South Africans demonstrating against violence perpetuated on women. The murder of lesbians has been the subject of discussion and organizing in recent months., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
The meaning of Women’s Day
9 August 2013
August 9th, National Women’s Day, is a day of celebration of women in our country. It is a day when we all celebrate what women are doing in their jobs and in our trade unions, in politics, in the media, in our education and religious institutions, in our homes and in our communities.
It is also a day of solidarity between women – solidarity in the continued struggle for total emancipation from economic and social subordination, a day when women unite to protest against the continued triple exploitation of the majority of women – as members of the working class, in the work place, and at home.
It is a moment when the women of South Africa look back and draw inspiration from the 20,000 women who marched bravely on the Union Buildings in 1956, and who pronounced “Wathint Abafazi, wathint mbokodo” – Strike a woman and you have struck a rock. While we honour the leaders of this historic act of rebellion, we must also remember that the majority of those who courageously marched were considered ‘ordinary women’ and we must also remember them.
Thanks in no small part to the courage and determination of the women of 1956 and beyond, our democratically elected government has repealed old laws that discriminated against women, especially black women, embedded gender equality into our constitution and passed new laws to promote gender equity in employment, and human rights for women in the community and the family.
Hundreds of South African women today hold high office in government, parliament and civil society, shattering the old myth that only men have the skills and ability needed to be leaders and hold the most senior jobs.
The lives of thousands of women have been transformed through the extension of basic services like water, electricity, sewerage and housing to more and more communities. This has begun to the massive task of freeing women from at least some of the burdens of household labour and given many more of them the chance to seek a job, extend their education or start a small business.
The daily reality of South African women today
But we would be dishonouring the memory of those heroines of the past and present if we were to be complacent about the huge problems women still confront. Despite the advances since 1994, millions of poor, working class women still battle against unemployment, poverty, discrimination and abuse.
The most startling manifestation of the continued subordinate position of women is reflected in our statistics on violence against women – some of the worst in the world. In South Africa a woman is murdered by her male partner every six hours. Rape statistics vary because at least two out of three rapes are not reported, but it is estimated that at least 150 women are raped a day. And one out of every four women in South Africa experiences domestic violence.
When we realise that one out of four men have raped (Medical Research Council survey of men in KZN and the Eastern Cape), and that many schoolboys see “jack-rolling” (gang rape) as “fun” (the result of a poll of 1500 school boys in Soweto), we can see that this abuse of women has become normative. It is perpetrated by men and boys whom we all know, and not exclusively by a few anonymous monsters.
This means we need to develop new strategies, including a call to all men in our society to reflect on and talk about how they see and relate to women. We need to take a lead from organisations such as Sonke Gender Justice which is challenging the power imbalance between the sexes “from within”. In our Federation, this means calling on our male comrades to talk honesty with each other about what they can play in changing their own behaviour and perceptions of women as commodities to be owned and disposed of.
This call to our male comrades does not ignore the fact that unfounded allegations of abuse are made by women from time to time. This problem however is small in comparison to the scale of proven abuse, and should not detract from the fact that we have a serious societal crisis that needs to be dealt with.
Challenging gender imbalances at work and in our movement
We recognise that much of the imbalance of power between men and women is underpinned by their weaker economic position. The following facts, largely drawn from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey of May 2013, indicate:-
--A greater proportion of women (27, 5% under the narrow definition) are unemployed than men (25, 2%)
--Women are disproportionately concentrated in low paying domestic and elementary labour
--One in four women in employment work part time (less than 45 hours a week) compared to one in ten men in employment
41% of women in employment are not registered for Unemployment Insurance, compared to 32% of men in employment
--Only 54% of women in employment have maternity leave rights
--Not only are women in a weaker economic position, but those who are in work are less likely than men to be unionised. 71% of all women workers are not in a trade union, compared to 65% of men.
The organising challenge we face: Action now!
The key challenge facing all COSATU unions is to actively recruit all unorganised workers, and to pay particular attention to organising women members.
Not only do we have a challenge to recruit and organise more women into the trade union movement, but we have the obligation to change the gender profile of our leadership. Currently a maximum of one in four members of our affiliates’ National Executive Committee members are women.
We accept that this is not good enough, given that around 40% of our members are women.
We must find ways to give women workers the chance to develop their leadership skills and self-confidence, so that they can lead the struggle for women’s emancipation. This requires new creative approaches, and cannot just be a continuation of business as usual! Women need space and resources to develop, and unions must best discuss how they can contribute to this process. It is no accident that most of the leaders on that original Women’s March in 1956 started their lives of struggle in the labour movement. The whole labour movement must reclaim its role as the workers university and set an example of what a gender balanced world should look like!
More and more male comrades are beginning to understand that empowering women comrades is essential for working class unity, and for building a movement that can challenge patriarchal views and lay the foundations for a socialist society free of all oppression. COSATU has from its inception been committed to organising women and the other most vulnerable sectors of our society.
It stands by the national democratic revolution’s strategic objective to build a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic society. Our economic liberation must therefore involve the upliftment of the poor, the majority of whom are African and women.
Samora Machel, the leader of the liberation struggle in Mozambique, once said: “The liberation of women is not act of charity but a fundamental precondition for the success of our revolution.” These words are still relevant today as we mark National Women’s Day this Friday 9th August 2013.
Patrick Craven (National Spokesperson)
Congress of South African Trade Unions
110 Jorissen Cnr Simmonds Street
Braamfontein
2017
Tel: +27 11 339-4911 or Direct: +27 10 219-1339
Mobile: +27 82 821 7456
E-Mail: patrick@cosatu.org.za
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