Both these initiatives brought issues of violence against women into the spotlight and in South Africa led to a Gender Summit with various civil society organisations supporting the 24 demands of #TheTotalShutdown movement.
Most of the political parties are targeting the youth vote for the upcoming elections. The majority of registered voters are women, yet they are not voting on the basis of which party will deliver on the Constitutional commitment to protect and promote the rights of women.
Soul City will lead a Young Women’s Vote - 2019 Elections Campaign in partnership with #TheTotalShutdown, Corruption Watch and Country Duty.
The purpose of the campaign:
- For women to use this voting democratic tool to advance substantive gender equality and urgently redress gender based violence
- Positioning the feminist agenda to be at the center of the election public discourse
- Feminist consciousness raising
Lebohang Masango speaks to Tshepiso Modupe, contributor of We are no longer at Ease, a collection of personal articles, essays, speeches and poetry mainly from voices of young people who were part of the student-led protest movement known as #FeesMustFall which began in 2015.
"Today, it is widely recognized that improving women’s status and advancing their rights yields benefits for whole societies, not just women and girls. Ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health services and protection from gender-based violence, among other important measures, improves the health of families and the economic well-being of entire communities". This podcast uses religion, culture and politics as a mirror for society and how these three institutions undermine gender equality and contribute to the conditioning of sexist boys and men.
Activism is fulfilling work but it can also be draining on the bodies that are currently in environments of great injustice, poverty and discrimination. In this podcast, Mmatshilo Motsei reminds us the quest for liberation is intertwined with the need for healing. " No one person can liberate you. No one person can heal you" she says.
The EFF seems to have the strongest position on LGBTQI+ rights.
In this episode, we speak to Sabeehah Motala, from Corruption Watch who gives us a run through of what corruption is, the particular sectors it is most prevalent and how it specifically affects the lives of young womxn.
With South Africa being rubbed as the world rape capital and has the some of the highest rates of sexual and gender-based violence in the world, it is imperative to question political parties on their unclear stance on supporting and advocating for the decimalization of sex work.
The emergence of social and digital media has changed the way in which political communications take place and in recent times we have seen how young black women have occupied this space to push their feminist agenda.
The advent of democracy in 1994 came with significant appointment of women in government. This was a result of powerful advocacy of women who were mobilised under the banner of the National Women’s Coalition during the transition period.