Umamah Bakharia

President Cyril Rmaphosa says although women have been leading in sectors across the country, the women’s day celebration is stained by the issue of Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

“Several women feel that it’s a burden to be a woman in South Africa as they have had enough of being afraid or being attacked in their own homes,” he says.

Ramaphosa delivered a keynote address at the 66th Women’s Day celebration held on Wednesday at Silahla Sports Field in Richmond, KwaZulu-Natal, along with KwaZulu-Natal Premier nominee Nomusa Dube-Ncube.

She was announced as the province’s preferred candidate following the resignation of Sihle Zikalala last week.

This year’s theme for women’s day was: ‘Women’s Socio-Economic Rights and Empowerment: Building Back Better for Women’s Improved Resilience’.

In his address, Ramphosa spoke about the progress that has been made in terms of furthering women’s rights and achieving gender equality in the workplace. “Our young women today can be stars, they can be judges. The door is open,” said Ramaphosa.

While acknowledging that there are gaps in female liberation such as equal pay, GBV and the need to pay women for traditionally unremunerated work. “The time has come for us to pay unremunerated work. The work that women do, and the time that women spend doing work in the home limits their ability to earn money through employment or run their own businesses,” he said.

With a strong focus in his speech being on GBV, Ramaphosa says it is a male issue rather than of a female.