Durban — National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula commended transformative legislation aimed at improving women’s participation and involvement in politics and the economy.
She, however, said the translation of legislation into pragmatic, meaningful changes in women’s lives had not been forthcoming.
Mapisa-Nqakula was speaking during the keynote address on the last day of the two-day summit of speakers of G20 countries from around the world, which was hosted by the Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives in the parliamentary precinct in Jakarta.
She said although there was an improvement in the representation of women in recent years, there was still a long walk to achieving gender equality across the socio-economic spectrum.
“Women have come a long way in their struggles, not only for equality but to also have their voice and inputs heard, both at home and in the workplace,” she said.
Mapisa-Nqakula made her address during a debate on social inclusion, gender equality and women empowerment.
She urged the G20 parliamentarians to multiply their efforts to achieve the targets set in the Beijing Platform for Action, to protect, advance and develop all women, including women parliamentarians across the world. Mapisa-Nqakula flagged challenges still facing girls and women in general, including gender-based violence and child marriages that still afflict many nations.
She listed areas of progress in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and South Africa, including the representation of women in leadership and management positions and the adoption of the Model Law on Gender-based Violence to guide and align legislation and improve execution outcomes.
“The setting of a 50:50 quota for men and women representation across the spectrum has helped to achieve 46% women representation in Parliament, 62% in the public service, and 45% women among 256 judges. These achievements and the recent appointment of a female deputy chief justice are commendable steps in the right direction,” said Mapisa-Nqakula.
Daily News