Speaking Notes for Consul General, H. E. Mr Pule Malefane on the occasion of Women’s Day 2011 Celebration, Rizvi Law College, Bandra

Her Excellency, Mrs Baleka Mbete, the Mayor of Mumbai, Her Excellency Mrs Shradda Jadhav, Dr A. Rizvi, Members of the Diplomatic Community, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

On behalf of the South African Consulate General, I would like to extend a heartfelt welcome to one and all of you to this very momentous occasion; one that is often times not acknowledged and sometimes taken for granted as we all know that familiarity breeds contempt. It is in this regard, that the South African Consulate in Mumbai in conjunction with the Rizvi Law College decided to convene this gathering under the auspices of “The Role of Women in Strengthening the bilateral relations between India and South Africa.”

In addition to this, in order to add true meaning to the occasion, we invited our Former Deputy President, Her Excellency, and the current National Chairperson of the ANC, Mrs Baleka Mbete, one of our leading stalwarts in our struggle for freedom and a champion for women struggles. Thank you kindly Madam for honouring us with your gracious presence. We are indeed delighted to have you spend the day with us.

Allow me at this juncture to share with you some of the highlights on women struggles in South Africa. As you may be aware, women have played a critical role in the struggle for equal rights long before any formal women’s organizations came into being in South Africa and continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the economy of our country and forging international solidarity with women of the world. Indian women in the likes of Amina Cachalia, Amina Desai and Fatima Meer have been at the forefront of the liberation of South Africa. The 1956 march to Pretoria by 20 000 women on the 09th August demonstrated the power women possess in determining their destination.

Further to this the South African government has undertaken various measures to advance the position of women and to promote gender equality in all spheres with women's representation in the National Assembly currently at 45% putting South Africa third in the international women in Parliament rankings, behind Rwanda and Sweden.

Women entrepreneurs in both India and South Africa remain on the periphery of the national economy. The concentration of activities of women in business is located in the areas of crafts, hawking, personal services and the retail sector. There are low participation levels of women entrepreneurs in value-adding business opportunities. Some of the chief barriers that I have identified to promoting women in business include cultural and societal problems, the psychological impact of cultural norms, employment legislation and policy, lack of information, training, finance, markets, technology and business infrastructure, absence of vehicles for skills development and capacity building, fragmented approaches to identifying issues and developing strategy to influence policy affecting business and government interventions. I’m sure that considering 90% of our audience here today are women, men will take this opportunity to interest themselves in women struggles and be seen to be supportive.

Allow me to reiterate that for the South African government, women are a critical component for alleviating poverty as a national priority and for the promotion of broadened economic empowerment programme that seeks to benefit all. There should be an urgent need for more government involvement in women’s entrepreneurial development and greater emphasis should be placed on funding women entrepreneurship not only in South Africa but in India as well. Hence, the initiative by the South African Consulate supported by Ridzvi Law College in convening this platform today.

In closing, I wish to end with a quote from Marianne Williamson when she said,” In every community there is work to be done, in every nation there are wounds to heal, in every heart there is power to do it”. I sincerely hope that today’s event sparks the beginning of many more such gatherings where women are allowed the opportunity to express themselves and celebrate their past, present and future contributions to our societies. I once again thank you for gracing us with your presence and urge you to brace yourselves for outstanding world renowned speakers who are going to ensure that you are overfed with food for thought.

Wathint'Abafazi Wathint'imbokodo! (You strike a woman, You strike a rock!)

JUB AURATH KO MARTHE HO  PATTHAR SE THAKRATE HO

Dhanywaad!