No woman will be a second class citizen
2006-08-17
A PRESTIGOUS Women’s Day celebration was held by Mayor Charmaine Manuel at Nelson's Creek on the eve of Women’s Day.
“Tonight we sit here as free women. Tonight we sit here, ready to grab the opportunities that this new South Africa have created for us,” said keynote speaker and acting judge, Chantal Fortuin.
"When we look at the new Domestic Violence Act it is a great source of pride to see that the act was written by women for women.
“It is a piece of legislation that takes into account the different power relations between men and women.
“It provides protection for an abused person. The DVA takes into account the equality clause of our constitution and makes the protection clauses of the DVA available to men and women equally - no discrimination!
“If we consider all of these changes, and the new tools at our disposal to make the lives of women better, I think that we can safely say that women’s lives changed for the better. Or are we perhaps fooling ourselves? Are we truly free?
“Today we live in a country where it is not safe for women and girls to walk our streets alone.
“Today we live in a country where girl babies are raped and killed. We live in a country where women are too fearful to enjoy their lives.
“Where it is safer for them to live like prisoners in their homes and where their homes are sometimes places that they have to run from.
“A few years ago there was a disagreement between women’s rights activists and the police over statistics on women being abused by their partners. Some said one in every six women were going to be abused while others said that one in every four women will be abused by their intimate partners sometime in their life time.
“I am of the view that it is immaterial what the real statistics are. It is more important to know what these figures mean to women.
“As long as more than 50% of the population is not free to walk our streets, to do their shopping, to go to work, to stay at home, as long as we do not take our rightful place, as long as the women of this country are not free, this country of ours will not be free.
“Let us pledge tonight to make our democracy a true democracy. Let us pledge tonight to make our freedom a true freedom.
“Let us promise ourselves that we will make use of the wonderful opportunities that this beautiful country created for us and make it available to every woman so that no woman will be a second class citizen in this country ever again; so that no woman will be oppressed outside or inside her home ever again.
“Let us pledge that the new South Africa will be full of opportunities, not only for our sons, but also for our daughters so that they can take their rightful place in this country of ours.”
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