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Gender Equality Commission's Response to State of the Nation Address

The Commission for Gender Equality presents its response to the State of the Nation Address, highlighting key issues and challenges in promoting gender equality in South Africa.

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Gender Equality Commission's Response to State of the Nation Address

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  1. COMMISSION FOR GENDER EQUALITY PRESENTATION TO The Portfolio Committee on Women CGE RESPONSE TO STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS 24TH MARCH 2015

  2. Introduction and Background • The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) is an independent statutory body established in terms of Section 187 of the Constitution of South Africa. • The Mandate of the CGE is contained in Section 187 of the Constitution and in the CGE Act of 1996 • CGE is mandated to promote respect for, protect, develop and attain gender equality, and to make recommendations on any legislation affecting the status of women • The CGE must monitor, investigate, research, educate, lobby advise and report to Parliament on issues concerning gender equality.

  3. Key Issues from the SONA • The State of the Nation Address is the President’s address to the nation on the country’s state of affairs before the start of the year. • As expected, it identified the challenges and achievements of the government in implementing its programmes over the past financial year. • It focussed on several issues, such as: • the economy, education, health, governance, transport, the judiciary, • Social challenges such as corruption, crime, GBV, and gender Equality; • The Freedom Charter and the National Development Plan (NDP) • The SONA identified and acknowledged the achievements made by a selected individual women who excelled in their respective fields.

  4. Key Issues from the SONA • However the address did not go on to address some of the major challenges faced by women in general, including the need to deal with the challenges faced by women in rural areas across the country • The SONA Speech focussed attention on important policy areas for the country such as water, energy, land, roads, support to small businesses, job creation, agriculture, housing, labour legislation, SMMEs, crime, health, corruption and peace-keeping. • While not addressed in the context of the challenges of gender mainstreaming, these policy areas are important for the welfare and advancement of both women and men • Some of these policy areas are crucial for the welfare of women:

  5. Key Issues from the SONA • Lack of housing or poor housing conditions undermine the roles women as mothers, caregivers and child-minders in their own communities • Provision of adequate healthcare, water and sanitation services is crucial not only for the health and welfare needs of women and girls in general, but also women are usually in the forefront of home/household care giving, including caring for the elderly, sufferers of TB, HIV and AIDS and other ailments. • The challenges and special needs of female-headed households should therefore have been identified as important social and welfare policy priorities for the president and the government

  6. Key Issues from the SONA • The political representation and participation of women is an important challenge facing gender mainstreaming in South Africa. • SA is a signatory to the SADC protocol on gender and development in all areas of decision-making with specific targets to meet by 2015 – the SONA did not address progress in this regard • The ANC has committed to the 50:50 gender representation principle in appointments • However the challenges facing the application of this principle remain intractable; and these were not identified and addressed in the SONA speech (which was an area of public focus in the 2014 national and provincial elections.) • The representation of women as premiers and women in local government has declined over the past few years..

  7. Key Issues from the SONA • With the local government elections to be held next year (2016), the CGE anticipates the issue will become the focus of attention • South Africa is well known for its high levels of gender based violence. The CGE felt that the SONA should have been more emphatic on issues regarding GBV; including the special challenges facing the LGBTI sector • The President did condemn violence perpetrated against women, children, people with disabilities and the members of the LGBTI community • The CGE believes that SONA was less strident with making major strategic policy or program announcements /initiative to make a commitment on challenges facing women in the fight towards gender equality and transformation.

  8. Key Issues from the SONA • In particular, the President did not address the financial and other challenges facing the country’s National Gender Machinery (NGM) institutions and • The specific issue of the National Council on Gender Based violence and its future • Many stakeholders in the gender sector were anticipating that the President would make a major policy statement and give leadership on these National Gender Machinery Institutions to signal the government’s willingness to ensure that gender mainstreaming remains a top priority for the new year.

  9. Key Issues from the SONA • The SONA identified some of the successes of government: • On infrastructural developments and service delivery in areas such housing, education, health, provision of electricity and transport. • Successes in the provision of healthcare services over the past 5 years were referred to • A gendered analysis of health care provision by the CGE reveals that there is a lack of prioritization of women’s reproductive health issues; which account for the high maternal mortality rate. • The CGE is aware of a major cash injection that was announced in the SONA for ESKOM – with potential benefits for households, especially women in rural areas

  10. Key Issues from the SONA • The SONA focused attention on the need for the beneficiation of mineworkers from the proceeds generated in this sector; • However it is expected that men are more likely to benefit from this initiative due to the male dominance of the mining sector. • The President also emphasised the importance of the banking sector in the country’s economy. • We agree with this, especially for the SMME sector which provides opportunities for women • However we wish to bring attention to how the exorbitant banking transaction fees often stifle these SMMEs with a bearing on women’s economic opportunities.

  11. Key Issues from the SONA • BEE: The current government has a track record of passing policies and legislation aimed at affirmative action and Black Economic Empowerment • The DTI study on “Access to financial services for women entrepreneurs in South Africa” reveals that women in business still experience barriers in accessing financial services and credit facilities. • Women are the largest group of self-employed economic actors in the country. We believe this should have been acknowledged and a special support initiative for the sector identified as a policy priority for the new year • Land Reform/Redistribution: the Freedom Charter articulates that land shall be shared among those who work in it. The President identified land as a priority issue.

  12. Key • 1.8 million claimants have been compensated with an amount of R18 billion for land that could not be restored. • Yet a 2010 study on land reform by the CGE revealed that women are not fully enjoying equal benefits as beneficiaries of land reform and restitution initiatives, and the beneficiaries are still predominantly male. • Access to and control of land as an economic resource and asset is still skewed in terms of gender and race. • Patriarchy and traditional leadership structures in rural areas ensure continued gender imbalance in land ownership and control.

  13. Key Issues from the SONA • On Employment and Labour relations, the President alluded to the Sectoral Determination Act signed in 2013 to outline the basic conditions of employment for farm workers. He indicated that very little improvement has been achieved by farm workers, among whom the majority are women. • The CGE believes an opportunity was missed in terms of a support initiative to alleviate the conditions of employment in this sector – this would contribute towards the economic welfare of women and rural households • Women comprise the majority of the unemployed, under-employed and unemployable (DBSA: Towards a Youth employment strategy for South Africa , 2011) • Also the policies and provisions encouraging labour flexibility, outsourcing of production, and an increase in the numbers of temporary and part-time jobs have increased job insecurity particularly for women workers.(CCMA: Employment and Unemployment in SA, 2011)

  14. Key Issues from the SONA • Therefore the CGE would have like to see new job creation initiatives were announced in the SONA to alleviate their plight • Pregnant women continue to face violations of their rights and are denied employment benefits • South Africa has not ratified the ILO convention number 83 which seeks to promote equality for all women in the workplace and the health and safety of the mother and child. • The convention addresses issues such as maternity leave, pay and benefits, job security and non- discrimination.

  15. Key Issues from the SONA • Issues of harmful traditional practices such as Ukuthwala and female genital mutilation remain important challenges for social policy. This would have been a welcome area of priority for the SONA speech – we believe this is a crucial issue that needs to be highlighted and prioritized. • Although the President did mention the successful prosecutions of perpetrators of violence against women, it is important that the government identifies this for focused attention through policy and effective law enforcement.

  16. Concluding Remarks The CGE acknowledges that the President’s Address on the State of the Nation is a major opportunity for the Presidency to not only to address the nation about the government’s key policy and program priorities for the coming financial year, however we believe SONA should be engendered It is also an opportunity to identify and inform the nation about the successes and challenges that continue to face government in its attempts to meet the needs of its people.

  17. Concluding Remarks We believe that, while the SONA did identify issues of considerable importance for women and gender mainstreaming, it ought to have made one or two bold policy and program initiatives to signal the continued prioritisation of gender mainstreaming by the government, like the revival of the National Council on Gender Based Violence

  18. COMMISSION FOR GENDER EQUALITY THANK YOU • www.cge.org.za • Tel: 011 403 7182

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