SOUTH AFRICA FREEDOM CHARTER 1955: GENDER & WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT

My Keynote Address on Gender & Empowerment delivered at the 60th Anniversary Celebrations of the ANC Freedom Charter 1955, in the presence of His Excellency Mr Obed Mlaba, High Commissioner of the Republic of South Africa to the United Kingdom, at Lancaster Gate, London W2, Saturday 27th June 2015.

Yesterday marked the 60th anniversary of South Africa’s Freedom Charter which was adopted by the Congress of the People in Kliptown on June 26 in 1955. Some of us may recall that on the occasion of the 46th anniversary of the Freedom Charter in 2001, President Thabo Mbeki implored all South Africans “to take additional measures to familiarise greater numbers of South Africans with the Freedom Charter”. This auspicious event today therefore, provides us with the opportunity to discuss, debate and convince South Africans and friends of South Africa, of the continued relevance of the Charter to the South Africa of today. The Freedom Charter is not merely an historical document, it is an important guide about the direction in which South Africans should take their country. The Freedom Charter therefore, remains an evergreen document and a common vision of what South Africans should be striving for in terms of reconstruction and development. Although adopted in 1955, the charter transcends all other growth and development plans issued in recent years, and should be used as a balance scorecard against which the progress of South Africa as a country and its people should be measured.

The Charter is guided by 10 main principles which state that: (1) The people shall govern; (2) All national groups shall have equal rights; (3) The people shall share in the country's wealth; (4) The land shall be shared among those who work it; (5) All shall be equal before the law; (6) All shall enjoy equal human rights; (7) There shall be work and security; (8) The doors of learning and culture shall be opened; (9) There shall be houses, security and comfort; (8) There shall be peace and friendship.

All these clauses in the Freedom Charter 1955 are relevant to the issue of Gender and Empowerment, which forms the basis of my talk today. Although the Charter emerged in a period when concepts such as gender and feminism were not as widely used, each and every clause remains relevant to the issues of Gender and Empowerment, for it would certainly be unjust to replace one form of discrimination for another. After all, women and girls form part of the people of South Africa. And it therefore, naturally follows that women’s rights are human rights. Women deserve equal rights as their male counterparts; women deserve the opportunity to govern. It is a woman’s birthright to share in the wealth of her country and to own land and property. Women deserve security, and a good education. And just like men, women too deserve peace and friendship. It is therefore, important to put the question of gender equality and women’s empowerment on to centre stage and to ask ourselves on what basis men and women must relate in the new South Africa to build a nation in accordance with the ethos of gender equality. Because a society that tries to run on half of its brain power, and on half its human capability, by blocking the role of women in problem solving, in economic leadership, and in political role, is in fact, a society that runs on half of its human resources and one that is bound to fail.

As most of us will be aware, in the early years of its formation only men were allowed to become members of the ANC. Right from the beginning South African women did not accepted their exclusion from the public domain, although they may not have conceptualised what they were doing in the terms of Gender, Feminism and Women’s Empowerment. In South Africa, as in many other parts of the world, women’s first point of entry into politics is generally as mothers. The assertion of motherhood in the case of South African women represented a historical advancement, to claim prime responsibility for the rights of their children. The women were defending their roles as leaders in the home and in the community. From the 19th century South African women were involved in various public activities in their efforts to secure gender equality and women’s empowerment in a number of different ways, relating to citizenship, modes of politics, and claiming of the public terrain that is supposed to belong to men alone. Since then, the South African Constitution has done a lot to advance the establishment of gender relations on a fresh basis that empowers women and provides opportunities for both men and women to explore their talents and their sexuality in ways that were not previously possible.

I would like to personally applaud South Africa on the issue of freedom of sexuality. In fact, I want to go the extra mile and would like to do just a little humble brag here, and let everyone here know that I was part of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s team that travelled to South Africa to assist South Africa in its Constitutional Review and to help South Africa draft its new Constitution soon after the country gained it political independence. Back then, about 20 years ago, I was intrigued that gay rights where enshrined in the Constitution of South Africa. You will see therefore, that while other countries have only in recent years started advocating for the gay rights, South Africa is light years ahead of everyone as they had already included a clause on gay rights in their new Constitution 20 years ago. You will therefore, agree with me that some of the people taking part in the Gay Pride March taking place in London today, have nothing on South Africa as far as the issue of gay rights is concerned.

In terms of women’s empowerment through political participation, the ANC introduced voluntary quotas for women to hold parliamentary seats, initially as one third of its Parliament. This was later increased to 50 per cent as guided by the United Nations. I would like to mention here that generally, African women and their potential contributions to economic advances, social progress and environmental protection have over the years been marginalized. In failing to utilise the potential and talents of their female populations, African countries, including South Africa have been under investing in the human capital needed to assure sustainable development.   Utilising women’s potential could increase economic growth, reduce poverty, enhance societal wellbeing, and help ensure sustainable development for South Africa and the rest of the Continent.

South African women have continued to demonstrate their political efficacy through various women’s movements and affirmative actions aimed at attaining gender parity in politics. In the history of South Africa there have been many initiatives and affirmative actions towards gender equality. The 1940s saw a marked increase in women’s involvement in trade union and national anti-apartheid organisations. The passing of the Pegging Act and other discriminatory legislation directed at the Indian and Coloured community was the catalyst that saw hundreds of Indian and Coloured women participating in the mainstream organisations and campaigns. Hundreds of women participated in the 1946 Passive Resistance Campaign. The beginning of the 1950’s saw the growth of the ANC as a national organization. Please note that this was only was made possible partly by South African women organising themselves to resuscitate the ANC Women’s League. The 1952 Defiance Campaign concentrated on tackling unjust laws. Opposition to the extension of Pass Laws to Black women provided the focus for the growth of progressive women’s organisations amongst all race groups, and for women to mount one of the most successful campaigns of the decade. The Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) organised thousands of women from across the country and 20,000 women marched on the Union Buildings of Pretoria. This women’s march became one of the most important events in the history of South Africa and inspired generations of women to play leading roles in the liberation movement and to ensure that women’s issues were addressed in all their programmes. The Congress of the People brought thousands more women of all races into the liberation struggle, and it inspired women to draw up their own charter.

It is worth noting that no empowerment programme would be complete without the necessary education. South Africa’s Education Department’s commitment to the promotion and achievement of gender equity in all schools is reflected in their revised education programme and also the participation in the SADC Girls’ Conference and other initiatives that create opportunities for school girls in Southern Africa to come together and strengthen the Girls’ Education Movement that works towards the identification and support of leadership amongst young girls. The early years of the new South African government witnessed significant reform in education that included dismantling apartheid structures to create a unified education system. By 1998 almost universal enrolment of both girls and boys in primary schooling and 86% enrolment in secondary schooling had been achieved. The first decade of South Africa’s independence saw immense strides in transforming the education system from a fragmented, unequal, gender and race-based system into a unified and non-racial system that promotes equality, lifelong learning and ensures the development of all South African children regardless of their gender, race or background.

The forthcoming Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals have been drafted to reflect new development challenges and is linked to the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in June 2012. The social dimension of sustainable development and its emphasis on equity and equality is the most politically sensitive of the three dimensions and thus the hardest to address. It involves confronting negative social trends such as growing income disparities, rising unemployment and a persistent gender gap. Closing the gender gap depends on enlightened government policies, which take gender dimensions into account.

Although the Freedom Charter did not from the onset mention Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment directly, it is as a result of the Freedom Charter signed in 1955 that we can see South African women serving in high level leadership and decision-making positions in politics, business, society, science and technology both within South Africa and on the global arena. It is therefore, evident that given the opportunity, South African women can attain as much as their counterparts around the globe. This is demonstrated by the strong powerful South African women, who we see today representing South Africa on the global arena. Great women such as such as Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma who heads the African Union; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director and Head of United Nations Women; the famous Judge Thokozile Matsipa, and many others too numerous to mention. And of course, not forgetting Lillian Ngoyi, the first-ever woman member of the ANC Executive Committee, who was integral to the creation of the Freedom Charter in 1955!

South African women should therefore, take comfort in knowing that as women of the 21st Century the ANC Freedom Charter 1955 provides us with a foundation to have unshakeable self-belief and to believe that it is politically correct to compete on equal footing with our male counterparts without feeling that we are overstepping our boundaries or undermining men’s masculinity.

Thank you!

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