Thank you, Chair. Furthermore, this committee must tell us how it intends to make sure that all departments have clear programmes that promote women empowerment, short-term, medium-term and long-term plans and what its monitoring mechanisms are.
The South African corporate sector continues to be a boys' club only, male- dominated with barriers to entry. Female CEOs and MDs make up 4,4%; chairpersons, 5,5%; directorships, 15,8%; and executive directors, 21,6%. Therefore there is no clear strategy on ways that the Ministry will discipline the private sector and open up access to women, especially black women.
Government is continuing to give condoms for free. As sex is a choice, why can't we give sanitary pads also for free? Girls between the ages of 12 and 18 years are living below the poverty line in South Africa and cannot afford sanitary pads. As a result these young girls miss approximately five days of school per month, which amounts to 60 school days missed a year. Why isn't this issue made a priority in the budget?
This budget fails to speak to the 34 widows in Marikana whose husbands were massacred by the state police under the ANC-led government. Those women are now struggling to support their children. The husbands of those 34 women in Marikana didn't die a natural death. They were killed because they were demanding a living wage of R12 500 in order to support their families. They didn't want a Mercedes Benz or a BMW.
South Africa ranks 90 out of 148 countries in the Gender Inequality Index, GII, which is largely based on the political participation of women. Our country is often praised for the 41,1% of parliamentarian seats held by women. However what have been the ... [Time expired.]