The Johannesburg Junior Council took to the streets on Women’s Day
Johannesburg Junior Council'Every Girl Deserves a Pad and a Pencil' theme spoke to the lack of availability of sanitary equipment.
August 9 marked Women’s Day, the anniversary of the women’s march of 1956 when women marched to the Union Buildings to protest against the carrying of passbooks.
The Johannesburg Junior Council (JJC) commemorated the day with a march from Parktown Boys High School to raise awareness about the issues women and girls face in South Africa which have become more prevalent in South Africa.
Themed ‘Every girl deserves a pad and a pencil’, the march spoke to the lack of availability of sanitary items and opportunities for many women and girls in South Africa and how those are a result of a patriarchal society we live in and one that needs to be spoken against.
These unfair injustices also extend to the lack of human dignity which many women are perceived to have. This extends to the treatment of women in workplaces, in communities, and in nuclear households contributing to many issues such as gender pay gaps, rape, and domestic violence.
The JJC is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation consisting of 72 young leaders in Grade 11 from 36 different schools around Johannesburg. The council is made up of six committees: Sports and recreation, council well-being, arts and culture, advocacy, outreach, and environment. These committees address their respective aspects in the community.
The goals of the event included:
- Raising awareness about the constant issues women face in South Africa from young girls not being able to buy the necessary sanitary equipment to gender-based violence.
- Raising money from donations to buy stationery and school supplies for schools in the community. All donations will be used to support organisations committed to making active reforms in alignment with women empowerment in South Africa.
- Make local voices heard and unify the community for a justifiable cause.
Chairperson of the JJC, Avrille Gork said the goals of the march were achieved. “The walk was well-attended. We estimated 130 people including the mini and junior councillors which are made up of Grade 7 and 12 leaders. The march brought awareness to the streets of Braamfontein as well as to our project ‘Buckets of comfort’ where we will be supplying 500 5-litre buckets containing reusable sanitary pads, soap, sanitiser, and toiletries for 500 girls who will have uninterrupted schooling.”
JJC junior chairperson Siza Gule expressed relief about the event’s success.
Gule added, “Society is usually apathetic to such causes and marches because of its worsening social ills, so people have become desensitised to the severity of the ills plaguing our country but the turnout shows that there are people who still care about raising awareness.”
Follow us on our Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok pages. Join our WhatsApp group for any story ideas you may have.
