Thank you very much for gracing us with your presence as we launch Women's Month, a month that has been set aside to remember and pay tribute to women who, against all adds, changed the course of history, through their tenacity and determination. 48 years later, women today are still playing that pivotal role in building and mobilising our communities.

As we launch this very important initiative in the Western Cape, we remember the depth of popular resentment towards oppression by the women who marched to the Union Buildings on the 9th of August 1956. This resentment and stance against injustice led to a gigantic protest involving tens of thousands of women from all over the country, led by the likes of Albertina Sisulu, Lilian Ngoyi, Ruth Mompati, Rahima Moosa, Helen Joseph and Sophie De Bruyn, to mention just a few.
It was Lilian Ngoyi, who, appalled and outraged at the Bantu Education Act of 1953, uttered these words, "My womb is shaken when they speak of Bantu Education."

In today's society, we, like Lilian Ngoyi and many others, should be outraged and bolstered into action when we witness any policy designed to train our women and children to occupy an inferior position in life.
We come from a past that used our racial and ethnic differences to our sow division. A past that has exploited our different religions and cultures to our detriment. We have overcome those hurdles, but the socio-economic challenges that often mean some amongst us go to bed hungry, some live in squalid conditions and some have no means of earning a decent living, those challenges, continue. And nowhere is this reality more evident than in Khayelitsha. And yet, in the midst of that poverty, at our country's third democratic elections recently, the people of Khayelitsha exercised their hope and faith in our government, by giving us a 92% mandate to change their lives.

Indeed we have plans to change their lives. We are busy with the vigorous implementation of these innovative programmes, designed to respond to the dire needs of our people. Only then can we realise our vision of making the Western Cape, a Home For All. A caring and safe Home for all, especially women and children, who despite attaining representation and political freedom, continue to be the most vulnerable of our society.

The scourge of HIV/AIDS affects all facets of our society but women the most. It is women who, in their endeavour to make a living and feed their families, are left vulnerable and exposed to HIV/AIDS.
Initiatives run from this clinic as part of our Urban Renewal Project, such as the Mothers to Mothers To Be programme, The Rape Survivors' Programme and the Youth Centre, have yielded positive results and taken us a step further towards normalising our society. But much work remains.

Our government recognises that the enduring success of the HOME FOR ALL will not be possible without recognising and empowering women. We believe that our 20 deposits, which we have promised to implement in the first 100 days of our administration, will lay a solid foundation for our vision.

The Bambanani Againt Crime Campaign, run by our department of Community Safety, makes it possible for communities and our government to jointly address the plight of women who have been victims of crime and violence.

Our department of Agriculture has been facilitating a remarkable Women in Agriculture Programme. We recognise that in many cases today, women are the ones responsible for food security in the household and they do much to alleviate poverty in our communities. The department launched a food security project run by women here in Khayelitsha Town 2, in Mitchell's Plain and Worcester. Through these projects, the department provides women with infrastructure and the necessary tools for them to run vegetable gardens. Their yield has since shown such remarkable growth that thse women are now not only able to feed their families, but are able to market their products in the community. The vegetable produce is further used to augment the needs of the soup kitchens in schools and shelters.

Recently, the Women in Dialogue was launched and enjoyed much support, drawing women from all walks of life. In the coming weeks, we will work towards launching our own provincial Women in Dialogue. In so doing, we will maintain the momentum of creating the space for women to speak, share and drive initiatives that they recognise as important.

Every year, South Africans take time, during this month, to ponder on an event that has inspired and will continue to inspire women for generations to come. So I invite you all now as we launch this important month, to draw lessons from the past, to remember the inspiration that propelled our women leaders into action 48 years ago. I invite you to join our government in building a Home for All, and most importantly, a safe and caring home for our women and children.

This launch tonight takes place at a very significant and reflective time in South Africa. We are celebrating 10 years of democracy, ten years of a miracle that has made our country, South Africa, a beacon of hope. Our country remains the truest example of what mankind can achieve through reconciliation and dialogue. Indeed the role of women in utilising the power of literature, the power of the written word to reflect these achievements and challenges , cannot be denied.