Women’s Day to me is very important because it honours women of South Africa for their heroic feats against the apartheid regime whereby they embarked on the now acclaimed 1956 march to challenge racism.
And personally it reminds me of my own mother, who actually took part in the famous march to the Union Buildings.
Over the years she would always enthrall us with a narrative of the day’s events.
On the day of the march she was pregnant and to compound matters, she had strapped a white child on her back, this as she was employed by the white child’s family as a domestic worker and her duties entailed taking care of the white family’s infant.
Be that as it may, she went to the march.
My mother was not educated at all, she had never gone to school, she couldn’t even write her own name, but she was a naturally wise woman and was certain of one thing: freedom from apartheid oppression.
She was like a moving library and always gave detailed and correct accounts on many matters, including the famous 1956 women’s march.
During those days of apartheid my mother and her comrades used to mobilise support for the ANC in trains on their way to and from work.
Today women are divided because of “class.”
For example, an educated or wealthy woman wouldn’t like to be associated with those who are lower than her in this regard.
Another thing these days is that many women don’t participate in Women’s Day celebrations and have even forgotten the significance of the day.
It is my opinion that women can do better and engage one another instead of ignoring one another.
We have lost our African values as women and I appeal to all political parties, especially those who espouse ” blackness,” to re-instill a culture whereby women will engage one another in a loving and caring manner.