Why South Africa Succeeds in Empowering Women?
History shows that socialist leaning movements and their societies have always elevated women politically i.e. the Eastern Europe, Cuba and the former USSR to name a few. This is due to the fact that a socialist economy, as opposed to a capitalist economy, does not need sexism or any form of discrimination to thrive.
The women status, however, declined sharply in Eastern Europe with the advent of a capitalist rule in that region. South Africa, though not socialist, was able to transform from a sexist apartheid society where females in parliament were less than 3% to a whopping 25% female representation in a relatively short period. What explains this remarkable phenomenon?
In socialist societies the change towards a non-sexist society was driven by ideology and quotas. This lacked a support base on the ground because the change was devoid of an organic response from the culture. Conversely South African culture has its roots in the ancient African matrilineal societies. Although these matrilineal societies were either destroyed, supplanted or greatly weakened by the advent of Christian, Islamic and other colonial systems of conquest which imposed patriarchal rule, the organic roots of the matrilineal culture have managed to survive in one form or another. The linguistic record bears witness to this fact i.e. “wa thin’abafazi watint’umbokodo…” meaning if you touch a woman you have struck a rock. Another popular adage that I heard consistently when I was a little boy expressed almost exclusively by men says “mme o tshwara thipa kabohaleng” meaning a woman has the rare ability to subdue a dangerous situation of volatility. This adage is expressed in deference to a powerful woman in a traditional African society.
It’s the combustible remnants of these ancient African traditions that fuel a change that empowers women whenever the right mechanisms are in place. This is what the leaders of the South African liberation like the iconic Mr. Nelson Mandela, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Lillian Ngoyi, Sophie Williams, Helen Joseph, Baleka Mbete, Sheena Duncan, Mavivi Myakayaka-Manzini,the ANC Women’s League and many others have done making South Africa a leading country in the empowerment of women.
It's fortuitous that the foresight of the foremothers and forefathers who have gone before us, have bequeathed to us the indestructible fibres of a pre-colonial traditional society. These surviving cultural strands provide the necessary glue to bind and wire together tradition and modernity in the reconstruction of an egalitarian society where brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, and men and women can interact without being scorched by the brutal flame of sexism. I am reminded by a poem Sisters Must Arise:
“Gutsy sisters must arise
To break chains at sunrise
The warrior Manthatisi
At great risk defended
Their birthright appended
Scorched like wild game
By a fearful brutal flame
A fiery chauvinist master
Extinguishable by a cluster
A battalion of the sisters”
Sisters Must Arise from A Goodbye To My Little Troubles, Vusi Moloi © 2008.
During the days when I was a cadre in the African National Congress in the bush, our political education, among others, entailed gender equality and feminist theory. It’s regrettable that some people of today fail to understand and appreciate the African genesis of ancient societies and powerful roles women play in shaping these traditional societies.
The women status, however, declined sharply in Eastern Europe with the advent of a capitalist rule in that region. South Africa, though not socialist, was able to transform from a sexist apartheid society where females in parliament were less than 3% to a whopping 25% female representation in a relatively short period. What explains this remarkable phenomenon?
In socialist societies the change towards a non-sexist society was driven by ideology and quotas. This lacked a support base on the ground because the change was devoid of an organic response from the culture. Conversely South African culture has its roots in the ancient African matrilineal societies. Although these matrilineal societies were either destroyed, supplanted or greatly weakened by the advent of Christian, Islamic and other colonial systems of conquest which imposed patriarchal rule, the organic roots of the matrilineal culture have managed to survive in one form or another. The linguistic record bears witness to this fact i.e. “wa thin’abafazi watint’umbokodo…” meaning if you touch a woman you have struck a rock. Another popular adage that I heard consistently when I was a little boy expressed almost exclusively by men says “mme o tshwara thipa kabohaleng” meaning a woman has the rare ability to subdue a dangerous situation of volatility. This adage is expressed in deference to a powerful woman in a traditional African society.
It’s the combustible remnants of these ancient African traditions that fuel a change that empowers women whenever the right mechanisms are in place. This is what the leaders of the South African liberation like the iconic Mr. Nelson Mandela, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Lillian Ngoyi, Sophie Williams, Helen Joseph, Baleka Mbete, Sheena Duncan, Mavivi Myakayaka-Manzini,the ANC Women’s League and many others have done making South Africa a leading country in the empowerment of women.
It's fortuitous that the foresight of the foremothers and forefathers who have gone before us, have bequeathed to us the indestructible fibres of a pre-colonial traditional society. These surviving cultural strands provide the necessary glue to bind and wire together tradition and modernity in the reconstruction of an egalitarian society where brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, and men and women can interact without being scorched by the brutal flame of sexism. I am reminded by a poem Sisters Must Arise:
“Gutsy sisters must arise
To break chains at sunrise
The warrior Manthatisi
At great risk defended
Their birthright appended
Scorched like wild game
By a fearful brutal flame
A fiery chauvinist master
Extinguishable by a cluster
A battalion of the sisters”
Sisters Must Arise from A Goodbye To My Little Troubles, Vusi Moloi © 2008.
During the days when I was a cadre in the African National Congress in the bush, our political education, among others, entailed gender equality and feminist theory. It’s regrettable that some people of today fail to understand and appreciate the African genesis of ancient societies and powerful roles women play in shaping these traditional societies.
Labels: Queens and Goddesses
posted by Vusi Moloi at
12:27 AM
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