The Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Nomusa Dube-Ncube has lamented that gender-based violence (GBV) is still ravaging communities, saying it's a blot on South Africa.
PICS: The commemoration of Women’s day in KwaMashu, Durban in pictures. The Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Nomusa Dube-Ncube lamented that gender-based violence (GBV) is still ravaging communities, saying it's a blot on South Africa. @IOL pic.twitter.com/na6h5Cbrn7
She says the scourge is stopping women from achieving their full worth and robbing our country of benefitting from the talents of all especially women.
Dube-Ncube was speaking on Wednesday at Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu, north of Durban where the province held its women’s day commemoration.
The commemoration was attended by hundreds of people from within Durban and outside of the city.
WATCH: The EFF in KwaZulu-Natal held its Women’s Day celebration in Nongoma in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The party is a coalition partner of the ANC and the NFP and they recently ousted the IFP from the municipality, the seat of the mighty Zulu kingdom. @IOL pic.twitter.com/TEY6DML8hm
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) August 9, 2023
Addressing the commemoration, Dube-Ncube who hails from the township, gave a background of how the new South African under the leadership of the ANC has opened up doors for women like her.
She told the gathering that in the late 1990’s became the first woman mayor of the then North Central Council before it was merged into eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.
She later made history by becoming the first woman premier of the province since 1994 when the country was ushered into democracy.
“Today I am standing in front of you as the proud first woman Premier of the Province of KwaZulu-Natal since the dawn of democracy in 1994.
“Tomorrow on the 10th of August, it will be exactly my first 365 days in office as the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal,” she told the commemoration.
PICS: The IFP's Women's Day event at Mpembeni, ward 13 under the City of Umhlathuze (Richards Bay-Empangeni) in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The ANC has since cancelled its counter event, which was to be staged in the area. The ward will soon have crucial by-elections. @IOL pic.twitter.com/18VgFT0SLn
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) August 9, 2023
She added that means everything is possible for women under the leadership of the ANC government.
“It means I am not dreaming up women empowerment and gender equality. Although still a long way ahead, I am living proof that it is possible.
“It means the ANC government has anchored strong pivots on the ground to ensure that gender equality programmes are firmly mounted and engraved in the books of governance in the Republic of South Africa.”
Despite all these achievements, Dube-Ncube lamented that women are still victims of GBV, saying it was worrying that the nearby township of Inanda was leading in the bad books of the scourge.
“Holding the Women’s Day celebrations in KwaMashu is significant, highlighting the many challenges faced by our communities which include unemployment, poverty and Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) here and in the surrounding areas.
“It is a shame that Inanda police station has now become notorious because it is a leading GBVF hotspot nationally,” she said.
She said it's a shame that a township like Inanda with its rich history is leading in cases of GBV throughout the country.
“This is the Inanda in which Madiba came to vote at Ohlange in 1994 for the first time in his life, this is the Inanda of the founding President of the ANC John Langalibalele Dube.
“A stone’s throw away from here, once walked the great global peacemaker Mahatma Gandhi.
“Over the years, on the sacred mountains of Inanda, millions of Shembe faithful have gathered to worship and to nourish their spirits.”
To counter the scourge, Dube-Ncube said they have created 21 shelters for abused women and men across the province.
“The Province also has 29 White Door Sites. A white door is a site that operates as a localized reception-assessment-referral (RAR) site and is in or as close to the community as possible.
“During Men’s Month in July, we called for a new Man to be born as true leaders and protectors and builders of society and communities.”
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
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