Women of all three district municipalities in Mpumalanga, led by the Speaker of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature, Ms Thandi Shongwe, walked the streets of Ermelo last Friday in the fight against women and children abuse and to commemorate Women’s Month.
“Enough is enough”,”No means no” and “Gender equality for all” were some of the messages carried by women and men supporting the fight during the awareness march that began at the Ermelo taxi rank and ended at the Gert Sibande District Municipality.
The march preceded the Women’s Parliament which took place at the GSDM council chambers.
Ms Shongwe honoured the women allegedly killed by either their husbands or partners in gender-related violence with a moment of silence.
Delivering the keynote address was the Speaker of Limpopo Provincial Legislature, Ms Poppy Boishelo, who called on women to turn the negative energy into positive energy, saying they must not allow themselves to be used.
She challenged the women in attendance to stay away from the dependency syndrome characterised by accepting hand-outs from men and called on women to empower one another.
Three thematic areas were discussed: escalating the fight against abuse, challenges always present and creating a workplace free of gender-based violence.
The parliament urged government to ensure that the victims of violence are given the necessary support in police stations and that the campaign against women abuse must be for 365 days in a year and not just a month or 16 days.
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