Newzroom Afrika: Leading NPO’s say Womens’ Month can be celebrated when most are still suffering

“Apartheid victimised women because of the colour of their skin” – Director of Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute, Isobel Frye on the Womens’ month interview with Newzroom Afrika.

Women are being victimised for various reasons, most of these reasons are due to poverty, unemployment and social reproduction burdens. The levels of poverty and hunger in households are carried solely by women, as well as mental health concerns which generated from the Covid-19 pandemic. It is alarming, and we need to enable women to know that their burdens are not their own to bare alone.

We are now protesting and advocating for basic human rights in women, basic rights such as the right to live, and the right to safety, the right to freedom of person and especially the right to freedom of movement without the fears of being attacked or victimised identifies The Embrace Project Director, Lee-Anne Germanos,

Mental illnesses amongst women have increased sharply during the initial phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, the stress of keeping a family safe, fed and well cared for fall squarely on the shoulders of women who take care of their families, including with the assistance of the caregiver’s grant

Thandile Chinyavanhu, Greenpeace Africa Climate and Energy Campaigner, makes mention that it’s important to recognise our achievement and what we have accomplished thus far, but we need to point out where work needs to be done to enable basic human rights for all.

She continues to add that women farmers are direly being impacted by climate change, the change is drastic enough to impact livelihood and the ability to provide for their families which contributes to the shielding hunger that women are facing on a daily basis.

Reproductive health has also been mentioned, the right to dignity should be a norm. Poverty-stricken young women need to be supported, they compromise their own sexual health to sustain themselves and their families.

Social policy speaks of the caregiver’s grant is that 99% the recipients are women who take care of children yet women were denied access to the Social Relief of Distress grant. We are people, not just because we care for children.

Care giving is a silent burden that women carry in society.

Women have their own rights as a human. There are rumours that women fall pregnant to claim the caregiver grants, to which our NIDSCRAM research shows is not true.

Source: Newzroom Afrika