August – Women’s Month

Today marks 60 years since 20 000 South African women marched on the Union Buildings in Pretoria. 

Some progress has been made, but a lot of women’s day-to-day lives in this country remain regrettably, often tragically, dreadful even to this day.

Personal adversity, however, has never been a deterrence to women’s determination to make a positives difference and contribution to the lives of all people.

Today we commemorate prominent anti-apartheid activists such as Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela and Fatima Meer even though some history teachers and political leaders have sought to erase them and their contributions over time. 

Much in the same way that there has been a gendered silence over the crucial role that women like (Ji Ann Robinson and Lucretia Mott) played in galvanizing the Civil Rights movement.

Today we remember and celebrate not just these powerful women of yesteryear who have inspired us all but also the women in our own lives today (our mothers, neighbours, sisters and aunties) who show us every day that the world is ours to shape.

We, of course, have to also celebrate the bravery and efforts of the phenomenally fierce trio who formed the Black Lives Matter Network: Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors.

All of these women long gone and still alive have shown and reminded us that, because of our own struggles as women, we owe our allegiance to not just our fellow woman but the human community in its entirety. We, really, should all be feminists. The boy child included. The world needs is to stand up for and with each other.

Despite the enraging and saddening statistics regarding GBV in this country, sexual harassment in the workplace and even places of worship and unemployment at 37,3% for women in this country; if there is one thing that we have learnt (as women all over the world) it is that the bigger an obstacle seems the more satisfying it is to surmount it. We have done it before, and it has increased our strength and maturity, and shall continue to do so.

Our hope is for all of us to survive so that we may eventually thrive collectively as a nation. Have a beautiful day & Happy Women’s Day from the Gender CC family.