September 4, 2019: Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, joined the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) on 29 August in paying tribute to all female serving members at the annual Woman’s Day Parade held in Thaba Tshwane, Pretoria.

The Minister said women’s representation in the Department of Defence (DOD) has increased over the years reaching 31% for the first time in 2019. “Today five out of the 38 Major Generals are women and 38 of the 163 Brigadier Generals are women,” she said. The minister went on to add that 39% or 568 woman in the military skills development system (MSDS) were granted contracts in the previous year. Within the critical masteries development programme, 29% consist of women, ranging from airspace controllers, engineers and artillery and anti-aircraft personnel. In combat masteries, 21% are woman and there are currently 68 woman generals in the SANDF. Mapisa-Nqakula considers these numbers to be a “great success”.

Read more: Mapisa-Nqakula addresses woman’s day parade (defenceweb.co.za)

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