Chairperson, hon members, let me take this opportunity to present what the ANC has asked me to do. Some of the most critical components of our struggle for freedom in this country was, firstly, the emancipation of women; secondly, the realisation of gender equality; and thirdly, the establishment of a nonsexist society. The observation of 8 March as International Women's Day signifies the international community's solidarity with this cause but, most importantly, with the universal nature and character of women's struggle for equality and nonsexism in general.
The main purpose of this day is to highlight the plight of women, to promote their rights within the context of international peace, and to celebrate achievements in women's struggles for gender equality. In celebrating this day in our Parliament today, we are using it as a yardstick to measure the progress we have made since the attainment of political freedom in 1994 and to highlight the challenges that remain in this long road towards equality and nonsexism. We do so within the context of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women's framework theme, which is "The empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges". We have adopted this theme since the presentation of our Minister and others to us in the UN's 56th Commission.
This theme is important because it places the focus on the rural population and recognises the vital role that women all over the world continue to play in the economic prosperity of their families, communities and countries. This theme is important also because it makes a call to countries to place the empowerment of rural women high on the agenda of national priorities.
In doing so, international communities would pay attention to the challenges faced by rural women, some of which are the following: There is a lack of access to decent and productive employment. It has become accepted over many generations that women work as unpaid labourers on family farms. The lack of skills development in farming further entrenches the lack of income-generating activities for rural women and the continued inaccessibility of formal and nonformal education. There is also a lack of access to land and little or no financial independence.
We can say that as South Africans we have addressed some of the problems I have just raised. The Ministries are aware of the land problem. We are getting there. Traditional leaders are assisting us in regard to women no longer being minors. Laws have been passed, but who must monitor the implementation of those laws if we as women of this Parliament do not come together with the agenda to look into and "domesticate" those laws we cannot achieve anything by simply passing laws ... kule Ndlu yoWiso-mthetho [... in the National Assembly].
In South Africa today, the rallying call is the declaration of war on poverty, as is being championed by the Deputy President of our country. This is coupled with our country's commitment and plan to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals. It is for these reasons that we affirm the continued importance and relevance of International Women's Day. The proclamation of this day by the UN was a crucial moment in our struggle of the 1970s, when the ANC was building international solidarity and mobilising the whole world against apartheid oppression. Indeed, it is a reality that today we are celebrating 100 years of a history that included the struggle against all forms of oppression of women. In this context, that proclamation was consistent with the perspectives and positions of the