Programme Director
Mayor of Stellenbosch, Alderman Willie Ortell
President of the Stellenbosch Sport and Recreation Association, Mr Steve Smith
Chairperson of the Western Cape Women and Sport Committee, Ms Thelma Achilles
Chairperson of the Transformation Committee, Mrs Winnie Quma
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

Today, we commemorate the struggle of women for South Africa's freedom and recommit ourselves to the global fight for equality of women. We also during the month of August honour the women who fought for freedom so that our society could work together to consolidate democracy and push back the frontiers of discrimination and poverty.

As we celebrate women's rights and gender equality, we recommit ourselves to speed up progress by helping to achieve the goals of the Women's Charter, the Freedom Charter, the South African Constitution, the Beijing Platform of Action and the UN Millennium Development Goals.

Ladies and gentlemen, women in South Africa have reason to celebrate National Women's Month. Freedom has brought many improvements in the lives of many of our women. This is reflected in the growing number of women occupying executive positions at national, provincial and local government spheres and are also making inroads into the mainstream economy.

Ladies and gentlemen all these phenomenal achievements for women empowerment are courtesy of the ANC as the ruling party in post apartheid South Africa.

We are gathered here today for a specific purpose - to celebrate the empowerment of women and girls within the sport and recreation mainstream of the Western Cape, South Africa, Africa and indeed within the international sport and recreation arena.

It is this specific focus that holds the most appeal to me in my capacity as the MEC and the legal custodian of sport and recreation in the Western Cape. It is in this specific role that I want to express my appreciation for this particular programme arranged for today.

It is an indication that the Department has made some strides in establishing a structure of civil society dedicated to the advancement of women and girls' empowerment within the sport and recreation sector.

It is also an indication that that there is buy-in to the said agenda as illustrated by the role the Sport and Recreation Association of this area has played in putting this sector dedicated programme together.

Together we must ensure that all women enjoy their rights.
The challenge is to ensure that these improvements are accessible to all women. As we review the progress of the first decade, let us resolve to speed up the development of women in the second decade.

Most women are still marginalised in the second economy. All sectors of society should help ensure that programmes to expand access to credit, the Expanded Public Works Programme, Learnerships and other skills development programmes and general economic empowerment - are in practical reach of women who need them.

During Women's Month those who represented our country at the UN Commission on the Status of Women in Beijing in February this year will bring us the global voice of women united for a better world, a better Africa and a better South Africa as we mobilize to take forward the Beijing Platform of Action

Having said that I want to state that is also quite pleasing to note that there's a focused collaboration between the Province and the municipalities in driving this specific agenda as a joint-venture.

Programme Director, ladies and gentlemen, let us pause in order to reflect on the challenges that are still facing women and girls within the Western Cape sector, and the programme of action that is warranted to address these specific challenges.

Gender Equity and Access

Women and girls still have to entrench themselves in the Western Cape mainstream of sport and recreation as Administrators, athletes, technical officials (i.e. referees, umpires etc). In an attempt to facilitate access, the Department has on an ongoing basis provided capacity building initiatives to increase the number of marginalized players in priority codes. These include a number training programmes geared towards empowering women to take their rightful place within the sector as administrators, athletes, coaches and technical officials. However, all of us must unequivocally commit towards the implementation of programmes that will ensure that sought ideal is pursued with more vigour.

Sport and Recreation Facilities

Our sport and recreation facilities still remain a safety and comfort hazard for women and girls athletes. They cannot train in a safe and secure environments especially after nightfall or in the evenings in pursuit of the optimal realization of their talent.

My Department is already setting and implementing norms and standards within the facilities provisioning programme that will ensure that adequate security lighting is provided at our public sport and recreation facilities. By so doing we would be creating a comfort space for women and girls athletes to train in a ideal environment that is designed to realize their full potential and not to be hampered by inadequate security measures as lighting at training venues.

Rural Women and Girls

Our sisters and children, especially in farming communities of our province do not only face abject poverty but continue to live in a sector situation of marginalisation. They do not have sport and recreation facilities as platforms for practicing their sport and have no opportunities of pursuing their god-given sporting talents.

My Department is already developing and implementing a long-term strategy for facilities provisioning programme that seeks to address this problem and ideally collaborate with Education Department to provide requisite facilities at farm schools to elicit joint utilization by learners and the surrounding communities. It is my view that this will create a space for participation of women and girls in sport and recreation.

Sport and Recreation Survival kits for Women and Girls

Despite the multitude of sport codes practiced within the Western Cape sector that are essentially about the art of self defence in society, our sisters and children still remain victims of domestic violence, muggings and rape. Plans are already afoot to roll this out for the next three years.

Imparting the skills for self defence to the women and girls of our province should become an unequivocal commitment by all of us in ensuring that they no longer fall victims of domestic violence, muggings and rape.

In conclusion ladies and gentlemen, I wish all participants god speed in the sport activities that have been arranged for this day's prgramme. I also wish to invite the Executive of Women and Sport provincial structure to regularize their meetings with me in order to strengthen and advise me on the challenges they are facing on an ongoing basis.

In my capacity as the MEC responsible for Cultural Affairs, Sport and Recreation, it is an honour and privilege to declare 2005 Women's Day Sport activities officially opened? LET THE GAMES BEGIN.

For further media enquiries please contact Mandla Yeki on 082 5533477.

Mandla Yeki
Spokesperson for:
Ministry Cultural Affairs and Sport
Tel (021) 483 9804
Fax (021) 4839801
Email: myeki@pgwc.gov.za