By Palesa Mofoti
The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in conjunction with the Department for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities hosted a stakeholder review workshop at Garden Court last Wednesday.
Zintathu Mazamane, a representative of the HSRC, explained that the purpose of the event was to review the National Policy Framework on Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality (WEGE).
This was to ensure that the policy framework is relevant for the current times and aligns with the country’s development context, Mazamane stated.
Among those in attendance were representatives of Tsoga Mocha, a youth empowerment foundation, representatives from the Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison, as well as Social Development, the Department of Health, Sports, Arts and Culture including the deaf community.
‘Many of the stakeholders responded positively to our invite , however a number of prominent guests were a “no show’, she said.
Since the promulgation of the policy review in the year 2000 many issues have arisen with the recent findings in sectors such as agriculture, among others, where issues such as land were still a major concern especially as regards the statistics around land ownership.
The other issues raised were around women and the employment of persons between the ages of 35-59. The findings were such that there was still a higher level of inequality in the job market for women as opposed to males
Onkarabile Khulu, research facilitator at the HSRC, stated that there were still many gaps in the policy framework although South Africa is listed in the top 20 of the countries moving towards gender equality.
A representative from Tsoga Mocha expressed his concern, stating that this is not the first time this event was held in Kimberley within a short space. He further questioned that at the previous the youth at the event had expressed their dismay at the absence of government leaders and said they were disappointed that those in higher positions were never available nor did they ever give feedback after they have consulted with the people of South Africa.
Mazamane said the findings that will be garnered from among the workshop attendees will be integrated in the draft of the National Policy until a national workshop is held at a later stage.
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