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Women's Day

Motshekga - Education key to developing women

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 18:35

BuaNews and Skills Portal reporters

It is only through placing issues underlying the misery of women high on the transformation agenda that government can achieve equal opportunities and progress for all, says Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga.

Speaking in East London at a memorial lecture to commemorate Women’s Day, she stated that: “Working in partnership with women in all sectors for social transformation must be intensified...The development of young women must be prioritised, with young women included in progressive structures.”

She said education must be a precondition for development, empowerment and progress adding that without education, women would find it difficult to talk of equal opportunities in a free and democratic society.

The Eastern Cape town will host this year’s main Women’s Day event where thousands are expected to gather at Absa Stadium to commemorate the day when women who led the daring protest march against the pass law system on 9 August 1956.

Motshekga paid tribute to those women: “We salute the pioneers that paved the way for us, we remember the gallant heroines and heroes who rose against colonialism, those who protested the pass laws; those who took united action against unjust labour laws,” she said. The women included Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Sophie Williams-De Bruyn and Rahima Moosa.

Motshekga praised the women, who under severe conditions of poverty, oppression and exploitation, created homes, educated and developed, and produced leaders of yester-year and today.

Motshekga said the promotion of gender equality and strengthening of the gender machinery within government, the legislature and within civil society must be emphasised.

Her department will introduce stringent measures to promote the schooling of young girls. Strategies to empower them with leadership skills are in place.

“There is no tool for development more effective than the education of girls. No other policy is as likely to raise economic productivity, lower infant and maternal mortality, improve nutrition and promote health – including helping to prevent the spread of HIV and Aids”.

Minister for Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya said while current data indicated that the gender parity index was in favour of girls at secondary school level, there is a need for government to put additional measures to increase the number of young women enrolled in areas of mathematics, science and technology.

“We cannot deny that we are still faced with major inequities in our society. The burden of poverty and unemployment falls unevenly on women, young people and children. We know for instance that children in female-headed households are more likely to experience poverty and hunger,” she said.

She said government had committed to intensify programmes to improve the social condition of women children and youth in the next five years. These include increasing the number of children accessing child support grants up to the age of 18, pushing the number of beneficiaries of the grant from 22 000 in 1998 to 8 million children in 2008. BuaNews and Skills Portal.