South Africa's Minister Simelane addresses Women20 Summit: 'Leave no woman behind'

Minister of Human Settlements Thembisile Simelane has reflected on the scourge of poverty, GBVF, landlessness, and dispossession that traps women and children in an unending cycle of poverty in urban and rural areas of the continent.

Simelane addressed delegates on the third day of the Women20 Summit held at the Vivari Hotel and Spa in Krugersdorp on Tuesday. 

Simelane, on behalf of the South African government, accepted the declarations from the Women20 Secretariat ahead of the G20 Summit and the Social Impact Summit to be held in the country next month. 

These declarations form part of the communiqué to be submitted to the Department of International Relations, the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, and the Presidency for onward transmission to the G20 leaders. 

The W20 Summit, which kicked off on Sunday, 12 October 2025, to Tuesday, 14 October 2025, culminated in the delivery of a communiqué based on the W20SA deliberations

"The framework of the G20 social summit and the reception of this declaration reflect the values we hold dear to our hearts. These include dignity and solidarity, which compel us to move beyond rhetoric and to look to who is affected by poverty the most," Simelane said.

On poverty and challenges faced by women, Simelane stated: "It is women and children who bear the price of landlessness and poverty. Even though women do not start wars, they are the face of the war and poverty, who, due to wars, have to face a lack of access to health and education. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, women and children, the effects thereof were shown in the faces of children and women. We must now come out to put an agenda forward, to ensure that we leave no woman behind."

Also reflecting on a range of social challenges faced by women, singer and philanthropist, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, indicated that access to education, health, and digital innovation is the only way emerging countries can use to advance social and economic challenges affecting women and children.

"As a daughter of Africa and long advocate for social change, I have come to realise that if you empower a woman, you empower society. The story of Africa and the Global South is that of resilience and determination as women are architects of change....I have witnessed the transformation brought by the education and health that knowledge is key to their freedom. Their courage reminds us why we must push for inclusive and meaningful engagements. We must fight against digital exclusion and climate change as these issues are not separate but reinforce one another, which is why our solutions must be rooted in empathy, unity, and collaboration," she said.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za