The Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Lydia Chikunga, has addressed a dialogue where she emphasised the right to equality of each individual and the need to dismantle it across society.
"We are not only discussing policy we are renewing a moral covenant that no woman, no girl, no person should ever have to negotiate their safety, their dignity, or their worth. This is the generation that must make equality irreversible," she said.
The Minister was addressing the Intergenerational Dialogue on Building Positive Masculinities for a South Africa Free from Gender-Based Violence and Femicide.
Mondays dialogue was an official side event of the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group EWWG and comes ahead of next weeks Ministerial Meeting.
Bringing together voices such as Advocate Joyce Maluleke, Director-General of the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities DWYPD to advance conversations on building positive masculinities for a South Africa free from gender-based violence and femicide GBVF.
"We are gathered to confront a deeply entrenched truth: which is, inequality is sustained at the intersection of belief, custom and power. I am of the view that, the challenge is not faith or culture themselves, but rather how they are sometimes interpreted and practised in ways that legitimise male dominance, silence women and girls, and normalise violence and exclusion," she said.
The Minister also spoke about the Positive Masculinity Initiative, a partnership between the department and the GBVF Response Fund, United Nations Resident Office and related UN Offices.
The initiative focuses on redefining manhood and transforming social norms engaging men and boys through schools, faith spaces, initiation forums, sports and workplaces and supporting communities to adopt local charters on positive masculinity among others.
"Later this month we will convene the Positive Masculinity Conference to consolidate this national framework and align it with the broader G20 effort," she said.