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THEME: "ACHIEVING FULL WOMEN'S RIGHTS"

Master of Ceremonies
Rev. Dr Khoza Mgojo who opened this ceremony with a prayer and other religious leaders present
The Hon. Deputy President Mr JG Zuma
Members of the Royal Family and Amakhosi present
Distinguished guests
Honourable Ministers and Honourable Members of the National Parliament and of the Provincial Parliament
Izinduna
Mayors and Councillors present
All the women of our nation
My brothers and sisters

Today, first and foremost on Women's Day, we gather to observe and honour the women of our country who overcame seemingly insurmountable difficulties in the fight for political freedom.

Women have had to spawn the apartheid legacy of hatred and dispossession and had to bear the brutal brunt of its ugly consequences.

Through the ebb and flow of the struggle you repeatedly bound the stripes of conflict; you did not allow our spirits to grow dim in the darkest times; you kept alive the hope of change when our hearts became weary.

Many of your husbands were never to return and you had to raise your children alone. By your selfless and enduring sacrifice, often in dangerous circumstances, you gave expression to the ancient Talmudic verse, "a person who saves a life, saves a world entire."

You have been there in good times and bad; you have cultivated the ground to provide sustenance for your children; you have provided succour and comfort to your dependants and those who are not.

Today, the leaders, the men and children of South Africa say to the women of our country, "thank-you for all you have done and all you continue to do."(Madam Chairperson) I have witnessed throughout my political career how the grotesque devaluation of the innate worth and dignity of an entire people can take root in the most delicate members of society, children and the most vulnerable, women.

And whilst the demise of apartheid heralded the liberation for many of the oppressors as well as those they oppressed, the majority of our women are still bound by chains of poverty, gender inequality and despondency.

The 1993 Interim Constitution of South Africa brightly looked forward to a:" Future founded on the recognition of human rights, democracy and peaceful coexistence and development opportunities for all South Africans, irrespective of colour, race, class, belief or sex."

Eight years after this document was drafted, the majority of South Africans remain black and poor, with the worst affected being women in the rural areas. The problems women face are compounded by the relentless spread of the HIV / AIDS epidemic.

Rural communities, already impoverished, are also having to take care of large numbers of male wage earners, who come back from cities to die of AIDS and have to be nursed by their relatives in the rural areas.

In KwaZulu-Natal, the United Nations Human Development Report informs us, "the migrant workers are returning to die quietly in their rural homes under the care of those who once depended on them for support." And that "women will have to bear the burden of the epidemic; if they are not ill themselves they will have to care for those who are."

As elsewhere in the world, the imbalance of power between men and women and perceptions of women and their role in South African society contribute to their extreme vulnerability to this disease.

And all too often the fear of social stigma, alienation and a violent backlash prevent women from asserting their rights even when they are aware their lives are at risk from HIV infection.

We must work unceasingly together to entrench a culture of human rights in which the rights of women are clearly understood and upheld. My government is committed to placing the rights of women at the heart of our programme for countering the HIV / AIDS epidemic.

(Madam Chairman) When one sometimes surveys that too many of our people still live with the spiralling crime, the lights seem to be flickering in the sockets. The high vaulted hopes and aspirations of the new nation born in 1994 seem to be dying embers.

Yet even in these bleak moments, I fervently believe women can and must play a major role in the reconstruction of our new society that will make the real difference.

Women already play a crucial role in the development of their communities. The Human Rights Commission has found that women are the driving force when it comes to initiating and implementing projects that are beneficial to the community's development.

The scope of these projects is considerable and impressive from home-based care of the sick, promoting the use of indigenous resources, cultivating medicinal plants, establishing vegetable gardens and community education programmes, to name but a few.

I would exhort all women to participate in and initiate such projects to uplift their communities and tap into the abundant human capacity. Though our country is rich in natural resources, our people remain its prime asset.

On the other side of the same coin of development, the rapid pace of history at the start of the 21st century is unleashing waves of change with new information and communications technologies.

Improving women's access to information is an important investment in development as it empowers women to more effectively contribute to an enhanced pace of development. Presently, many barriers hinder women's access to information. The Human Rights Commission reports that:

* 16 percent of women aged 15 and above are illiterate and 20 percent of African women older than 20 have no formal schooling;

* There is a lack of encouragement and training of women in new information technologies and economic power; and,
* There is a lack of time due to women's multiple roles and responsibilities towards their families and communities.

To break down these barriers, my government will be considering how it can most effectively implement the Commission's recommendations to facilitate women's access to information by:
* Developing information services that specifically address women's needs; and,

* Train women and girls in the use of information and communication technologies as well as related skills, including literacy, typing and English language and local language skills.

We have not yet done enough to span the gaping chasm between the theoretical right to equal opportunities and providing real and tangible opportunities for women. My government will work with employers, educationalists and entrepreneurs and all stakeholders to extend and provide new opportunities for women.

It is clear since 1994, even from the two areas I have briefly touched upon, that we have not made sufficient progress to securing the genuine and all-round emancipation of women.

I am dedicated to building a non-racist and non-sexist society. I commit my government and myself anew to working unceasingly to achieving these two objectives.

In closing, I would wish to finish as I began. Today, Women's Day, it is my privilege as the Premier and on behalf of this province to pay tribute to you all and to again say,

Thank you.

Issued by Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal

9 August 2001