Yes, she belongs to the ANC, but she is a woman.
Equal access to education is important for our women in South Africa. As women of Parliament, we need to make it our business to start a network of women in our communities to educate and train our fellow women in our constituencies. We need to be the leaders of such training and development programmes to empower our sisters of all ages in our communities.
Teenage pregnancies in our schools are a great concern because the relationship between academic failure and teenage pregnancy is very strong and it affects the educational achievements of teenage mothers and their children. It is important to complete your secondary school education and, if possible, achieve postsecondary education in order to have a well-paying job.
As women in South Africa, we should be concerned about educating our youth on the prevention of pregnancy while still at school. The moral regeneration programme should be revived and linked to teen pregnancies in our schools. Maybe the boy-child responsible for impregnating the girl- child should be treated the same as the girl-child when she has to go on a leave of absence. Research has shown that children of teen mothers do not perform as well as those of mature mothers. We need to encourage no pregnancies at school. In conclusion, on a lighter note, I would like to quote Joseph Conrad, who said, "Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men." Wa thint' abafazi wa thint' imbokodo! [When you strike a woman, you strike a rock.] [Applause.]