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09 March 2021 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Charl Devenish
Dr Alice Ncube, Lecturer and Programme Manager in the UFS Centre for Disaster Management Training and Education Centre (DiMTEC), believes that women should be part of the decision-making processes, starting at home right down to the legislative platforms.

Rising inequalities worldwide – now exacerbated by the global COVID-19 pandemic – saw the need to re-emphasise the demand for strong, independent civil-society-driven efforts. “This can ensure rights‐based and gender‐responsive national and regional policies focusing on gender equality and women empowerment,” says Dr Alice Ncube, Lecturer and Programme Manager in the UFS Centre for Disaster Management Training and Education Centre (DiMTEC).

The United Nations Gender Action Plan emphasises the need to empower women on clean energy and climate-change adaptation policies. Though women are ‘the other’, they understand the multiple economic, social, and environmental benefits of being at the forefront of sustainable development as primary home-keepers. Unlocking women’s true potential in education, politics, leadership, commerce, and industry will ensure progress. 

A prosperous future for any country requires a peaceful environment for all, especially women and girls, to freely strive to pursue their projects, businesses, and education without fear of gender and sexual violence. 

Women should be part of the decision-making processes, starting at home right down to the legislative platforms. Women need to decide how to participate and how to bridge the gap created by many years of exclusion in areas of life. Their voices should be heard and not only be used to grace occasions for others to make decisions for them. In a genuinely inclusive world, I believe in encompassing a better world for today and the future – an autonomous, peaceful, inclusive, and equitable world.

News Archive

RC members of Armentum not expelled from residence
2009-05-29

According to a memorandum of agreement that was concluded between the University of the Free State (UFS) and the Residence Committee (RC), the Senior Bond Committee and seniors of the Armentum Residence, the parties involved agreed, among others, that the RC members of this residence would not be expelled from the residence.

This follows an incident during which a first-year student from Armentum, Alex Marais, was injured because of alleged initiation and admitted to the Bloemfontein Medi-Clinic.

According to the agreement, the RC members will resign from their positions and not make themselves available for the next RC election, with the exception of Mr M.J. Pretorius, the RC member for Rag. He will stay on as unelected member of the interim RC. The UFS undertook to pay the RC that is stepping down their honorariums honorariums in August.

The UFS also gave permission to the Residence Head of Armentum, Adv. Bradley Smith, to appoint an interim RC for the remaining period of office of the current RC.

The Senior Bond must also undertake to submit the current rules of the Senior Bond Committee to the Acting Rector, Prof. Teuns Verschoor, before 1 June 2009. The Senior Bond Committee undertakes to comply strictly with these rules, also during Senior Bond activities.

In addition the Senior Bond Committee and the current Residence Committee must submit the following information to Prof. Verschoor before the reopening of the UFS for the second semester :
- The current orientation practices with regard to first-year students.
- Proposals on how the practices can be adjusted to render them enforceable within humane, reasonable, fair and humanitarian limits in order to implement and comply with the objectives of orientation, the exercising of control and the laying down of rules.

The compensating fine that was levied against the tuition fees accounts of senior students of Armentum, which would have been used to contribute to the medical costs of Alex Marais, is now cancelled.

This settlement is final and the parties will not lay any claims against each other as a result of this incident in future.

Media Release:
Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
Email: radebemt.stg@ufs.ac.za
29 May 2009

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