Alex women say they no longer belong in the kitchen

Women in Alex say their place is no longer in the kitchen and bedroom but in the boardroom.

This remark was made by gender and development activists when stressing the importance of Women’s Month in August.

Activists, Mabel Dikobe and Kedibone Ramohloa said despite the gains of democracy more should be done to bring women on equal terms with men.

Dikobe said women still suffered abuse, denigration and disdain whenever they tried to express themselves.

“This abuse affects the confidence of girls who grow up thinking they are less capable than boys,” she said. “It also makes them rely on males for affirmation and for most of their financial needs.

“This leads to sexual exploitation, exposure to HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases, teenage pregnancies, unwanted children and drug addiction which has to be maintained through dependency on male financial support.”

This she said had destroyed the future of many girls while boys were left unscathed. “Teenage virginity among girls is no longer heard of as many of them exchange their bodies for money, pleasure and material things at the expense of their educations. They do this in the name of democracy, freedom and liberty. The constitution needs measures to enforce responsibilities,” she stressed.

However, Dikobe added that some concrete gains have been made for women, especially the access to higher education. “With this education, we are able to support our children with their homework and other educational needs. Many school governing bodies are led by women, most teachers are female and school meetings are attended more by women, partly deriving from their motherly instinct,” she added.

Ramohloa said women were their own worst enemy through defeatist attitudes. “We [women] fear failure but are quick to criticise those who venture out and succeed,” she said. “Instead of commending and learning from their successes we discourage and isolate them when they need our support.”

She said this discouraged other women from aspiring to leadership roles and thus reduced the number of role models for girls.

Ramohloa said there was a tendency for some women to search for quick financial gains. “In the process we compromise our dignity by using unsavoury means to get contracts while avoiding strengthening our competencies in order to gain entry to better income earning opportunities in the main stream economy,” she concluded.

Details: Mabel Dikobe; 083 544 7611