Celebrating Women Everyday, CIVICUS
Civicus, the Johannesburg-based international NGO is holding its 9th World Assembly in Montreal, Canada, August 20 – 23, gathering hundreds of civil society groups from around the world. Along with the World Social Forum, Civicus’ World Assembly is one of the most comprehensive and representative international meeting of social activists.
The focus theme of the World Assembly this year is economic justice as its core theme underpinned by development effectiveness and climate justice. For more information (speakers, programme etc) see www.civicusassembly.org.
Economic justice has proven to be strictly connected with gender justice. On the occasion of South Africa’s National Women Day, 9 August, Sifiso Dube, Chair of Gender Equality Team at CIVICUS, writes about how, 54 years after the historic march of women against the apartheid regime in Pretoria, the struggle for equality, power, recognition is still a challenge.
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Celebrating Women Everyday
By Sifiso Dube, Chair, Gender Equality Team, CIVICUS
August one marked the start of Women’s month celebrations in South Africa. This is a month where every woman in South Africa and beyond should be proud of. It is now 54 years since women of courage marched towards the Union Buildings in Pretoria in protest of the apartheid regime’s extension of passes that limited their freedom of movement. It goes without saying that the rise of women that day shook the apartheid regime and made the powers that be understand not to under-estimate women. We should also not forget the multitude of women who could not attend the march but were in solidarity with those who marched towards the Union buildings and individually hoped for change which would enable them to move freely.
As we celebrate women this month, let us not forget the burden, the struggle and the pain that our mothers, daughters and sisters bore to be where we are today. If we could take a telescopic view of the status of women in South Africa and the whole of Africa, we can generally say that a lot needs to be done to improve the lives of women, to empower them and to emancipate them – this is basically a mammoth task that needs many hands to complete. The struggle for equality, power, recognition and just being heard has forced many a woman to continuously run in heels trying to approach a mark which comes with appreciation.
But there is some light starting to emerge. According to this year’s MasterCard Worldwide Index of women’s advancements the index saw South Africa’s score increase by almost six points from 87.96 to 93.5 between 2009 and 2010.
