By Ednah Khosa
It’s been decades since the women of 1956 walked the streets protesting against oppressive apartheid pass laws. Interestingly, we are still singing the same songs. Maybe not entirely the same … perhaps with a different tune? Things have shifted and progressed in some ways.
And so this year, I choose to celebrate women’s month with a different tone – shining a light on all the progress that women have made since the first civil rights act was passed in 1964, strengthening gender equality and limiting discriminations. And yes, I know there is still more work to be done.
I imagine the women of 1956 filled with rage as they began to march the streets, yet somehow hope and possibility leading them forward. Hope that someday, even if they died that day, their children would live under different norms and standards. And with that in mind, they kept moving, coming back in multitudes– marching forward. If there ever is a fight worth fighting, it’s a fight that not only sets you free, but a fight that generations to come will live to tell stories about.
But what does it mean to be a woman today? What does celebrating Women’s Day look like in 2022?
A friend of mine said “celebrating Women’s Day shows that our struggles, hardships and challenges that we face in this painful world are recognised. Women are always terrified, and it is often so hard to voice all these challenges that we face. This one day in a year shows that our humanity is recognised by men”.
So many voices have come out on social media proclaiming that women today don’t want to be “rocks” anymore. We want to be allowed to feel, respond and embrace these emotions that we carry so confidently in the name of being Imbokodo. One woman took it a step further and said, in fact “I want to be an egg”.
Like I said, it’s been decades. The challenges that women faced in 1956 are not the same as those that we face today. Today we are fighting for boundaries to be created in both our homes and at work. We are trying to find balance. Today, we step into rooms and demand respect. We grab a chair at the table and speak up in rooms where we have previously been silent and silenced. As 10 of us step into leadership positions, we build the pathway for more to follow.
That is progress. And we are both witnesses and catalysts.
We are sitting under shades of trees planted decades ago. It is our role to water these plants and plant more, new trees for generations to come.
Happy Women’s Month.
