Realizing women’s rights for an equal future on Women’s Day
There is no doubt that South Africa has made significant progress towards achieving gender equality since 1956, when 20 000 women marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August in protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women. Activists rebelled against a patriarchal system designed to control women and reduce them to submissive beings at the mercy of men.
As part of the global movement towards achieving gender equality by 2030, South Africa celebrates this year’s Women’s month under the theme: “Generation Equality – Realizing Women’s Rights for an Equal Future”.
Today, South Africa’s progressive laws have seen more women serving in high-ranking positions in government than ever before. Access to education by young girls and women has improved substantially over time. Recent statistics1 depict a balance in gender parity ratios (GPR) amongst those who are functionally literate from 0,95 in 2002, to 0,99 (zero – no gender equality to one – full gender equality) in 2019, indicating that more women are now literate.
In SA and globally, one of the biggest challenges facing women is educational inequality. Access to education has played a pivotal role in ensuring that women have progressed to higher education levels. According to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2019 country report, GPR for female participation in tertiary education was 1,39 during 2016, underpinning the fact that significant strides have been achieved in ensuring universal access to education for everyone.
For the full article please visit: http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=14559
Source: http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=14559
