Helping women make waves in water field
THIS year’s 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children provides our young and rights-based constitutional democratic nation with yet another opportunity to punch holes into the scourge of abuse that has become the order of the day for the vulnerable members of our society.
There has been an enormous outpouring of condemnation over abuse of women and children, but this seems to have done little as this scourge continues.
Almost daily the public is treated to story after story of spine-chilling acts committed against the defenceless.
It is mind-boggling that there seems to be an illogicality that accompanies these cowardly acts of violence. This is the expectation on the part of the perpetrators of these disgusting acts that everyone should adopt a grovelling meekness towards them. The expectation from them is that the public should somehow genuflect or pat them on the back for demeaning the humanity of those who are most vulnerable.
The campaign this year therefore gives us an opportunity to look anew at the victimisation of our women and children and calls on us to recommit to work harderto uproot these cowardly acts.
In this regard, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is playing a pioneering role in championing the cause of women by reversing their almost acceptable exclusion from the water and sanitation sector. Through the Women Entrepreneurship Incubator Project, the department seeks to push back the stereotypes that are associated with the water and sanitation sector as the preserve of men.
These efforts by the department may give rise to some querying the nexus between issues of water and sanitation and women abuse. The obvious answer is that the abuse of women and children is not only confined to physical abuse. This abuse should not be seen only through the lenses of physical victimisation of women and children as it manifests itself in various ways, some of which may not necessarily be obvious. Accordingly, women have always borne the brunt of an assortment of abuses. Before the advent of democracy, women endured the most ruthless of discriminations that included prevention from playing a meaningful role in developing themselves and their families. They were the first in line as victims of unemployment, growing poverty and inequality.
Drawing on these experiences, the Women Entrepreneurship Incubator Project is a catalyst project in changing the face of the water sector. The aim, therefore, which goes to the heart of collapsing the walls of gender discrimination and sexism, is to facilitate a safe and supportive environment where women entrepreneurs are able to start up and sustain their businesses and access opportunities in the sector. To ensure women take up their rightful place in society, the department’s project is divided into deliverable objectives and activities that seek to ensure the project achieves what it was designed for.
In this regard, we are working to create a supportive business development environment for women-owned entrepreneurs in the fields of science, engin- eering and construction broadly needed by the department as well as providing skills and experience required by participants to ensure they succeed in business and in the water sector. The defining philosophy behind the project is to produce independent and sustainable women-owned enterprises thatremain active participants in the water and sanitation sector.
Speaking at the launch of the project, Minister Nomvula Mokonyane eloquently explained the multifaceted nature of women abuse when she said historically, access to water, like access to many rights and privileges, were determined by race and gender.
She said since access to water was inextricably linked to access to land, the right of Africans and women to access water was further limited by limited access to land, 13percent of which was reserved for Africans under apartheid.
“An investment in women is one of the most important investments we can make to address the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment. In turn, such an investment will bring about the triple benefits of growth, prosperity and international competitiveness,” Mokonyane pointed out. Hosia Sithole, assistant director Department of Water and Sanitation, Gauteng