Well, at least that’s behind us now. You women have had your day. Now it’s time for us men, the executors and beneficiaries of patriarchy, to take back the rest of the year… Let’s not pretend, people of South Africa, that the above statement is not an accurate reflection of how our male-dominated society viewed yesterday’s National Women’s Day.
What did women get yesterday? A day off? Probably not – most of them would have been saddled with the domestic and job chores they are saddled with every other day. Equal pay and opportunities? That’s so far from reality that it is almost not worth commenting on.
Safety? In a country where the abuse of women and children rises in lockstep with the hot air spouted every Women’s Day about making society a safer place? We don’t think so. Each year, though, on this day, everybody jumps on the bandwagon.
From politicians to well-known brands, all proclaim their commitment to raising up women, acknowledging that women are our under-class. And yet, each year things not only don’t change dramatically, they seem to slide backwards in many areas.
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How do we change our society, then? How do we instil the fundamental knowledge that women are the equals of men and as deserving of their human rights? We need to start in the home, difficult as that may be, given that many South Africans don’t live in conventional, “nuclear families”.
Fathers, and mothers, must raise their children to respect and treat everyone equally. Boys must be made aware they are owed no special position because they are male. That education must continue from the first day at school.
Abusers of women must be punished and shamed, whether they are rapists or companies who exploit women. We hope that one day there will be no need for a Women’s Day.
