In celebration of Women’s Month, the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) together with the Gauteng Department of Health, Ekurhuleni Municipality and non-profit organisations held a Women’s Dialogue at Moroka Hall in Daveyton on 18 August.
The GDSD urged mothers and teachers to look after young girls and to give them the necessary support in order to avoid social ills such as teenage pregnancies, substance abuse and human trafficking.
Speaking to women and young girls, GDSD’s MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza said she visited Theodorah Ndaba Shelter, an organisation which supports abused women, where she met eight abused women who are now being empowered with skills to start a new life. “As we empower women, there are young girls who need to learn the values of being a woman.
“It is so important for mothers and teachers to teach young girls [about] gender-based violence and the various social ills affecting women. We need to also teach our [young girls] to refrain from ‘blessers’ who are wealthy old men seeking relationships with young women.”
The MEC further encouraged schoolchildren to refrain from drugs and to continue their education.
