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16 Days of Activism in Lockdown

25 November 2020 Photo Anja Aucamp

Prof Colin Chasi outside Centenary Complex (Anja Aucamp) — Prof Colin Chasi is the Director of the Unit for Institutional Change and Social Justice at the UFS.

The 2020 programme around the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence will be novel in that it will be run online. “For each person to register and log into the various programmes is a small step. But each such step makes a big difference by saying that the lives of survivors matter and by underscoring that gender-based violence will not be tolerated at the UFS,” says Prof Colin Chasi, Director of the Unit for Institutional Change and Social Justice (UICSJ) at the UFS.

Women and girl children have experienced increased violence in the time of the COVID-19 lockdown, states the UN Secretary General's report, Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity: Responding to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19. In South Africa, there have been reports of a scourge of rape in the post-school education and training sector. At the UFS, these developments have challenged the Gender Equity and Anti-Discrimination Office (GEADO) to come up with innovative online interventions.

In 2019, the University of the Free State (UFS) established the Unit for Institutional Change and Social Justice (formerly known as the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice, founded in 2009). The GEADO was launched on 8 April 2019 and was incorporated into the unit to run a cross-functional Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) and to organise programmes that combat gender-based violence and other forms of gender injustice.

“We have been able to offer our services with minimal disruption throughout the year,” says Geraldine Lengau, a Bloemfontein Campus-based GEADO officer.

“Most exciting for us is that we have taken the lockdown as an opportunity to expand the scope of ways in which we engage with students and communities,” notes Chelepe Mocwana, a GEADO officer on the South Campus. “GEADO has offered a number of online webinars and seminars, and the university has made telephonic services available that support, for example, the mental health of survivors of sexual violence.”

“On the Qwaqwa Campus, where we still have some problems with consistent access to data networks, we were pleased to see that our webinars have been well-subscribed to by students and staff members,” reports Siya Magayana, who is the GEADO officer on this campus.

“Each such step makes a big difference by saying that the
lives of survivors matter and by underscoring that
gender-based violence will not be tolerated at the UFS.”
—Prof Colin Chasi, Director of the UICSJ.

Since 1991, activists around the world have annually coordinated activities around the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. The 16 days of activism begin on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and run until 10 December, which is International Human Rights Day. The start and end dates signify that the fight to eliminate violence against women advances human rights for all.

Activities to mark the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence will be advertised on various UFS communication platforms.

News Archive

Jan Smuts: from country boy to world stage; a reassessment

2017-11-10

At the book discussion of Jan Smuts: van boerseun tot wêreldverhoog;
'n herwaardering, were from the left: Con Robinson, Protea Bookshop;
Prof Kobus du Pisani; and Prof André Wessels from the Department
of History at the UFS.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Prof André Wessels from the Department of History at the University of the Free State (UFS) was one of 20 co-authors of Jan Smuts: van boerseun tot wêreldverhoog; 'n herwaardering – a book compiled under the leadership of the general editor, Prof Kobus du Pisani, from North-West University. This unique history book deals with the different themes in the life of Smuts, rather than describing the events chronologically.

South Africans are almost afraid of their own history nowadays ... and yet another history book is being launched. Does it make sense? Yes, for two reasons.

The monster in the dark
One of the ways to overcome fear is through knowledge. The monster in the dark disappears when one understands that the street lights and tree branches are creating interesting shadows. The more one knows about something, the less scary it becomes.

The Greek Bible
This was possibly also Smuts’s approach. Knowledge was his passion, and even today he is considered as one of the best students of the University of Cambridge. Although very few people really understand his holism theory, Smuts experienced the complex world in a very simple way – as one – not as lots of different pieces functioning independently of each other.

Smuts could have made a success of any of his interest fields – law, botany, literature, and philosophy. However, politics laid three wars on his doorstep. While he is regarded as a militarist by some, he was actually a peacemaker. He played a role in the establishment of the League of Nations, and later the United Nations. Incidentally, he continued to read the Greek Bible while on commando during the Anglo-Boer War.

A colourful character
The second reason for yet another Jan Smuts history book is his fascinating humanness. Time should be spent on colourful characters such as this. It is worthwhile hearing the story of someone who had such a great impact locally and internationally – good or bad.

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