Communications Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane has encouraged men to protect women and children as government embarks on the seventh National Imbizo Focus Week.
“To our brothers, fathers, sons and uncles: let’s stand up and say not in our name that a woman shall be beaten, not in our name shall a woman be raped,” Minister Kubayi-Ngubane said.
She was speaking during a radio interview on Monday on SAfm about the National Imbizo Focus Week, which will focus on raising awareness on gender based violence as well as World AIDS Day.
The 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign was launched this weekend under the theme ‘Count Me In: Together Moving a Non-Violent South Africa Forward’.
Minister Kubayi-Ngubane called on men to stand up for women and children by ensuring that they are protected.
“We [need] men in this country to say it is barbaric to treat a woman and a child in an inferior manner. We need to see [men] helping… We know that there are good men in our country who are showing responsibility every day.
“We also want them to help in raising the boy child so that we don’t have boys who grow up to be bitter,” Minister Kubayi-Ngubane said.
The Imbizo Focus Week will run from 27 November – 3 December under the theme ‘Together we move South Africa forward’.
Focus on HIV
Minister Kubayi-Ngubane said it was important to educate young people about HIV/AIDS.
“We need to make sure that we do not incur new infections as a country so that the rate of new HIV infections and mortality decreases,” she said.
South Africa will on 1 December 2017 join the world to commemorate World AIDS Day, which seeks to unite the global community in the fight against HIV, show support for people living with HIV and remember those who have passed away.
The Imbizo Focus Week is an opportunity for government to engage the public in the implementation of its Programme of Action to help improve the lives of South Africans.
During the Focus Week, leaders across the three spheres of government will interact with citizens countrywide on the steps that have been taken to implement the National Development Plan (NDP).
The implementation of the NDP is being fast-tracked through the Medium Term Strategic Framework, a five-year programme which was adopted by government in 2014.
The Medium Term Strategic Framework is government’s first five-year implementation plan of the NDP, covering the period 2014 to 2019 and has 14 outcomes, which include education, health, safety and security, inclusive economic growth, job creation, infrastructure development, nation building and social cohesion. – SAnews.gov.za
