YOUTH, WOMEN AND RURAL SOUTH AFRICANS
liberation of South Africa, as well as bringing attention to the challenges still faced by youth. In South Africa, 70 per cent of the unemployed are young people between the ages of 18 and 35. In their lively and far-ranging debates, the young people who attend the Youth Parliament each year still display the revolutionary spirit that inspired their parents’ generation in the 1970s and 1980s. The Youth Parliament inevitably
reflects the exuberance of young people voicing their ideas and displays their talent and resilience. They often express reservations about their future because they are the most exposed part of society: exposed to crime, drugs, gang cultures, joblessness and lack of educational opportunity. They also express optimism
because they have been born in a free democracy and are determined to achieve all that they can.
Women’s Parliaments to fight for gender equality The Women’s Parliament takes place in August each year to mark the march to Pretoria on 9 August 1956 when 20,000 women protested to then Prime Minister J.G. Strijdom against the carrying of passes by black women. The march led by Helen Joseph,
Rahima Moosa, Lillian Ngoyi and Sophie Williams became a catalyst for subsequent mass struggles of women from all walks of life, in their own organizations as well as in broad liberation and labour movements. The day was marked and celebrated during the struggle against apartheid oppression, even when liberation movements were banned, and it was deemed illegal by the then apartheid regime. It soon became an important mobilizing day against oppression. Women’s Day in South Africa
represents an affirmation of the contributions women have made in the struggle against colonial and apartheid oppression. It is a recognition and acceptance by the nation that the country’s attainment of political freedom and democracy in 1994 was also as a result of heroic
struggles waged by women. But it is much more. The day also symbolizes a commitment to continue the struggle against patriarchy and the achievement of a non-sexist society as the ultimate goal. The history of participation by
women is long and is intertwined not only with powerful anti-patriarchal lobbies, but also with the early anti- colonial resistance struggles in South Africa, taking different forms at different times. The first recorded organized form of struggle goes as back to 1913 when black women in the Free State protested against having to carry a “pass” identity document. A formalized women’s organization, the Bantu Women’s League, was established in 1918 led by Charlotte Maxeke to focus resistance against pass laws. Women were active participants
in most of the passive resistance campaigns, mass protests and demonstrations that took place in the 1930s and 1940s, led by the African National Congress. This led to formal membership
for women in 1943, followed by the formation of the ANC Women’s League in 1948, with Ida Mtwana as its first president.
Women leading the struggle As the struggles against the imposition of apartheid intensified in the 1950s, the struggles of women also became more organized. The Defiance Campaign in 1952 saw thousands of black, coloured and Indian women actively resisting apartheid laws. This groundswell culminated in the formation of the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) in 1954. It brought together women from the African National Congress, the South African Indian Congress (SAIC), trade unions and self-help groups for the first time, and led to the development of a Women’s Charter calling for an end to discriminatory laws. The women’s march to Pretoria
to present a petition to Prime Minister Strijdom against the carrying of passes by women became an important day for mobilizing all South
12 | The Parliamentarian | 2013: Issue One - South Africa
Africans against oppression. In short, Women’s Day is politically significant for Parliament in the context of the overall achievement of the principles enshrined our country’s Constitution, as well as within its constitutional role of facilitating public participation and oversight. The inclusion of gender equality
and the establishment of the Commission for Gender Equality in our constitution as an institution supporting constitutional democracy was an outcome of the struggles waged by women and is symbolized by the recognition of Women’s Day. Parliament recognizes the day in the form of a Women’s Parliament.
Parliament generates and passes
laws in support of the constitution. But it wants the people of South Africa to share in the profound experience of helping to shape our society. Part of freeing the potential of each person is to make them aware of this process, and to encourage them to pursue opportunities to share in governance. Every successive group that has close contact with Parliament in this way enthuses about how enriching an experience it is. A Women’s Parliament is about
recognizing the unique role of our women in attaining liberation and democracy. Women from all the provinces embrace the opportunity to
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