South African’s National Liberation Movement

Media Statement

ANC STATEMENT ON INTERNATIONAL DAY OF RURAL WOMEN 2024

The African National Congress (ANC) salutes the unwavering strength, resilience, and revolutionary spirit of rural women on this International Day of Rural Women. This year’s theme, “Rural Women Sustaining Nature for Our Collective Future,” is a clarion call to recognise the centrality of rural women in protecting our land, safeguarding our resources, and advancing climate resilience.

The ANC’s 55th National Conference reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that rural women are not merely passive beneficiaries of land reform but are positioned as key drivers of the transformation of ownership structures.

Their leadership is essential in dismantling the legacies of dispossession and environmental exploitation. By empowering rural women in this way, the ANC seeks to restore the dignity of those who have been marginalised for generations and enable them to lead in reshaping land-use and resource management in South Africa.

In line with this commitment, the government has rolled out various initiatives to address systemic imbalances such as skills development, resource allocation, and even the digital divide. These efforts include land reform programmes that provide rural women with access to land and agricultural resources, as well as targeted support for women-owned businesses through the Department of Small Business Development. Additionally, education and skills development programmes, through further education and training, like TVET initiatives, have been extended to rural women, enhancing their economic participation and ensuring sustainable livelihoods.

Comrade President OR Tambo whom we celebrate this month reminded us that the liberation of women is central to the liberation of society as a whole. Through rural women, in particular, we are reminded daily that the land is both our heritage and our future; recommitting us to ensure rural women’s full participation in economic life, access to land and the necessary resources. As rural women continue to play a critical role in building climate resilience and securing our collective future, we recognise that their struggles for justice, equality, and land are inseparable

from the broader revolutionary project of building the national democratic society.

The ANC will continue to fight for policies that ensure the full inclusion of rural women in the economic and political life of the country, as we pursue a just energy transition that leaves no one behind.

 

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ISSUED BY THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS.

Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri
National Spokesperson

For media enquiries:

Mothusi Shupinyane Ka Ndaba
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084 498 0105