Give our women ongoing support

WHILE we sweep up the detritus from yesterday’s celebrations of National Women’s Day, it is worth pondering what we are actually celebrating.

Almost six decades ago, more than 20 000 women marched to the Union Buildings in protest against the extension of pass laws to black women. They demanded the abolition of the dreaded pass, which restricted movement and tore families apart.

While the pass laws were eventually scrapped and political freedom was granted to all in 1994, freedom of movement for many women, particularly poor black women, remains elusive. Using public transport is fraught with challenges to their personal safety, while walking is not guaranteed to be safe either. Even exercising their basic right to sanitation can result in rape or death.

Appalling levels of sexual harassment and violence seem to continue unabated and government’s commitment to the prosecution of sexual offences is dubious, given the slow reintroduction of specialised sexual offences courts.

For women who suffer domestic violence, shelters are few and far between. Such facilities are only able to provide shelter for a limited period, after which women face limited choices and return to their abusive relationships.

Movement in the economic sector is also subject to gender disparity. Despite 60 percent of tertiary qualification in South Africa being awarded to women only 16 percent of executive directors in JSE listed companies are women. Corporates slow to transform their employment structure waste no time in capitalising on the crass commercialism which has become a hallmark of the day. Poorly conceptualised campaigns executed in bad taste with scant regard for the real issues facing women are prolific. You may purchase anything from a discounted pillow to a special edition perfume to “celebrate” Women’s Day. For corporate South Africa’s interest in women to be taken at all seriously, an ongoing commitment to level the economic playing fields and address the scourge of violence against women is required.

It is the women who continue to fight daily battles for dignity, personal safety and economic equality that honour the memory of the women of 1956. When August ends, so too will the marketing campaigns, the government rhetoric and the advertising offers. For many women, however, the struggle will continue.