These were the words of Minister of Women in the Presidency, Bathabile Dlamini during a seminar in Tshwane yesterday on the issue of landless women.
The seminar was organised by the Human Sciences Research Council. Its aim was to add women’s voices to the debate on the expropriation of land without compensation. The time has come for women to get back the land!
Discussions focused on the challenges faced by women to owning land. Dlamini said women must have access to land because it dictates the power relationships.
“We must be able to negotiate issues of economic development through more land and access to the property,” she said. She said the Constitution must be changed for the better.
Dlamini said women faced challenges with financial support. “If you look at the economic ladder, women are at the bottom. They are left out when we speak of economic development.”
She added that the issue of land and ownership was big. “It is made small, but it is a big issue because women have to claim the land where their forefathers settled, not new land.”
Dlamini said women should also be united. “We need to stand for what we believe in.” Dlamini said the outcome of the discussions will form part of a submission to the constitutional review committee which is dealing with the land issue.
Source: Daily Sun
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