As a black woman, the eve gene carriers, the oppressed of the oppressed, it’s time to start saying “Nah’. Nothing offends, outrages, and disrupts whiteness and patriarchy like a black woman saying no, excusing herself from that which doesn’t serve her, or simply speaking up for herself. It’s perfectly alright to say, “Nah.”
Read MoreAs a woman living in South Africa, I have to be grateful for every day I remain alive. I have to be thankful to survive another day in South Africa; where any day I could be next,next to be a headline or hashtag. Next to be mourned or missing. It could happen any day and anywhere. It could happen in an Uber, it could happen at a party, it could happen at home, it could happen in a post office. The frustrating part is that I’m responsible for my safety. I’m the one who has to make sure I make the Uber driver aware that I’ve shared his information and my ride with multiple friends. I need to make sure my dress doesn’t invite any unwanted attention. I’m the one who has to be wary of men in post offices.
Read MoreIt isn’t news that South Africa has some of the most dire rates of gender-based violence in the world. Imagine that, a population of less that 40 million, and we are the country where rape, murder, and domestic violence runs rife. Is this our gulag? Is this our concentration camp? Were we born to die? For women, the fight for freedom rages. Below are personal accounts of what freedom would look like for the women working with WISE 4 AFRIKA…
Read MoreI am anxious for the victims of violence and abuse who don’t report crimes against them in fear of reprisal, intimidation, ridicule and not being believed. Immobilized by the lack of urgency and commitment to eradicating poverty, inequality and unemployment decimating African women...I am stunned by the emergence of sudden funding to combat GBV when these resources have not been made available for the last 25 years in South Africa.
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