Cape town: 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.

According to South African Government News Agency, the Minister was addressing the Intergenerational Dialogue on Building Positive Masculinities for a South Africa Free from Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. Monday’s dialogue was an official side event of the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group (EWWG) and comes ahead of next week’s Ministerial Meeting. Bringing together voices such as Advocate Joyce Maluleke, Director-General of the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD), the event aimed to advance conversations on building positive masculinities for a South Africa free from gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).

The Minister highlighted the deeply entrenched nature of inequality, sustained at the intersection of belief, custom, and power. She noted that the challenge lies not in faith or culture themselves, but in their interpretation and practice, which can legitimise male dominance and normalise violence and exclusion. The Positive Masculinity Initiative, a partnership between the department, the GBVF Response Fund, United Nations Resident Office, and related UN Offices, was also discussed. This initiative focuses on redefining manhood and transforming social norms, engaging men and boys through schools, faith spaces, initiation forums, sports, and workplaces.

Minister Chikunga announced plans for the upcoming Positive Masculinity Conference, which will consolidate a national framework and align it with the broader G20 effort. She also addressed the persistence of patriarchal norms across Africa, noting studies by UN Women and Afrobarometer that reveal how women’s equality, even when recognised in principle, is often undermined by male-dominated religious and customary leadership structures.

Highlighting South Africa’s specific challenges, she cited instances where girls are married off to older men under the guise of religion, in regions from KwaZulu-Natal to the Eastern Cape, and traditional practices like ukuthwala and ukungenwa that violate the law. She asserted that these practices are crimes, not culture or faith, and stressed the need for clear distinctions in addressing these issues.

Minister Chikunga concluded by stating that inequality begins in the household, not in policy or legislation. She urged attendees to dismantle the architecture of inequality in all spheres of life and replace it with a culture of care, equality, and accountability, in line with South Africa’s constitutional promise of dignity and freedom for all.