August is Women’s Month and women and men across the country unite against different forms of oppression, perceptions against women and to highlight achievements attained since the dawn of democracy. After 20 years of democracy and freedom, women still endeavour to eradicate traditional practices such as forced marriages where a woman is forced to marry her deceased husband’s brother as culture, ukuthwala (practice of abducting young girls and forcing them into marriage) perpetuated by men,
workplace inequalities such as employers preferring males in senior positions and gender-based violence.

Government has made progress over the years to ensure that the gender gap is bridged. The number of women ministers and deputy ministers has doubled from 18% in 1994 to 40% in 2010, about 36% occupy senior-level jobs in government, and up to 44% members of the legislature on a national and provincial level are women. More laws to fight gender-based violence were also introduced.

In this issue of Mbalo Brief, we highlight our series of Census 2011 educational articles focusing on Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. The article features, among other things, the information about population growth, the unemployment rate, access to basic services and toilet facilities. Solutions for July’s puzzle and a new general knowledge crossword puzzle are included on page iv. Read more about our articles profiling the performance of industries such as electricity, mining and motor trade. Articles published in this issue are based on results of industry surveys conducted for the months ranging from May 2014 to July 2014, which were released in July 2014 and August 2014. For full details on any of the surveys, visit our website at www.statssa.gov.za

“Malibongwe igama lamakhosikazi” (Praise be to women)

Download Mbalo – Brief August 2014