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President Jacob Zuma will on Sunday, 09 August 2009, deliver a keynote address at the National Women’s Day celebrations in KwaZulu Natal province, Vryheid, Bhekuzulu Sports Grounds.

The 2009 National Women’s Day Celebrations are jointly hosted by the Ministry of Arts and Culture, the Ministry for Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities and the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government.

This year’s Women’s Day celebrations take place under the theme “Together empowering women for development and gender equality”, a call by government to all sectors of society, to unite in a national effort for the advancement of women in all spheres of our national life. 

The 2009 Women’s Day celebrations mark the 53rd Anniversary of the historic 1956 Women’s anti-pass march and it is an opportunity to pay tribute to the ordinary women who have contributed to our liberation and to the building of a united, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa.

As a build-up to the main event, the two Ministries will on Saturday, 08 August 2009, host a gala dinner where 18 Kwazulu-Natal-based projects will receive funding to the value of R11.5 million as part the Department of Arts and Culture’s Investing in Culture Programme.

Through the Investing in Culture Programme, the Department provides empowerment opportunities for unemployed people through skills development, training and job creation. Since 2005, the programme has benefited 95 projects in Kwazulu Natal to the value of R54 million.

Government has made great strides towards the achievement of legislative equality between women and men. Many women have benefited from the expansion in the provision of basic services including water, electricity, sanitation and provision of social security benefits, amongst others. Government acknowledges that more still needs to be done to ensure that all women are uplifted from the conditions of poverty and underdevelopment.

Noting the importance of the social and the economic empowerment of women, Government has established a Ministry dedicated to serve the interests of women, children and persons with disabilities. The establishment of the new Ministry is an important milestone and will go down in history as one of the progressive steps in addressing the challenges facing women.

President Jacob Zuma will be accompanied by the Minister of Arts and Culture, Ms Lulu Xingwana, the Minister for Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities, Ms Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya, the Premier of KwaZulu Natal, Dr Zweli Mkhize and other senior government officials.

In addition to the national celebrations, various provinces will host mini events in commemoration of the Women’s Month.