Hon Chair, hon members, special delegates and representatives from Salga, let me join the rest of the speakers in expressing appreciation for the work of the hon members of the National Council of Provinces and provincial legislatures during the Provincial Week.
We are indeed humbled by the amount of information that was gathered on the condition and progress that provinces and municipalities are making in delivering services to our people. We are convinced that this information will enhance our oversight work. We will continue with our commitment of ensuring a better quality of life for all our people.
For many years, women in South Africa were vulnerable. Women were faced with negative perceptions that were also coupled with discriminatory legislation, practices and polices, which restricted their participation and empowerment in most spheres of life in the country.
The demise of apartheid in 1994 echoed deliberate efforts by the ANC to systematically dismantle apartheid and create a democratic society, based on the principles of equity, nonracialism and nonsexism. The ANC remains committed to ensuring the advancement of the lives of women, particularly those in rural areas. We remain committed to ensuring that women are also beneficiaries of programmes and initiatives in all the provinces and municipalities. We say this because as the ANC we see the advancements and empowerment of women as the cornerstone of the struggle for equality.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and other pieces of legislation provide the legal framework for equality and nondiscrimination of our people, especially in the provision of resources. However, the Provincial Week report clearly shows that the challenges in some provinces remain the implementation of these commitments. We are aware and appreciate the efforts of some provinces and municipalities for prioritising women in the delivery of services in communities.
We are also concerned that in some provinces and municipalities, women are left out from benefiting from government services because they are poor, unemployed, unskilled, lack opportunities and are deliberately ignored. The ANC is mindful of the fact that, currently, approximately 52% of South Africa's total population are women and that half of them, almost 47%, live in rural areas.
This then says that poor service delivery has a negative impact on women's emancipation and empowerment. When councillors do not do their jobs, the impact on women is felt 10 times more. When communities do not have access to water and sanitation, it is the women who are largely affected. This also says that to empower women is to empower our nation. Indeed, freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression, neglect and systematic discrimination.
The ANC recognises that education is the driving force for economic, social and political development and prosperity. We say this because we are aware that education creates choices and opportunities for people and communities. It reduces the burdens of poverty, unemployment and disease. We are also aware that, for many years, women and girllearners have often suffered gender discrimination, stereotyping and oppression within the education system. This substantially affected their participation in various fields and in acquiring certain skills and levels of education.
While we recognise the progress that has been made at a national level to expand women's access to education, we are mindful of the distances that many rural children are still travelling to access education opportunities. In some rural areas there are no facilities for adult education. We will continue to ensure the transformation of our education system, and ensure that more resources are allocated to rural schools and educational programmes and facilities for women.
We have noted in some provinces that access to land remains a major constraint for women. Land reform programmes and the tendency to break up communal land parcels, especially in areas of tribal and customary tenants, have almost exclusively transferred land rights to male heads of households.
While women represent a significant proportion of the farm labour force and subsistence food producers, they have been the last to benefit from economic and development transformation. The report also indicated that although rural women are assuming an increasingly prominent role in agriculture initiatives as producers and providers for food suppliers, they need more support. Women in rural areas are severely affected by the lack of marketing facilities for agricultural products. Infrastructure and distribution channels are not available to market their products.
In conclusion, we are aware that there are still those among us - and political parties - that believe that the position and role of women is in the kitchen. We are also mindful of the deliberate efforts of some parties to undermine the progress and commitment that our nation has made to advance women. We want to reassure this House that the ANC remains committed to the advancement of the lives of women. We will continue to ensure the advancement of the lives of women, irrespective of race, location and economic status. We will fight to eradicate all discriminatory laws and practices against women. We will ensure that provinces and municipalities prioritise women and that their lives are changed for the better. I fully support the report. I thank you. [Applause.]