SA’s women: vulnerable yet powerful

As the nation celebrates Women’s Day, four Herald readers reflected on what it means to be a woman in South Africa, with economic freedom, empowerment and the frightening reality of abuse tackled

DANIELLE JANUARIE

A TRUE woman portrays, strength, courage, vision, creativity and most of all, she oozes love.

Women in South Africa today are faced with tremendous amounts of pressure [but] also have a sense of empowerment, laid by the generation of great females before us.

We don’t have to compete for attention, because we are the “attention”.

NATASHA POTGIETER

YOU have to be prepared like never before to withstand your attacker.

It means you are on constant alert all the time, securing and locking your home, and having to explain to the children why they cannot play outside if daddy is not home yet.

And during all of this, you still have the courage and strength to excel in your job, and ensure a loving well-kept home.

SHARON TARBOTON

IT means so much more than a decade ago.

The downturn in the economy has helped boost my business by empowering others with an important life skill such as learning to sew.

I slowly built up to a structured training centre which is constantly evolving and growing.

We are [now] able to reach [and empower] more people.

NANCY SENGWANE

TO me it means freedom – from economic exclusion on the basis of gender (among other factors), from male dependency, from cultural injustices and abuse.

Women of this generation are empowered – no more victim mentality.

Don’t let the economic status of the country dictate how far in life you can go. Women CAN!