Reflections of 1956 Womens's March

On the 9th of August 1956, over 20?000 women marched to the union buildings in defiance of the pass laws that sort to restrict their movements to visit their spouses, families, attend places of education and earn a living. This march would not only benefit women, but also their male counterparts who had already been subject to the law. In the month of August we celebrate women’s month. We not only celebrate the strides that have been made by women over the years but we also honor our grandmothers who challenged the structures of our land in order to liberate our nation.

The sheer numbers of the women who united in the march, across racial and religious difference, as well as the defiance against such a significant law, gave rise to the genesis of the slogan, “wathinta abafazi, wathinta imbokodo”. You strike a women you strike a rock. The power of the march and many other marches by women bore positive results not only for women but for society as a whole.

Today the status of women in South Africa is one of the highest in the world and is contained in our constitution. Our rights to human dignity, freedom of security, political rights, access to health care and education and rights to own property as contained in the bill or rights. Women can now pursue any career path. They can own property irrespective of whether their marital status . Thus it goes without saying that these are great achievements and we continue to reap the benefits and we should ensure that future generations are able to benefit from them.

Our forebears on whose shoulders we stand today, put their foot in the doors of boardrooms for professionals, like myself, to be able to sit at the boardroom table.Young women can now share the stage of contributing to the economy and political landscape. However this month should not only be for remembrance but should force us to reflect on what we, as women of today, are doing to advance our communities.

The women of 1956, some with babies on their backs, were the rock of society. A rock is not only a symbol of strength but can also be used to build a solid structure. They used their strength to build communities and a strong nation. Their efforts were not for selfish reasons. More and more women have become migrant workers as legislation has opened the doors for women to access any form of work in any geography. However it is the professionals of today who need to ensure that the space in which we work accommodates the needs of women. Some may say women were given the hand now they want the whole arm. It is common knowledge that corporate by its nature has not been accommodative for women. Thus professional women need to unite to further the advancement of women in corporate and political environments. Women are predominantly the primary caretakers in their homes and thus may need more flexibility of office hours and use of advancements in technology to accommodate the drop-off and collection of children from school, do homework prepare meals and foster a loving environment. Family duties are none ending extending to caring for partners and spouses, grandparents and extended family members. Other examples of needed adaptation of the sector are availability of rooms for mothers nursing infants, provision of crèche facilities close to work, provision of public schools with quality education, efficient health care, availability of safe public spaces free of criminality for our children to be able to play and for us to travel to and from our places of work and provision of affordable and efficient public transport .This by no means says women cannot do the job done by males, but rather that the environment needs to enable the women to perform at their optimal levels.

As I reflect further I have realized that as professionals we operate behind boardroom doors. We need to unite as women against gender based violence in our communities, against sexual harassment undertones in the work place, the perception that we sit in leadership positions because of our sexual orientation rather than because we are capable of being leaders.

Another challenge we are facing is that as we sit inside high rise buildings and behind office doors, the greater community and society is shut out from our daily activities. This is a big contrast to the women of 1956. Most of them lived and worked in their communities. They worked with their children on their backs and not only imparted values to their own children but to all the children in their communities. Personally I grew up seeing our mothers wake up to go to their professional work places and returning to their communities. We saw the requisite discipline it took to be successful daily. We understood what it means to work for your family and community at large. Thus we are able to do the same today.

However I am now concerned that as a professional of today what are we doing to unite in order to build our communities? When we are in the boardrooms what are we doing for the greater community? Most large corporates have corporate social responsibility programs that reach out to larger communities. However sometimes these programs’ impact on communities is not measured or its impact is negligible. A few people are involved in these programs and it becomes charity work rather than working with communities. As professionals we need to step out of the boardroom and step into our communities. Our children must see us work in their spaces, impacting their environments. Only then can they dream to follow in our footsteps. Only then can we further increase the number of women in marginalized careers. As we continue our trajectory northwards we need to keep looking to the east and to the west to bring our communities with us. We need to be mindful that even though the doors of education are now open to all, many children drop out in primary education, others still cannot access higher education institutions of learning even thought they are academically capable. They face challenges in our communities such as personal safety even from their own family members and teenage pregnancy is on the increase keeping girls at home and their newborns being born in poverty. Women are becoming grandmothers at a young age. This plight is no longer just about the girl child that fell pregnant, but also the boy child who has become a young father and their own struggles to become exemplary men. As professionals we need to unite and use our power to instill a sense of responsibility for the rights that we have been afforded.

We now need to unite to become architects of society, by organizing industries and political spaces suitable not only for women but for the benefit of our societies. We need to unite as women across political affiliations, industries and racial lines to pressurize our leaders, united with us, to implement infrastructure and programs that protects the rights as enshrined in the constitution.

9 August should be a reminder to each of us of our own contribution towards advancing not only women but humanity as a whole.