We are compelled to finish the work that the women of 1956 started

The 1956 women’s march in South Africa. Leading women are, front from left, Sophie Williams, Raheema Moosa, Helen Joseph and Lilian Ngoyi. File picture

The 1956 women’s march in South Africa. Leading women are, front from left, Sophie Williams, Raheema Moosa, Helen Joseph and Lilian Ngoyi. File picture

Published Aug 21, 2023

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When the apartheid government announced in 1952 that black women would be subjected to the hated pass laws along with men, it provoked a backlash that echoes through our society even today.

On the August 9, 1956, 20,000 women of all races marched on the Union Buildings in protest, with the rallying cry “Wathint’ Abafazi, Wathint’ Imbokodo” (you strike the women, you strike the rock).

It both broadened the scope of resistance and served as a reminder of women’s power to influence history.

It is a bitter irony that, while the pass laws were scrapped long ago, women continue to suffer discrimination and violence despite their heroic contribution to the cause of freedom.

Appalling levels of violence against women and girls mean South African women cannot enjoy freedom as equals.

They live in the ever-present shadow of danger, whether walking alone or waiting in dread for a violent partner to explode.

Research suggests up to 40% of South African women have experienced some form of interpersonal violence in their lifetime, just under half have experienced emotional or economic abuse at the hands of their intimate partners, while up to a quarter have been raped.

The emotional and psychological effects of this on all women – even those who mercifully escape the experience of actual violence – are a form of terror that destroys the sense of personal security we are all entitled to.

This has economic consequences too, by constraining the freedom of women to access education, develop their skills, and contribute to economic activity to their full potential.

Experts agree that the main drivers of this are a culture of violence with deep roots in our history, and unequal power relations between the sexes, including the economic dependency of many women on their male partners.

Breaking the cycle requires a multifaceted approach that addresses gendered economic inequality, cultural norms that give men and boys a sense of entitlement to the use of women’s bodies and the collective trauma of pervasive, intergenerational violence affecting all South Africans.

Critically, just as women stood shoulder-to-shoulder with men in the struggle against apartheid, defeating gender-based violence and femicide today requires men to take a stand and help reshape the gender norms that give rise to attacks on women.

Recruiting as many men as possible to this cause is a herculean task that must reach into communities, households, hearts and minds, if it is to be successful.

*Millicent Maroga is the corporate affairs director of Heineken Beverages.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.

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