Happy Women's Day!
Are South Africans losing the true meaning of Women's day, with our Facebook newsfeed's flooding with statuses that read, "Happy women's day! Let your man spoil you today" and "This is a shout out to all the ladies! Life wouldn't be the same without you!"? Have we short sighted the efforts of our predecessors?
Women's day is a day to commemorate the August 9, 1956 march to the Union buildings. On this day, Lilian Ngoyi; Helen Joseph; Albertina Sisulu and Sophia Williams-De Bruyn led a crowd of women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, as a protest against gender inequality, more specifically against legislation that required African persons to have special identification documents. Many men in the anti-apartheid movement were struck by the women’s militancy, and the protest contributed to women playing a bigger role in the struggle for freedom and democracy. Moreover, this day was the launching pad for women's rights and equality in South Africa.
The greatest way to honour the efforts of the +-20 000 women who laid the foundation for women's liberation, is to take hold of each opportunity granted to us that their efforts may not be in vain. We need to identify everyday opportunities instead of being blindsided by our vision's to become CEO's of major corporate companies or be on the front cover of Fairlady! The fact that we have the right to an education or to voice our opinions on certain matters should be cherished as an opportunity which many have dreamt of but did not live to see.
We live in a present which was a future dream of those past, and this truth should resonate in our attitude, behavior and outlook on life in South Africa. Change is a process and as far as I can see, men can only change their perception of women's role in society as far as we change our attitude. Let us live out the cries of those women 55 years ago, "Wathint'Abafazi Wathint'imbokodo" (You strike a woman, you strike a rock) and be the rocks of our community!
Happy Women's Day!
Women's day is a day to commemorate the August 9, 1956 march to the Union buildings. On this day, Lilian Ngoyi; Helen Joseph; Albertina Sisulu and Sophia Williams-De Bruyn led a crowd of women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, as a protest against gender inequality, more specifically against legislation that required African persons to have special identification documents. Many men in the anti-apartheid movement were struck by the women’s militancy, and the protest contributed to women playing a bigger role in the struggle for freedom and democracy. Moreover, this day was the launching pad for women's rights and equality in South Africa.
The greatest way to honour the efforts of the +-20 000 women who laid the foundation for women's liberation, is to take hold of each opportunity granted to us that their efforts may not be in vain. We need to identify everyday opportunities instead of being blindsided by our vision's to become CEO's of major corporate companies or be on the front cover of Fairlady! The fact that we have the right to an education or to voice our opinions on certain matters should be cherished as an opportunity which many have dreamt of but did not live to see.
We live in a present which was a future dream of those past, and this truth should resonate in our attitude, behavior and outlook on life in South Africa. Change is a process and as far as I can see, men can only change their perception of women's role in society as far as we change our attitude. Let us live out the cries of those women 55 years ago, "Wathint'Abafazi Wathint'imbokodo" (You strike a woman, you strike a rock) and be the rocks of our community!
Happy Women's Day!
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