Panyaza leads Gauteng Women’s Day celebration

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Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi led the Women's Day in Tshwane

The Gauteng Provincial Government joined the rest of South Africa in celebrating Women’s Day and honoring the heroines who marched to the Union Building in 1956.

This year’s provincial Women’s Day proceedings took place on Friday, 09 August 2019 at the Union Buildings in Tshwane under the theme, “25 Years of Democracy: Growing South Africa Together for Women’s Liberation”.

The event commenced with a 2.3km walk from the Women’s Living Monument at Lillian Ngoyi Square to the Union Buildings led by Gauteng Provincial Government MEC for Education, Mr Panyaza Lesufi.

The Women’s Day this year marks the 63rd anniversary of the 1956 women’s march, an act of bravery demonstrated by the women of South Africa who bravely protested against the apartheid brutal laws. Over 20 000 women took part in the march to voice their grievances on that day.

MEC Lesufi, said “We are here to celebrate our women because if it was not of the sacrifices made by the 1956 women, we would not be where we are as a country.

“The women fought for freedom when it was not imagined that women could stand up for their rights in the world and that is why today we are putting the girl child first in Gauteng,” he said.

Girls who attended the march were given a “dignity pack” consisting of a tooth brush, toothpaste, face towel, roll-on, lotion, and sanitary towels.

Attending the march was also Gauteng MEC for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Ms Mbali Hlophe.

She said “while we honor the women who fought for freedom in the past, we also celebrate women of today.

She said since 1994, the Gauteng Provincial Government has done a lot of work in empowering women with programs such as Tshepo 1 Million and Welfare to Work and will continue to do so.

“As women, we are an integral part of transforming and growing our country towards a viable socio-economic destination. There is a lot that we still need to do to transform and develop our country particularly in the areas of women development, women health rights, gender transformation, and women abuse,” said MEC Hlophe.