Our brave women from 1956 showed how a peaceful, diginified protest could finally bring about meaningful change. I am forced to wonder if the government and citizens of the day would have taken the marchers at all seriously if they pitched up in tutus and revealing attire!
On August 9, 1956, there was a staged march on the Union Buildings of Pretoria. Over 20 000 women of all races attended the march in order to protest against the Urban Areas Act of 1950 amendments. This law required all South Africans defined as “black” to carry an internal passport that served to maintain segregation, control urbanization, and manage migrant labor during the apartheid.
9 August is a day to commemorate the thousands of brave women who marched on the Union Buildings – this South African holiday is celebrated every year on a weekday.
These brave women put their lives and the lives of their families at risk in order to protest against an injustice. the leaders run the risk of house arrest, arrest, detention without trial and the mockery of their friends, peers and the government of the day in order that these brave women could bring justice and order to our society. Their act was one of the defining moments in the struggle against apartheid and we, justifiably, commemorate this selfless act every year.
BUT
I had occasion to witness one of the the commemorative events in Gqeberha yesterday – a sea of women in Pink with Pink Tutus on a walk around a major shopping centre.
AND
I have to ask; “Why the hell do we demean, objectify and exploit women in such a manner? How is it possible that we can commemorate such a selfless act by making women dress up and demean themselves in such a manner?”
SURELY
Womens day needs to reflect on the sombre nature of that day in 1956 and not take the piss out of it by forving women to dress up like Barbie Dolls and be on display?
More about Women’s Day:
The 1956 protest was led by Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa, and Sophia Williams. They left 14 000 petitions at the office doors of the prime minister. 100 000 signatures were left outside the prime minister’s door as well as a thirty-minute silent protest. After the silent protest, songs were sung to honor the event, to make sure their voices were heard. The song they sang was composed specifically for the event, titled “Wathint’Abafazi Wathint’imbokodo” which translates to “Now you have touched the women, you have struck a rock.”
It was a peaceful protest but it made a difference, because of and in consequence of it we have National Women’s Day and no more apartheid. The day wasn’t actually made a holiday until 1995. The day brings attention to the issues African women faced then and still face today, including domestic violence, workplace sexual harassment, unequal pay, girls not being allowed to go to school, and no-help parenting. In 1994, women had very low representation within Parliament, with just nearly 2.7%. Women within the national assembly were at 27.7%. After the creation of this public holiday, the numbers nearly doubled, with women now having 48% representation all throughout the country’s government.
Let’s Rather Bring Focus on These Concerns Next Women’s Day:
- 0%: the percentage of women as presidents of South Africa.
- 40 billion: the number of hours spent by women in sub-Saharan Africa collecting water.
- Two Thirds: of the world’s 796 million illiterate people are women.
- One Third: the number of women around the world experiencing violence.
- 2.7 billion: the number of women who don’t have the same work opportunities as men.
- 82 million: the number of women worldwide who don’t have any legal protections against workplace discrimination.
- 650 million: the number of women who are married before the age of 18 across the world.
Women’s Month is a tribute not only to the thousands of women who marched on that day in 1956, but also a tribute to the pioneers of the women’s movement in this country, dating back to 1913, when women like Charlotte Maxeke led the way in establishing the ANC Women’s League and encouraging women to engage in the struggle for freedom. Pioneers include Cissy, Jaynab and Amina Gool, who were amongst the leaders of the National Liberation League and the Non-European United Front of the 1930s.
The names of Ray Alexander Simons, Elizabeth Mafikeng and Elizabeth Abrahams will always be associated with the struggles of women. In the 1940s Amina Pahad and Gadijah Christopher, who were amongst the first volunteers to occupy the site of the 1946 Passive Resistance Campaign on Umbilo Road in Durban cannot go unnoticed.
Alan Straton
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