The Contribution of Women in shaping South Africa’s History by Patricia de Lille
2006-01-05. Ladies and Gentlemen it is a great honour to be addressing you today on the history of women in South Africa. The very title of the speech highlights, however, the way in which women’s role in shaping our past and our future has been marginalized. The term history foregrounds the fact that it is “his” story rather than our story. Women’s role in shaping world events and struggles for equality and justice are often marginalized and we have to address this if we are to bring balance to our stories.
I believe that part of the reason for
this is that woman have adopted a very different approach to men when
it comes to fighting injustice. Women are not as concerned with
standing on podiums and taking the glory for themselves, but rather in
building solidarity amongst each other in fighting oppression. There
are certainly many women that I could pay tribute to here today such as
Ruth First, Albertina Sisulu, Mamphela Ramphela, Helen Josephs, Lillian
Ngoyi amongst many others, but I believe that they would rather I pay
tribute to the thousands of ordinary women who showed solidarity with
the fight for justice in South Africa. That would include the 20 000
women who marched on the Union Buildings on the 9th August 2005 to
protest against the unjust pass laws. Their freedom song of “Now you
have touched the women, Stridjom, you have struck a rock, you will be
crushed” stills inspires women activists of today as they struggle for
the complete emancipation of women. It was also that march that led
Chief Luthuli to forcefully declare “When the women begin to take an
active part in the struggle as they are doing now, no power on earth
can stop us from achieving Freedom in our Lifetime.”
Women’s role in the struggle, however, was not restricted to protest marches and acts of defiance against the brutal apartheid regime. It was also the women who had to keep the family together when many of their loved one’s were imprisoned, tortured, killed or sent into exile. I believe these are the stories that urgently need to be told as it shows the quiet resolution of women to care for their children and families against the might of a repressive regime. Women were not only asked to be activists in the struggle but mothers as well. I remember my own involvement during that time when I had to take my young son with me to all the political meetings. He learnt to sing the songs of freedom before any other songs.
I honestly feel though, that the greatest contribution women made to the struggle was in the form of the values that underpinned it. These were the values of compassion, forgiveness and love. It is these values that have allowed us to build reconciliation in our new democracy and we must ensure that these values are always promoted in the new society we are trying to construct.
Being the only woman leader of a political party I believe that I have been able to instill these values in both the policies and approach of the Independent Democrats. I have fought against and will continue to fight against those values that see us spend vast sums of money on “toys for boys” such as the arms deal, when the real battle that needs to be fought is against poverty and inequality in this country. It is my concern for the children of this country that saw us launch an Access to Education campaign to ensure that every child gets the education they are entitled to. It is also the immense compassion that I feel for those infected with HIV that has led to the ID playing a leading role in combating the stigma around this virus and forcing the government to roll out lifesaving drugs for those in need. It is also compassion that should drive our policy towards Zimbabwe and not just cheap politicking on the issue. We cannot as women, silently watch as the people of Zimbabwe endure untold suffering without providing humanitarian support to them. It is a callous man such as Robert Mugabe who is prepared to sacrifice his people for his own political ends, but we as the people of South Africa must do all we can to help the people of Zimbabwe in their desperate time of need.
The values that I refer to, however, are not restricted to women and I firmly believe that many men share these values and also wish to contribute towards building a society that embodies them. As women we have to allow men to become part of the solution to issues such as violence against women and continued female oppression. I am a woman who believes that we cannot simply accept injustices and sit around and complain about them. We have to overcome the victim mentality and find concrete ways of bashing down the stereotypes surrounding us.
The political realm used to be the exclusive domain of men but since 1994 women have been changing that reality. When I took the decision to start my own party I knew that I would be competing against all those male leaders as well as the entrenched stereotypes about women political leaders. I proved, however, that it is possible to take on men at their own game and emerge victorious. I am not afraid of the abuse that these men continue to throw at me, because I am aware of my own strength and the battle that I am fighting is not only for myself but for all the women of South Africa. I therefore encourage you as women to recognize your own power and shape your own sphere of influence. In doing that, however, never forget the values of compassion, forgiveness and love that we constantly need to fight for.
I thank you.
Women’s role in the struggle, however, was not restricted to protest marches and acts of defiance against the brutal apartheid regime. It was also the women who had to keep the family together when many of their loved one’s were imprisoned, tortured, killed or sent into exile. I believe these are the stories that urgently need to be told as it shows the quiet resolution of women to care for their children and families against the might of a repressive regime. Women were not only asked to be activists in the struggle but mothers as well. I remember my own involvement during that time when I had to take my young son with me to all the political meetings. He learnt to sing the songs of freedom before any other songs.
I honestly feel though, that the greatest contribution women made to the struggle was in the form of the values that underpinned it. These were the values of compassion, forgiveness and love. It is these values that have allowed us to build reconciliation in our new democracy and we must ensure that these values are always promoted in the new society we are trying to construct.
Being the only woman leader of a political party I believe that I have been able to instill these values in both the policies and approach of the Independent Democrats. I have fought against and will continue to fight against those values that see us spend vast sums of money on “toys for boys” such as the arms deal, when the real battle that needs to be fought is against poverty and inequality in this country. It is my concern for the children of this country that saw us launch an Access to Education campaign to ensure that every child gets the education they are entitled to. It is also the immense compassion that I feel for those infected with HIV that has led to the ID playing a leading role in combating the stigma around this virus and forcing the government to roll out lifesaving drugs for those in need. It is also compassion that should drive our policy towards Zimbabwe and not just cheap politicking on the issue. We cannot as women, silently watch as the people of Zimbabwe endure untold suffering without providing humanitarian support to them. It is a callous man such as Robert Mugabe who is prepared to sacrifice his people for his own political ends, but we as the people of South Africa must do all we can to help the people of Zimbabwe in their desperate time of need.
The values that I refer to, however, are not restricted to women and I firmly believe that many men share these values and also wish to contribute towards building a society that embodies them. As women we have to allow men to become part of the solution to issues such as violence against women and continued female oppression. I am a woman who believes that we cannot simply accept injustices and sit around and complain about them. We have to overcome the victim mentality and find concrete ways of bashing down the stereotypes surrounding us.
The political realm used to be the exclusive domain of men but since 1994 women have been changing that reality. When I took the decision to start my own party I knew that I would be competing against all those male leaders as well as the entrenched stereotypes about women political leaders. I proved, however, that it is possible to take on men at their own game and emerge victorious. I am not afraid of the abuse that these men continue to throw at me, because I am aware of my own strength and the battle that I am fighting is not only for myself but for all the women of South Africa. I therefore encourage you as women to recognize your own power and shape your own sphere of influence. In doing that, however, never forget the values of compassion, forgiveness and love that we constantly need to fight for.
I thank you.
