Johannesburg - There thoroughfares in the Joburg CBD that are filled with history.
Street names that have given life to a past that South Africans often tend to forget. The famous Bree Street, known for its laborious route that commuters make use of on their daily grind, was renamed Lilian Ngoyi. The street that runs parallel to it, formerly Jeppe, is now Rahima Moosa. Walk up a few blocks and you’ll notice President Street has become Helen Joseph. The lengthy Market Street, which stretches from Mogale City in the West to OR Tambo International Airport, now famously goes by the name of Albertina Sisulu.What do all these names have in common? They are the names of the female leaders of the 1956 march against pass laws.
Emerging from a pre-feminist era, where most women around the world were subjugated to men, undereducated and stay-at-home mothers, they were part of a major change in history. They are the foundation of a rich culture of a heightened feminism which inspired the world: Wathint’abafazi, wathint’imbokodo! (You Strike a Woman, You Strike a Rock!). Fast forward 60 years, and true equality between men and women is yet to be realised. But we should draw inspiration from the women who helped shift our continuing liberation. And what’s in a name, you ask?
For the five activists featured here, it’s so much more than a sign pointing in the right direction.
Nonhlanhla Skosana – I am Lilian Ngoyi
THE WAY Nonhlanhla Skosana sees it, men and boys need to hold each other accountable. That’s also why she, as a woman, has taken it upon herself to educate them on gender-based violence, because her knowledge is visceral; theirs is received.
“Sonke for me is a platform where we can talk to men about these issues and also to say to those who aren’t perpetrators that they can’t turn a blind eye; their silence means they are taking part in violence against women.”
Skosana, a community, education and mobilisation unit manager at Sonke Gender Justice, focuses her efforts on men talking about the issues of gender-based violence, equality and prevention.
“Being an activist means you are the voice for the voiceless. You can’t be an activist just when things are fine. You have to be on the streets, fighting the battles for those in need.”
One of the projects she’s working on is Amathuthuzela – a one-stop service space for rape survivors. Sonke is working with 23 community radio stations to promote these centres through a radio drama called Thuthuzeleka.
“It’s important to talk to men about how they can support victims of sexual violence,” she says.
A team comprising men in the communities runs workshops. They also attend municipal ward meetings and raise the gender based violence issues that are often brushed under the carpet.
“These men,” says Skosana, “become ambassadors in their communities.”
Her passion to mobilise men stems from her wanting to see them become equal partners in the fight against sexual violence:
“You don’t see men picketing outside court or showing support when it is necessary. It also affects men, young men who see their mothers being abused or sisters being raped. They are affected.”
One case to which Skosana has been dedicating her time is the ongoing one against ex-ANCYL leader Patrick Wisani, who allegedly sjambokked his girlfriend to death. The case is being monitored by Sonke Gender Justice and a fellow organisation in Yeoville.
Out of this, she also has a concern that many young men struggle to identify with other men who ,can be their role models:
“We need to change that, those stereotypes…That being a provider means to be strong and violent in order to prove your manhood.”
Skosana believes that if men can understand these issues, the effect will roll over to women, who will then be able to be in a space where they can negotiate for condoms, have open conversations with their partners about how many children they want to have and other “taboo” topics. She cites a case in which a woman who had been raped by her uncle years later caught her son raping her niece. She reported him and he was eventually jailed. Because of this, the woman was turned into an outcast by her family and community. But, says Skosana, “those are the hero women, the women who are on the ground, making decisions, building their communities and not paying lip service”.
The activist lives by these words of Lilian Ngoyi: “Let us be brave. We have heard of men shaking in their trousers, but whoever heard of a woman shaking in her skirt?”
She says: “We have no option, we have to stand, we have to be brave.”
(Sonke Gender Justice can be contacted at 011 339 3589.)
Mara Glennie – I am Rahima Moosa
“RAPE happens to anybody, anywhere, any colour, any time.”
It took 19 years for Mara Glennie to leave an abusive relationship. And when she did there was no help for her on the other side.
“I felt like the police didn’t have the wherewithal to tell me where to go. And then I discovered that there is no list that has all the rape and abuse facilities. So, I set about researching a list.”
This is when Tears – a rape and sexual abuse network – came to be. Glennie started it to embrace a potential remedy that reached across cultural lines. She and her team have gathered 3 600 names on the list of facilities available to women in crisis.
“If you use our helpline number, *134*7355#, you will get the nearest place to you, all the places are free.”
The team is working on getting a list of all the available facilities on university campuses for rape victims. She is also researching the impact of trauma, the abuse of men and working on a project that involves children. The women who work at Tears have their own stories to tell. One woman gave birth to a child after she was raped; another was infected with HIV after being sexually violated.
Other volunteers have been affected in some way by rape.
“I don’t think anyone can say they don’t know at least one person who has been abused or raped.”
Glennie believes as the world becomes more enlightened, women are starting to understand that saying “no” is a basic human right.
You don’t just leave an abusive relationship and for this reason Glennie started a process that would allow women to take it one day at a time.
“There was a lady who was in an abusive marriage and she didn’t know how to leave. We gave her tools to empower herself.”
Often women don’t have anywhere to go if they leave. Glennie asks those who are attempting to leave to first make a plan to leave by writing about the abuse as if they were reporting it to the police. Writing is the first step to healing. The next is to imagine what you would need to do if you left.
“Sometimes its simple things, like getting a driving licence and opening a bank account.”
When the woman had written out her statement, someone from Tears would accompany her to the police station. When her case went to court, someone from their organisation would accompany her there too.
Sometimes people offer services to Tears but they aren’t fully healed so Tears becomes part of that process for them.
You have to be healed.
“You can’t do this if you carry pain, many can’t speak because they haven’t healed. When you deal with another person’s pain you look at your own. So you have to be ok. When you are ok with yourself it is ok to cry, you have to give yourself the freedom to know that your life hasn’t been perfect, you have to learn to forgive other people and yourself.
Kirsten Hornby- I am Helen Joseph
KIRSTEN Hornby has always had a passion for social justice. Working at the National Freedom Network (NFN), a group of people and organisations from around South Africa who collaborate against human trafficking, has exposed her to the traumatic experiences of women who have been exploited.
“This industry is directly profiting off the exploitation of other people. That’s what it’s about. Especially women’s issues. They are the biggest victims in the crime. Trafficking plays on vulnerable women and they are often overlooked.”
Hornby’s role is that of project director at what she calls the “nervous system” of the entire fight against trafficking in the country. It connects organisations; and it gives resources needed to do the work.
“Whenever I have a crisis or I’m dealing with a victim in an emergency case and I need a safe house or a contact, to try to find that stuff in an emergency is basically impossible. The network offers all organisations that connection they need to do their work well.”
It started up informally just before the 2010 World Cup as human trafficking started to gain momentum – and national attention. A sense of unity was needed – and the network provided that. In July, for example, it was part of a raid in Kempton Park where 16 teenage girls were rescued from a syndicate. They were lured to the area after they were promised jobs. The network did victim screenings and provided support to the girls. Hornby prides herself on her work and will not tolerate injustice: “I understand the impact that exploitation has on people and what it does to the human soul. I want to play a role in making sure that people see the justice and fair treatment that they deserve.
“It’s a long journey for these women and people forget how long they need to walk before they can actually be fully healed.”
Hornby has been with NFN for three years.
Trusha Reddy- I am Sophia Williams-De Bruyn
AS THE INTERNATIONAL coal network co-ordinator at Earthlife Africa, Trusha Reddy spends a big part of her life supporting campaigns that resist the new wave of coal projects around the world. The campaign turned global in mid-2012.
“It was about trying to resist in particular the new wave of coal fire plants and other infrastructure around the world,” Reddy says.
“About 1 200 coal plants were proposed from 2012 around the world. If those coal plants get built, we are on track for a 6°C rise in global temperature.”
Reddy says this places coal at the centre of the climate change challenge, which is the most urgent crisis of our time.
“If we don’t deal with it effectively, trying to curtail our use of coal fire power, we stand a chance of planetary collapse or climate catastrophe.
“There is more evidence coming that coal fire power is detrimental to our health.
“Some 400 000 deaths have been looked at due to exposure of the pollutants that come out of coal fire plants, and there is a host of other human health impacts, lung-related illnesses, air pollution.”
Reddy has worked with Earthlife for three years, after being associated with the organisation informally while a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies.
“I was involved there in democratic governance, climate change and climate finance institutions that looked at issues around carbon trading.
“My field was on climate change projects, corruption and transparency.”
She explains that climate finance is a phenomenon of the last decade, meant to offer relief to countries that need funds to be able to mitigate climate change or adapt to the impacts: rising temperatures, shortages of food, natural disasters.
“If the proposed plants are built, we will face planetary collapse,” Reddy says.
She is asthmatic. Her condition has a lot to do with the environment in which she lived when she was growing up in Durban, where industrial pollution was blown up the coast.
“It was a potent combo with humidity and pollens, it created a toxic blend. You’ll find countless people in the south of Durban with cases of asthma and respiratory illnesses.
“There is a huge awareness now in Durban. The landfills are not well treated; it makes you a victim of pollution for life. It’s a constant reminder of how dirty and harmful coal is.”
When Reddy is not being an activist she spends time outdoors.
“I like to spend time in nature; we’ve become so disconnected.”
IOL