Empowered women key to development

Women must get rid of the mentality they are weaker than men and realise they can do any job men can do.

This was the message by Buffalo City Metro deputy mayor Zoliswa Matana at a Management College of Southern Africa (Mancosa) Women’s Month event in Vincent yesterday.

About 35 women were empowered with how to look beautiful and taught self-defence skills yesterday.

Matana said South Africans needed to understand why empowering women was necessary.

“They need to change how they think about women and give women full freedom and birth rights.

“Also, women need to change the mindset which tells them that they are weak.

“Instead they need to know that they have the same power as men,” Matana said.

Women empowerment was a vital tool for advancing development in the country, she said.

“It will also help in reducing poverty by improving health and productivity within families and communities as well as providing better chances for the next generation.

“Social ills such as gender-based violence, reproductive health inequities, economic discrimination, harmful traditional practices and other pervasive and persistent forms of inequality are taking women backwards,” Matana said.

The politician’s sentiments come a day after Oscar-winning South African-born actress Charlize Theron told Kwetyana villagers that most of the challenges the world faced could be solved by women.

While the month of August is for shining a spotlight on women’s needs, Matana said it was important for men to realise a woman’s place was not just in the kitchen. “Men need to understand their responsibility at home so that women can get some time to think about themselves and their careers,” she said.

Matana said in response to gender-based violence in Duncan Village, church women from that area had organised a march to the East London Magistrate’s Court to voice their anger.

She said she will be joining the march as a woman and representing the municipality.

Mancosa East London office manager John Fernandez said this was the first time they had conducted a women’s empowerment leadership programme in their East London compass.

“Today we invited Matana to speak on the day, Cheri James from the Daily Dispatch, Alleysha Labansi, a stylist from Foschini, and a martial arts instructor, Elsie Potgieter,” he said, adding they will be handing out certificates to all the women who attended.

“The event was a success and women from Buffalo City Municipality, Transnet, Mercedes Benz, Eskom and the Eastern Cape department of health attended the event.”