Human Rights of Women
Source: The NewAge
The ANC women’s league (ANCWL) said it would focus on improving access to opportunities for all women and not just the elite and educated as part of its women’s month activities.
Sylvia Lucas, deputy provincial secretary of the ANCWL, said yesterday the league would kick off their programme in John Taolo Gaetsewe district in Kuruman where they would bring women from rural and urban areas to pray and give thanks to the Lord.
“We acknowledge that this struggle of the women’s league is a noble one and the freedom we have won was not by chance but because of His blessing.
We will be calling on him (the Lord) to bless our continued struggles and ask him to help us in our endeavours to improve the lives of our women, who still remain marginalised and deprived.”
Lucas said that on August 9 (Women’s Day) “we will converge at the Bopanang Centre for abused women in Upington where we will highlight the plight of women who are still subjected to abuse by their partners.
We believe that while women still live in fear in their homes we cannot call ourselves entirely free. How can women realise their economic freedom when they live under subjugation at home?” she said.
Part of the women’s month programme would be week-long lectures and seminars throughout the province where discussion would centre on the women’s league in leading society as well as the plight of women from all spheres.
The economic development of women was critical to the country’s success in reaching most of “our development goals”, she said.
“More women need to understand that gender equality is more than a basic human right, it is an economic imperative,” Lucas said.
“We need to look at ourselves first before holding everyone else accountable.
“So as the women’s league we will be encouraging women to develop their entrepreneurial skills and to embark on economic empowerment activities,”she said.
