Deputy Speaker and Members of Parliament, this month we commemorate the courage of the more than 20 000 women who staged a march on 9 August 1956, protesting against the legislation that required black people to carry a pass during apartheid. These women broke the stereotype of women being seen as inept, uninvolved, unaware and subservient. Their courage and tenacity showed that, throughout the ages, women have played a critical role in the progression of societies. They are positive role models for all South Africans. They fought for their beliefs, even though they faced major obstacles, and I pay tribute to the hon Sophia de Bruyn, our colleague.
It is 2013 and we are considered a democratic country. Yet, regardless of the courage and action of women over the years, women are still not sufficiently empowered in our society. As a nation, we continue to face many challenges. Women are the most adversely affected and this needs to change. In an ideal society, we should all feel respected and empowered. In fact, this is what our Constitution provides for: equal rights, equal opportunities and all living in unity and with dignity. However, we do not live in an ideal society. Somehow, we have come not to respect the dignity of every South African. I am not only referring to women. Some of us are disrespected and have our rights violated on the basis of race, class, language, sexual orientation and - yes - gender.
Let us talk about gender issues. It is indeed tragic that the violation of women's rights has become so deeply entrenched in our society. An example of this is the brutal rape and murder of Duduzile Zozo, a lesbian and a Thokoza resident. The corrective rape task team, established by the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cluster in 2011, was meant to conduct a legislative audit of legislation pertaining to hate crimes, yet the task team has been silent thus far. It is estimated that as many as 10 lesbians are raped or gang-raped in South Africa weekly.
Women's rights in communities, courts and police stations are often disregarded. We see this every day. Our newspapers are overflowing with stories of rape and brutal murders. Every kind of physical and sexual abuse imaginable has been thrown at women. Rape, sexual violence and domestic violence plague our nation and have reached crisis levels. A woman in South Africa is raped every 10 minutes. A woman is murdered by her partner every eight hours.
The National Council Against Gender-Based Violence - part of the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities - has done very little to visibly deliver on its mandate thus far. Women also face structural economic oppression. They earn less than men. Women are also more likely to be unemployed. The unemployment rate of women is 2,9% higher than the national average of 24,9%. Women are underrepresented in positions of authority. Women and girls are less likely to receive a quality education.
Women are systematically less favoured to succeed in life. This is a great, unresolved and perpetuated injustice in our land. Government has failed to address this gender inequality. It is no good pushing for equal representation of men and women in Parliament and ask those very same Members of Parliament to support a Traditional Courts Bill that disempowers rural women. It is no good celebrating our country's struggle for women's rights while we tolerate those among us who use sexism as a substitute for parliamentary debate. It is no good celebrating Women's Day with a sumptuous dinner at the Mount Nelson, while women continue to live in poverty, cut off from opportunity. This needs to change. We can pay tribute to our female struggle heroines of 1956 by giving women and girls equal opportunities, but everyone has a role to play - from government to the private sector, communities and our very own families. The solution for empowering women is the same as it is for everyone else: more opportunities. We need to grow our economy by creating jobs for women and men. We need to improve educational opportunities for our youth. One way would be to fix the National Student Financial Aid Scheme to give more university funding for young women and young men. We also need to fix the justice system so that it actually protects victims of injustice and gender violence and does not impose secondary discrimination and victimisation.
We need to build our country so that everyone has a chance to succeed. Women, just like everybody else, need jobs, education, health care, housing and a government that works. By empowering women, we empower our nation. Enkosi kakhulu. [I thank you.] [Applause.]