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30 August 2022 | Story Edzani Nephalela | Photo Lethabo Machabaphala
From the left; Dr Marinkie Madiope, UFS South Campus Principal and founder of the UFS Women's Forum; Advocate Nthabiseng Sepanya-Mogale, Commissioner for Gender Equality: Free State province and Advocate at Oxford Chambers; Dr Molapo Qhobela, UFS Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Strategic Partnerships, and Societal Impact, Pinky Kekana, Deputy Minister in the Presidency, and Zola Thamae, Acting Head of the Free State Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation.

“Most people believe that Women's Month celebrations are primarily for women, because issues discussed during these events are related to women. However, have you considered including men in these discussions to achieve gender equality? Do men understand how women want to be treated and cared for?” Pinky Kekana, Deputy Minister in the Presidency, spoke during the Women’s Month commemoration at the University of the Free State (UFS) South Campus on 16 August 2022.

This was the first gender-inclusive event, following the collaboration between the UFS Women's Forum, South African Women in Dialogue (SAWID), and Grootvlei Correctional Services

Some of the delegates who attended this prestigious event, included Dr Marinkie Madiope, UFS South Campus Principal and founder of the UFS Women's Forum; Advocate Nthabiseng Sepanya-Mogale, Commissioner for Gender Equality: Free State province and Advocate at Oxford Chambers; Zola Thamae, Acting Head of the Free State Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation; and Commissioner Jacky Reid-Moses, Correctional Services Area Commissioner for the Free State and Northern Cape regions.

Following the welcome by Dr Molapo Qhobela, UFS Vice-Rector: Institutional Change, Strategic Partnerships, and Societal Impact, Thandeka Mosholi, Assistant Director: School of Open Learning, deliberated the significance of women. She emphasised that women do more than bear children; they are also specialists in their fields and should be regarded for various managerial roles. 

“There are many opportunities for women, and men should not feel threatened when women occupy them; rather, they should support and encourage them, as they strive to be the best they can be. Generational equality should be used as a catalyst for us to drive gender equality. We need to be innovative and guarantee that boys and girls participate in things like domestic duties from a young age,” Mosholi stressed.

However, gender-based violence (GBV), sexual harassment, and murder are still significant issues, with various organisations trying to address and curb these socio-economic ills. Advocate Sepanya-Mogale said that it has become increasingly challenging to feel safe even in our own comfortable spaces. “If there are pastors and teachers out there who are taking advantage of our children, then we will continue to look over our shoulders. What happened to churches being our place of refuge and old generation teachers being faces of the community?” said Advocate Sepanya-Mogale. 

All the speakers encouraged women to take a position in the community, solidify their relationships, assimilate into the world of innovation and 4IR, and invite males into conversations that serve women's interests.

(From Left: Thandeka Mosholi, Assistant Director: School of Open Learning UFS; Dr Marinkie Madiope; Advocate Nthabiseng Sepanya-Mogale; Dr Molapo Qhobela; Pinky Kekana; Zola Thamae, and Spa Kabane, Director at the Free State Office of the Premier. Photo: Lethabo Machabaphala)

Educational session and future endeavours 

In addition to the commemoration, this event was concluded with an educational session dialogue. This session was divided into four groups, including both males and females, tapping into real-life experiences. It addressed issues of peace and security, facilitated by SAWID; rehabilitation and integration of inmates into communities, by the Grootvlei Correctional Management Unit; financial management, by Standard Bank; and GBV, enabled by the UFS Women’s Forum.

The perspectives and experiences shared by the attendees will be collated by the facilitators and handed over to the Deputy Minister in the Presidency to guide her strategy and plan.
 

News Archive

The Essop twins bring ‘UNREST’ to the UFS
2015-03-19

 

UNREST, an exhibition by Hasan and Husain Essop, is now at the Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery in the SASOL Library on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus. It will be on until Thursday 2 April 2015. 

The 28-year-old twin brothers are the winners of the 2014 Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Visual Art. Born and raised in Cape Town, they have been collaborating since their graduation from the Michaelis School of Fine Art in 2007. They both completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Postgraduate Diploma in Art at Michaelis. Subsequently, they earned Postgraduate Certificates in Education at the University of Cape Town.

Husain specialised in Photography, and makes all the important technical decisions when setting up a shoot. Hasan specialised in Printmaking, and therefore has a lot more freedom in the post-production and printing of the work. They both contribute to the subject matter and editing of the photographs, always discussing new ideas and locations to shoot. They speak very visually to each other, and many ideas are born from their conversations. They draw on popular culture, the media, and Hollywood as inspiration because those are the things that interest the youth and shape the next generation.

“Our series of works highlight a multi-cultural clash between religion and popular cultures,” say the Essops. “We explore the dominating influence of Western theatrics and those narratives that are constructed to depict a certain reality. Inspired by Hollywood’s visual language and tactics, we create our own narratives. Each photograph reflects us in a battle of moral, religious, and cultural conflicts. Two dominant personalities appear, East and West, with all their stereotypes. Environments are chosen as stages on which to perform and define our behaviours.”

The Essops’ work has been included in various private and public collections, including the Spier Collection, the Durban Art Gallery, and the South African National Gallery. The Goodman Gallery has hosted two solo exhibitions of their work – Halaal Art (Johannesburg, 2010,) and Remembrance (Cape Town, 2012,).

The Johannes Stegmann Art Gallery hours are Monday to Friday from 08:30 to 16:30.

For enquiries, contact Angela de Jesus at +27(0)51 401 2706 or DeJesusAV@ufs.ac.za

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