South Africa: Brics Countries Urged to Focus On Issues of Gender Equality
Monday, March 3, 2014
Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini has urged officials and experts from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), attending the Inaugural BRICS seminar on population matters, to give special attention to exchanging ideas on advancing both gender and reproductive health rights.
“South Africa has made many advances in promoting gender and reproductive health rights in the past twenty years, but more still needs to be done. “As experts on population matters, I urge you to engage on this matter, drawing lessons from all our different experiences, in order to further promote gender and reproductive health rights in our countries and the world,” said Minister Dlamini on Sunday in Mpumalanga.
A presentation by the South African delegation showed that in South Africa, women are still vulnerable due to exposure to gender-based violence, and the reproductive health rights for black women remain limited. In order to contribute towards addressing these problems, the Department of Social Development is currently piloting a 24-hour helpline which victims of gender-based violence can call for support and guidance by trained social workers.
Source: All Africa (link opens in a new window)
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