President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: GCIS
President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Tuesday deliver the keynote address at government’s Women’s Day national commemorative event in Richmond, KwaZulu-Natal.
The event is set to take place at the Silahla Sport Field in Richmond in the uMngungundlovu District Municipality.
Women’s Day marks the anniversary of the great women’s march of 1956, where women marched to the Union Buildings to protest against the carrying of pass books.
On 9 August 1956, about 20 000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against legislation aimed at tightening the apartheid government’s control over the movement of black women in urban areas.
In the democratic era, Women’s Day focuses the nation’s attention on the country’s progress towards gender equity and celebrates the diverse contributions of women to the development of our society and economy.
However, in recent years, Women’s Day and Women’s Month has been overshadowed by the alarming scourge of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) in South Africa.
According to the quarterly crime statistics released in June, 10,818 women in SA were raped between January and March 2022.
Three key pieces of legislation were introduced in Parliament by government to make the criminal justice system more effective in combating gender-based violence.
Ramaphosa previously said government was making progress in reducing the backlog of gender-based violence cases, and in 2020 declared GBVF the country’s second pandemic.
READ MORE: We must act on GBV, as govt’s window dressing won’t help
Late in July, the country was shocked by the gang rape of eight women in West Village, Krugersdorp during a music video shoot at a disused mine.
The incident has brought to the fore the increasing crime levels in the West Rand of Gauteng, where communities complain about so-called zama zamas (illegal miners) they’ve accused of perpetrating rapes and other crimes in the area.
The incident has also shown how unsafe women feel in the country.
On Monday, police arrested 17 people after the Mohlakeng community staged a protest against illegal miners in the township. This followed similar protests in Kagiso over crime and illegal mining.
Community members burnt shacks in Extension 11 in Mohlakeng and ransacked two homes close to mine shafts.
WATCH: Mohlakeng residents burn shacks as they search for zama zamas
One of the arrested suspects was found with an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
Police said 13 people were arrested for being undocumented, three were arrested for illegal mining activity, and one for the possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
Speaking to The Citizen, police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said: “Following protests that started this morning in Mohlakeng, the West Rand District Commissioner, Major General Fred Kekana, went to the ground with local councillors and community leaders to address the protesters on intervention plans that are being implemented to deal with illegal mining activities in the district.”
She also said that the municipality was closing one of the mining sites in the area.
“Public order police and visible policing members are monitoring the situation and swiftly responding to sporadic incidents,” added Muridili.
Compiled by Thapelo Lekabe. Additional reporting by Siphumelele Khumalo
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