Women's Month 2015

Every year we commemorate Women’s Month in August and Women's Day (9 August) marks the anniversary of the great unifying Women's March of 1956, where thousands of South African women across all colour lines, displayed their collective strength in their unity. The day reminds us of all the remarkable women who helped mould South Africa into the democracy it is today.

The theme of Women's Month this year is "Women united in moving South Africa forward" and the main national Women’s Day celebrations will be hosted in Sasolburg, Free State. National Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture, Rejoice Mabudafhasi, said that ”we have reached a stage whereby women have to empower themselves and… women must continue to play a lead role in eradicating poverty and stimulating sustainable development of our economy.”

We celebrate and commemorate women in the Western Cape

As part of Women’s Month the Department of Health today launched its 3 month long Women's Health Awareness campaign from August to October. It will emphasise that the improvement of women's health will benefit the entire population of the Western Cape, because women fulfil a central role in the health of their families and communities.

In the long term, improving the health of women enhances the productivity, social and economic participation and development of families. “We are highlighting the importance of prevention and promotion wellness in order to build healthy, resilient, wellness conscious individuals, and families throughout the Western Cape,” said Western Cape Minister of Health, Nomafrench Mbombo.

During this campaign, the focus will also be turned to the services available to women at our health facilities across the province. Women are encouraged to take full advantage of their free access to a range of health services available at any public health clinic in the province. 

The following services are available to women at our health facilities:

• contraception,
• pregnancy testing,
• termination of pregnancy (TOP) service,
• antenatal (pre-birth) health services,
• birth/labour services,
• post-natal (after-birth) health care,
• cervical cancer screening,
• menopause care, and
• other related counselling and screening services which include:
  • referrals for mammograms,
  • information on self-examination for breast cancer,
  • general information regarding nutrition and wellness, and
  • sexual abuse/rape counselling.

The Department of Social Development (DSD) continues to play a leading role in rendering support and empowerment services to all women in the province.

The department has continued to make services more accessible to the more vulnerable segments of our society, especially women. The Victim Empowerment sub-programme, for example, renders support services through our regional and local offices, which include:

• victim support services at the sexual offences court (Wynberg & Khayelitsha),
• victim impact assessments, and
• crisis intervention, therapeutic interventions, assessment, referrals and prevention.

The levels of assistance needed differ from one case to the next and this is why DSD compiled a comprehensive and detailed guide of where victims of violence can access assistance and services.

This directory distinguishes between all the various role players, and what specific services they render and contains important contact information for:

• police stations,
• medical services,
• Thuthuzela care centres,
• shelters for victims of violence, 
• human trafficking service organisations and 
• psycho-social support services like counselling and other therapeutic services.  

For further reference, please consult the online directory or alternatively you can access the directory at any of the police stations across the province. It will also be made available to all magistrates, libraries and other organisations working in the victim empowerment sector.

National Women's Month 2015

A month of celebrations

The national government is set to host a variety of events to celebrate women's achievements in the country, along with dialogues on the opportunities and challenges facing women today. Every week of August will focus on a specific sub-theme:

• Week 1: Celebrating Women in Fashion.
• Week 2: Celebrating Women in Film.
• Week 3: The fight against human trafficking and labour exploitation of women.
• Week 4: Economic Empowerment (Financial Inclusion of women).

Find out more about the details of the events planned for these 4 weeks.

Your thoughts on Women's Month
We asked a few people their opinion on what women's day means to them. This is what they had to say.

Tevin Van Wyk (21), Mitchells Plain	Sika Lamani (22), Khayelitsha	Welekazi Tywaku (42), Nyanga East	Naseeba van der Speck (29), Salt River	Sharon Cupido (59), Kensington	Chantelle Le Sar (37), Plumstead
"Women’s Day is basically honouring the women in each and everyone else’s lives. They are women who made an impact and a difference in all of our lives and basically honouring them and giving them a day to themselves. I feel that every day should be Women’s Day because without women, this world would not exist so this is quite a big day for them."	"It means we must love the women especially those women who are single, those who cannot support themselves, those who have lots of children and those who are out there in the streets being raped. We need to support them by having a centre, bringing them in and making them feel loved because they cannot feel loved if we judge them and say they are drinking because we do not know how God made them. They are on the streets not because of themselves but because God has a plan for them."	"I can say that I am proud that I am at a woman at my age because I am a mother of 3 children, a married woman so it makes me proud and my children are at school. I am a single parent as my husband passed away, but I am proud because my children are growing and I am working. I am born in Cape Town and I like Cape Town very much."	"Women’s Day is all about celebrating women but it should not just be on one day, it should be every day."	"Women’s Day means that we can be proud and thankful to our “Tata” Nelson Mandela for opening the way for us and also for people like Archbishop Desmond Tutu."	"I think it is brilliant that we actually do have Women’s Day considering the fact that if we look at history, it is all about men and if we look at now and the future, it is all about the women and they are making more difference than what a fleet of men could ever make."

Watch: Minister Susan Shabangu launches Women's Month 2015 programme