Staff Reporter
The family structure has been identified as a key pillar for national development and fostering unity among citizens.
Speaking yesterday during the commemoration of the International Day of Families, the Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Sithembiso Nyoni said that families played a significant role in influencing key socio-economic processes.
“The realization of sustainable futures by communities and the nation at large is in part greatly influenced by the significant role families play in shaping individuals and influencing key socio-economic processes and outcomes. Given the multi-faceted role and influence the family unit has and exercises, it is of paramount importance that as a nation, we commit ourselves to the sound protection and promotion of the family unit,” said Minister Nyoni.
Minister Nyoni reaffirmed that the family unit was a natural and fundamental entity in society as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
She added that given the multi-faceted role and influence the family unit has and exercises, it is of paramount importance that the nation commits itself to the sound protection and promotion of the family unit.
In the same speech, Minister Nyoni said that urbanization had exposed families to a multitude of socio-economic experiences.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, urbanization is a unique developmental phenomenon that has impacted the existence of the family unit over time, and has exposed families to a multitude of socio-economic experiences since its inception at the start of the modern, industrial era,” she said.
The minister took the opportunity to condemn gender violence in both the public and the private sector. She said that gender based violence greatly affects all family members physically, economically and emotionally, regardless of gender.
The International Day of Families came into being by means of the United Nations Resolution 47/237 of 20 September 1993, and has been celebrated every year since 1994.
