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The Chairperson of the Select Committee on Security and Justice, Ms Jane Mananiso, has praised the two soldiers who despite being pregnant still honoured the peace-keeping commitment made by South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Ms Mananiso said there is no shame attached to being pregnant on duty in any profession, including South Africa’s soldiers and police officers. “In South Africa, pregnancy is not a shame and it is a constitutional right for women to fall pregnant when they want to. As the committee, we can only call for proper pregnancy testing of women soldiers when deployment on peace missions is undertaken,” said Ms Mananiso.

She added: “This should be done precisely to ensure that adequate and required prenatal medical care is afforded to women professionals. Importantly, if a decision is taken to deploy, pregnant women should not be placed in compromising positions. We are very proud of what the South African army has been able to do over the years and the deployments that were occasioned on us through regional mandated participation in DRC’s Kivu Province.”

On Monday, the army announced the successful evacuation and repatriation to South Africa of injured soldiers and the two pregnant women. The soldiers were part of the wider regional army placed in Goma as part of the SADC mission to the DRC.

Ms Mananiso said a rethink of the deployment strategy is necessary so as not to overburden our defence force and to address issues like pregnancy in line with South Africa’s labour laws.

“There were always going to be challenges in Goma, but the South African army proved to everyone that it was still worthy, credible and a force to be reckoned with. We have integrity and we have displayed it and South African soldiers should be proud. It gives us pride to have our heroes returned to our country safest. The first point of call should be to get them the necessary medical attention while protecting their privacy and humanitarian needs,” said Ms Mananiso.

Ms Mananiso called on the media to respect boundaries and allow the injured to heal without the hustle and glare of the media. “These are people who sacrificed all for a peaceful DRC and a peaceful continent. Not many people can sacrifice as these heroes have done.”

She also said that while there is nothing wrong with raising concerns related to the actions of the defence force, these should be raised through the proper channels, including committees of Parliament and not on social media platforms. “Parliament remains open to understand from soldiers themselves any of the issues they feel need to be resolved at the political level. Other issues should be raised internally via channels that are there for that purpose in the army,” reiterated Ms Mananiso. #WomenRightsAreHumanRights #WomanRightsRHumanRights. 

Issued by the Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson of the Select Committee on Security and Justice, Jane Mananiso