South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is now pleading with South Africans to end gender-based violence and femicide.
While speaking at a virtual Women’s Day celebration, said South Africa is in the grip of two pandemics, the coronavirus pandemic and the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide.
“We can no longer as a nation ignore the deafening cries of women and children for protection, for help and for justice,” said Ramaphosa, who was speaking at a virtual Women’s Day celebration.
“It has been eleven months since I addressed a joint sitting of Parliament to announce an Emergency Response Action Plan to combat gender-based violence and Femicide.
At the same time, Ramaphosa stated that there’s a National Strategic Plan, which among other things aims to promote women’s economic inclusion
“With the launch of Generation Equality and with the implementation of the National Strategic Plan we have a unique opportunity to refashion our society and the lives of the women of South Africa,” Ramaphosa said
As the Chair of the African Union, Ramaphosa said other governments across the African continent must implement the same plans to empower women economically.
“We will also be working on policy guidelines to help member states, on our continent, develop similar interventions,” he said.
Women’s Day is marked to commemorate the Aug. 9, 1956 march of approximately 20,000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to petition against the country’s pass laws.
