MAKHADO – As August is dedicated to women countrywide, the Makhado Women’s Forum has already drafted its programme of action aimed at signifying the importance of Women’s Month and dispelling the myth that a woman will remain inferior until she dies.

The programme of action, which includes all four sub-regions of the Makhado Municipality, has already begun in the Waterval region with the presentation on women and education on Thursday.

When asked about the significance of celebrating Women’s Month within his municipality, Cllr RS Nkuzana said “It is crucial that we celebrate the significant roles played by women as our mothers, sisters and wives as they have been oppressed for generations. Women were not allowed to participate in certain responsibilities, since certain jobs were reserved for men. That doesn’t mean that women did not possess capabilities and qualifications for those jobs. Nkuzana said that part of the programme of action for Women’s Month in his municipal area would be to encourage women to pursue education as well as inform them on how they can actively and constructively participate in the Black Economic Empowerment concept.

“In all our regions, we will be telling women to grab the huge opportunities available to them in various programmes of the government. Doors are now open for all women to compete with men. In the past, men were regarded as the ones determined the boundaries. Presently, only the sky is the limit,” he said. Nkuzana said that all women must participate actively in all activities planned to mark Women’s Month celebration. “This is their month to celebrate their womanhood and in that regard we want to urge men to give women the necessary support they deserve. In our region, we will first check the problems that women are going through on a daily basis, so that our activities will be based on reality,” he said.

Cllr Mavhungu Luruli of the Makhado Women’s Forum said that since women have got the right to live, their programme of action will be focusing on aspects such as empowering women economically, the campaign on violence against women and children, including other vulnerable individuals, as well as a presentation on women and health.

Asked about the primary objectives of the activities or presentation, Luruli said that the presentation will serve to reduce the high rate of illiteracy among women by encouraging them to further their studies. She encouraged women to report all kinds of abuse they might be encoun-tering to the relevant authorities.

Luruli said that if people cannot form part of the Women’s Month celebrations in the Vuwani, Dzanani, Waterval and Makhado regions, they must, however, come to the Makhado Municipality’s Women’s Day celebration at the local show grounds on August 27.

Tomorrow, Saturday, August 6, women in the Makhado region will be gathered at Vhuilafulwi stadium, while on August 13, all women in the Dzanani area are requested to assemble at Ramavhoya stadium. On August 14, the Makhado Women’s Forum will be making a presentation to all women of Vuwani at the Univen Centre at the township.

On August 17, there will be a campaign on violence against women and children at the Eltivillas taxi rank. On August 20, the Women’s Forum will revisit Vuwani, but this time around, they will make a presentation on women and health at the Vuwani-Univen Centre.