Celebration of the International Women’s Day
We as Social Cohesion Advocates are joining the global community to celebrate “International Women’s Day”. As they do so, they are still expressing that many women in Developing Countries have nothing to celebrate. Advocates are concerned that, women in Africa are still excluded from the socio-economic agenda hence poverty and many economic hardships. Poverty has a face of a woman in Africa.
Women in Africa do not have a voice in social, economic, cultural and political platforms and they are poorly represented in decision-making streams. This fragmentation does not make African women feel as if international treaties and domestic policies are recognizing them holistically. Their life is defined by daily resilience as they navigate and negotiate their identities in spaces and platforms that have deepened gender inequality.
While we express our cry, we also celebrate victorious efforts from a few African women that through arts have expressed the struggle of women. We salute the late Mama Miriam Makeba, and we also celebrate many African women artists that are continuing with the struggle. Mama Makeba will endlessly be recalled for being vocal about issues that are caging women in poverty and on many socio-economic platforms.
We also salute Pan-Africanist writers like Ellen Kuzwayo to mention a few. Her African scholarship has never been unsettled by the precipitation of patriarchy and many hardships that are man-made and steered toward women. Her Pan-African words of hope are like heavy pouring rain on the fertile soil. Social Cohesion platforms will be used to galvanize their dreams for a better Africa that embraces women.
They breathe the spirit of equity and the economic liberation of women. As a country that is defined by hope and resilience, we wish to encourage women to pull solidified efforts in spaces they found themselves in. We yearn for an Africa that invests in its women so that they may equally be part of the international/global community. This can be realized through a public-private multi-sectoral collaborative approach as by doing so, we can create a more just and equitable society for all.
Our message to all the Queens is that “trust the wait, embrace the uncertainty, enjoy the beauty of becoming when nothing is certain and believe that anything is possible”. As we conclude, tangible Social Cohesion will also be realized when women do not have to explain themselves why they should be respected and treated equally.
Enquiries:
Balungile Zondi
Cell: 071 606 5062
E-mail: balungilezondi@gmail.com
