For too long, we have been equating value to worthiness, and it is putting women in danger.
As told to us, a woman’s first love is often their first pair of plastic kitten heels or the smile on their mother’s face. When we grow up, a woman’s love is her purity, father, husband, and children.
A woman’s love is duty. To respect duty, the woman must act and react in a certain way – she must be demure, kind and well-behaved. Keep sweet, pray and obey (which is also the title of a fantastic Netflix documentary you should watch).
However, it is said that well-behaved women don’t make history.
Think of Rosa Parks: would we have gotten to the point of social upheaval if she hadn’t sat stubbornly in the “white’s only” section of the bus? If it weren’t for Rosa Parks, so many women would not see the power they have to say “no”.
If, in 1956, the courageous women in South Africa did not March to those union buildings in Pretoria, I shudder to think of our fates.
Imagine if Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera didn’t throw those stones… If Malala Yousefzai didn’t fight. Imagine if Hellen Keller didn’t write? Or if Bisan Owda didn’t start documenting her life… Think of how different and how glib the world would be.
Women make up history, we fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. We make communities where we are not welcome.
The most powerful thing a woman can be is herself.
So show up imperfect, show up angry, show up sad, and show up victorious.
As long as you, as a woman, wake up every day and decide to try, you are making history!
So, remember that every time you make a decision for yourself or plan a life that is purely your own, that is one of the most powerful things you can do.
It does not matter your gender, age, class, weight or sexuality. You are deserving of a good life. A life uninhibited by violence. Women deserve a world where they can safely explore themselves and make clear paths for their futures.
In South Africa, women make up 51% of the population, yet we are plagued with Femicide.
How do we walk down the street knowing we could be the next statistic or headline?
Women deserve to feel safe and protected. We deserve to live freely and safely. It is more than a constitutional right, it is a human right.
This is why the South African government must declare Femicide a national disaster.
Please consider signing this petition by Women for Change, or use the link here to make it happen.
Petition Link: https://womenforchange.co.za/petition-gbvf-national-disaster/