Former Minister Speeches
I am both humbled and honoured to address you all this morning. It is heartwarming to see so many women writers gathered here both local and from Africa and the Diaspora.The title of this gathering of African women writers is : “Women’s Words: African Worlds”: renewing a dialogue between African Women Writers and Women of African Descent”.
Today we meet here to honour a great South African woman who made an immense contribution to the people of South Africa, a woman who although she was taken away from us and deliberately silenced, is still loved, a woman who many of us remember and still treasure through the memories we have of her.It is for all these reasons that we chose to honour Dulcie September during Women’s Month; the month when we celebrate and commemorate the courage, perseverance and resilience of South African women. It is this month that reminds us that we have travelled a long and difficult journey to ensure that our country’s democracy is not only non-racial but also non-sexist.
I am delighted to be here today in Shanghai as we celebrate and commemorate a day, which is very important in the South African national calendar.On this day, which is our National Women’s Day, we honour the role of women in our society and we also pay tribute to the women in the liberation movement who through their efforts contributed in bringing freedom to our country. In this way we also reaffirm the role that women can play in advancing society towards achieving a better life for all.
I am delighted to be here today in Shanghai as we celebrate and commemorate a day, which is very important in the South African national calendar.
On this day, which is our National Women’s Day, we honour the role of women in our society and we also pay tribute to the women in the liberation movement who through their efforts contributed in bringing freedom to our country. In this way we also reaffirm the role that women can play in advancing society towards achieving a better life for all.
I have pleasure to announce a number of events that our department will host during Women’s Month. Since time immemorial, women have always played a central role in the socio-economic development of society. In 1956 in South Africa 20 000 women led by Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and Sophie de Bruyn, made an immense contribution to our struggle when they came together, both black and white, to show solidarity against the pass laws. Through their actions, they helped to lay the foundations for the building of a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic country. It is for that reason that our democratic government has declared August as Women’s Month.
We meet here today both as art lovers and as a freedom-loving people to pay tribute to an extraordinary leader and a remarkable man.
We meet here today to pay tribute to a remarkable man, a leader and a hero, a living legend, who is very special in the eyes of South Africans and in the eyes of the world.
It is with great pleasure and privilege that I greet you this afternoon. You will recall that before and during the FIFA Soccer World Cup spectacular we had football Fridays to build the momentum, to count down the time to the start of the tournament and to ignite and fuel the spirit of African and South African and patriotism and unity. Today marks the first Friday after the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup was hosted for the first time on African with great success by our beloved country, South Africa. We are indeed honoured and privileged to be African and to be South African.
I am deeply delighted to be present at the launch of what promises to be a great institution. I applaud the women in the arts for coming together and organizing themselves in this manner, it could not have come at a better time. This is an important move as your very presence indicates a critical mass as women artists and as part of a Women’s Movement for emancipation, as we still face challenges as women.
The In-coming Chief Executive Officer of Iziko Museums of Cape Town, Ms Rooksana Omar;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is with great pleasure and privilege that I greet you this afternoon. You will recall that before and during the FIFA Soccer World Cup spectacular we had football Fridays to build the momentum, to count down the time to the start of the tournament and to ignite and fuel the spirit of African and South African and patriotism and unity. Today marks the first Friday after the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup was hosted for the first time on African with great success by our beloved country, South Africa. We are indeed honoured and privileged to be African and to be South African.