10 September 2007

By Sipho None and Clifford Mogotsi

GENDER activists from across the West Rand gathered to launch the Women's Caucus, a regional multiparty assembly of women.

The caucus was born out of the Regional Women's Dialogue last year. It will drive women's empowerment and contribute to gender equality on the West Rand.

Filling a small white tent, the women also shared ideas on how they could deal with issues affecting women on the West Rand.

The West Rand District Municipality Speaker, Eunice Segatlhe, who championed the initiative, said: "The aim of the caucus is to build a non-sexist society in the district, where women and men have equal opportunities and receive local government services in an equitable manner."

It aims to make sure "that gender is taken into account in policy formulation within municipalities, network with women who are strategically placed in various fields of social and economic life, and create a support system for women in and outside municipality", among others.

Segatlhe, who also chairs the gender steering committee, said the gender policy should serve as the embodiment of all gender-related issues and should help "us to come up with a gender management system, including the section 79 committee that will see to it that gender [issues are] mainstreamed".

Female councillors from all three West Rand local municipalities, women in ward committees and community development workers will all take part in the Women's Caucus.

West Rand District Municipality Executive Mayor Faith Matshikiza set the tone and reminded women about the impetus behind the gathering. "The need to establish this caucus emanates from a series of meetings and I caution you that many structures and forums are established, but the challenges lie in their effective functionality."

Mbuyiselo Botha, a motivational speaker and writer, said: "Gender issues are central and should not be on the periphery. They should be topics that need to be addressed everyday. Our President Thabo Mbeki is the champion of women's issues; maybe he took it from OR Tambo.

"August month gives mothers an opportunity to talk about family values and ask themselves how they raised their sons, and men should begin to be part of such initiatives. Men should stop looking at gender issues as a female-only gathering or problem."

The Gauteng MEC for housing, Nomvula Mokonyane, who is known for her passion for women's issues, paid tribute to struggle heroines.

"The launch of the Women's Caucus serves to remind us of the contributions made by women to society, the achievements towards women's rights and acknowledgment of the difficulties and prejudices many women still face.

"We need to celebrate the lives of women who stood for their families when their husbands were … in prisons. As we honour and celebrate their lives we need to jealously guard the achievements made by these women."

Speaking about poverty-stricken families on the West Rand, Mokonyane encouraged women to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty to better their lives and those of their families.

"The West Rand has been identified as an agricultural node and yet there are families that go to bed without food; that is totally unacceptable. As women we need to make use of the opportunities available to us for the betterment of our families."

She also took a swipe at public representatives who raised people's expectations yet were interested mainly in furthering their personal interest and putting themselves in positions of power. "As public representatives we should not raise people's expectations on ‘tenders, employment and allocation of houses' so as to raise our political profiles.

"We need to have good support structures so that our programes are run well. The Women's Caucus should be a social movement where women can understand one another and not become enemies of the people."

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