Report of the ANC Women's League National Conference

24-27 April 1997
Rustenburg Civic Centre
NORTH WEST PROVINCE

Unity, Peace & Development

FORWARD TO THE REPORT OF THE ANC WOMEN'S LEAGUE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF 24 TO 27^th APRIL 1997

We meet again in conference, this time on the threshold of the 21st century which lies just three years ahead of us. It was a good time to pause and consider our contribution to humanity during the preceding decades, and to plan our commitments for the years ahead.

As I have said before, the ANC Women's League can lay claim to being a key factor in leading the battle against discrimination of all kinds not only in South Africa, but internationally.

For those who do not know it, Black women under threat clearly possess the capacity to fight back with a fierceness and intensity that surprises many observers.

At the Rustenburg conference women showed this same determination to stand by their principles, unbending strong resistant to any attempts to hijack their organisation.

Conference also rose on the anniversary of Freedom Day. This served as an added spur to the delegates as they went about the business of the conference, ensuring that we emerged more united than ever before.

Assembled at the conference were women from all walks of life: rural women, the poor, the unemployed, working women, professionals, legislators and ministers. This reflected not only the broad base of the League, but also the success we have had in advancing women as part of our victory over apartheid

We must be very clear, however, that the advances on the political front are not enough, we now have to pursue economic empowerment.

Our planning at this point in history has to be undertaken not only in the context of South Africa and hi the context of the world. Our fundamental commitment should be to eliminate poverty and to improve the quality of life of women so that they in turn will improve the quality of life of their families. We must plan to form links with woman throughout the world, particularly with women in Africa. the Middle East and Asia.

We in South Africa step into the new century on the arms of our new constitution, which is among the progressive in the world, and armed with astonishing technological and cultural advances made during the twentieth century. It was in this country that we made our first ventures onto outer space, conquered a whole range of diseases and revolutionised our system of communication. It is also the century in which colonialism ended and major victories were won against racism and against discrimination against women and minorities.

The twentieth century also leaves behind a legacy of violence, the nature and scale of which is unparalleled in human history. Two world wars were fought, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed, and we saw turbulence in Africa, the middle and Far East and in the Eastern bloc countries.

A key feature of the last years of this century has however been a renewed commitment to peace, throughout the world. This is particularly true of Africa, and we look forward to a century which we expect to have as its most important achievement an African Renaissance.

N. W. Mandela

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Report
Conference Declaration
Resolutions
National Executive Committee
Messages of Support

1. INTRODUCTION

The Third National Conference of the ANC Women's League from 24 - 27 April 1997 at the Rustenburg Civic Centre in the Northwest Province was attended by more than a thousand (1 000) delegates and representatives from structures of the Women's League throughout the country; ANC leadership; international guests; Members of Parliament (MP's), the Provincial Legislatures (MPL's) and Councillors; Veterans of the ANCWL and representatives from the ANC Youth League, COSATU and SASCO.

2. POLITICAL CHALLENGES OF CONFERENCE

The Conference was opened by the Chairperson of the ANC and the Premier of the Northwest, cde Popo Molefe, who welcomed delegates to the province, and urged delegates that the outcome of deliberations of the Conference will have an impact not only on women as a majority sector of the population, but on the entire country. He challenged the Conference to in its deliberations ensure that the noble vision of the RDP is translated into a reality and to ensure that the Women's League becomes a centre of attraction to all women groups in the country, with an image that inspires across the spectrum.

Deputy President Thabo Mbeki in his keynote address to Conference conveyed greetings from President Mandela. He urged delegates: 'To do what's got to be done.' The overwhelming mandate the ANC received in the 1994 elections, is an indication that the democratic majority know fully well that it is only the African National Congress which possesses the history, tradition as well as the correct policies to help sustain the momentum of the struggle for the final goal of national emancipation. The ANCWL is an inseparable and integral part of the ANC. A weaker ANCWL is a weaker ANC. A stronger ANCWL is a stronger ANC. Furthermore, the impact of the struggle waged by the ANCWL for women's emancipation has an impact on the entire national liberation struggle.

The Deputy President noted that the recent history of the ANCWL had its fair share of set-backs and advances. Some of these advances are the establishment of the Commission on Gender Equality, the Office on the Status of Women, the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the fact that we rank in the top ten countries internationally in terms of representation of women in legislative structures of government. Other advances include the adoption of the new Constitution which enshrines equality and other programmes such as the expansion of free health care to pregnant women and children under six years.

The most immediate and urgent challenge facing, not only the ANCWL, but the entire progressive women's movement, is the question of unity. Personal differences, personal ambitions for power and glory, personal dislike of each other, are evils which should be subjected to the larger goal of meeting the aspirations of the majority.

The Deputy President concluded his keynote address by challenging Conference to draw up a programme aimed at building a new cadre of the ANCWL, building and consolidating organisational structures, working out the mechanism and programme for the mobilisation of the greatest number of women behind the policies of the ANC and usher the women's struggle into the next century.

In her Political Report to Conference, the President of the ANC Women's League, Cde Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, reviewed the political progress of the League since its last Conference in Durban in 1993. She highlighted the role played by the League as a key factor in the battle against racism in the 20th century, as the only women's organisation which politically mobilised women and during the Elections campaigns, as Members of the Parliament and as Councillors.

The President reflected on the proud history of the ANC Women's League since its formation in the anti-pass campaigns, the historic march to Pretoria in 1956 and as part of the Federation of Black women during the 70's.

The challenges facing the ANCWL as it enters the 21 century, is to ensure that we eliminate poverty, improve the quality of life of women and thus whole families and to forge links with women of the world in particular in Africa and Asia. Women have contributed little to the scientific and other advances of the 20th century. We must therefore ensure that the 21st century must be a century of brilliance for women.

STATE OF ORGANISATION

The Steering Committee presented the following Credentials report to the Conference:

The Organisational report was presented by the Deputy Secretary General, cde Bathabile Dlamini and was distributed to all delegates at Conference.

FINANCES

The audited statements of the ANCWL for 1993 and 1994 were presented to Conference by the ANC Treasurer General Rev. Arnold Stofile, and after clarification al id discussions, were adopted by Conference. Outstanding matters were referred to the incoming National Executive Committee. Rev. Stofile indicated that since the beginning of 1995, the financial affairs of the ANCWL were controlled by the ANC, and reports for the period 1995-1996 will therefore be given as part of the ANC financial reports. Notes by the Treasurer General Lulu Gxingwana on the finances of the League during that period were presented to Conference. The resolution on Finances adopted by Conference sets out a clear way forward for the League in dealing with its finances for the future.

DISCUSSIONS AND DELIBERATIONS OF CONFERENCE

Following the political speeches and reports, delegates discussed and debated a range of organizational and political challenges which face the Leagues in Commissions on the League's Constitution, on Women and the Economy, on Building a Vibrant Women's League, on Governance and Delivery and on the league in the 21st Century. Delegates contributed to discussions in Commissions and in Plenary sessions in a lively and vibrant manner, indicating a commitment to ensure a strong Women's League emerging from Conference.

ELECTIONS OF THE NEW LEADERSHIP

The elections at Conference was conducted by the Electoral Institute of South Africa. Before the elections started, the Constitutional Commission presented an amendment to Conference for the expansion of the National Executive Committee. Nominations were submitted by regions and an opportunity was also provided for nominations from the floor. A total number of 840 delegates elected the new leadership of the Women's League for the next three years.

RESOLUTIONS AND DECISIONS OF CONFERENCE

A wide range of resolutions were presented to Conference, which voiced the main challenges facing the Women's League and its new leadership and should form the basis of its programme of action for the next three years, and into the next century. Major decisions of Conference include:

1. To build a strong Women's League by working closely with the ANC and the Youth League;
2. To establish a separate membership system for the League, with a proviso that a person should join the ANC first;
3. Re-affirm its cadres through the implementation of a national cadreship programme of the League;
4. Strengthen relations with the ANC and ensure that the League make an even greater contribution to the ANC;
5. Develop a common approach with Alliance women on the broad women's movement;
6. To put in place effective financial systems, to deal with matters referred to it by Conference and ensure that the League takes full control of its finances;
7. To take various measures towards the empowerment of women to play an active role in social transformation, in areas such as governance, poverty relief, housing, health, the empowerment of rural women, education and training, disabled women; and
8. To convene a Special Conference on Women and Economic Empowerment;
9. Facilitate ongoing interactions between women in the legislatures, public service, local government, the executive and constitutional structures of the ANCWL;
10. Give full support for the work of the TRC and call on the former regime to confess and co-operate with the TRC;
11. Ensure efforts to prevent the marginalisation of women in the process of globalization, in the context of the world-wide struggle for social emancipation and gender equality through participation in international forums, bilateral relations with women's organizations, participating in peace initiatives, strengthening the gender movement in SADC and the OAU and through solidarity campaigns.
12. Support the National Crime Prevention Strategy, participate in campaigns to end crime against women and children and ensure that branches participate in Community Policing Forums.
13. Interact with ax-political and combatant structures to ensure that women's interests are being catered for, and interact with the Department of Culture around heritage symbols which reflects women's contributions to the country;
14. Create a desk in the League to co ordinate lobbying and advocacy for the improvement in the status of women, and to give effect to the equality clause in the Constitution;
15. The NEC to adopt a clear Programme of Action to mobilise women around the issues affecting them, ensure an active membership and establish the leadership of the ANCWL;
16. Actively participate in the elections structures of the ANC.
17. The NEC to appoint a special commission to finalise amendments to the ANCWL Constitution.

LONG LIVE THE ANC WOMEN'S LEAGUE!
TOWARDS THE NEXT MILLENNIUM!

1. This THIRD NATIONAL CONFERENCE of the ANC WOMEN'S LEAGUE - meeting from the 24-27 April 1997 - brought together representatives of members and supporters of the ANCWL from throughout the country to review progress in our work and chart the way forward into the next millennium. Assembled at CONFERENCE were women from all walks of life - rural women, the unemployed, working women, professionals, legislators and ministers - reflecting the broad base of the League as well as the advances that we have made as a result of the people's victory over apartheid.

2. CONFERENCE noted with pride the role of the ANC WOMEN'S LEAGUE and South African women in general in realising the new democratic order based on principles of democracy, non-sexism and non-racialism. We are profoundly proud that, in the mass actions, in the trenches of armed struggle, in the negotiations and in the historic elections campaign, members of the League were found at the forefront of the efforts and sacrifices which brought about the democratic breakthrough in April 1994.

3. We are humbled that our CONFERENCE rises on this, the third anniversary of South African Freedom Day. This realization was an added spur on the delegates as they went about the business of CONFERENCE to ensure that we emerge from CONFERENCE united more than ever before, fired up more than ever before, and determined more than at any other time in our history to lead South Africa's women in the struggle to accomplish the dream of millions for a society without gender discrimination. We are keenly aware that a heavy responsibility rests on our shoulders, issuing from the squalor and pangs of hunger of women and children who were condemned to poverty by apartheid; from the cries of pain and anguish of the thousands who are victims of abuse and other violent crimes; from the yearning of millions of women for jobs and skills, eager and capable, but kept from responsibilities they deserve by the stubborn culture and practice of gender discrimination.

4. Indeed, if anything, these realities served as a reminder to the delegates that the freedoms our society has attained are but a victory in one important battle in the protracted war against all forms of discrimination. In this first CONFERENCE after April 1994, delegates also paid tribute to the heroines and heroes who fell on the road to freedom. We remain indebted to them, and we owe it to them to unite and mobilise South African women and the population at large to realise the objectives of reconstruction and development.

5. CONFERENCE received with enthusiasm the common message from the Deputy President of the ANC, the President of the ANC WOMEN'S LEAGUE and indeed the overwhelming majority of the delegates for us to correct the mistakes of the past, build on the many successes we have registered and march into the 21 st century as a leading force in the democratic women's movement in South Africa.

6. It is in this spirit that CONFERENCE got down to business, and emerged with resolutions, decisions and programmes of action which have set us along the road to these objectives.

7. CONFERENCE honestly reviewed the state of organization of the League and noted that, whilst most structures remained intact and operational, they had been greatly immobilized by the conflict that had gripped the national leadership. CONFERENCE deply regretted this experience and resolved that it should never happen again. In the content of the resolutions adopted, CONFERENCE has sent a strong message within its ranks, to the public at large and to the enemies of democracy that the ANC WOMEN'S LEAGUE is united, determined and resolved to be at the forefront of the struggle for gender and social emancipation.

8. CONFERENCE reaffirmed the unswerving adherence of the ANC WOMEN'S LEAGUE to the policies and objectives of the ANC, in whose formulation the League took an active part. CONFERENCE also reiterated the principle of the League's organizational autonomy, and the centrality of consistent and unwavering commitment to democratic practices within the League, including criticism and self-criticism within our structures.

9. CONFERENCE discussed and took decisions on many strategic and urgent matters pertaining to the cause of social and gender emancipation:

ON GOVERNANCE

• CONFERENCE examined and expressed satisfaction at the progress our government is making in improving the lives of our people for the better. We are encouraged by the progress we are making in democratizing our institutions of government, making them more representative, the transformation of the education system, more accessible health care, legislation that is sensitive to the disadvantaged and the visible commitment to combat poverty as demonstrated in our latest Budget.

• CONFERENCE committed the ANC WOMEN'S LEAGUE to strive for an accelerated programme of delivery of to our people , greater participation by women and targeted delivery towards rural areas.

ON ORGANISATION

• CONFERENCE did thorough examination of the state of organization. We accept with enthusiasm, the challenge to build the Women's League into a strong, vibrant and democratic organization. The building of active branches in all our communities, development and training, a widespread participation of women from all sectors in the activities of the ANC Women's League, and the establishment of a reliable membership system.

• We commit ourselves to work for even stronger relationship with the ANC and be the nucleus for mobilising women behind our movement.

• The mobilisation of the broadest movement of women behind the goal of a non-racial, united, non-sexist and democratic South Africa is critical. Our relationship with the National Women's Coalition should be constantly reviewed with the goal to locate the ANC Women's League at the head of the women's march for transformation and development.

ON CRIME

• We condemn the despicable abuse of women and children that is so prevalent in our society. We once more endorse the National Crime Prevention Strategy and urge all the women of our country to join the march against crime and violence. Once more we say: No to violence against women and children!

WOMEN AND THE ECONOMY

• CONFERENCE instructed the National Executive Committee to convene a Special Conference on Women and Economic Empowerment for formulate a comprehensive programme to eliminate gender and racial discrimination in the management and ownership of the wealth of the country, to address unemployment amongst women and to eliminate gender discrimination in the workplace.

• The ANC WOMEN'S LEAGUE believes that the initiatives of government to ensure economic empowerment through programmes such as land redistribution and support to small scale farmers, industrial restructuring and various mechanisms to support small and micro enterprises, training and affirmative action in the workplace, must form the cornerstone of women's economic advancements.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

• CONFERENCE was graced with the presence of representatives from allied organisations from other countries and received messages from many other allies in the struggle for emancipation.

• Indeed, CONFERENCE reaffirmed the position of the ANC WOMEN'S LEAGUE as one among many contingents in the international army of fighters for a better world of peace, prosperity, social equity and gender equality.

• CONFERENCE expressed its solidarity with the women and people of Africa in this historic era of mobilisation for her renaissance, in the context of economic growth, development, peace, democracy and social justice.

• CONFERENCE welcomed representatives from PUDEMO in Swaziland and the General Union of Palestine Women and expressed solidarity with the struggle for democracy of the people of Swaziland and the struggle for self-determination of the Palestine people.

• We again rededicate ourselves to renew and strengthen relations with women's organisations who share our goals for woman's development along progressive policies both in Africa and the world.

• In particular we undertake to add our part in building an effective African women's movement and work closely with the women of Southern Africa.

• The carnage in Zaire and other conflict ridden countries in Africa must be halted. We support the actions of our government in trying to help find a solution. However, for this effort to succeed, it requires active participation of women in the processes to find a speedy and lasting resolution to the problems

10. The ANC WOMEN'S LEAGUE emerges from this CONFERENCE reinforced in its commitment to the objectives a united, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa. We pledge to spare neither effort nor strength in the struggle to achieve these objectives.

11. We are mindful of the fact that the consolidation of democracy and the betterment of the quality of life of the people requires even more determination on the part of the democratic movement. We are mindful too that elements of the past order are bent on reversing the gains scored by the democratic movement. The outcome of this CONFERENCE is a message to these forces that their efforts will meet the rock of a determined women's movement, hand-in-hand with other forces of democracy.

12. Above all, it is a message to the people of our country that the ANC WOMEN'S LEAGUE is both ready and mobilised to join them in the continuing struggle for social and gender emancipation. Nothing will divert us from this cause.

Malibongwe!

1.0 ON BUILDING THE ANC WOMEN'S LEAGUE

1.1. TRIPLE OPPRESSION OF WOMEN AND THE ROLE OF THE ANC WOMEN'S LEAGUE

Conference notes that the STRATEGY AND TACTICS OF THE ANC states:

• That the ability of the ANC to continue to champion the struggle for the emancipation of women and lead the struggle towards the establishment of a non-sexist society depends on its success in integrating the objectives of non-sexism in all our transformation programmes;
• That we must ensure that all our organisational structures are politically and organisationally empowered to pursue this goal in a consistent manner;
• That the ANCWL represents a section of our society which, over the decades have been oppressed and exploited as a nation, a class and as women;
• That true transformation of our society will only have meaning if it addresses the plight of triple oppression suffered by women; and
• That the main motive forces of the democratic transformation is primarily represented by African workers and the African rural poor. These forces are also represented by black workers in general and the black middle strata. These are the forces which possess the best political and ideological potential to lead and defend the process of transformation.

Further notes that it identifies the role of the ANCWL as:

• The mobilisation of women behind the vision of the ANC for the establishment of a non-racial, non-sexist, united, democratic and prosperous society;
• Mobilising women and leading the struggle for the emancipation of women.

Believing that the ANCWL should:

• Continue to mobilise working class and rural women as the core base of the ANCWL;
• Continue to broaden its base and to build its organisational strength.
• Place itself at the centre of the struggle of women's organisations and at the centre of the Gender Commission.

Therefore resolves to:

1. Consolidate and develop the ANCWL at all levels of the organisation;
   Ensure that the issue of the emancipation of women receives priority in the programmes of the League and the ANC, as well as broader society'
2. Empower and develop women in all structures of the WL;
3. Mobilise women around issues which face them at community levels; and
4. Encourage women to participate fully in the transformation process.

1.2 ON BUILDING STRONG AND ACTIVE BRANCHES

Conference notes:

• That branches are the lifeblood of any organisations
• That our branches are weak and lack understanding of the policies and vision of the ANC and the League;
• That branches should be the building blocks for regional, provincial and the League throughout the country.

There resolves to:

1. Strengthen our branches to be able to organise women around the issues facing them in their communities;
2. Embark on political discussions in branches on the policies of the ANC and its vision;
3. Encourage our branches to network with women's organisations in the community to extend our influence and build strong networks;
4. Branches to take up the campaign for gender equality in the community.
5. Encourage our branches and members to participate in ANC activities and activities and meetings of the Alliance.
6. Greater working together amongst the Organising departments of the ANC, the Women's and Youth League's to ensure strong structures at all levels.

1.3 ON LEADERSHIP AND ORGANISATIONAL PROBLEMS

Conference notes:

• That cliquish, divisive tendencies and self-interest have contributed to the problems of the League and its weak state of organisation;
• That 1993 Conference has adopted the Code of Conduct of the ANCWL as guiding the League, but was not popularised amongst the League and its structures.
• The Secretarial report indicating problems in a number of regions, preceding Conference.

Therefore resolves:

1. To commit all members, leadership and structures to work towards collective leadership, unity of the League, accountability and to strive to build political and organisational cohesiveness and unity of purpose at a levels of the League;
2. Re-affirm that the ANCWL Code of Conduct will guide the League and that the NEC should ensure adherence to this Code.
3. Instruct the NEC to deal with problems in regions in line with building the unity of the League and resolutions and the spirit of Conference.

1.4 ON CADRE POLICY

Conferences notes

• That the League do not have a strong political education programme to develop its cadreship and its members at all levels;
• That the League needs a deployment strategy to co-ordinate women's participation in legislative structures, local councils, the civil service and other sectors of society.

Therefore resolves

1. To re-affirm its cadres through the development and implementation of a national cadre development programme for the WL, in conjunction with the ANC Political Education Department.
2. Instruct the NEC to develop a comprehensive deployment strategy of women for all levels of the organisation.

1.5 ON MEMBERSHIP

Conference notes:

• The continued ability of the ANCWL as an organisational structure to appeal to large sections of women;
• That the present membership arrangement does not adequately reflect the organisational potential of the ANCWL;

Therefore resolves

To instruct the incoming NEC and the Organising department in particular to establish a membership system for the ANCWL, with its own membership fee, which should be aimed at recruiting even larger numbers of women into the League and into the ANC.

1.6 STRENGTHENING RELATIONS WITH THE ANC

Conference notes

• The role played by the ANCWL and its cadres in the broader movement;
• That the League has the potential to make an even greater contribution to the life and policies of the ANC;

Therefore resolves:

1. To implement a programme towards ensuring that all National, Provincial, Regional and Branch Chairpersons and Secretaries of the League take up their ex-officio positions on the PEC's and BEC's of the ANC on a regular basis, and report back to structures of the WL.
2. Ensure that WL structures participate actively in discussions and preparations for the ANC National Conference.
3. To seek representation on all subcommittees, forums and structures of the ANC.

1.7 ON RELATIONS WITH THE ALLIANCE

Conference resolves

1. Strengthen women of the Alliance, through various forums at all levels;
2. Support and embark on joint programmes with the Alliance and other progressive women's organisations;
3. Support the demand for 6 month maternity leave with 4 month's paid period.

1.8 ON A BROAD WOMEN'S MOVEMENT

Conferences notes:

• That the overwhelming majority of women have been disadvantaged by triple oppression;
• That the ANCWL needs to locate itself at the centre of the struggle for the emancipation of women;
• That it needs to continue to unite the broadest section of women behind the ANC's vision of transformation of South Africa into a non-racial, united, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous country;

Further notes:

• That the ANCWL was one of the founder members of the National Women's Coalition and a leading participant in the campaign to draft the Women's Charter;
• The problems identified by the League with the present role, character and nature of the Coalition.

Therefore resolved:

1. That the provinces and the NEC should discuss the coming Conference of the National Women's Coalition and formulate a position of the League; and participate in this Conference;
2. To engage the Alliance Gender Forum in workshops to develop a common approach to the Coalition and the broad women's movement.

2. RESOLUTION ON FINANCES

Having listened and deliberated on the Auditor Financial Statements of 1993 and 1994;

Conference notes:

• The background to the situation as well as the grave weaknesses in the management of finances in the League at the time;
• The insufficient information on the state of finances and assets.
• The information presented by the Treasurers of the ANCWL and the ANC.

Conference therefore resolves:

1. To accept the validity of the Auditors reports and the recommendations included in the report; and

Delegates the incoming NEC:

1. To investigate and shed light on the issues identified in the report and by delegates at Conference;
2. To receive from the ANC and consider the 1995 and 1996 Audited statements and to report back to structures of the WL on these;
3. To put in place effective and efficient financial systems to manage the funds, assets and projects of the Women's League; including the training of WL treasurers at all levels;
4. To raise funds and other resources necessary for the League to do its work; and

5. To adopt annual audited financial statements.

Conference reiterates:

The urgency with which the incoming NEC should place the League's financial affairs in order so that the organisation can once more take full charge of its financial affairs.

3. RESOLUTION ON GOVERNANCE

This Conference of the ANC Women's League:

1.  Noting that:

1.1. The people of South Africa, led by the ANC, have attained elements of political power, and that we are faced with the task of consolidating democracy and implementing socio-economic programmes to uplift the poor;

1.2. The new democratic Constitution, institutions, various laws, and ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) have gone a long way towards creating the requisite environment within which to pursue the struggle for gender equality;

1.3. Women constitute the majority of the poor and destitute sections of the society, and that the gender oppression in various spheres of life remains one of the stark legacies of Apartheid.

Believing that

2. Conscious of the fact that, to rid South African society of social relations of inequality based on race, gender and geography, requires united efforts of the democratic forces, to ensure the implementation of the RDP in all its facets; and that the success of these endeavours will be possible only with the active participation of women, in both urban and rural areas.

Conference therefore resolves

3. To take various measures to empower women to play an active role in social transformation, and thus change their lives for the better. In particular, Conference commits itself to the following:

3.1. On Governance

Conference noted the progress that has been made in the efforts to ensure active participation in governance; and it resolved to:

• ensure that the provisions of the Constitution on gender equality are made a living reality;
• work towards at least 50% representation of women in the legislatures and executive at national, provincial and local levels; and ensure that these leaders are afforded the necessary skills to carry out their functions and lobby for legislation to give effect to this;
• co-operate with the Commission on Gender Equality and to campaign for the Gender Commission to have the necessary resources and infrastructure at all levels to fulfil its mandate
• promote the employment of more women in management positions in the public service, including the army, police and intelligence and foreign services and encourage the elimination of all forms of discrimination practices against women;
• strengthen the institutions in government charged with promoting the upliftment of women, and to urge all legislators and the ANC in particular at all levels to work towards a more gender-sensitive budget, particularly in the context of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework

3.2. On Poverty Relief

Noting

• the programmes of government on nutrition, free health care, improved welfare, public works and others,

Conference resolved to:

• urge government to increase expenditure on social needs;
• empower women to take full advantage and participate in these programmes through the dissemination of information, strong local organisation, and skills in planning, research and the management, monitoring, implementing and evaluation of projects;
• To input as the League in the process to put in place a new welfare system aimed at widening the net of children beneficiaries on a non-racial basis, and to call for firm measures to improve the efficiency of the system and rid it of corruption

3.3. On Health

Conference notes:

• The positive impact of the Presidential Lead Projects in the health sector including free health care to pregnant women and children and the Primary School Nutrition Project;
• The efforts towards expanding primary health care services to areas previously deprived and disadvantaged;

Raises concerns about:

• The high prevalence of cervical cancer and its debilitating effects on the health of women;
• The rapidly increasing prevalence and incidence of HIV/AIDS, an epidemic with an estimated 2.4 million HIV positive South Africans; its negative impact on resources including human resources and the economy in general, the health services and the inevitable increase in the number of orphans that will result from AIDS deaths.

Conference thus resolves to call on government:

• Call on government to expedite the provision of equitable, affordable and accessible health services;
• Implement the programme on Cervical smears and to ensure early diagnoses and treatment;
• Establishes an inter-sectoral committee to evaluate the implementation of national HIV/AIDS strategy with the view to consolidate prevention programmes and investigate the possibilities of rigorous research with the specifics of HIV/AIDS and its treatment;
• Expand programmes on women's health and reproductive rights, concentrating initially on dissemination of information, education on theTermination of Pregnancy Act.
• The incoming NEC to look at monitoring mechanisms to asses various programs affecting women's health.

3.4. On Housing

Noting the government programme to provide assistance for housing to the poor, as well as the constraints that this programme is facing, the Conference resolved to:

• mobilise for a campaign to ensure that government review all loans and put pressure on financial institutions to provide loans without discrimination;
• urge government to act with deliberate speed to put the institutions, meant to assist in the provision of loans to the poor, on an operational footing
• ensure that local government acts more decisively in providing land for housing, and in preventing illegal land occupation
• urge all levels of government to speed up the implementation of plans for integrated development initiatives
• campaign for the empowerment of small contractors, including women contractors in particular
• take active part in the Masakhane Campaign
• remove obstacles which make it difficult for women to have access to the ownership of housing and land
• Ensure training programmes of women councillors within the context of a general human resource policy and skills development in local government.

3.5. On Rural Women

Noting

That women in rural areas are affected most by the legacy of the criminal policies of Apartheid;

Conference resolved to:

• campaign for integrated developmental projects such as housing and health provisions, roads, schools, water, community centres, electricity and other services
• call on government to speed up the programme for the land redistribution and restitution, with particular emphasis on the position of women, most of whom are heads of households
• call on parliament to speed up the process of bringing traditional law into line with the provisions of our constitution (Bill of Rights), on matters such land ownership, inheritance and traditional governance so as to remove all vestiges of gender discrimination support the Bill on Security of Tenure, and to urge government not to allow special interests to undercut the aims of the Bill;
• to campaign for integrated agricultural schemes and programs to ensure that rural development and the economic empowerment of women is a priority for government and other developmental agents.

3.6 On Women with Disabilities

Conference resolves to

• Consult, initiate and join campaigns waged by women with disabilities, including those who were disabled in the struggle against apartheid and to ensure their full participation in the mainstream of the economic, social and political life of the country.

3.7 On Education and Training

Conference notes

That Apartheid and patriarchy has systematically excluded black women and African women in particular from education and training and from science, information and technology resulting in:

• Black women, and mainly in rural areas, make up the majority of the illiterate and semi-literate;
• Shortage of skills and resources amongst women, limiting their access to the economy, promotion at work and to further and higher education;
• High levels of drop-out by girls and young women, particularly at secondary levels in the context of the general breakdown of the culture of learning;
• Few women studying or working in the science, technology and information fields, and these spheres are often gender unfriendly.

Further notes

• The current initiatives in government to fundamentally transform the education system, including ten years of free and compulsory education in the South African Schools Act, proposals to expand skills training in the Skills Development Green Paper and proposals to have greater access to higher education;
• Though there have been increase expenditure of Adult Basic Education, these programs are still not reaching millions of women who are illiterate or semi-literate particularly in rural areas, contributing to their continued exclusion from the mainstream of the economy.

THEREFORE RESOLVES

That the League should engage government, individuals, the private and NGO sector in all spheres to ensure:

1. More literacy programmes in rural areas, participate in national literacy and numeracy campaigns, to assist with the empowerment and participation of women in affairs of their communities and the economy;
2. Skills training programmes which are gender friendly and do not limit women to certain careers or jobs;
3. Greater access for black and rural women to higher education and in areas such as science, technology and information.
4. In general, ensuring that educational facilities and resources are accessible to women, through provision of transport and educational facilities in rural and other disadvantaged areas.
5. Women's League branches to encourage women to actively take part in the new school governing bodies in order to meaningfully contribute to the restoration of the culture of learning, teaching and service and the effective running of school-feeding scheme

3.8 On Women and the Economy

Conference notes:

• The continued exclusion of women from the economic mainstream of the country, and the fact that they constitute the majority of the unemployed, the landless, the informal subsistence sector and the lowest paid sectors of workers in the formal sector;
• The initiatives of government to ensure economic empowerment through programmes such as land redistribution and support to small-scale farmers, industrial restructuring and various mechanisms to support small and micro enterprises;
• The various empowerment initiatives and projects of the WL which have been established over the years.

Conference reiterates

1. Its commitment to the Reconstruction and Development Programme, including the empowerment of women, creation of jobs, improvement of working conditions and the objectives of growth and development as elaborated in the Growth Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) document.
2. In this regard, Conference instructs the incoming NEC to convene within the next three months a Special Conference on Women and Economic Empowerment.
3. To seek representation on forums with government and other sectors of society dealing with socio economic programs.

4. On the Electoral System

Conference notes

• The weaknesses inherent in the system of Proportional representation country operational currently, including weaknesses of accountability.

Conference resolves

1. to continue the debate within the Women's League and in the ANC and Allied structures to examine and find an appropriate electoral system and party mechanisms to ensure the balance between inclusiveness and the responsibility and accountability to constituencies.
2. to ensure accountability by legislatures generally to their constituencies, and women legislatures in particular, so as to empower the mass of women with the necessary information and skills to take full advantage of government resources and contributed effectively to policy formulation and implementation.

4.0 RESOLUTION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LEAGUE AND ITS PUBLIC REPRESENTATIVES

Conference notes

• That the ANCWL has been instrumental in ensuring that women are in three tiers of government;
• The need for greater co-ordination amongst ANC women parliamentarians in Provincial, Local and National government; and
• Between the ANCWL and various women in influential positions in government, especially in the civil service.

Therefore resolves

• That the ANCWL Policy desk should facilitate the ongoing interaction between ANCWL members serving in various legislatures and the League.
• That ANCWL creates forums at various levels of our constitutional structures to regularly consult Members of the National and Provincial Legislatures and Councillors;
• The Policy desk should regularly convene forums of MP's and MPL's and other women in government, civil society and the private sector to discuss policies and legislation of government which impacts on women.

5.0 RESOLUTION ON THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION

This Conference welcomes the revelations by the TRC, and the progress and contribution made by this commission towards national reconciliation by exposing the crimes perpetrated by the National Party's apartheid regime.

This proves beyond any reasonable doubt that the apartheid regime even flouted its own repressive laws to engage in systematic state-sponsored terror against the legitimate struggle of the majority of our people, including defenceless women and children.

Conference therefore resolves that:

1. The ANCWL must continue to give its full co-operation to the processes of the TRC;
2. All those who perpetrated acts of terror against our people, together with their collaborators, must come before the TRC and disclose all they know;
3. Collaborators must be fully exposed; and

4. The previous regime must confess fully before the TRC as a basis for reconciliation and closing off the chapter of apartheid's crime against humanity.

6.0 RESOLUTION ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Conference notes

• That the process of Globalization is generally marginalising women more than any sector in society, particularly women in the Third world and from rural areas;
• That the advances made in science, technology, arts and information in the 20th century have, despite their contribution to the improvement of the human condition, more often been at the expense of women, in particular Third World women;
• The instability and conflicts experienced in some parts of our continent, like the problems in the Great Lakes region, have led to massacres, massive displacement and suffering of people, the bulk of whom are women and children
• That South Africa is an integral part of the Southern African region;
• That solidarity of women throughout the world and particularly in Africa, Asia and Latin America, is an important platform for international solidarity as we enter the 21st century;

• That as a country, we are signatories to international agreements such as the Beijing platform for action and CEDAW.

FURTHER NOTES

• The expressions of solidarity with the struggle for self-determination of the people of Palestine, Saharawi and the struggle for democracy in Swaziland by the speeches of the ANC Deputy President and the ANCWL President.

BELIEVING THAT

• The struggle for women's emancipation in our country is integrally linked to the struggles for social emancipation and gender equality world-wide, and in particular on our continent;
• The ANCWL has a particular role to play in supporting peace initiatives of on our continent, led by the President and Deputy President.

THEREFORE RESOLVE THAT

1. The ANCWL must strive to build bilateral relations with women's organisations which broadly share the same principles and objectives, both in the sub-region, the continent and the Third world in general.
2. To build relations with women's organisations in SADC countries who share our vision and to contribute to the women's movement on our continent and putting gender and children's issues on the agenda of SADC and the OAU;
3. To launch solidarity campaigns with women in conflict situations on the continent, and assist in the peace initiatives under way like in the Great Lakes and other conflict areas on the continent.
4. To participate and involve the WL in a meaningful way in regional, continental and international fore, including various United Nations Agencies and other international fora on gender;
5. To strengthen links with the ANC's department of International affairs.

7.0 RESOLUTION ON CRIME AND VIOLENCE

Conference notes

• The escalation of violence against women and children;

• The problems that survivors experience with the criminal justice system, which discourage women to report abuse, and as a result many cases of rape and abuse escape reporting;

Conference endorses

• The government's National Crime Prevention Strategy as an integrated plan to deal with crime;
• The efforts by the Department of Justice to develop a set of standard practical guidelines for use throughout the country in the chain of handling sexual violence against women; the 'white ribbon' and the dept of Justice campaign to highlight the issue of 'No violence against women';
• The listing of violence against women as one of the priority crimes by the South African Police Services;

Conference comments and supports

• Women who break the silence and report cases of violence and abuse and in particular sexual offences against them and children.

Calls on government to:

• Develop a holistic, co-ordinated and integrated approach to deal with violence against women and children throughout relevant Government departments and NGO's;
• The Justice Department to finalise amendments to the Prevention of Family Violence Act (1993) with the view to effect legislation during 1997, on Domestic Violence;
• Constitute a high level task team resolving all role players to immediately reform substitute law and procedural matters concerning sexual assault.
• To process pass legislation to refuse bail for offenders if they pose a threat to communities and amend laws to provide for minimum sentences for certain categories of crime.

Call on communities and WL branches to:

• Not tolerate crimes
• Participate in Community Policing Forums

8.0 RESOLUTION ON EX-COMBATANTS

Conference notes

• That women have fought side by side with men in the struggle to bring about a democratic society and some have paid the ultimate price; and that we remember and honour them.

Therefore resolves

1. That the ANCWL should interact with ax-combatants structures of the ANC and ex-political prisoners organizations to ensure that the interest of these women and their families are catered for;
2. That South Africa should honour its heroines as part of its national heritage, e.g. in the form of monuments;
3. The League NEC should make a submission to the Department of Arts and Culture on a monument at the Union Buildings in honour of the 1956 Women's march; and that provinces identify other historical sites and monuments in honour of women in their respective provinces.

9.0 RESOLUTION ON THE LEGAL STATUS OF WOMEN

Conference notes

• That our new democratic Constitution adopted represent significant advances in the status of women of our country;
• That a number of laws have been repealed which discriminated against women;
• That despite the above, women continue to be disadvantaged by customary, religious and cultural practices.

Believes that

• There is a need for legislation to give effect to various constitutional rights to eliminate all existing discrimination

Conference resolves that

1. The ANCWL policy desk should look into:

• the prioritization of legislation on the status of women such as the harmonization of customary and civil marriage laws, the abolition of the Black Administrators Act and the Black Divorce Act and amendment of the Maintenance Act;
• To engage in debates to reach consensus on the position of commercial sex workers;
• to timously make submissions to the relevant portfolio committees on legislation which has a bearing on the status of women;

2. Calls on the Department of Justice to establish and extend the Family Courts to all parts of the country.

10.0 RESOLUTION ON PROGRAMME OF ACTION AND CAMPAIGNS

Conference notes

• That the ANCWL can only assume its role of mobilising women for their emancipation of women and transformation, if it has a clear programme of action and campaigns to involve members and structures at all levels;
• That we are on the doorstep of the next General Elections in 1999.

Believing

• That such a programme and campaigns should be based on the most pressing issue facing the majority of women in their communities;
• Through its programme should reach women of all sectors, who are not members of the ANCWL;
• That the NEC should adopt annual themes which should form the basis of the above programmed; and
• Set up monitoring mechanisms to evaluate the programme and the impact of the campaign on the organization and in broader society.
• Our programme should be creative and include social, cultural, religious and sports activities, which reach out to families and unorganized women.

Therefore instruct the NEC

1. To develop a programme based on Resolutions of this Conference and set in place structures for implementation at all levels of the organization.
2. To ensure that the WL actively participate In the Elections structures of the ANC and develop a programrne to mobilise women in behind the ANC.

11.0 RESOLUTION ON ARRANGEMENTS OF CONFERENCE

1. Noting that this Conference was held at a time that League and the ANC face resource difficulties and the problems which thus resulted with transport, queues for food and problems with accommodation.
2. Thanking the ANC leadership, members of the Secretariat, staff and all delegates which made this Conference a success.
3. Recommends that all conferences and events of the League should be organised in a way which ensure that all are treated with dignity and respect and that the League should ensure fund-raising to make this possible.

NEC ADDITIONAL MEMBERS

The Third ANCWL National Conference

Opening Address by the Deputy President
Comrade Thabo Mbeki
Rustenburg - 25-27April 1997

Comrade Chairperson,

For us to gain a full and complete appreciation of the immense responsibility which lies on our shoulders as South African revolutionaries, as liberators of our people, and as social transformers of our world, it is not enough simply to know what we think of ourselves.

A perspective of ourselves and the magnitude of our responsibility which only derive from the subjective assessment of ourselves shall forever remain narrow, inadequate and disempowering.

A more rounded perspective of us and a more complete appraisal of our historical responsibility can only be gained if we appreciate what our people, our continent, as well as the world know and have come to expect of us.

Our proper understanding of the high expectation on the part of the masses of our people about the role the African National Congress should play in transforming the condition of their lives should give us an added strength and even more reason for us to rise and be equal to the challenges posed by our historical mission of national emancipation.

Sometimes one should be forgiven for getting the feeling that we do not appreciate the magnitude of the challenge before us.

The overwhelming mandate which the masses of our country have placed on the shoulders of the ANC is an indication that the democratic majority which awaits the improvement in the condition of their lives know fully well that it is only the African National Congress which possesses the history, tradition as well as the correct policies to help them sustain the momentum in the struggle for the final accomplishment of the goal of national emancipation.

We have no doubt that many students of history shall concur with the statement that our first national democratic elections in 1994 marked the end of the process of decolonization of the African people in our continent.

The question which has arisen in the wake of the end of that process ot decolonization is; Now, whereto Africa?

One still has to come across an attempt at answering this question which does not place our people among the forces which are expected to chart a new direction for the continent.

Again sometimes one should be forgiven for falling into the temptation of thinking that the international community might have a much higher regard of us then we actually think.

The international community fully appreciates the role that we have played in the struggle against Apartheid and racism, the contribution we have made in the international campaign for democracy and peace, the manner and content of our democratic transition, and has given the ANC a political and moral stature in the African continent and the world as a political and moral voice articulating aspirations of many in under-developed and developing countries.

That is the scope and the magnitude of the political and moral responsibility that, not only the masses of our people, but the continent and the world have come to expect of the African National Congress.

Comrade Chairperson,

We felt that it was important to sketch this larger picture in relation to our responsibility in order to emphasise the following cardinal points.

Firstly, to make the point that our responsibility as South African revolutionaries does not derive purely from our subjective assessment of ourselves but more accurately from the objective reality of what our people, the continent and the world expects of us. It derives from the objective reality of our revolutionary historical mission.

Secondly, in order to make the point that the ANCWL is an integral, inseparable part of the African National Congress. A weaker ANCWL is a weaker ANC. A stronger ANCWL is a stronger ANC.

Thirdly, the impact of the struggle ravaged by the ANCWL for women emancipation and gender equality has an impact and relevance on the entire national liberation movement.

In that context, the capacity of our country to meet the aspirations of its people as well as make its contribution in the advancement of human civilization depends on a stronger ANC and a stronger national liberation movement.

We sincerely hope that it is with this larger understanding of our responsibility that this conference is going to deliberate every aspect of the role and place of the African National Congress Women's League in transforming the present condition of the people for the better..

This conference, perhaps more than any other in the past, cries out for frank, dispassionate and open deliberations motivated by the common desire of all its participants to build a Women's League befitting of the sacrifices made by Lillian Ngoyi, Dora Tamana, Helen Joseph, Florence Mphosho and many other heroines who spared neither life nor limb in the struggle for the emancipation of women.

Comrade Chairperson,

All of us assembled here will agree that the recent history of the League has had a fair share of its ups and downs. It has been a history of set hacks and advances.

Indeed, to borrow the words of a Spanish poet, Lorca, it has been a recent experience "half full of cold, half full of fire".

Yet I am certain that all of us would agree that this conference, meeting as it does in the year in which the ANC has committed itself to the cultivation of the cadre and the building of the organization, has set its sights on overcoming the set backs of the past and building on the advances already made.

It is the measure of some of these advances that today we have the Commission on Gender Equality and the Office on the Status of Women. We have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The ANCWL is an organization which has spearheaded the formulation of one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, ensuring that we rank in the top ten internationally in terms of the ratio of women's representation in legislative structures of government.

The adoption of the Constitution has also given a lasting impetus to the advancement of the majority of black and rural women who, for decades, were discriminated against as women in politics. in the constitution, at the work place, in property ownership, in marriage and household.

The plight of rural and illiterate women, the most down-trodden of all women, can now receive priority attention.

The provision of free medical care to pregnant mothers and children under the age of six years as well as the provision of paternal leave relate directly to the expansion of the rights of women

The seriousness with which we take the deliberations of this conference should derive from our appreciation that gender discrimination has adversely affected all sectors and levels of our society. Progress we make in the struggle for a non-sexist society has far-reaching significance to the entire democratization project.

Given this reality, we should accept the proposition that we must measure the success of progress towards reconstruction and development by the advances we make in the struggle for a non-sexist society.

As we have already stated, whilst the struggle for gender equality has been half full of fire with victories on one hand, on the other hand it has been half full of cold with set backs.

Today the most immediate and urgent challenge facing, not only the ANCWL, but the entire progressive women's movement in our country is the question of unity.

We need to restate the point that the objective of attaining total emancipation of our people ought to take precedence over everything else in our conduct of struggle as revolutionary leaders.

Personal differences, personal ambitions for power and glory, personal dislike of each other, are just some of the understandable little evils which are always present in a large and vibrant organization like ours. These little evils should always be subsumed to the larger goal of meeting the aspirations of the majority.

The failure to subsume them to the larger good always holds the danger of thwarting or delaying the advancement of the course of social transformation and social emancipation. At these stage of development they cease to be little devils and turn counter-revolutionary devils. They begin to eat the fabric of our organizations from within like a treacherous cancer.

We can all rest assured that there is no better gift which we can present to forces of counter-revolution, retrogression and Apartheid than to bleed our organisation to death from within through our failure to subsume the excesses of our individual human frailties to the general good of our organisation and our people.

At all times we need to keep in mind that the attainment of political liberation in April 1994 did not signify the total incapacitation of those forces which had always stood against the goal of national liberation.

Testimonies and half-testimonies as well as the refusal by some of the elements from the Apartheid era to tell the whole truth at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission should leave us in no doubt that a network of counter-revolution is still in existence, and it is still going to be preserved and nurtured

The question we need to ask ourselves is; for what good or bad reason.

Many of the forces which were arrayed against the liberation movement, whilst trying to adapt to the changed political situation. will continue in new forms to pursue the anti-people agenda of either diluting or derailing the mission of social emancipation.

If they cannot destroy the progressive organisations of the people from within, they will try from without. If they fail to destroy them from without, they will attempt to establish other anti-ANC formations, often with a helping hand and a resounding applause from the erstwhile Apartheid masters.

Comrade Chairperson,

The cold and brutal point which needs to be stated a thousand times in this conference is that without a strong and united ANCWL, there can be no strong and united progressive women's movement in our country.

So long our country lacks a strong and united progressive women's movement, so long the advances we mentioned above shall mark time .

So long these advances are made to mark time, so long the inauguration of a full non-sexist democracy shall be deferred.

So long the inauguration of a truly non-sexist democracy is deferred, so long patriarchal practices shall continue to confine the majority of our women to something a little more than second class citizens in the country of their birth.

We need to restate the point that the objective to attain the total emancipation of our people should take precedence over everything else in our conduct as revolutionaries.

Comrade Chairperson,

This conference is called upon to look at the progress we have made, identify and eliminate shortcomings in our functioning, identify challenges and opportunities ahead and chart the way forward towards the attainment of the strategic objective of women emancipation.

This conference should draw out a programme aimed at building a new cadre of the ANCWL, building and consolidating organisational structures and working out the mechanism and the programme for the mobilisation of the greatest number of our women behind the policies of the ANC.

We take this opportunity to call upon all our people to place themselves in the forefront of the struggle against physical and sexual abuse of women and children. The accomplishment of this task needs ordinary women and men who, as individuals and in all their organisational formations, are conscious of their collective responsibility both to their common needs and to their shared destiny.

The Programme of Action out of this conference should usher the women's struggle into the next century. The march of 20 000 women on the 9th of August, 1956 dislodged the boulder and set in motion a glorious struggle which has been rewarded with glorious victories. It has been a proud and bitter struggle at great sacrifice to the multitudes of women.

The slogan and chant of that struggle,

"wathint a'bafazi. wathint i'mbokodo, bhasobha uzakafa",

helped to define the fighting spirit of women in the era of resistance. That fighting spirit has been captured in MK battles, in marches, behind prison bars, in books, in films and in songs.

Solomon Mahlangu's mother, talking through the pen of a poet, tells us about the same fighting spirit when she says;

"My fear has been eaten away

        by evil white ants,

like a salamander in the sun.

I used to have the heart

of a lamb

        prudent and kind...

Today I possess the heart

of a ferocious lioness.

My finger itches for a gun

which spits fire."

Today however, we need to complement this fighting spirit with new programmes, new slogans and new songs which should prepare us for the challenges of the approaching century and the new millennium.

We need to set ourselves a new vision, a new strategy, new targets which are consistent with the task of social transformation geared to help us integrate into the global struggle for the promotion of human civilisation, peace and prosperity for all.

In this conference we ought to make a covenant that we shall not cross the threshold of time into the next century still burdened with the sin of gender discrimination and gender oppression.

Certainly, the vision of an African Renaissance should also be defined by the content and space it gives to the expression of the struggle for gender equality.

By all means, we should proclaim to ourselves and the world that the AFRICAN RENAISSANCE WILL ONLY SUCCEED IF CONSTRUCTED ON THE BEDROCK OF WOMEN EMANCIPATION.

Comrade Chairperson,

Our responsibility is immense. The full understanding of the immensity of our responsibility cannot be appreciated solely on the bases of our subjective and self-centred appraisal of ourselves. Perhaps more fundamentally, it also derives from what the people think and expect of us.

I would like to leave you with these thoughts from a poem by our stalwart, Dora Tamana:

"You who have no work, speak
You who have no homes, speak
You who have no schools, speak
You who have to run like chicken from the vulture, speak...
There are no creches or nursery schools for our children
There are no homes for the aged
There is no one to care for the sick
women must unite to fight for these rights
I opened the road for you
You must go forward"

I sincerely wish the honourable delegates fruitful deliberations and a successful conference. I declare the conference open.

THANK YOU.

ACCEPTANCE SPEECH - RUSTENBURG

FREEDOM DAY: 27 APRIL 1997

Cde Cheryl Caroulus, Gill Marcus and Stalwarts!
Cde. Steve Tshwete!
Cde Joe Nhlanhla!
Cde Peter Mayibuye Alias, Joel Lions Kirro and Young Lions!
Premier Popo Molefe - In absentia
Premier Mathew Posa
Dr. Thoko Msane

The in-coming National Executive of the Women's League! The membership of the Women's League from all 14 regions!

I lack the rich, eloquence to thank you all for your extra-ordinary support the entire staff, the women, the mothers of this nation.

It is truly my pleasure to be able to address you today, Freedom Day, the 27th April, I thank all the members of all the provinces for making the arrangement for this event, and I thank all the 60 delegates from each province for attending and thereby making a success of these most August Conference.

I thank my children, my daughters and their husbands, and my grandchildren who have stood by me and provided formidable support systems at the most difficult of times for me. I cannot tell you how many times I was called to the boarding schools especially where my grand-daughters are each time there are hurtful headlines in the media especially where in the latest Stratcom Vehicle - the New Nation which was mistakenly referred to as the relevant media in the old days of our struggle.

I thank the women for providing answers to my grand children as to why the struggle continues to be my life to this day, when we are supposed to be free. I could not explain to them that we are not yet totally free and that the women, particularly the rural women, are far from being liberated. I could not tell that any rumours of non-confidence in the government need to be dispelled without any further discussion and that it was because when I point out our weaknesses which need to be addressed, I am actually doing a self introspection as it is my government too which I collectively put in place and that was eight of our leaders of the ANC and the nation at large.

The amazing vote of confidence is a resounding indictment to carry on with our struggle to rid my people of the last of the last vestiges and remnants of that national cancer apartheid and racism which continues to surface now and again in our midst.

It says to me I must continue to stand for the truth at whatever cost, for this is what I fought for. My pride in these women continues to swell as I observed how upright they are! No one will ever manipulate these women for any sinister agenda. They stood firm against so many odds they stood for the truth, they fought for transparency, democracy and honour and demanded their rightful place in our struggle for the restoration of our dignity i.e. the dignity of the women.

The hallucinations of the media have been tragically squashed, they keep headlining - Winnie is finished -Winnie is a right-off - Winnie bounces back - its them who were a right-off to me. I never went anywhere they leave me standing where they left me and when they are rudely forced to come back, they claim its me coming back. I hope their schizophrenia will now be cured.

We, the women are bouncing into the 21st century, prancing straddling the road to freedom, majestically walking tall, entering the 21st century with pride and determination to achieve total liberation for our children. I will ead you to the promised land now that you have given me the resounding mandate to do so!

No amount of your absurd bad publicity will buy these women. Your distortions of the truth will not blur the vision of these women for a better life for our children.

Just to refer briefly to your lies in the Sunday Times today, the last paragraph of the article refer to;

1. A tcfusal to disclose my affairs or disclosures of my private life. The absurdity of that would be laughable if it was not so sick. These individuals with rotten skeletons in their cupboards have a nerve to say these things.

2. We all know no one in government himself/herself. The car they insanely keep referring to was smashed by their own employees members of the government VIP unit. When I was thrown out of that office the car had been smashed two months before by their employee Durantee. I never used their cars after I left that office.

3. I have no mounting debt. I do not owe the Sunday Times, they are free to produce these mounting debts. They are not maintaining me. I have no idea of the extravagant lifestyle. I have asked my lawyers to kindly get us this information - like most of our struggling people now and again. I cannot afford my bond as I help maintain my six grandchildren.

4. I have never had a cent from my divorce like all black women who are emotionally abused, nor did I claim any - what happened in court was a routine case and argument by my lawyers - editor of the Sunday Times.

So much for the gutter press needless to tell you I will continue to be an embarrassment for the truth I stand for according to the Sunday Times.

To come back to us women:

• What do we have to do to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves
• What's it t'or us

The path to a brighter future is clear. We must hold onto the reigns of power through 1999 into the next century. To do this we must rebuild the African National Congress. Through the regional offices of the Women's League we must reconstruct the organization to its former glory.

While we have been resting on the laurels of our 1994 victory, the enemy has been scheming. What we have is a false security of power. At CODESA we negotiated away real power. Because we thought we were negotiating with men of integrity. Their true colours showed when they walked out of the GNU. Thank God I had predicted their insecurity with my truth. Only in 1999 will there be an absolute majority in government. In the mean time, the enemy together with its spies is putting to work a plan so daring that it would be considered unbelievable.

As we speak, thousands of illegal aliens are entering our borders - 8 Million. I am not talking about the destitute Mozambican who crawl through a broken border fence. I am talking about the ones who fly in from Eastem Europe, Asia and the Far East. I am talking about the ones who can afford the R25 000, to buy a South African ID and a passport.

These ID documents are issued by the Department of Home Affairs. The same department which is in charge of the general elections. The same department that has privatised the running of the 1999 elections to the people who made a mockery of the 1996 matric results. The same department that we do not control.

Everywhere I go women demand equal rights. Women demand emancipation from economic disparity. To this I say, what have you done about it'? Through more than 80 years of sacrifice, our heroes of the struggle gave you the most fundamental of human rights, the rights to self determination. How many of you will exercise that right'? How many of you have renewed your ANC and Women's League membership'?

We as women are the backbone of our society. If we do not start to prepare now for the 1999 election it will be too late. I told you today, I come as a warner. You have now been warned of the danger that lies beneath our feet. If we do not jump to it now the magic carpet that is being guided by our Messiah will be literally pulled from under our feet, and we will go back to wearing mud on our faces.

DELIVERANCE

The time for swift and decisive action is now. We have come too far to give it away.

In our Plan of Action I suggest: We go back to the Freedom Charter, you know how it works. When you get home go to your sister and tell her who you are and what you do. Do this to everyone in your street. Amongst yourselves decide who will be the liaison officer for your street, that is the person who will communicate with other street liaisons and the police when crime is to be reported. The principle is simple - let no sister ever be alone when rape is committed it affects you, because she is your friend. When 200 women march to the police station to report a case of violence against a women, I assure you it will affect the outcome of the sentence.

Together we stand because there is strength in numbers, and there are more women than there are abusers.

The M-Plan is a network of friends. The old welfare system was only designed to cater for 4 million whites, and so never came to the black communities. We need to support one another emotionally, physically and economically, until the welfare system can be implemented in our communities.

If the courtroom is filled with faces that you know from your community instead of jeering men, who will make a fool of you'? How can you be afraid when you know that your community cares about your welfare?

SUCCESSES

The Women's League has a proud record of deliverance of 54 years. From the Defiance Campaign to the Women's Charter. We have shown incredible resolve to see our rights finally in place in the constitution. We were the first to march against pass laws in 1913 in Bethlehem free State. We were the first to defy the unjust laws in 1918 the first leader to visit us in prison was Sol Plaatjie that great son of soil. The gender Commission is now our new vehicle to advance our cause.

It is imperative that we continue this tradition of deliverance if we are to turn the tide of disillusionment in the government. The Bill of Rights is a major battle won, but the war rages on. We must work harder now than ever before to convert our rights on paper to real rights that we can enjoy.

The challenge is clear, and we must rise to face it. Rebuild the Women's League, or trace obsolescence.

We carry with us the hopes of all our women. We are the ones who will champion the cause of the Rural Women, and we are the ones who will be the role models to the daughters of this nation.

The long term plan of the Women's league is to lead the struggle for non-sexist society, and to contribute to the vision of the ANC.

In order to succeed we must be strong. We have leadership structure to take us into the 21st century. In that time we must look to forge alliance with other women's groups sharing the same vision.

In all that we do we must be seen to lead. We must be seen to deliver. We must be the formidable force that gets things done. And all of this we will do with honour, dignity and a vigour that will create hope. We are the pride of the nation

In conclusion how dare that Newspaper which was the first Stratcom vehicle according to Paul Erasmus suggest that the story of my life is worth a ******3m. I wish to advice them as it was a pathetic attempt calculated to damage my election today my story is priceless and is not for sale. I know you needed to upgrade your poor circulation. I do not mind being your RDP. I repeat your problem is that I am not your product have never been and will never be.

You constitute 3% of accessibility to the media according to informed statics - my 8½ million of my people in the squatter camp can not afford your costly newspapers, radios and TV. So your campaigns are worthless to them. I therefore humbly accept the Presidency of the ANC Women's league.

• If some of my colleagues find the truth embarrassing. I will not betray my people and say things, those who are custodians of our power are comfortable with at expense of the cause we fought so hard for.

To you Ma - Nzo thanks for your senior citizen words of advice suffice to say I am one of those who are not used by anyone. My views are mine and they are expressed honestly without shame or guilt. I have never been afraid of the truth. I am in no one's pay pocket.

ANC WOMEN'S LEAGUE 4^TH NATIONAL CONGRESS ELECTIONS RESULTS

A. FIRST ROUND OF ELECTIONS

Number of Eligible Voters     = 840
Number of Votes Cast          = 733

B. SECOND ROUND OF ELECTIONS

Number of Eligible Voters     = 840
Number of Votes Cast          = 776

FINAL

© Liberation Archive 2005. Page generated at 13:01:55; 21 February 2005