“The National Department of Social Development in collaboration with Zomnotho Community Development hosted a well-attended Mother and Daughter Inter-Generational Dialogue at the Margate Hotel under Ugu District.
This Mother and Daughter Inter-Generational Dialogue was aimed at creating a connection and initiating inter-generational dialogue in order to raise the sensitive issues around sexual and reproductive health as well as empowering the mothers and daughters of their rights on various aspects of sexual and reproductive health. The dialogues is spearhead by Social Development Department’s Director of Gender and Women Empowerment, Dr Bongi Owusu and Zomnotho Community Development Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) Chairperson Ms Nqobile Cele and their teams respectively.
Stakeholders and organizations such as Procter and Gamble, Restory and Department of Higher Education and Training made presentations during the dialogue.
Inline with the World Aids Day commemorations this program tackled sexual and reproductive health discussions between parents and which will culminate to increase in condom and contraceptive use. However parents are often uncomfortable talking about sex with their children or it is seen as inappropriate. In addition, parents finds it difficult to openly talk about sex with their children they lack the skills and factual information to facilitate the discussion. This is what the speakers at the dialogue discussed.
This dialogue is triggered by Minister of Social Development Ms Lindiwe Zulu who is a champion
of a “She Decides” program which is a global political movement, driving change in the communities by breaking barriers and bringing people together.
This movement emerged in January 2017 to support the rights of girls and women to decide freely and for themselves about their sexual lives.
In the discussions during the dialogues, mothers and daughters also shared share best practices
of Mothers with Daughters in order to fight against social ills such as Teenage Pregnancy, Gender Based Violence and Femicide, Sexual Reproduction challenges, Rape, Women Trafficking, Family Planning, Mental Illness and food security. Young daughters were also afforded an opportunity to air their views and experiences on social ills.
According to the department officials, this is a strategy of improving the upbringing of young women in order to conform with values of life which will improve ways of tackling social ills and challenges’. The department will continue to drive these dialogue in future in other provinces nationwide such as Limpopo and Free State Province and then it will be rolled-out to other provinces as well. This program will also be a sustainable program which will have custodians or patrons which will ensure that the communication between mothers and daughter and father and son is sustainable continuous “
