This year’s session comes after parliament embarked on a process to review the women’s rights regime from 2019 to 2021. It intends to take stock of the progress made to implement the 1994 Women’s Charter for Effective Equality.

“Now that we have developed the Women’s Charter for Accelerated Development, what we are currently doing is to come back for feedback and accountability from our different provinces and our districts,” says the National Council of Provinces’ (NCOP) Deputy Chairperson, Sylvia Lucas.

Parliament says in a statement that it is embarking on reporting back sessions, giving the provincial and local government the opportunity to report back to communities on the progress made with implementing commitments made at the provincial high-level sessions with regard to the Women’s Charter.

Review sessions were held across all nine provinces - 44 districts and eight metropolitan municipalities - which culminated in the adoption of the 2021 Women’s Charter.

Lucas notes that they found the legislative framework is in place. However, the implementation and resourcing of the different policy programmes are still not responding to women’s needs. Therefore, the charter will address the issue of women’s empowerment, particularly with regard to socio-economic inequalities.

The session is led by Lucas and it is expected to be attended by the permanent delegates to the NCOP, and will serve as a road map for effective policy re-design and implementation going forward.

The event will receive feedback from the Free State Provincial and Local Government leadership, including the Premier Sisi Ntombela, MECs, mayors of the Fezile Dabi, Lejweleputswa, Xhariep and Thabo Mafutsanyane District Municipalities.

OFM News/Bambatha Giko