Friday 17 August 2012

Malibongwe igama lamakhosikazi (Lets praise the name of women)

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As we celebrate the 56th Anniversary of the 1956 Women’s March to the Union Building.  I can’t help but think of what could have been going through their minds when they were preparing for that historical day.  I have no doubt in my mind that these heroines work up at dawn, most probably some of them did not even fall asleep the night before anticipating what might unfold during that day.

 
The anxiety and yet the fearlessness and courage they displayed remains unmatched.  The women from most parts of South African were tired of carrying passes,  it is said they shouted and chanted the names of their oppressors.  The women were tired of being treated like children and second class citizens in the land of their birth. I can imagine the pain and insults that might have been hurled at them, those who spit and called them names in the land of their foremothers and forefathers.

These women were fighting for the future of their grandchildren.  They knew very well that total emancipation would take time, sacrifice and loss of lives. Those brave women were fighting for my grandchildren too, they were fighting for an environment where my grandchildren can realize their true potential and have equal opportunities to prosper and lead the nation to great heights. 

Many would have though that these women were wasting their time and that they had too much time at their disposal.  I, a lady that was born six years later on the very same day, testify that their fight was not invein, indeed their contribution has paved the way for full emancipation of women in South Africa and the rest of the continent.  I know there is still much to be done however I do believe that they have been some meaningful strides that have been reached in the quest for full emancipation of women. #smed12

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