Scores of people are gathering at Galeshewe Stadium in Kimberly on Wednesday for the national commemoration of Women’s day. The event is scheduled to be addressed by President Jacob Zuma.
The celebration is held under the theme: “The Year of OR Tambo: Women United in Moving South Africa Forward”.
Proceedings were delayed and the official event had not started by mid-day.
Masedi Sentumetse, 30, travelled all the way from Morokweng in Vryburg in the North West to be in Kimberly for the national event.
For her, Women’s Day is important because it highlights the role South African women continue to play in society.
“For a change, even men who abuse women act differently on this day. It is a day in which I feel very good to be a woman because I am being celebrated.
“Any other day, I feel like women are not being listened to. We are not heard, whether for crying out loud about abuse or for the value we want to add to society. We are not heard,” said Sentumetse.
Although government and different organisations continue to raise awareness and speak against violence perpetrated against women and children, Sentumetse believes the abuse will never stop unless the social and justice system are strengthened.
“Sometimes women in my township report abuse to the police, but justice does not work in their favour, or investigations take time to be concluded. There is always an excuse. It cannot be right.”
Every August, South Africa commemorates Women’s Month as a tribute to the more than 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 in protest against the extension of pass laws to women.
This year, the country pays tribute to women’s contributions to the liberation struggle whilst also observing the centenary of struggle icon Oliver Reginald Tambo and his contributions to the struggle to end gender inequalities.-SAnews.gov.za
