Wednesday, August 16, 2017

NEHAWU South African Women's Day Message
8 August 2017

"Worst of all, it is women who usually have to do, usually alone, all the dirty work of the kitchen and household, work that is unimportant, hard, tiresome, and soul-destroying" Vladimir Lenin

The National Education Health & Allied Workers' Union [NEHAWU] joins all South Africans in celebrating women`s day which will be observed tomorrow, the 9th of August 2017.

As NEHAWU we pay homage to the class of 1956 who marched on this day to petition against the legislation that required Africans to carry a "pass". Even after 61 years since more than 20 000 women marched to the Union Buildings, protesting against the Urban Areas Act and its amendments we continue to draw inspiration from their bravery and courage to take the apartheid government head on. Some of them marched with babies on their backs.

We salute heroines like Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa, Sophie Williams, Charlotte Maxeke and Frances Baard who through their selfless struggles, sacrificed their lives and took part in the struggle against the brutal and exploitative apartheid capitalist government. As part of our struggle for women emancipation and the struggle against patriarchy, as NEHAWU we will intensify our work of organising women wherever they are.

We will continue to struggle for a non-sexist society that will ensure that women and children are safe from all forms of abuse and violence. In this regard, we will intensify our work in fighting against violence directed to women and to this end we shall engage in the following actions:

Raising awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national and international level
Strengthening our work against violence on women
Establishing a clear link between local organisations and international work to end violence against women
Providing a forum in which organisations can develop and share new and effective strategies
Demonstrating the solidarity of women in our union against gender based violence
Creating tools to pressure government to implement promises made to eliminate gender based violence against women
As NEHAWU, we call on society at large to join hands in fighting all forms of violence directed at women and all forms of abuse.

Wathint`Abafazi Wathint`imbokodo

Issued by NEHAWU Secretariat

Zola Saphetha (General Secretary) at 082 558 5968; December Mavuso (Deputy General Secretary) at 082 558 5969; Khaya Xaba (NEHAWU Media Liaison Officer) at 082 455 2500 or email: khaya@nehawu.org.za Visit NEHAWU website: www.nehawu.org.za

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