This week on Womanity – Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Member of Parliament from the Kingdom of Lesotho – Mamoipone Senauone, who also serves her country at the Pan African Parliament. Ms Senauone sheds light on interventions in Lesotho that focus on educating girls, including free primary education, encouraging the pursuit of science and technology studies, distributing sanitary protection so that menstruation does not interrupt their schooling, and promoting the return of young mothers to attend school. We note the need to address gender-based violence as social, cultural and economic impediment to the progress of girls and women.  Additionally, we look at the role of politics and the power to influence positive change through policies. Tune in for more…

This week on Womanity – Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Professor Kinta Burger, the Registrar of the University of Johannesburg, who explains her core function concerning  facilitating the academic administrative life-cycle of every student at the institution, stretching from recruitment to graduation; promoting student well-being through an interdisciplinary approach; and striving to provide access to global excellence. We discuss mathematics as a gateway subject for STEM fields, noting some of the outreach interventions that the University of Johannesburg has in place to encourage high school students to nurture their math skills. We note that young people lack exposure to alternative careers, particularly those residing in rural areas. We remark on the role of science, technology and engineering for jobs of the future and the ethos of the University of Johannesburg to fulfill its vision of The Future. Reimagined. Tune in for more….

This week on Womanity – Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to South Africa’s Minister of Social Development – Susan Shabangu, who previously served as Minister of Women in the Presidency, Minister of Mineral Resources. She has been a member of parliament since the inception of South Africa’s democracy in 1994. The Department of Social Development’s main responsibility is to address the needs of vulnerable members of society and uplift them. For example, the Department issues social grants to 17 million people, 12 million are children. The Department has shifted its focus from welfare based to developmental based and to this end embraces private public partnerships. Minister Shabangu highlights some of the Department’s activities with respect to women, including education programmes that afford teenage mothers a second chance to become productive members of society, gender responsive budgeting, and preventative gender-based violence programmes. Tune in for more….

This week on Womanity –

Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Professor Antje Schuhmann from

the Political Studies Department at the University of the Witwatersrand, whose

research areas encompass feminist theories, gender-based violence, postcolonial

theory and memory politics amongst others.  We discuss some of the factors that contribute

to gender-based violence committed against women in South Africa, which include

rising levels of socio-economic disparity, men being sidelined and retaliating against

women, a history of a culture of violence, legacy effects of colonialism and apartheid.  We debate the representation of women in

parliament, comparing some countries in the West with countries in Africa, noting

that countries with more recently formed constitutions are more contextually

relevant and have greater numbers of women in their parliaments. Tune in for

more….

This week on Womanity –

Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to South Africa’s Minister of

Science and Technology – Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, whose cabinet career has also

seen her serve as Minister of Communications and Minister of Energy. Minister Kubayi-Ngubane

highlights recent developments in Science and Technology, particularly in the

space sector. We speculate about the impact that the 4th Industrial Revolution

(#4IR) will have on the economy and evolution of new industries; emphasising

that programmes should be directed to support South Africa’s triple challenges

of unemployment, inequality and poverty. The Department of Science and

Technology recognises that its sector represents the future of work and therefore

it is vital that girls participate in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering,

Mathematics) subjects to the highest level. However, to keep girls in this subject

stream requires financial aid, support structures, experiential opportunities

and exposure to potential careers. Tune in for more….

This week on Womanity – Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks

to Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia – Loide Kasingo, who has served as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, as well as Deputy Minister of

Regional and Local Government and Housing, and Vice President of the Pan

African Parliament. Ms Kasingo highlights some of the work she is engaged with

at the Pan African Parliament, such as female upliftment, youth empowerment and

ensuring Africa’s natural resources benefit its people. Ms Kasingo remarks on the

need to recognise women’s unpaid labour in the home. We reflect on female

leadership in Namibia, and the increased participation of women in politics,

especially the ruling party SWAPO, and the prospects of a female president in five

years time.

This week on Womanity – Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the Ambassador of Norway to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Madagascar and Lesotho – Dr. Astrid Emilie Helle.  We discuss some aspects of her work, and Norway’s focus on addressing global issues which become common agendas to advance both local and international efforts in various domains. Norway has some specific women empowerment programmes that it facilitates in Africa through a rights based approach, covering five key pillars: access to education; sexual and reproductive health; political empowerment of women; economic empowerment of women; and addressing gender based violence. Female political leadership is prominent in Norway. The current Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Speaker of Parliament are all women. Ambassador Helle shares some of the contributing factors that allowed pioneering women to lead, such as being a country where democracy and human rights are important and inequalities are limited. We talk about some mechanisms to equip women, such as education, being resilient, coping with setbacks, building confidence, stepping up to opportunities and not trying to be superwomen.  Tune in for more…

This week on Womanity – Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks

to South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Tourism – Elizabeth Thabethe, who has been

a member of parliament since 2014. She reflects on some of parliament’s

outcomes during South Africa’s transition into democracy, such as changing

almost every law in the country and establishing a constitution with a human

rights culture. She reminds us that up until 1993 women were treated as minors,

requiring permission from their husbands to open bank accounts, to apply for

credit and to own a business. Minister Thabethe’s earlier career as a trade

unionist set her on the path to fight for women’s rights. During her tenure as

Deputy Minister of Small Business as well as Deputy Minister of Tourism she has

promoted and facilitated women’s empowerment via programmes developed in the ministries

that have resulted in successful female owned businesses. Tune in for

more…

This week on Womanity – Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks

to South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration – Dr.

Chana Pilane-Majake through a gender lens. Dr. Pilane-Majake discusses the

inclusion of gender focal points in every office of government to mainstream

gender and the importance of cascading this philosophy into business to attain

their commitment for gender transformation. We reflect on some landmark cases

during Dr. Chana Pilane-Majake’s term as CEO with the Gender Equality Commission,

encompassing feminization of poverty, primogeniture and the right for women to

receive inheritance, engagements with advertising authority standards on the

portrayal of women in the media, and other work that contributes to improving

the lives of women in South Africa.  Dr.

Chana Pilane-Majake highlights the need to create or resuscitate national

gender instruments to advance the status of women. Tune

in for more…

This week on Womanity – Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks

to South Africa’s Minister of Public Service and Administration – Ayanda Dlodlo

about prior milestones in her diverse career, spanning private and public

sectors. We discuss key developments planned for the department from

establishing a fully fledged government employee housing scheme to the role of

the African Peer Review Mechanism to foster accountability and good governance

across the continent.  Minister Dlodlo

highlights government as a trend setter with respect to gender representation

and pay parity, which ideally should flow over into the private sector. We

remark on the need to strive for gender parity across the board and the

implementation of effective penalization for non-compliance. We look forward to

a world where women hold more positions of power and leadership. Tune in

for more…