As the country celebrated Women’s Month, the University of Mpumalanga painted the town red with a series of splendid and engaging events to empower women from all walks of life. The celebrations kicked off with a three-day conference where the university hosted the South African Chapter of International Association of Women Judges (SAC-IAWJ) in celebration of their 15th year of existence. Welcoming the guests, UMP Vice Chancellor Professor Thoko Mayekiso said: “The conference is about sharing ideas about how to empower and protect ourselves and the generations yet to come, against the scourge of Gender-based violence and toxic masculinity.”
UMP Women’s Month celebrations kicked off with a three-day conference where the university hosted the South African Chapter of International Association of Women Judges (SAC-IAWJ) for their 15th year celebration.
Themed: Women Empowerment: A shawl and a shield in the fight against sexual and Gender-based violence, the conference attracted women from all spheres of the judiciary. Delegates presented their daily challenges of Gender-based violence cases that they deal with in their courts.
The conference opened on the 08th of August with a special dinner held at Ingwenyama Sports and Wellness Centre. Opening the conference Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane said that she believes in the independence of the judiciary and its important role in building a democratic South Africa.
On the night, Justice and Correctional Services Minister, Ronald Lamola mentioned that the conference placed the empowerment of women at the centre of everything in his department.
“The years of big data must enable us to reduce abuse, and we in the department, have already started embarking on a programme related to the integrated justice management system that will enable us to respond to the changing conditions in our society.”
He added that Gender-based violence is no longer on the streets or in our houses but it is now on the Internet.
“It’s coordinated in a very sophisticated way. We must be able to move at a fast pace and be more sophisticated than the perpetrators of crime. Legal professionals may also increasingly rely on artificial powered intelligence with digital assistance, which will grow smarter and process more information.”
UMP Vice Chancellor Professor Thoko Mayekiso gave a powerful address to delegates. In her speech she raised awareness on the causes of Gender-based violence and that such crimes no longer have a place in this day and age.
“Our freedom is not complete when more than half of our citizens live in fear and under threat of violence. Our freedom is not complete when the other half feels so insecure that they assert themselves through brutality,” she said.
Professor Mayekiso added that she was pleased that the country’s legal minds chose to host this gathering in the month when we celebrate women.
“The conference is about sharing ideas about how to empower and protect ourselves and the generations yet to come, against the scourge of Gender-based violence and toxic masculinity. We also wanted to discuss optimal ways to conflict resolution, and ensure that men and women, boys and girls can work harmoniously showing mutual appreciation for one another.”
Also weighing in on the issues of Gender-based violence was Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng who, in his keynote address, cautioned delegates to be sensitive mostly when giving bail to the murder and rape accused.
“We shouldn’t be having problems that we encountered before, where evidence material gathered in the case shows that there is a likelihood that the perpetrator of violence when released would do what he did or even worse threaten the victims,” he said.
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng also talked about the issues of transformation saying that women should be put in positions of power on merit.
“We have a collective responsibility. Its never going to take us forward if the situation is made to look like men are opposing the advancement of women, at least not in the judiciary. We will never deny any deserving woman the opportunity to advance but similarly we will never be apologetic about saying ‘No’ to the alleviation of a woman who is not equipped for a position that she wants to be elevated to. If we do that it would be a disservice to the judiciary.”
Thanking women judges and other guests, Professor Mayekiso said: “You have assembled in an institution alive with promises and possibilities, unencumbered by the weight of tradition that was rooted in the ugly part. Our challenge is that of building a post-apartheid institution,” she adds.
“We are heartened to have collaborated with you in co-hosting this conference, precisely because collaboration is one of our values. We value such experience and affirmation as part of our pioneering journey.”
To continue with the Women’s Month Celebrations, the university also hosted other events: the Stop Gender-Based Violence campaign, where measures to create safe spaces at UMP were discussed. The event was opened by a march led by Professor Mayekiso, staff and students. It then proceeded to a dialogue where Gender-based violence prevention was discussed. Survivors also shared their stories of triumph.
To round off the celebrations, UMP women were treated to a breakfast session themed: Unleash Amazing, where female staff gathered to be inspired, motivated and celebrated.