Domestically we now have constitutionally enshrined rights for women and we have seen our parliament change from one almost solely dominated by men to one in which women occupy 30 percent of all the seats. In South African civil society more than four thousands womens organisations currently exist to provide various support and services for women. Unfortunately, however, these positive statements do not convey the whole truth about the status of the majority of women in South African society. As a country we have simply not been able to translate these positive developments into tangible improvements for South African women.

 There is no set of principles and rules for men or women only. There is only one set of principles and rules that apply equally to men and women. As leaders you must see how you can exploit the rules to the benefit of women or if the rules are not women friendly you must unite women to change them.
 Society sometimes judges women differently using the same rules.
 As with so much in this country we need to face up to the challenge that is demanded of every South African, namely to turn our lofty policies and stated ideals into meaningful change on the ground.
 Many women believe they are not born to be leaders and therefore they always support men. We must break this destructive perception in women.
 In this respect I dont believe in having a separate youth or womens wing in the Independent Democrats. This relegates these two sectors to second-class members.
 If an issue is important to women then it is important to the Independent Democrats and we will fight for it through the party.
 Women have played a huge role in the struggle for democracy and we must recognise and draw strength from that.
 We have emerged from a sad history in South Africa where many people sacrificed their lives to bring about this democracy.
 During those years we were only concerned with getting democracy for our people. We didn't stop to think what we would need to do to protect it once we had obtained it. This is the question, which we now have to ask ourselves.
 We have a great deal to be proud of in South Africa. It would be wrong to say that we have not made some important gains over the last nine years of our democracy. We have had two peaceful national and local elections where the majority of the South African voting population took part.
 We must avoid being accused of women just getting together for the sake of getting together, but we must show the country that where we do get together, we are able to change things.  We must change the perception of women talk-shops, by showing results.
 We have the separation of powers and a judiciary that is not afraid to sanction the government when it feels that it is acting unconstitutionally.
 These things you can view as the overall framework of our democracy and I would claim that in this regard we are doing remarkably well.
 Democracy is not just about organs of state or government institutions though. The mere existence of a constitution or a free press does not guarantee that they will be used effectively.
 We need to be vigilant in ensuring that our democratic gains are used to enforce our fundamental human rights. These institutions and structures are only as effective as the people who run them and the pressure that is brought to bear on them by the broader public.
 When one starts to analyse our democracy from that perspective then there are a number of areas that we need to address if we want our democracy to not only survive over the next ten years, but to thrive.

Separation of Powers
Parliament is becoming a toothless institution due to parliamentarians acting along party lines

Weak and Ineffective Opposition
Opposition in this country is divided along racial and sectoral lines
Opposition will not be able to effectively challenge the ANC's majority unless it is able to appeal to South Africans across the traditional divides.

Voter apathy
Disengagement of the public from politics

Corruption
Unacceptably high levels of corruption
The Corruption Perception Index 2003 compiled by Transparency international shows the worrying fact that South Africa has become more corrupt over the last 5 years

Unaccountable and unresponsive government to the needs of the people
ANC is not implementing its own policies and living up to its own standards

Social Breakdown
Urgent Need to arrest poverty, unemployment, HIV/AIDS, crime etc
These social problems are probably the greatest threat to our democracy, as people will become desperate if we do not address the poverty that the majority of our people live in.
These social problems are probably the greatest threat to our democracy as people will become desperate if we do not address the poverty that the majority of our people live in.
Women and children are the most vulnerable sector in terms of these social problems
Therefore it must be women who take the lead in fighting for socio-economic rights.
There is currently a call to get more women into parliament.
I would caution against this though, unless women are put in there with a specific agenda.
What is the purpose of having more women. Is it because you want more dresses or you want to advance the issues of women.
As women we must also not be afraid to criticize other women leaders when they dont act according to our wishes.
Minister of Health and two MECs for Health are an indictment against women.
We need to bend this tree of ours while it is still young. The Independent Democrats is determined to do just that and ensure that our democracy thrives for all of us over the next ten years.

Conclusion
The best thing that women can therefore do to safeguard South Africas democracy is to join the Independent Democrats and contribute to the building of a powerful opposition party in South Africa that cuts across race, culture and gender lines.
 It is time for us as women to take our destiny into our own hands. Lets discard the victim mentality that has shackled us for so many years. Forget about complaining about the actions of men and boldly state that we as women will not allow anyone to mess up the future of our families or country.

I thank you