Hon House Chairperson, hon Minister Shabangu, hon Members of Parliament, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, the proclamation by President Jacob Zuma elevating women's issues into the Presidency heralds a new dispensation that will see the mainstreaming of women in government business.
This enables the Department of Women in the Presidency to exercise its oversight role and effectively monitor and evaluate the mainstreaming of the gender and the empowerment of women across all sectors of society.
A lot has been done in our 20 years of freedom to create an enabling environment through legislative reform. Legalised injustices against women generally, and especially those women at the intersection of race and gender, have virtually disappeared. This includes all laws and formal policies that precluded women from entering any occupation or profession of their choice, owning property or land and engaging in any business venture.
However, the social patterns of exclusion and disadvantage that women experienced in the past remain a systematic feature of the South African social and economic landscape. The whole world remains patriarchal, with men dominating all aspects of life from the family to politics, business and the workplace.
Women today continue to face the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. This is a reality that cannot be ignored by the judiciary when adjudicating.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the 1954 Women's Charter and the 20th anniversary of the 1994 Women's Charter for Effective Equality. The eight aims outlined in the Women's Charter of 1954 form the foundation of the 12 articles contained in the 1994 Women's Charter for Effective Equality. This is significant because the Women's Charter for Effective Equality coincides with the dawn of democracy in South Africa. It thus serves as an appropriate tool to measure progress made in achieving the aims of the Women's Charter in 1954, and the 20th year of freedom.
It has been two months since the historic fifth democratic national elections. The electorate constituted by women in the majority gave the thumbs up to the ANC's 2014 election manifesto, and has once again mandated the ANC-led government to work side by side with all South Africans as we, together, move the women's agenda forward in the next five years.
This is a mandate we do not take lightly. Women must take centre stage as we march into the second phase of our transition to realise emancipation from all forms of discrimination.
I plead with each and every woman in this august House, irrespective of creed or colour, to remember that we are the centre pole of the nation. We are the salt of the earth; without women, there would be nothing. Thank you. [Applause.]