Chairperson, comrades and colleagues, some 101 years ago, 8 March was a socialist holiday that was originally established by Socialist International. It is now celebrated by women's groups around the world. In many countries it is a national holiday and it has been officially recognised by the United Nations. We say thank you to Clara Zetkin.
On 09 August 1956, progressive women in South Africa, ably led by none other than our own Aunt Sophia de Bruyn, Lilian Ngoyi, Lillian Diedericks, Florence Matomela and Helen Joseph, were influenced by the socialists of the world and clearly determined to emancipate themselves and the nation from apartheid colonial order, whose legacy remains with us even today. They proclaimed, "Wena Strydom, wathint'abafazi, wathint'imbokodo, uzakufa!" [Strydom, you strike a woman, you strike a rock, and you will die!]
Women in the rural areas continue to be hardest hit by being exploited by the colonial land thieves as tillers of the soil - soil stolen from them and their forebears by force. They were oppressed as black women by the racist system of apartheid. At home, patriarchy perpetually renders our homes a battleground against male chauvinism.
If we had to dig into this issue, or if we had a Truth and Reconciliation Commission on land, I am certain - I say this to hon members here on the left - the truth would have come out about whose land they continue to own to this day. [Interjections.]
That became a South Africa colonised by white settlers, who settled in the same areas and shared the same borders with the colonised, the African people, but they were in control of the means of production. While the apartheid laws entrenched this special type of colonialism, a number of us as men continued to subject women, viewing them as objects for the kitchen and regarding certain chores as the domain of women. From time immemorial, women have been at the forefront of fending for their families and communities in rural areas while the men had gone out looking for work in the mines and factories in urban settlements.
Once again, "When you teach a progressive women, you empower a nation." That remains our battle cry in the emancipation of women. You don't just teach any women, but a progressive woman ... [Applause.] ... because there are women out there who lead parties but there is a big question mark behind whether they continue to be progressive or not. [Interjections.] Our wonderful Constitution, which we fought and died for, marked a welcome departure from our ugly apartheid past by reconceptualising access to land for the previously disadvantaged, especially women, as a basic human right through restitution policy and land tenure and redistribution programmes. In short, women's rights are human rights. Furthermore, in 1997 our constitutional principles gave rise to a gender policy in land reform. Its main task remains that of ensuring gender equity in land access and the effective participation of women in decision-making.
Comrades, the New Growth Path and Integrated Growth and Development Plan enjoin us as follows, and I quote:
There is growing consensus that creating decent work, reducing inequality and defeating poverty can only happen through a new growth path founded on a restructuring of our South African economy to improve its performance in terms of labour absorption as well as the composition and rate of growth.
Key among the drivers of this consensus is infrastructure and added value chains in agriculture and mining, among others. As we move towards land and agrarian reforms, the role of rural women becomes important not only in participating in the land acquired through state assistance but more in the area of the processing of primary products produced from the land and with other added value and access to markets. These form part of the restructuring of our economy with the aim of creating new jobs and establishing new businesses through value addition in our primary products.
Alongside the New Growth Path, the Integrated Growth and Development Plan's 20-Year Vision must be shared in order to bring food to the country and to the nation. Agroprocessing is at the centre of these development plans. As the people living with disabilities proclaimed, "Nothing about us without us", so rural women shall declare.
South Africa can no longer afford to be a net importer of processed food. South Africa cannot be an importer of beef, chicken, potatoes, sugar and wheat, among others, while we have an abundance of land, skill and women "personnel" in rural settlements.
HON MEMBERS: Hear, hear!