Sports as a catalyst to women’s socio-economic empowerment

The months of July and August were busy as senior national women’s teams in soccer, netball and softball participated in respective global tournaments.

This as women continue experiencing discrimination and unequal pay in most sectors of South African society, an injustice if you ask me, especially against the background of twenty-nine years of the country’s democratic dispensation.

Softball under the radar

Unlike their football and netball counterparts, it would seem participation of the senior women’s softball team in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) World Cup Championship held in Valencia, Spain on July 18-22 was under the radar to most eyes.

The country is commemorating Women’s Month in 2023 under the theme: “Accelerating socio-economic opportunities for empowerment of women.”

Ga-Mashashane based Naledi Spiders Softball Club has both men and women teams while it is doing its part to empower women in line with the theme for this year’s Women’s Month commemoration. The Monotwane village club that formed in 1998 surely contributes towards realisation of African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, Goal 17:  Full Gender Equality in All Spheres of Life.

The club was promoted to the elite league in 2016 and the women’s team, ‘Ladies in red’, have won the Limpopo Softball Association (LSA) league four times in succession since 2018 and are the reigning champions.

Three of their players: Pretty Gwangwa, Rachel ‘Space’ Matsimela and Thandi ‘Melbourne’ Malebana, who play pitcher, infield, utility positions respectively, were part of the senior women’s team that participated in the WBSC tournament in Spain. The trio are seasoned campaigners having previously participated in the WBSC World Cup Championship, the National Provincial Championship, the Premier League, African qualifiers and Africa/Europe Olympic Qualifiers between 2017 to 2023.

The SA ladies were in Group B, pitted against the hosts Spain, China, Cuba, Netherlands, and Puerto Rico.  Surely, even though their Valencia sojourn ended on a winless streak, the trio and their teammates gained valuable experience at the biggest global softball stage.

The Limpopo based softball club’s sporting development efforts are not only about United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal Three (SDG 3): Good health and well-being. They are neither only connected to SDG 5: Gender Equality, especially Target 5.1: End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.

Their soft-balling exploits have in part enabled some of the girls’ access to higher education in line with the UN SDG 4: Quality Education, especially Target 4.3: equal access for all to tertiary education. Gwangwa together with Khomotjo Ranoto are currently studying at Vaal University of Technology (VUT) while Josephine Shika is a Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) student.

Naledi Spiders Softball Club players such as Malebana, Dimakatso Matsimela and Mathapelo Komape were prominent features at the University Sport South Africa (USSA) games during their time at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), TUT and VUT.

Playing on a rural and dusty diamond, about 46 km northwest of Polokwane has not deterred manager and coach, Peter ‘Kelly’ Sekhaolelo and the Spider team honing softball talent over the years, thus contributing towards youth and sports development in the country. This as several of the club’s ladies are featured regularly in various age groups at provincial and national level.

How far has SA women’s football come?

In terms of the country’s senior women football team, a battle ensued between the South African Football Association (SAFA) and Banyana Banyana. This over payment structure for participation in the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, down under in Australia and New Zealand.

The pay dispute should be one of the examples of gender pay parity in sport which continues to mirror our society, contrary to the ideals of AU Agenda 2063, Goal 17, and UN SDG 5.

Although women’s football in the country is still semi-professional, Banyana should hold their heads high even after bowing out 2-0 in the last 16 at the hands of Netherlands. Hope is that equal pay for women footballers will become a reality soon, especially with the call also coming from the highest office in the land through President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Netball dreams becoming a reality!

The recently hosted Netball World Cup in Cape Town was the first to be held on African soil and even though the Spar Proteas could not lift the trophy, South Africans should take pride in the ladies’ showing and the development of the sport under President Cecilia Molokwane.

Undoubtedly, the global netball showpiece has also put what the country can offer in terms of sports tourism on display.

It augurs well for the development of women’s sport in the soccer, netball, and softball codes in South Africa, that the teams were guided by women in Desiree Ellis, Norma Plummer and Mamoloko Dipone respectively.

Although the 1956 generation waged a struggle against inequality through their march to the Union Buildings on August 9, as songstress Letta Mbulu sang, it is ‘Not Yet Uhuru’ for the current generation of women in terms of socio-economic emancipation.

Maubane is a Mohlonong village, Ga-Mashashane native and a University of South Africa (UNISA) development studies postgraduate student. He writes in his personal capacity.