“wathint’ abafazi,wathint’ imbokodo,
uza kufa!
When you strike the women,
you strike a rock,
Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa, Sophie Williams and Lilian Ngoyi
you will be crushed [you will die]!”
This song was amongst a number of other freedom songs sang to conclude the successful march to the Union buildings on the 9th of August 1956 by over 20 000 women of all races and ages from every corner of South Africa who risked arrest, detention and banning.
This march was organized by the of Federation of South African Women , led by four tremendously courageous women; Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa, Sophie Williams and Lilian Ngoyi. These brave women were marching in protest against the pass laws that proposed even further restrictions on the movements of women.
Since then there have been laws have been put in to protect women from discrimination both at home and in the workplace. Unfortunately, these laws aren’t enough to fully eliminate the oppression against women in society.
Women earn nearly a third less than men in South Africa, according to the latest tax statistics by SARS. This puts South Africa pretty much at the top end of the global gender wage gap; the global gender wage gap is at an average of 22,4% while South Africa’s is at a staggering 33,5%.
Domestic violence on women is also upsettingly high; 1 out 4 women in South Africa are survivors of domestic violence(Department of Justice). Many women are still unaware of their rights when reporting abuse. According to POWA 1 in every 6 women who die in Gauteng are killed by an intimate partner.
So, did the efforts of the heroines of the August 9th, 1956 march go to waste?
Absolutely not. Organisations such as the ANC Women’s League, Rural Women’s Movement and Agenda are just to name a few organizations that deal with women’s issues and are impacting positively on the lives they touch.
To add on to the list of heroines who fight nail and tooth for the equality of men and women is 19 year old Glen Cowie Secondary School 2012 matriculant and Hluvukani resident, Andile Amukelani Ndlovu.
“Through my organization I want women to feel more confident in themselves, be made aware of the fact that they are enough just the way they are and they should stop problematizing themselves based on questions that don’t even exist in their spaces.”
This young and vibrant beauty has taken it upon herself to try and solve this cloud of oppression facing women. “I have grown tired of how women are treated in most spaces. The fact that women are treated as somebody’s and not somebodies saddened me so much and what made me even more sad is that women had even started believing that they are nothing if they don’t belong to someone. I want my organization to make women aware of the fact that they don’t need anyone else’s validation to be good enough, beautiful enough, smart enough or even desirable enough. I wanted women to know that society has set ridiculous standards for them but that does not mean they should conform to those standards,” she explained in a document I asked her to type for me.
Andile has founded an “about-to-trend” Organisation she calls the Pink Eagle Foundation.
“The name Pink Eagle is made up of two parts which define the very essence of a woman. The first part is “Pink”, apart from it being stereotypically said to be a color for females pin also symbolizes universal love for oneself and also for others, it is also a color that symbolizes friendship, affection, harmony and inner peace. All these things mentioned are what represent every essence of a woman, she is a being who has universal love for herself and others,” she explained.
To learn more about the Pink Eagle Foundation, follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pink-Eagle-Foundation/124806217858361
To celebrate this women’s month, changeholic (yours truly), will be selling bracelets to support the Pink Eagle Foundation.
For just R20 each, the proceeds from these beautiful bracelets will go towards developing the Pink Eagle Foundation.
This is how it looks on me.
Buy a few for yourself, or significant other, in support of Women’s month. One for each day of the week would be perfect. They come in assorted patterns. Contact Ramadimetja Rami Makgeru on Facebook, makgeruramadimetja, or simply call 0722207217.
Have a blessed Sunday!
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