Celebrating women living on the edge

Women working in dangerous zones who excel and go beyond their call of duty, were celebrated by Newcastle Municipality’s Department of Special Programmes at the Ridgeview Civic Hall on September 9.

Under the theme, Women united in moving South Africa forward, Special Programmes Manager, Samke Dube, urged women to get rid of a ‘disease’ she has known women to suffer from.

“The pull-me-down syndrome is the main enemy between women. We do not support each other but we always pull each other down. If this disease can be cured we can indeed take South Africa forward”, said Mrs Dube. “It is critical for us as women to know where we come from, where we are and where we are going”.

She advised women to carry forward the spirit of Charlotte Maxeke, Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa and many others who fought tirelessly against apartheid and broke the barriers that hindered women’s prosperity in South Africa.

The event hosted women employed by Correctional Services, SAPS and traffic departments, Department of Justice and Protection Services, to name a few. Zandi Zwane, of Newcastle Municipality’s Geographical Information System, encouraged women to take care of their bodies, Mpume Zuma from the Department of Correctional Services shared her experiences dealing with convicts and Thoko Mhlongo from the Department of Justice spoke about the challenges she faced in carrying out the functions of her department.

Guest speakers delivered speeches, focusing on the power of women, and encouraged women to be unapologetic in breaking down barriers between men and women in the workplace, to study to their full potential while reminding them to love their families and love their jobs without allowing one to suffer because of the other.

“Women are deemed incapable of running businesses because they are said to be too emotional and too soft to get things done. What people forget though, is that women are strong and whatever a man can do we can do it better. More women need to break the barriers and become directors and managers,” said guest speaker, Megan Ngiba, a young businesswoman from Durban.

As Government celebrates 20 years of non-racial and non-sexiest democracy, Newcastle Deputy Mayor, Rachel Mdluli, motivated women to pioneer change.

“We must ensure strong measures are taken to support our female traffic officers, our policewomen and everyone who works in the previously male dominated departments, so they can be able to address and fight against challenges women face everyday when they go to work . It is never too late to be where you want to be. I want to thank all the ladies for their contribution towards the betterment of Newcastle. We as the Newcastle Municipality are thankful and we respect you for what you have done,” she concluded.