PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa said women are the mothers of Mzansi.
He said this while addressing women at the Union Buildings ground on Wednesday, 9 August.
The commemoration of the brave women of 1956 started with a march from Pretoria CBD to the Union Buildings.
He said they are still moved by the images of women like Lilian Ngoyi, Rahima Moosa, Sophia Williams-De Bruyn and Helen Joseph carrying armfuls of petitions.
"We remember the courageous struggles waged by women against oppression, from those who stood up against colonialism and slavery to those who risked jail rather than carry the hated dompas," he said.
Ramaphosa said there should be policies and laws focusing on advancing women.
"Our education must prioritise the advancement of women. The health of women must be a key priority. Young women make up the majority of students enrolled in higher education institutions.
"Women need to have the financial security and independence to have control over their lives," Ramaphosa said.
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He said the government is determined to make the most of the available resources to make a difference in the lives of young women, women with disabilities, rural women and the LGBTQI+ community.
Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said women must have access to justice as there are serious problems with women accessing justice.
"The LGBTQI+ community must stop being killed, discriminated against. They have rights like all of us. Women must be part of big corporate in South Africa," Dlamini-Zuma said.
Anti-apartheid activist Sophia Williams-De Bruyn said an army of women had been awakened in Mzansi.
"We see it in most spheres, in the international space of the global arena. Let's be united and love one another," she said.
Meanwhile, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said Mzansi women must get whatever they want without delays.
"The 9th of August is not a ritual but an affirmation that all our women are too special for government," Lesufi said.
