“A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult.” – Melinda Gates.
The month of August has historically been one to celebrate women in all shapes and forms, particularly in South Africa.
National Women’s Day, celebrated annually on 9 August, stems from this date to 1956 when 20 000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against the extension of pass laws to women. Since then women have gone on to accomplish great things and have moved away from the submissive “barefoot in the kitchen” stigma that was portrayed as the definition of being a good wife and mother. Many women have started their own companies or are at the helm of large enterprises, or they are spearheading life changing movements, run municipalities, schools, hospitals and occupy top positions within the judicial system, all of this remarkable to say the least. A word of appreciation goes out to every woman who doesn’t take no for an answer, who speak up and worked hard for progress.
That said, it is heart warming to see how spouses, managers and men generally are supporting women and rooting for them to climb the ranks to immerse themselves truly in their full potential, without feeling inferior or a need to diminish their success and contributions.
