“Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow” is a fitting theme for this year’s International Women’s Day’s day. Why so? The Gender Gap report reveals a very slow pace at which attempts at closing the gender gap, are made.
At the current relative pace, gender gaps can potentially be closed in 52.1 years in Western Europe, 61.5 years in North America, and 68.9 years in Latin America and the Caribbean. In all other regions it will take over 100 years to close the gender gap: 121.7 years in Sub-Saharan Africa, 134.7 years in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 165.1 years in East Asia and the Pacific, 142.4 years in Middle East and North Africa, and 195.4 years in South Asia” (Gender Gap Report, 2021, p.7).
The 8th of March, was adopted by the United Nations in the year 1977 as the International Women’s Day. Supported and advanced by the second and third wave of feminism, the day is a reminder of the courage as well as the determination of women. Such courage is revealed by Amina Mama in the context women in the continent:
In African contexts, it is now well established that women were actively involved in the early to mid-twentieth century and nationalist struggles that led up to independence and the establishment of modern nation states. The ensuing period has seen women’s activism continuing but now being directed at the states structures that women helped to craft (2005:96)
The International Women’s day goes back in herstory/history to the numerous socialist movements that were witnessed in the early 20th century. It gets celebrated each year to promote the rights of women as well as celebrate and honour their achievements across the political, economic, social, religious and cultural spheres.
Gender equity is not an annual event that people should be able to check-in and check-out of. It should be something – a trait - that is instilled in the very framework of workplaces and across all sectors of our nascent democratic order. In the 21st century – this day and age, women ought to be in positions not only of power, but meaningful power - in the roles of societal leadership.
As we celebrate and mark the 2022 International Women’s Day, I submit that women should be socially and institutionally protected – from here at UNISA to every corner of life. Society need to redouble its efforts in ensuring that women need to be destigmatized as predators and tricksters, and be fully recognized as competent and pragmatic human beings. I am of the view that this is the only way we can effectively deal a hammer blow to issues of gender-based violence, stigmatization and social unrest in our society. Each of us has to undertake personal responsibility of ensuring that own accountability wherever gender equity is concerned, be it in the boardroom or the taxi rank, the church, the mosque, the synagogue and the temple among others.
“Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow” is a relevant theme. We have to invest today in grand efforts so that our tomorrow would be a lot more bearable.
Prof Puleng LenkaBula
Principal and Vice-Chancellor
Publish date: 2022-03-08 00:00:00.0