all like shortcuts. [Applause.] We need to make sure that we cut the market. If people steal cars and there's nobody to buy the cars, they won't steal them. But if we support it and we say, "Oh, I have always wanted ...
... ke bule koloi ela ke tsamaye ke letsa mmino hore ba itlwe hore ke bohlale ... [... to open that car and drive around playing music so that they can see how streetwise I am ...]
... without paying the right price for it." When you read about orphans, and when you read about widows, you must know that you have created that. It is important for us to lead by example. We are the people who are given the opportunity to speak at churches and funerals. Much as we are going to talk about the deceased and whatever campaigns the churches have; let us push the message that people should come out and help the government.
I remember one time - I think hon Twala was with me - when we spoke at a funeral and said there must be somebody who knows who killed this child and that that person may even be here with us, listening to what is going to happen, but have a conscience. They will kill somebody else's child today and when they run short of victims, they'll be coming for you. For you to stop other people from becoming victims, you should talk. That very evening, a report was received by the police saying, "I am scared. I am the mother of so-and-so, but I know I am seeing things that my child has not worked for."
We need to bring back "lobo ubunthu" because that is how we used to deal with each other. [Applause.] I mean, if you go into the suburbs or townships of Tshwane - those are the areas that I live in and those are my constituencies - in black and white areas we have the same perpetrators. The perpetrators don't have a colour. Nobody can say this is done by either black people or white people, because it will be irresponsible to say so. Otherwise we wouldn't be finding it everywhere.
There is also the other point that we have to look at and that is how we socialise our children, how we bring up that little boy to think he's a big man; how we bring up that little Thabo to know that he doesn't have to wash the dishes, he doesn't have to pick up his socks, because there is a girl who will come and do that for him. When Thabo grows up to be a man or a father and he does that to his wife and children, we are surprised.
We are the first port of call. What is it that we are doing? We are benefiting from being where most South Africans would love to be. We are here occupying these seats, hon members, let us make a change. Thank you.