This month, as we celebrate the incomparable strength of the countless women who took to the Union Buildings to protest the apartheid regime’s pass laws, we must also look at the vastly different struggles that the women of today still face.
2023’s Women’s Month theme is “Women’s Socio-Economic Rights and Empowerment: Building Back Better for Women’s Improved Resilience” according to the government.
This is spot on, as many women in the country are often the sole breadwinners of their families while earning significantly less than their male counterparts. Others endure financial abuse and have no resources to leave.
Conversely, there are women who work hard or strike it lucky and become, in this decade, the “first” to lead in their field. Through their excellence, they are praised, and deservedly so, while enormous pressure is put on them to be these shining beacons of hope for girls and young women in the country.
They are, in a sense, dehumanised and have become mere symbols of greatness to point to. They are expected to be superhuman, have little to no flaws, and are always compared to the men that came before them.
Another expectation of breaking the “glass ceiling” is that they significantly change their fields, bring more women in, and make them more diverse. So, the onus of changing systematic oppression is still placed on them and not on the majority of men who truly hold the power.
When these women crumble under the sheer weight of everything placed on them and express this, they become quickly scrutinised, their leadership is called into question, and even worse, they are told that they are “too emotional” to hold such high positions.
The subjugation of women is not a new phenomenon, but as time has passed and some progress has been made, this insidious system has managed to morph and even cloak or partially conceal itself within the 21st century.
To move forward and improve the socio-economic conditions of women in this country, we must shatter these illusions that play out before our eyes and make the world a better and more equal place for future generations.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
IOL