[ Home ] [ Speeches & statements ]

6 December 2005

Programme Director
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

I am pleased and honoured to have been asked to make this speech as I knew and learned much from many of the women being remembered and have been inspired by them and the stories of the others. The mural is a fitting tribute to their lives and will be able to inspire many more people who will look at the wall and ask “Who were they?” “What did they do?” and “How did they suffer?” Their stories will inspire other creative artists, historians and writers to use their lives to inspire others to create a culture where there is peace and justice for women.

The organisers of this important event, the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature, the eThekwini Unicity and the Bat Centre have recognised the importance of partnerships. Partnerships bringing together government and non-governmental organisations around a common cause help to accelerate delivery and to build social cohesion through unity in action.

I would like to pay special tribute to Nise Malange and her team for coming up with the idea to honour these wonderful women who inspire us. I applaud you for your patience and perseverance in ensuring the success of the project and I am encouraged that you persevered when your attempts to get a permanent two metre wall erected to honour women stalled.

Your team came up with the concept of a canvass and wood wall that can be moved from place to place to showcase the important but often forgotten history. However, I am optimistic that, with the support of provincial government and eThekwini Municipality, you will eventually succeed to erect a permanent wall. I know also of your other dream to create a space for all women, which will be a place of friendship and peace, where abused and refugee women can find solace and a place where the creative talent of women can be nurtured and unleashed. This too should succeed with the support of all these people of goodwill that have put this wonderful programme together.

We often hear of males who are labelled as freedom fighters and stalwarts. Today we honour, salute, recognize and pay tribute to all those women who sacrificed their lives for a brighter South Africa. This project seeks to ensure that the sacrifice women made in the fight against oppression is not forgotten.

The first mural honours freedom fighters and stalwarts abomama Dorothy Nyembe, Florence Mkhize, Bertha Mkhize, Tryphina Mboxela Jokweni, Gladys Manzi, Fatima Seedat, Dr Goolam, Mama’ Mary Thiphe, Gogo Luthuli and Phozo Zondo.

To highlight what I learned personally from the lives of these women I want to use the example of Phozo Zondo, who was our organiser in the Natal Organisation of Women in the 80’s. Phozo learnt from these women to be resilient and to uphold the values of truth and justice. Her organising skills were recognised by the trade union movement for which she was working when her young life was terminated. Phozo had learned from stalwarts like Mama’ D and Mama’ Flo that the struggle for freedom was not complete without the emancipation of women and the working class. They taught us that freedom could not be achieved while some lived in poverty, oppression and deprivation.

The second mural focuses on three forms of violence; political, criminal and domestic. We pay tribute to Phila Ndwandwe, Ntsiki Cothoza, Jabu Ndlovu, Pearl Shabalala, Jackie Queen, Thuthukile Bhengu, Lindiwe Mthembu, Makhosi Nyoka, Doris McBride, Gugu Dlamini, Claire Stewart and Victoria Mxenge.

Victoria Mxenge taught us courage. After the brutal murder of her husband and mentor, Griffiths Mxenge, Sis’ Victoria took over the legal office and up to the time of her assassination she worked tirelessly in defence of human rights. This year we commemorated 20 years since her untimely and brutal death.

I would like to call upon all those who have lost their mothers and sisters due to violence to contact the leaders of this project in order for their names to be engraved on these murals. By coming forward you will be acknowledging their courage and building solidarity to overcome violence against women.

On behalf of the artists who have contributed to this project, I would like to appeal to all sectors of government, the business community and the people of South Africa to support this project.

The hosting of this event coincides with government’s 16 Days of Activism Campaign of No Violence against Women and Children, launched on 25 November, by the lighting of a Torch of Peace by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, at a ceremony in Ekurhuleni.

The Torch of Peace was lit to symbolize the beginning of the Campaign and will burn at the Women’s Monument in the Union Buildings until the end of the Campaign when it will be handed over to the Minister of Transport, Mr. Jeff Radebe, marking the country’s transition from the 16 Days of Activism Campaign to the Arrive Alive Campaign. Throughout 2006 the Torch of Peace will link major national campaigns.

South Africa has been participating in this United Nations-endorsed campaign since 1998. 25 November has been proclaimed by the United Nations as the International Day of No Violence against women. The campaign ends on 10 December 2005, International Human Rights Day.

While the international campaign focuses primarily on women, in South Africa it has included children. Some gender activists have proposed that we reconsider this as it has the impact of patronising women, by lumping them together with children. This is a valid criticism and we must look at the unintended consequences. This does not reduce the importance of raising awareness about how children are affected.

The theme for this year’s Campaign is ‘Act against Abuse’. While raising awareness to the issue of gender based violence, the Campaign aims to challenge perpetrators to change their behaviour. As government we call on all South Africans to support the campaign by wearing a white ribbon to reflect solidarity with victims of abuse. As you wear the ribbon we ask you to reflect deeply on what it means for you and what steps you will take individually and collectively to end gender based violence and to help us achieve the peace for which the women we have honoured in this mural struggled and died.

Another way of supporting the campaign is by sending an SMS with the words “16 days” to 31616 during the 16 days. Each SMS will cost R5 and will help raise funds for Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that help women and children dealing with abuse. Also, you can pledge your support through signing a postcard which you mail free of charge. The post card is available at any Post Office. Each postcard mailed will raise R1 for Non Governmental Organizations.

The Cyber Dialogues are an Internet based chat forum linking people across provinces and across borders by giving women a chance to occupy cyber space and seeks to maximize the exchange of information and ideas as well as engage decision makers on issues of concern to communities.

This approach, which is in partnership with the Government Communication and Information Service (GCIS), combines facilitated, interactive dialogues on the ground with a link up to a central hub at national level where experts and decision makers will be available at a fixed time each day to answer questions. Women have received training in using the Internet at Multi Purpose Community Centres (MPCCs).

This year the Cyber Dialogues have included link up with the other countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region through the Gender and Media Southern Africa (GEMSA) Network. It is easy to participate in these dialogues. You register with Gender Links by going to their website at www.genderlinks.org. Plans are underway to establish a national action plan, coupled with an annual audit of commitments. This is to ensure engagement in a yearlong programme of action and strengthening accountability through the annual audit of Commitments and Barometer of Gender Justice.

The 16 Days Campaign for Peace and the proposed Action Plan for Gender Justice give us an opportunity to build strong coalitions as we confront the worldwide challenge of abuse against women and children.

They serve as vehicles to harness the energy that exists in government and all sectors of our society in the media, business, and faith based organisations, community based and Non Governmental Organisations. We need to sustain this campaign in order to succeed in the fight against gender based violence.

There are a number of reports that show how violence against women and girls and HIV and AIDS fuel and compound each other. In a 2004 study entitled “Violence, Vengeance and Gender” Lisa Vetten and Kailash Bhana of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation propose four hypotheses, linking HIV and AIDS and violence against women and girls. According to these hypotheses, the dual epidemics of HIV and gender specific violence may overlap in women’s lives.

The hypotheses are:

* Rape may directly increase women and girls’ risk of contracting HIV Typically, rape does not occur in circumstances where a condom will be used. The violent nature of rape creates a higher risk of genital injury and bleeding while in cases of gang rape exposure to multiple assailants may also contribute to the risk of transmission;
* Abusive relationships may limit women’s ability to negotiate safer sex;
* Women who have a history of childhood sexual abuse may engage in riskier sexual behaviour as adolescents or adults, increasing their risk of HIV infection;
* Women who receive HIV counselling and testing may be at risk of partner violence should they disclose their status.

A report released by UN agencies at the XVth International AIDS conference in Thailand, Bangkok in 2003 acknowledged the intersection between gender inequality, poverty and HIV/AIDS.

The report observes that women are now over half of all people infected with HIV and AIDS. It documents the devastating and often invisible impact of AIDS on women and girls and highlights the ways discrimination, poverty and gender based violence help fuel the epidemic.

The report suggests “Promoting concrete actions that address the reality of women’s lives and help decrease their vulnerability to HIV is the only way forward. It stresses the importance of reducing violence against women and ensuring greater access to HIV prevention and treatment services and protecting their property rights.

Women’s greater vulnerability to HIV infection can be explained as the outcome of biological, cultural, social, legal, and economic factors. For these reasons younger women are at a higher risk of HIV transmission than are older women. Their bodies, which are less mature, are more susceptible to infection. The presence of other STD’s greatly increases the risk of transmission of HIV.

Government has made it a priority that women and children are protected from violence. Government programmes to fight violence against women and girls have included legislative reforms and campaigns. Since 1994 a number of laws have been passed or amended to deal with the abuse of women and children. Among these is the Domestic Violence Act, which has transformed women’s rights by offering wide ranging protection against abuse. The Sexual Offences Bill, which will be passed by parliament, broadens the definition of rape.

There are ongoing programmes to train the police and magistrates to sensitise them to issues of gender based violence. Special courts have been established to deal with sexual crimes. In addition, special programmes have been implemented to fight poverty and provide infrastructure to disadvantaged communities.

Gender awareness campaigns have highlighted the importance of women taking control over their bodies and giving them the tools to exercise their reproductive rights. The awareness raising campaigns have also focused on men, teaching them that women have the right to say no and to make decisions about their lives.

Government has progressively focussed on raising awareness around issues of gender based violence. The annual 16 Days of no violence against women and children campaign has gained much momentum and all government departments are expected to participate.

The children who were featured on SABC1’s Asikhulume must have moved us all. This programme had the Minister of Social Development Dr Zola Skweyiya, provincial MECs and members of the community, which included orphaned children discussing the impact of HIV and AIDS on their lives. The Department of Social Development has developed a register of all orphaned children with a view to having correct statistics and to properly budget and provide grants to these children.

I would like to call on communities to find ways of creating safety nets to catch these children in distress. We can do this by caring for children, as family members or relatives; creating community based structures which enable children to be brought up in familiar surroundings, economically empowering care givers and developing residential facilities, as well as fostering parenting and cluster foster care.

Children have individual needs and need to be understood within the context of their families, culture, religion and community. A network of interventions linking government agencies and individuals will maximize resources and build strength.

A simple, inexpensive intervention of simply just being there; a constant trusted source of human contact may be the most valuable support to women and children deeply traumatized by the profound, silent disorder of the AIDS epidemic and the scourge of violence and sexual abuse against them.

We have to speak for those that cannot speak for themselves. Let our voices not be silent. We must step up the fight for the total eradication of violence against women and girls. We must advocate for comprehensive and sustained campaigns that aim to build a culture of no violence against women and girls. We must make our communities a safe place for all. Working together in partnership and in coalitions we can ensure that our policies and laws are responsive to the interlinking issues of poverty, gender based violence and HIV and AIDS.

I thank you.

Issued by: Ministry of Health
6 December 2005