NOMAGUGU SIMELANE
Durban — “We’re our ancestors’ wildest dreams…” This is a phrase that’s been coined and popularised by young people, especially on social media, in reference to situations where someone has succeeded against the odds.
While celebratory in nature, this phrase also reminds us sharply about the many historical obstacles that hindered those who came before us from imagining what was possible; and from accessing opportunities that could have helped them realise their potential, so they could unleash their greatness.
One shudders to think about the many would-be black academics, captains of industry and other intelligentsia who instead found themselves languishing on the margins of society, consigned to a life of poverty, thanks to the brutality and systematic oppression of apartheid.
“We’re our ancestors’ wildest dreams,” perhaps best encapsulates the unique epoch in which the body politic of KwaZulu-Natal finds itself.
It is a precious matter for the history books that the province has appointed its first woman premier, Nomusa Dube-Ncube. But not only that, no fewer than six out of 10 of the executive members are women.
The ANC Women’s League must be congratulated for their foresight to field two female candidates for the posts of chairperson and deputy chairperson.
The sweetener is this – including the victory by Banyana Banyana at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations on foreign soil – has taken place in the weeks leading to, and during, Women’s Month.
These major strides must go a long way to prove to women and girls in this land that they are enough. And through hard work anything is possible. But we should not fool ourselves, because there’s still a lot of work to be done. Like Nelson Mandela we’re realising there are more hills to climb.
One of the biggest challenges as the ANC is to give meaning to women’s emancipation by dismantling systems that block women from access to quality education and equal economic opportunities.
We also have our work cut out to accelerate the eradication of gender-based violence. This can only be achieved through, better law enforcement, public awareness and dialogue with men, with a focus on encouraging better and more effective dispute resolution methods.
It is imperative that women (and children) are– and feel – safe in our communities. One of the cornerstones of the ANC’s blueprint as a political party and leader of society, the National Democratic Revolution, is the elimination of gender discrimination, and the attainment of a society where women are not subjected to social barriers, as they seek to achieve the ideal of self-determination.
It is our view that a conducive and fertile environment must be created to enable women to spread their wings without gate-keeping or domination by men.
Whether men like it or not, women are a force to be reckoned with. We are not the “weak, second-class citizens” we are often made to look and feel like. Given our population dynamics, the elevation of women is a no-brainer and ought to come naturally.
Last year, the estimated number of people living in South Africa was 60.14 million. About 51.1% of 30.75 million are women and about 48.9% or 29.39 million male. Women are in the majority. It stands to reason that, in every sector, especially in politics, there should be equal representation of women, if not more. This is why the strides KZN has taken should be applauded, while setting the tone for other provinces.
A number of studies have shown that women are better leaders.
Evidence of this abounds, which bears testimony to the fact that women leaders tend to adopt a participative style of leadership, which is more transformational than that adopted by men. Women leaders focus on building relationships and usually have qualities, such as compassion, collaboration, sensitivity, empathy, intuition and creativity, and also enhance the self-worth of others.
We have a task to dig deep and find talented female comrades, harness their potential, and show faith in them because, ultimately, they are equally capable.
While it is important to note and document the progress our country has made over the years, since the democratic dispensation in 1994, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure that women and girls see themselves reflected in this country’s leadership.
One of the ways in which we can help make this a reality is by celebrating the efforts of our women leaders as much as we celebrate that of their male counterparts – not only during Women’s Month, but on a regular basis.
We need to thank these women on whose shoulders we stand today for their courage, and for the priceless sacrifices that they have made in pursuit of freedom and democracy – and continue to make in various sectors of South African life.
But it mustn’t end there.
We must also seek to emulate them, and regenerate others like them, so that their spirit multiplies to help create a better society.
We must not forget or take for granted that women in South Africa played a prominent role in the Struggle for equal rights long before any formal women’s organisations came into being.
It is important to note that, as early as 1912, in what was probably the first mass passive resistance campaign in the country, it was women who got together and took part in a strike against starvation wages.
In 1913, it was black and coloured women in the Free State who protested against having to carry identity passes, which white women were not required to do.
In 1918, it was Charlotte Maxeke who started the first formal women’s organisation, the Bantu Women’s League, which was created to resist the pass laws.
In the 1930s and 1940s there were many instances of mass protests, demonstrations and passive resistance campaigns in which women participated. By 1943, women could join the ANC and by 1948, the ANC Women’s League was formed, with Ida Mtwana as its first president.
As the South African History Online website reminds us, the women’s Struggle became more militant in the 1950s.
Thousands of black, coloured and Indian women took part in the Defiance Campaign in 1952, which involved the deliberate contravention of petty apartheid laws.
In 1954, the Federation of South African Women (Fedsaw) was established, which brought together women from the ANC, the South African Indian Congress (SAIC), trade unions and self-help groups for the first time.
A Women’s Charter was drawn up which pledged to bring an end to discriminatory laws.
On August 9, 1956, Fedsaw organised 20 000 women to march to the seat of government, the Union Buildings in Pretoria, to present a petition against the carrying of passes by women to then apartheid prime minister JG Strijdom.
This was the famous Women’s March, which is celebrated as Women’s Day on August 9 each year. The women’s anti-pass campaign, the Women’s Charter and their famous march to Pretoria, became benchmarks in the Struggle and continued to inspire women over decades until democracy was finally realised in 1994.
There are thousands of women who played a leading role in the Struggle for our Freedom.
Many are unsung heroes. But even the few whose names we do know are not celebrated enough. I’m talking here about women such as uMam’ Lilian Ngoyi, Albertina Sisulu, Victoria Mxenge, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, and others.
As leaders of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, it is paramount that we be united, and to remember at all times that people want a government that works for them – an ANC-led government that they can trust.
The euphoria surrounding the recent strides by women should not be a once-off and fleeting moment. It should be used to consolidate our own resolve to empower and uplift women and girls in every nook and cranny of our beautiful land – even in the most remote of areas – through educational and economic opportunities.
It is high time that women realised that they are enough.
Indeed, the time has come for women to be allowed and enabled to spread their wings in an environment where the only limit to one’s dreams is the sky.
Nomagugu Simelane is the deputy chairperson of the African National Congress in KwaZulu-Natal
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