Cape Town - Governments across the world agree women empowerment and gender equality are central to the acceleration of global sustainable development.
This is why the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of women and girls is considered an essential pillar of a viable country development strategy and ranks highly among the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Here at home, our development blueprint, the National Development Plan, proposes a range of interventions that seek to advance gender equality.
All these resonate with our constitution. Section 9(3) and (4) under chapter 2 provides that the state and persons in society may not unfairly discriminate against anyone on the basis of gender, sex, pregnancy and marital status, among other things.
Since democracy, a lot has been done to turn the tide against gender inequality. Indications are we are making steady progress towards the realisation a 50/50 gender parity at decision-making level in the public sector. In fact, South Africa ranks among countries with the highest women representation in government.
Official data shows a 41 percent representation of women in the national executive. Women account for more than 40 percent of members of the national assembly. In addition, women make up just about 30 percent of the judiciary. Laudable as they are, the achievements are not enough. In some cases, such as directors-general, the number keeps fluctuating instead of steadily approaching 50 percent.
In corporate South Africa, only seven of the 293 JSE-listed companies have women at the helm. This is according to Businesswomen’s Association of South Africa’s 2015 Women in Leadership Census. The survey also found women accounted for only 11.6 percent of directorship and chairperson positions.
The Women in the Workplace research programme at the University of Johannesburg revealed last year that the South African gender pay gap was estimated to be between 15 and 17 percent, implying a South African woman needed to works two months more than her male counterpart to match his annual remuneration.
Poverty also retains a gendered face with women being the most affected. According to the UN, affording women equal rights and economic resources such as land and property is vital to the realisation of gender equality and women empowerment. The UN, World Bank, World Economic Forum and the AU also believe that investing in women pays with regard to achieving development and peace.
Regarding reasons for slow or arrested progress, a key impediment to attainment of equality in South Africa is there appears to be no urgency to implement chapter 5 of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 16 years after this piece of legislation was enacted.
In contrast, other laws that seek to reverse the imbalances of the past such as the Broad-Based Black Empowerment Act have been implemented without delay even though they tend to benefit only a few.
The Equality Act, as this law is known, was meant to bring about the progressive realisation of equality. Chapter 5 outlines the responsibility of the state, people operating in the public domain and a social commitment by all persons in promoting equality. It also sets out special measures to promote equality.
The idea behind the act is undoing accumulated socio-economic disadvantages and advantages created by past legalised injustices.
I am convinced if we were to implement this chapter of the act with as much enthusiasm as seen with the implementation of other like-minded laws such as the BBBEE, the pace of transformation would be improved in all areas of life, not just for women but for broader social justice.
This would accelerate the attainment of the vision of an inclusive society envisaged in the constitution, where everyone’s potential is freed and life improved.
Today, and throughout this month, a variety of events will be held across the country as the nation commemorates the historic march of 20 000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria in 1956 to express their displeasure at the apartheid government’s oppressive pass laws.
More than the march itself, these events will be about paying tribute to the inspirational women that took part in that protest action in recognition of their unparalleled resilience, which saw them standing up to and speaking truth to power.
This presents an opportunity for today’s generation of women in South Africa to unite and draw lessons from these trailblazing giants of yesteryear and use those lessons to achieve greater heights as women leaders.
Today, the environment is much more conducive compared to the time when Lilian Ngoyi, Sophia Williams-de Bruyn, Rahima Moosa, Helen Joseph and others rallied women from all over the country and dared to go to the corridors of power to demand they be treated with the dignity they deserved.
Let us emulate these giants and advocate for the full implementation of the Equality Act without delay.
This should not be a women-only struggle. Men, too, must join in as the attainment of gender equality and women empowerment will have a positive impact for the whole society.
In doing so, let us remember the words of Nelson Mandela, who said: “As long as outmoded ways of thinking prevent women from making a meaningful contribution to society, progress will be low. As long as the nation refuses to acknowledge the equal role of more than half of itself, it is doomed to failure.
Cape Argus
l Thuli Madonsela is the Public Protector
Madonsela embodies the power of SA's women
In two months' time, Thuli Madonsela’s seven-year term as Public Protector comes to an end but she will forever be remembered as one of South Africa's most fearless, powerful and inspirational women.
Many would have preferred her to continue holding corrupt officials accountable.
But those to whom she caused countless sleepless nights are probably breathing a sigh of relief. Madonsela embodies the women who marched against pass laws in August 1956.
She also lives out these lines from American author and poet Maya Angelou’s poem, Phenomenal Woman:
“I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.”
Many men have fallen from grace due to her hard-hitting reports, and many others have given her a standing ovation.
Even President Jacob Zuma has not been spared, with what is probably Madonsela’s most important report recommending he should pay back a reasonable portion of the R246-million spent on upgrades to Nkandla.
She never minced her words during her tenure and in a letter annexed to Constitutional Court papers in the Nkandla matter, she endeavoured to continue stamping her authority to ensure the public protector's powers are never undermined, the rulings of that office not mere words to be discarded.
Born Thulisile Nomkhosi Madonsela on September 28,1962 - six years after the 1956 march - she started her career as an assistant teacher in Swaziland in the early ‘80s and later moved on to the classrooms at Naledi High in Soweto.
Madonsela then went on to study law and would become one of the crafters of our constitution, having forfeited a Harvard scholarship to focus on her role there as a technical adviser.
A human rights and constitutional law lawyer who holds several qualifications, Madonsela has received numerous accolades through her sterling work, among them recognition by Time Magazine as one of the world's most influential people in 2014.
She was with the South African Law Reform Commission when she was chosen as public protector and also worked in the department of justice as a project manager for equality legislation, and for the Wits Law School.
As she prepares to wrap up her time in office, Madonsela continues to receive prestigious invitations, many of these from beyond South Africa's borders.
This great South African has held our name high, and given the women of South Africa a tremendous benchmark for this generation.
Omphitlhetse Mooki