President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged the nation to break the cycle of poverty affecting millions of South African women.
This comes as the country marks 65 years since women took a stand against the apartheid pass system in South Africa, with a march to the Union Buildings.
Writing in his weekly letter on Women’s Day, Ramaphosa, says gender equality cannot be achieved without economic emancipation.
He has called on all sectors of society to take ownership and implement the National Strategic Plan, or NSP, that was launched last year. The NSP recognises that the economic empowerment of women is key to combating gender-based violence and femicide.
From The Desk of The President-Monday, 9 August 2021 – https://t.co/tB0yzSTyYD In reflecting on the historic march of nearly 20,000 women to the Union Buildings in 1956 we recall that as much as it was a protest against the dehumanising pass laws, it was also an economic protest pic.twitter.com/sAuXgdnJTc
— Presidency | South Africa ?? (@PresidencyZA) August 9, 2021
“The coronavirus pandemic has been particularly harsh on women and children. When growth at the economic level stalls and when the economy loses jobs, we know that it is women who bear the brunt disproportionately. We know that the levels of employment and income among women have not recovered as fast as their male counterparts.
We are therefore working to ensure that women benefit from the most recent relief measures and from our economic reconstruction and recovery plan.”
Virtual Women’s Day celebrations:
