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08 August 2018 Photo Rulanzen Martin
WomensMonth Art exhibition honours courageous South African women
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela became affectionately known as the ‘Mother of the Nation’. She passed away on 2 April 2018. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela by Alf Khumalo on display at the Oliewenhuis Art Gallery.
Art in its many forms has always challenged controversial issues in national and international discourse. The exhibition in commemoration of Women’s Day, titled Speaking out and standing up: An exhibition in honour of South African women, highlights women’s voices by narrating their own life histories. 

In collaboration with the Oliewenhuis Art Museum, the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies (CGAS) at the University of the Free State hosted an art exhibition on 1 August 2018. The exhibition took place on the same day as the national #TotalShutDown protests challenging gender-based violence and rape across South Africa. The exhibition included numerous South African female artists who have combined art and activism and was curated by Yolanda de Kock from Oliewenhuis. The works are on display at Oliewenhuis until 26 August 2018.

The historical representation of South African women

“Tonight’s exhibition focuses on the historical and contemporary representation of SA women, and one woman that deserves acknowledgement, is Winnie Madikizela-Mandela,” said Dr Nadine Lake, Gender Studies Programme Director at CGAS. She also highlighted the fact that “Madikizela-Mandela’s life attests to the multifaceted nature of black women’s lives. Her life reveals that black women are not automatically regarded as agents in their own right, but face discrimination, isolation, and exclusion when they step out of the parameters defined for them.” 

Dr Lake furthermore asserted that, “South African Women’s Month and Day is a reflection and commemoration of women’s achievements but is increasingly being criticised by feminists across the country. While the constitution enshrines the rights of women and prohibits discrimination, it has become clear that there is a huge disconnection between an aspirational ideology and women’s lived realities.” 

Women should lead their own narrative

Sharon Snell, Chief Executive Officer of the National Museum, said, “The dominant voice about Women’s Day is to spoil women and to give them flowers and chocolates on the day, in the same way as for Mother’s Day.” 

Women’s Day has unfortunately been equated to the traditional role that women play. The purpose of Women’s Day is to change those perceptions and to highlight issues of inequality. Snell said, “It is time for women to lead their own narrative.”

The exhibition highlights the important intersection between art and activism and focuses on aspects such as gender-based violence, homosexuality, corrective rape, domesticity and intersectionality, consumerism and feminism, traditional and family histories, women’s and children’s rights, identity and gender, bullying and domestic violence. Snell emphasised the fact that art has not been silenced and has carefully been articulating these important messages around gendered and social inequalities. 

News Archive

ANC Centenary Seminar looks at the role of women in the liberation struggle
2012-03-22

 

At the ANC Centenary Seminar were, from the left: Nadine Lake, ProgrammeDirector: Gender Studies, at the UFS; Prof. Hassim; Zubeida Jaffer, Writer-in-Residence at the UFS; and Senovia Welman from the UFS-Sasol Library.
Photo: Amanda Tongha
22 March 2012


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“Looking back at the history of South African politics you will always find women involved in that history.”

This is according to Prof. Shireen Hassim, a professor in Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, who recently spoke at an ANC Centenary Seminar, held on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS). The seminar is part of a series of dialogues hosted by the Centre for Africa Studies about the ruling party’s 100 years of existence. It was the first one to be held following the 100 year celebrations of the ANC in January 2012 and was dedicated to the ANC Women’s League. Prof. Hassim told the audience that from early roles as wives who provided catering and entertainment, women have always been politically active in the African National Congress (ANC).

“ Women took the lead in the defiance campaign, going beyond the role of tea lady of the 1910s. When the ANC went into exile, the women’s section, as it was called then, played an important role.” Prof. Hassim also praised independent women’s organisations for the role they had played during the struggle and added that they were part of the collective history.

Talking about today’s Women’s League, Prof. Hassim said there had been debate about its current role with some critics labelling the league conservative. “In recent years, they have become very allied to internal battles.”

According to Prof. Hassim, a new language was needed that could give voice to the policies that needed to be developed.She drew attention to the plight of rural women, saying that thus far urban women have been taking the lead in defining issues. She warned that legislation like the Traditional Courts Bill would put rural women at a disadvantage. Prof. Hassim said the Bill was not rigorously debated, despite the high number of women in Parliament.

 

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