Thanks Mbokodo a very thought provoking piece of writing. Raises a lot of questions which we have to ask ourselves as young women or rather young lionesses in training as you rightly put it. The question does the young of woman of today know exactly what her struggle is? Is the young woman of today well equiped in tackling this struggle? What is our role in society? How do we as young woman raise our concerns without being labelled as sexist. How do we embrace feminism in todays world that demands that woman sometimes where the pants, be brutal and fit in to this so called men's world? So many questions I ask and you ask and i'm struggling to find answers too but these questions must be answered by this current generation of young women! Bo Mama Sisulu played their part with the little that they had and its now time for the current generation of young women to take up the baton and soldier on together,as young women. Our womens league is not the womens league of Bo Mma Sisulu its one thing we have to be honest about... Thanks again for this thought provoking piece. Malibongwe!
On 6/7/11, Gugu Ndima <[email protected]> wrote: > *LEGACY OF MAMA SISULU: LESSONS FOR YOUNG LIONESSES IN THE CURRENT > CONJUNCTURE* > > The passing on of Mama Sisulu is mourned by all not just in the Mass > Democratic Movement, but by the nation in its entirety. This is a reflection > of the roles that Mama Sisulu played not only as revolutionary, but as a > mother, a wife, grandmother, a pillar, a nurse, a home maker, a leader- a > woman. The values and principles which culminated her character and life > will continue to characterise her legacy. > > As a young woman today I have a duty to question what lessons should I draw > from her life and what remains the challenge for our generation in the > current conjuncture. Mama Sisulu's generation of women were born in an era > where oppression and patriarchy was institutionalised in all spheres of > society .A generation whereby their success was contextualised and directed > by men. However despite such barriers, today we can embrace women like Mama > Sisulu for advocating for the emancipation of women even when such bravery > would mean humiliation and isolation for one. What makes this generation > distinct was that, it was a generation with minimal or no accesses to > education, economic opportunities, freedom of speech, no rights- no voice. > > The women that went to defy political orders at the Union buildings in 1956 > were not women in Jimmy Choo stilettos nor did they have the protection or > support of the law. These were women at the core of oppression who probably > after returning from the Union buildings severely got beaten by their > husbands for defying the government of the day. > > These were women who would brace the cold as early as 3am to get children > ready for school and ensure that their husbands are fed breakfast. They > would then embark on long journeys to get to trains and head off to the > suburbs for a long day of domestic work and endure humiliation from madams > and baas’es whose ill-disciplined children would at times use them as guinea > pigs to test the might of their dogs or pellet guns without being > reprimanded. After a long and humiliating day, that woman would come home > (no help from a nanny) prepare meals of a family probably of no less than 10 > in a four roomed house, ensure everyone is ready for bed; probably be > subjected to abuse from a man coming from his own day of humiliation from > work. Her only salvation would be a bible next to her bed and a small > prayer as a means of comfort or church group prayer meetings. Today we hear > slanders and the degrading of the name “Tea girls” from all corners. > > It’s important that we appreciate that the women chartered accountants of > today, the mining magnates of today, the women Ministers in cabinet, the > parliamentarians’, the female Range rover drivers going to corporate > meetings carrying Ferragama bags, the journalists who have opinion spaces in > media and the Chairwomen of prominent Blue chip organisations, are who they > are because of the Tea girls who could not stand the societal disparities > they were subjected to; who took to the streets and said our children will > not be tea girls or domestic workers. The generation of Mama Sisulu might > have not had the privileges, but they had the ability and strength to resist > and battle their conditions for the future generation, which I am part of > now. They took action when some of the men could not even conceptualise nor > comprehend a South Africa without Apartheid. > > The class contradictions remain vehement even today, post 1994. However the > issue is no longer centralised around just patriarchy but its also womens' > inability to understand the depth of their role within society; the > inability to collectively use their power to empower each other. Women > emancipation has been reduced to a power struggle with men. We are failing > to see the class struggle within our broader struggle to emancipate > ourselves. It has become a game of quick emergence into Corporatism and > business which unfortunately has minimised the role of women in politics or > government as gender quota entities as opposed to advocators of > transformation. This has isolated and marginalised the women of the working > class and the poor, who still remain marginalised and oppressed. > > Elitism and validation from male counterparts whether in business or > politics, has clouded our transformation objective. This generation needs to > clearly define its role in the current conjuncture not just within the > context of economic empowerment but our values and the principles we espouse > today. We should further assess the gains and unintended consequences of the > Gender agenda in the context of the Law, Business, Politics and Social > transformation. More importantly in the class context, we need to assess > whether all the current changes, benefited a certain elite excluding the > working class and the poor women of our society. Have women occupied the > right spaces in order to drive women emancipation. > > Are we really decision makers or are we tacit asserters of patriarchy > through the very same positions we occupy? Have women become their worst > enemies, orchestrating their own demise as a result of greed and gate > keeping. What women are we elevating in media spaces as the epitome of > success? Is the Women’s’ Ministry playing the role it was set out to play in > the agenda of women empowerment and emancipation. If we are to do justices > and build from the gains that the generation of Mama Sisulu have built as a > foundation, we need to clearly define our role as Young Lionesses of today > > > > Gugu Ndima > > A Young lioness in training > > > -- > Gugu Ndima > +27 76 783 1516 > > -- > You are subscribed. This footer can help you. > Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to > this message. > You can visit the group WEB SITE at > http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery > options, pages, files and membership. > To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . > You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to > put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to > this address (repeat): [email protected] . > -- Kindest regards Cde TUKI_N "Our message to our students, as well as to students all over the country, is: use the tools that you acquire from your university to further the struggle of our people. That means that, as students, we must identify ourselves with our community, with the people who have nothing to lose but their chains. In doing so, we must use the Freedom Charter as our guiding light and never rest until our legitimate demands have been met." Ma Getrude Shope -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
