Plea for women to gain from land reform

Johannesburg - Women must benefit from the passing of the new land reform bill, the Progressive Women’s Movement of SA (PWMSA) said on Wednesday.

"As the PWMSA, we anticipate that the bill will serve women’s rights and interests in all respects, including the right to land," said PWMSA national convenor Prof Hlengiwe Mkhize.

The 1992 Land Policy document called for special procedures to ensure women gained equal access to land.

However, this has not yet been achieved because of the slow pace of the willing buyer, willing seller system.

"Women are still the face of poverty, inequality and unemployment," said Mkhize.

The PWMSA urged the government to ensure land reform programmes were consistently monitored to guarantee women as beneficiaries, so they could be official land owners.

It asked that proactive steps be taken to ensure women participated in land reform programs.

It also requested that "women-only" agricultural and other income generating activities were encouraged to address the food security issue.

The PWMSA said that 100 years on, the legacy of the 1913 Natives Land Act remained despite the eradication of racial discrimination

"It is manifested through the present day social ills, such as the extreme poverty levels, joblessness, making our society one of the most unequal in the world," it said.

"As the PWMSA, we will continue to intensify the struggle for women’s total liberation until transformation outcomes are tangible to women; with land ownership being a significant indicator of transformation and things yet to come," said Mkhize.