FULL SPEECH: President Cyril Ramaphosa Delivers 2020 National Women’s Day Address

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

On this Women’s Day, I greet you, the inheritors of the noble legacy of the women of 1956. Sixty-four years ago, our mothers, daughters, sisters and grandmothers stood defiant and proud, united in their demand to live in freedom. 

They stood not for themselves alone, but for the rights of the generations of women yet to come.

This day provides all of us with an opportunity to reflect on the road we have travelled since then. 

As a country, we have much to be proud of. 

We have made gains in advancing women’s rights, in broadening women’s access to education, in the provision of health care and social support to women, and in improving their participation in the economy and decision-making.

At the same time, we know that the lived reality for millions of South African women is very different to the promise contained in our Constitution.

We know