Pupils share views to win
Pupils from high schools across the city were invited to take part in a public speaking competition that tested their confidence and grit in front of their peers. The winner was Nandipa Khubone, of Maris Stella. The Daily News selected her speech and thos
SEXISM AND MISOGYNY
Good afternoon ladies, gentlemen and all those in between. That one greeting encompasses the hopes I have for my country and my world. The change in everyday speech to accommodate every human being there is. As time passes, we are growing and evolving as a human species, and must be aware of what we are doing to and for each other in the simplest ways possible. I want to be the foundation for a life and a world with no boundaries for human rights. I want to know girls, boys and those in between are not belittled for being who they are.
What we face today is a minority of a generation that is passionate, that voices their opinions, that stands up for what they believe in – and what we lack from the majority is understanding.
They use a traditional method of thinking. The first steps to changing our perception of gender-based prejudices is to eliminate sexist remarks and common practices. I am a part of a culture that celebrates the female body, a culture that does not sexualise the women’s body. Reed dances are performed whilst Zulu girls, “Amatshitshi”, dance and take pride in their bodies. But I am also a part of the same culture that assesses if a girl’s virginity is still intact in order to call her a real woman, a woman who has looked after herself but what we so often forget is that it took a real man to make her any less of that woman. Misogyny spurs on from simple cultural acts. Girls are praised for making it through their teenage years without sleeping with a boy, whereas boys are congratulated for finally being man enough to get a girl.
I read a post last year by a young girl who took it upon herself to explain rape culture to men. It read, “Gentlemen, This is what rape culture is like. Imagine you have a Rolex watch. A nice, fancy Rolex. You bought it because you like the way it looks and you wanted to treat yourself. And then you get beaten and mugged and your Rolex is stolen. So you go to the police.
“Only, instead of investigating the crime, the police want to know why you were wearing a Rolex, as opposed to a regular watch. Have you ever given a Rolex to anyone else? Is it possible you wanted to be mugged? Why didn’t you wear long sleeves to cover up the Rolex if you didn’t want to be mugged? Imagine all that, boys? It sucks, doesn’t it? Now, imagine you could never take the Rolex off.”
I, as a girl, as a human being, I don’t find the need to have to explain that your private part is a Rolex. To even have to try to simplify the complexity of your own body to a materialistic object worth a few thousand doesn’t make sense. A body is worth so much more. The pain, anger, guilt, remorse and shame that a victim feels after such a traumatic experience is far greater than the loss of an object.
The fact that we as women need to try to relate it to a watch makes me fear for us. Makes me fear that women have resorted to speaking of themselves at a lower standard to appeal for empathy from a man.
Dennis Lehane once said, “Sympathy is easy. You have sympathy for starving children swatting at flies on the latenight commercials. Sympathy is easy because it comes from a position of power. Empathy is getting down on your knees and looking someone else in the eye and realising that you could be them and all that separates you is luck.” All that separates sexes from each other is chance; a person did not plan who they wanted to leave their mother’s womb as, but it’s interesting how the majority of prejudices are based on what was chosen for us and not who we chose to be.
We have incredible power just as humans and that should be celebrated in every dimension. Women are in every aspect equal to men; we just need to be treated as though we are.
We gave ourselves the platform to empower each other as sisters, lovers and mothers across the world through women’s rights movements.
To think that our vote was once not regarded and our minds were not valued, we have come a long way, but we have nothing more to do than stand against the injustices and speak even when or voices shake. We need not prove ourselves anymore to gain sympathy from man. Our aim is empathy, harmony and equality. I do not wish for women to have power over men, but over themselves. – Nandipha Khubone of Maris Stella
I was not born to pay bills and die… You were not born to pay bills and die. So why is this what the vast majority of people do? Why are people content with being another number? Where is the determination? Where is the hope? Where are the dreams? Why has the world become a place of normality, of fitting in, of conforming to what society says is right? When did society become more concerned with what is popular than what is right? When did people dissociate themselves from the world’s problems because they thought they were too small or insignificant to make any difference?
I firmly believe that we are the reason that the world is in such a mess, but I also believe that we can change the world. I believe that each and every one of us has the ability to change the world, even if it is only for one person. As Steve Jobs once said: “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world… are the ones who do.”
Words are cheap. It is something we are all guilty of at some stage. Saying something and then not following through
CHANGE THE WORLD
with it, leaving mistrust within those involved. And the social media platform is a prime culprit. Why is so little being done by everyday citizens of the world? Well, partly because many believe that they have actually done something. As though the fact that they liked or shared that photo of the starving child in Africa gave the child a warm meal or an education.
Please don’t misinterpret me on this; awareness is an essential way to impact people. It often encourages people to get involved in projects that aim to find solutions to the problems we face. However, awareness in itself does not solve problems. We need people who are willing to stand up for what they believe in, not people who merely “like” or “share” what they believe.
Maybe that is the issue, the world has lost its humanity. It has become a rat race where most people are only concerned with their own lives and suc- cess. It is sad to see this so-called connected generation, lacking in social skills and empathy and care the world requires. We live in a selfish and materialistic time where people are far more concerned about their latest status or photo than what they can do to improve the lives of those around them.
How do I believe the world can be changed? It is simple, you and I. We can change the world. We need people who are willing to stand up for what is right, no matter the cost. We need people who are willing to be kind to and to care for the people who surround them. As Mother Teresa once said: “No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.” Imagine how much things would change if we would just spend an extra minute showing someone even a small care or kindness.
Often the vastness of the change required in our world discourages people from even trying to make a difference. We must all remember this: an act of kindness, care or generosity may make an extraordinary change for the person impacted. If we can change the world for each individual, is the world itself not changed in the process? As Mahatma Gandhi said: “Be the change you wish to see in this world.” I am ready to do all I can to change the world. Are you? – Jonathan Ross