FOR WOMEN, THE STRUGGLE FOR EQUALITY CONTINUES EVERY DAY

WHO are the providers in our households? Many would respond that it is men, because the society made us see things that way. We are made to believe that it is a man’s duty to provide care and support for his family. But if that were correct, what is the position of households that have single parents, most of which are women? How about in same-sex marriages? We now live in a time where anyone can be a provider, and it is not only the men’s task.

As we celebrated Women’s Month, let us not forget the women who risked their lives and took a stand to march against pass laws, carrying petitions, chanting and singing Strijdom wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo. They took part in fighting for freedom. The road for them was not easy.

Fast-forward to the 21st century, we live in a democracy. But we still have some beliefs and cultures that contribute to the suppression of women. Virginity testing is one. Another is lobola, which practically treats a man’s wife as his asset because of the money he has paid to her family. Issues such as whether a woman is a virgin at the time of lobola negotiations are taken into account in determining the amount of money to be paid. A man’s virginity is never considered. Let us also combat the infamous ukuth- wala custom and other tendencies which lead to forced marriages because of beliefs.

We still live in a heavily patriarchal society. While girls today have better access to education, material conditions make it hard for them to make it in school and work. They have to fight more than men to prove their capabilities. Women have no choice but to subject themselves to a society which still holds to what Darwin coined the “survival of the fittest”. We call on the government to continue to take a leading role, but as the general public, men and women, we must play our part.

Lebogang Pule Daveyton