9th+Congress,+Political,+6+of+8,+National+Womens+Movement

Draft Adopted Resolutions of the 9th COSATU National Congress

 * (For advance study purposes only. Wait for the printed edition, or refer to the official [|COSATU web site]for the authoritative version)**

Political Resolutions, 6 of 8
=1.6 National Women’s Movement:=


 * Noting:**

1. Today, 50 years after the women’s march to Pretoria to protest the pass laws, the struggle for women’s total emancipation is far from over.

2. The way in which gender issues are raised, even in the past decade of our democracy, has focused mostly on women representivity at the expense of broader issues affecting women. The current top-down approach adopted by organisers of the National Women’s Movement (NWM) undermines the intention of empowering women in all sectors of society.

3. The emergence of other social and support groups like the Progressive Women's Movement aiming to empower women, which could however be hijacked by elitist and BEE-type groups, which would reproduce and exacerbate the widening inequalities in South Africa.


 * Believing:**

1. The time has come for the working class of South Africa, 12 years into its new democracy, to define a clear working class perspective on the thorny issue of not only the triple (class, national and gender) oppression and exploitation of women, but also how to most effectively mobilise all working class women and men to struggle for full and true equality within and between the sexes.

2. The radical approach that we used to fight racial discrimination and national oppression must be adopted in fighting gender inequality.

3. The struggle for gender equality should be waged by women and men the gender content of our revolution cannot be effectively addressed unless we have a strong working-class led progressive women’s movement at the head of such a struggle.


 * Resolve:**

1. A forum of women activists within COSATU and SACP should be established to develop intervention strategies to promote working class leadership as well as take up issues affecting the women’s workers and the poor within the progressive women’s movement.

2. To support the NWM and its aim of empowering women and removing gender bias. The NWM must owned by all women in South Africa.,

3. COSATU should build a new working relationship with the NWM only around specific issues that are pro-poor and pro-women workers.

4. COSATU Provincial Gender Structures must be the driving force to take issues to the NWM. The gender structures must: > a. develop a clear programme that deals with poor women struggles in society, and > b. develop a clear reporting structure, i.e. at local level, regional level, and national level.

5. Women in COSATU must be encouraged to join the ANC and SACP Women structures