WOMEN’S Month in South Africa means working around the clock to revive the efforts of bridging the gap between men and women. The day stems from a historical event that saw a group of 20 000 women on 9 August 1956 march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women that were under the aparthied government.
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The day was officially recognised and celebrated 40 years after the event. Ever since then, this day has evoked the true power that lies within women, which has birthed a generation of empowered women.
Through the years, we have seen women take up space across all platforms, from authoritative positions to being freely who they want to be. We have celebrated women who dared to do it for the first time. Currently, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, is on the cards to head KZN as she has been nominated by the provincial ANC as as the premier.
The board of the prestigious all-girls school, St Mary’s, has announced the first chairwoman ever in 116 years since its inception. We have seen women take up space politically as several women have taken mayoral positions even in metro cities. Hilary Clinton was the first woman to run for the president of the United States of America in the 2016 elections, to mention a few.
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Furthermore, women have been backed up and supported on a global scale through different campaigns and events that have clearly advocated for the rights of women and for them to reach their dreams. International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on March 8 in recognition of the cultural, political and social achievements of women.
Given all these achievements, one can only be assured that women have been truly transformed, that women are capable of being more than just caretakers and mothers. Psychology expert Angeline Stephen weighed in about the ongoing campaigns that are set for the month of August in celebration of women: She said such programmes should not only be during this month.
“To what extent has this changed and affected the lives of women? We need to look at what exactly these programmes are and whom they exactly benefit. What we should focus on during conversation about the girl child and woman should be about things that bring about change, the experiences and opportunities women share, how they advance and how they move forward in their lives,” she said.
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