My apology, Chairperson. I was engaging with the debate, as tabled by the DA, to say gender must be on their list and when we speak as women, we have to be able to rise above petty party- political distinctions.
Having said that, it is indeed an honour for me to address this House on the occasion of International Women's Day, which is this year celebrated under the fitting theme: "Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women".
Moving from what the Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities has said, it is very clear that at home and abroad the question of gender equality and the emancipation of women remains unresolved and therefore begs serious attention. Everywhere in the world, as Gender Links has rightly pointed out, there is an informal and hidden economy made up mostly of women, for instance the unpaid economy, which is sustained by women to a very large extent.
Patriarchal powers - not the ANC - have kept many of the world's women predominantly outside the mainstream of economic life while relegating others to minor and junior roles in the economy. It is patriarchy, not any party, which excludes women - but officially, access has been opened for all women. So, it is patriarchal power, and that is why it is important for all women to join political parties, so that they can understand the dynamics of gender and what it is that continues to enslave women.
It is this untenable state of affairs that, at the UN Women launch celebration this year in February, prompted the former Chilean President and inaugural executive director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, to say:
The neglect of women's rights means the social and economic potential of half the population is underused. In order to tap this potential, we must open up spaces for women in political leadership, in science and technology ...
So it's quite sad when political leadership does not see that this is a national and international problem, not a party problem.
It is in this context that, as we celebrate the heroic struggles of the women of the world, we must also reflect on the global pathway we seek in building a new African and global agenda, in which decent work for women becomes a reality. Tapping into the untapped resources of women is therefore not only the right thing to do but is a political and economic imperative, calling upon us to be magnanimous sometimes, just for once, and put women first and rise above our petty differences.
Over the years, the unequal power relations of male-dominated societies have relegated women to this hidden economy and to the position in which they find themselves. It is this that gave rise to the decision to launch International Women's Day 100 years ago, better to expose the conditions under which women live and work. Women should be regarded as peacemakers, because the day was launched on the back of World War I and among the things that women were calling for was peace. It is very important, also, for women to remember that we are here because our predecessors stood for peace and even at that time, in 1910, women were calling for peace and an end to World War I.
The debate on International Women's Day is crucial for women in our country, in Africa and in the world. The evils of gender inequality and economic exclusion remain alive and well and as stubborn as a blemish on a white cloth.
In an article celebrating International Women's Day, Kanya D'Almeida recalls a milestone on the global path to the attainment of gender equity - this time on the eve of World War II. She stated:
In 1945, more than half a century ago, the signing of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco wrote women's equality into its canon, creating an indisputable commitment to gender equity in the post-World War global order.
Again, women united and rose above their differences, calling for peace and making sure there is a safer world for all of us.
And in June 1981 the people of this continent adopted the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, which called for "the elimination of every discrimination against women" and for "the protection of the rights of the women and the child as stipulated in international declarations and conventions".
As Kanya D'Almeida declared, 66 years since the signing of the UN Charter recognising equal rights for all, women continue to struggle far below the level of their male counterparts in every single aspect of human society - even where the ANC does not rule! Only 11 of the 192 heads of state in the world are women. One in three women in the world will experience rape or assault and while women perform more than two thirds of the world's work, they own only 1% of the means of production in the world.
Challenges facing women globally include occupational segregation, the gender wage gap, joblessness, abject poverty, gender-based violence, underrepresentation in political and economic decision-making processes, and racism. So, the problems of the Eastern Cape affect every child in that province; it is not gender based. Clearly, this state of affairs has necessitated, rightly so, the need for more concerted effort better to advance the agenda of gender equity and women's empowerment.
All is not lost. We are proud that we have cause to celebrate the great strides we have made as a country. We pride ourselves that we have already exceeded the Millennium Development Goals in terms of the right of the girl- child to have access to school. We are third in the world in terms of representation of women in Parliament. We can celebrate that our voices are being heard in our country and we have, through a progressive principled party, created a platform for women's voices to be heard.
In many democracies, including South Africa, we have a progressive legislative framework. We are signatories to a number of international agreements, such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The Minister has just reported that they have returned from New York - again, we are part of the global family and we are doing our level best to make sure that we indeed emancipate our women.
The country has 44% of women representation in the legislature. We have above 40% women Cabinet members and more than 40% of people elected for local government are women. Coming from the ruling party, I can boast again that as the women of the ruling party we are working very hard to get to 50%. I am not sure what those who cannot even make 1% are going to do.
We have an opportunity in May 2011 to advance gender parity in the local sphere and to do the groundwork for the creation of more decent jobs and more opportunities for the advancement of women. We know that the statistics on employment, as the member from Cope has said, show that more women are unemployed and men occupy more top management positions than women. I am not sure, coming from that party ...
After the unbanning of the ANC, the president of that party was one of the people who stood and fought us with regard to the quota for women. So they have a big battle - and my sympathies. Perhaps if the president who was "elected" under the tree succeeded the current president, it would be better. I have worked with the "tree" president, and he works quite well. He is very gender sensitive. So, depending on the verdict about who is the president, the "tree" president or the "non-tree" president ... [Laughter.]