Pic :Elderly women received food hampers as z as a token of appreciation
By Lwazi Raul-Shongwe and Kopano Dibakwane
Mpumalanga Government hosted the Provincial Women’s Day celebration which was attended by dozens of community members at Fernie, in the Chief Albert Luthuli Municipality.
The event offered a platform for women is business such as Nomshado Madonsela(Construction), Bonisile Shongwe( Mining), Hloni Thabethe (Tourism) and Nompumelelo Nkosi(Agriculture), to speak to the community as a form of motivation to other women, especially the youth.
The keynote address was delivered by the MEC for Culture, Sport and Recreation-Fidel Mlombo, who encouraged women to take advantage of government empowerment programmes, so that they can participate in the economic activities in the fight against poverty.
Mlombo said that women have fought hard to claim their space in society, also acknowledging that change came too slow for the women in rural areas.
“Both the apartheid oppressive laws and the established traditional culture treated women as minors who could not think for themselves. Women empowerment is not just a slogan but it is a movement whose time has come.
” It cannot be stopped and it must never be reversed. Elimination of barriers against women working in certain sectors or occupations should become a priority, especially in the private sector,” said Mlombo.
