Reality of women today is that SA is still not a safe place

One would assume that a black woman born in 1994 would have a little more optimism in her voice because she was born at a time when inequality and oppression were supposed to end.

However, that is not the case. There is very little to celebrate about being a woman in South Africa today.

August is Women’s Month, a month meant to commemorate the brave women who stood up against oppressive pass laws that controlled the movement of black people.

Our mothers took to the streets on August 9 1956, did not know that their daughters would also one day be fighting the very restrictions they fought against.

Ideally, this is a month that is supposed to be of great joy and pride. Indeed what the women of 1956 did cannot be undermined or disregarded. However, as a 23-yearold black woman in South Africa, this is a sad month for me because I use such commemorative months as a time for reflection. And it is during reflection when you realise how little things have changed.

There may be no pass laws today, however, women are still restricted. I say this because in our everyday lives, we are not free of fear. We are never safe, even in our homes.

Our everyday movements and behaviour are dictated by various oppressive social forces – marginalisation, patriarchy and the threat of sexual assault at every turn.

That is the daily reality of being a woman in South Africa.

It is difficult for me to celebrate women’s month because every time I leave my house, I come face to face with the reality that I may not come back alive or unharmed. That is the reality of being a woman in South Africa. When I get into an Uber taxi, I have to check the car’s registration and driver’s ID and send the details of my ride to friends because I am vulnerable. There is almost no safe space.

I cannot even begin to describe the nervousness of being at a taxi rank. You cannot raise your voice against the injustice you see there because you may not get to your destination.

Although we no longer have pass laws, our movements and freedom are still restricted in many other ways.

For me as a woman in South Africa, surviving a day is a victory on its own.

Our bodies are in constant danger of being violated, and this constant fear is not what our mothers fought for.

As bleak as it seems right now, I will pay homage to the women of 1956 by being an ally to all women, especially black women, because our struggle is an everlasting one.

I will defend and support women who choose to resist and reject all restrictions that society continues to put on how women should lead their lives.

To women, I say “wathint’abafazi wathint’imbokodo” as we navigate our everyday lives in a patriarchal, sexist and violent South Africa.

Women must continue to struggle to make our country a better society for generations of women who are still to come.

May we continue to carry the spirit of defiance within us, every single day of our lives, and reject the restrictions put on us.