The mandate of the department is to promote, facilitate, coordinate and monitor the realization of the rights of women, children and people with disabilities.
When the President announced the Ministry for Women, Children and People with Disabilities in May 2009 and proclaimed the establishment of the department in July 2009, he emphasised the need for equity and access to development opportunities for the vulnerable groups in our society.
In terms of section 7(5)(a) of the Public Service Act, 1994 (promulgated under Proclamation No. 103 of 1994, 6 July 2009) the national department of women, children and people with disabilities was instituted to
“monitor other government departments to ensure the mainstreaming of gender, children’s rights and disability considerations into all programmes of government and other sectors. This will help government to respond to issues of these targeted groups in an integrated and coherent manner”
(2009 National Women’s Day celebrations the President made this statement).
The President further reiterated, in his State of the Nation Address in February 2010, that the need to integrate gender equity measures into government’s programmes of action to ensure that women, children and persons with disabilities can access developmental opportunities.
The Bill of Rights in the Constitution enshrines the rights of all people in our country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom. The overall goal of the departmental Strategic Plan is to promote the achievement of equality and eradicate discrimination against women, children and people with disabilities and links directly to the rights protected under the Bill of Rights. All the activities of the department’s programmes will aim at giving effect to those democratic values.
The work of the DWCPD is not governed by any singular Act of Parliament. It is informed by a range of national laws that inform equality, empowerment, human rights and human dignity processes. The DWCPD in execution of its mandate draws on and informs, where necessary, a range of legislation pertaining to the three (3) sectors:
A range of national policies inform equality, empowerment, human rights and human dignity processes. These include, among others, the following:
