Latest news with #Chikunga
Eyewitness News
12-06-2025
- Eyewitness News
Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disability laments rising reports of femicide in SA
JOHANNESBURG - Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga has lamented the rising reports of femicide in the country. In a statement released on Thursday, she mentions that about 7,3 million South African women have experienced physical abuse, with more than two million having been sexually violated. Chikunga says she believes these statistics are propelled by the harmful social norms that discriminate against women and girls. ALSO READ: Govt must declare GBV, femicide a national disaster, say activists According to the National Library of Medicine , an academic article, South Africa's femicide rates are five times the world's average. In the most recent incident on 1 June 2025, 14-year-old Likhona Fose was found murdered in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg. A week earlier, Olorato Mongale was found dead in Lombardy, also west of Johannesburg. She was last seen alive reportedly with a man she had been dating. Chikunga agrees that the country's femicide rates are high. Department spokesperson Cassius Selala said, "The murder of women and girls is the most extreme form of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), with South Africa being known for having one of the highest rates of femicide in the world. Women, who make up 51.5% of South Africa's population, face ongoing violence or femicide.' Chikunga has also challenged men to commit to changing harmful norms and toxic masculinity.
The Citizen
06-06-2025
- Health
- The Citizen
She PowHer summit 2025 sparks dialogue about menstrual dignity in Sandton
The She PowHer Foundation hosted its landmark She PowHer Summit 2025 on May 29 at Artistry in Sandton, under the powerful theme: Invest in Human Capital. The summit brought together leaders in government, corporate South Africa, education, and development to reframe menstrual health as a matter of public investment, economic justice, and human rights. The event was held a day after World Menstrual Health Day, which was a rallying call to make menstrual equity a national priority. Keynote speaker, the Minister of Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, delivered a passionate address, calling for greater accountability and transparency in how menstrual dignity funds are spent across provinces. 'This ministry must be the one to answer questions around how provinces are spending the money, whether or not they are buying sanitary pads from women-owned companies. It is not about women's issues; it's about dignity, equity, and basic human rights.' Also read: SAOA encourages women to take care of their eye care Chikunga confirmed that, through national treasury allocations, the department distributed sanitary pads to schools across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Free State, and the Northern Cape in 2024, focusing on quintile 1–3 schools and disadvantaged communities. She also highlighted the implementation of the Sanitary Dignity Framework, which prioritises free, quality, and SABS-compliant menstrual products in public institutions. The summit featured dynamic speakers, including representatives from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Aspen Pharmacare's Dr Stavros Nicolaou, and humanitarian Yavi Madurai, all echoing the urgent need to shift menstrual health into the mainstream of development discussions. Read more: Women Investment Network ignites movement for gender equity in investment landscape At the helm of the movement is Dr Ruth Apostolov, founder of the foundation, whose advocacy has resulted in the distribution of more than 30 000 menstrual cups across Southern Africa. 'This is more than a summit; it is a movement. We are saying Africa doesn't need to import solutions, we manufacture them.' Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok for the latest updates and inspiration! Have a story idea? We'd love to hear from you – join our WhatsApp group and share your thoughts! At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Star
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
South Africa, UN Women host G20 stakeholder engagement meeting on inclusive growth
JOHANNESBURG, May 26 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) hosted a stakeholder engagement in Johannesburg on Monday to promote inclusive growth under the country's Group of 20 (G20) presidency. As part of the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group sessions, the G20 Stakeholder Engagement meeting was themed "Advancing Inclusive Growth for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities through South Africa's 2025 G20 Presidency." "Our G20 platform must center the lived realities of women, youth, and persons with disabilities, not as a footnote, but as a foundation for recovery and growth," said Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga. According to her, with South Africa's economy growing at just 0.7 percent annually, well below global averages, economic opportunities also remained deeply unequal, with two-thirds of South Africans living in poverty and 40 percent of adults, primarily young people and women, either unemployed or discouraged from looking for a job. Chikunga said South Africa's G20 leadership should go beyond ceremonial participation. "This is not only South Africa's G20. It is Africa's G20, and it must be the People's G20, shaped by those most affected by policy decisions, yet least represented in decision-making spaces. In short, this is a call to elevate our presidency from event-based diplomacy to outcome-driven action -- and to shape a legacy that lives far beyond our leaders' forum that will be seated later this year." Deputy Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Mmapaseka Steve Letsike said the country's G20 leadership role also aims to drive systemic transformation in favor of women, youth, and persons with disabilities worldwide. "Our presidency is an opportunity not only to influence international dialogue but to lead by example in implementing real, impactful, and measurable change for those who have historically been excluded," Letsike added.
The South African
22-05-2025
- Business
- The South African
South Africa's G20 legacy will be measured by 'lives changed'
Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, says the legacy of South Africa's G20 Presidency will not be defined by the number of meetings held, or the elegance of its communiqués, but by 'lives changed, systems reformed, and the power redistributed.' Chikunga made the remarks at the opening plenary of the Women20 (W20) South Africa Inception Meeting, currently underway in Cape Town. The W20 is the official G20 engagement group focused on promoting gender equality and women's economic empowerment. The 2025 Inception Meeting, hosted under the theme: 'Women in Solidarity', marks 10 years of W20. The meeting brings together over 100 global delegates representing government, business, academia, and civil society. The two-day Inception Meeting, which started on Wednesday, convenes thought leaders, including policymakers and change-makers from across the globe to explore high-level interventions and innovative solutions to the challenges facing women today. In her address, Chikunga said the gathering is not an endpoint, but a beginning of a call to mobilise transformative change for women around the world. She said the region stands at a pivotal moment, where the African continent has the opportunity to shape the course of global recovery, and where the Global South can reimagine the social contract. 'We stand at a pivotal moment, where we can prove that leadership from our regions is not only possible – it is indispensable. Let us leave this space with a shared resolve: to structure women's voices into the heart of public policy, budgets, institutions, and outcomes,' the Minister said. Chikunga invoked the legacy of South African heroines, like Charlotte Maxeke, Ruth Mompati, and Albertina Sisulu, saying their fight for freedom serves as a reminder that 'freedom without equality is fiction.' As part of Chairship of the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group, Chikunga said South Africa has conceptualised several empowerment programmes intended to advance, through sustained partnerships, and beyond G20 term. These include the transformative emerging industrialists accelerator, and the disability Inclusion Initiative (DII). The transformative emerging industrialists accelerator is designed to support emerging women entrepreneurs in priority sectors such as energy, maritime, defence and aerospace, platform economies, and agriculture. Participants will receive end-to-end support, from ideation and product development to financing, market access, and commercialisation, in collaboration with SOEs [State Owned Entities], private companies, and industry associations. The DII is South Africa's flagship programme to embed disability rights and inclusion across policy, institutions, and society. Anchored by the establishment of a Disability Inclusion Nerve Centre, the DII initiative will drive: • Research on inclusion across the care economy, AI, financial access, and climate adaptation;• The establishment of a National Disability Data Observatory to strengthen decision-making;• Development of early childhood disability screening protocols;• Capacity-building through disability focal points; and • Support for inclusive schooling and access-enhancing technologies.
