By Zeninjor Enwemeka
About 1 000 women gathered in Cape Town on Wednesday to hear prominent women's rights activists talk about the need for empowerment in the areas of Aids, poverty and domestic violence.
World renowned singer and women's rights activist Joan Armatrading travelled all the way from London just to address the Women's Hope Education and Training (Wheat) Trust about the role they had to play to regain control of their lives.
She talked about the role women have played in South Africa and the rest of the continent in dealing with issues such as HIV and Aids and went on to list the names of women around the world who are presidents and prime ministers of their nations.
Armatrading also challenged cultural beliefs related to violence.
"You are not curing Aids when you rape a child," Armatrading said.
"You are not less of a man if you do not beat your wife."
Armatrading noted the importance of female empowerment and the use of women's voices in the struggle.
"Women need to take back charge of their minds," she said.
"Women have their own power and they need to seize it."
Event organiser Tina Thiart of Wheat Trust said she wanted to bring to light the need to give women economic power and put money behind different grassroots initiatives for women.
The event also collected funds which will be distributed to organisations that work with Wheat Trust, which helps fund grassroots and community-based women's organisations through empowerment initiatives and skills training.
It works with about 430 organisations that deal with health issues, HIV and Aids, education, poverty and domestic violence.
"Speak out" was the main theme of the day.
Gender activist Pregs Govender gave a keynote speech in which she discussed the disproportionate effects of health and economic issues on women.
"Globally women are bearing the brunt of poverty and HIV and Aids," Govender said.
She also said she had spent two weeks meeting women around the country who expressed their despair at the stereotypes about rape that resurfaced during the Zuma trial, including a woman's style of dress, sexual history and reaction to an attack.