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Making men part of the journey this Women’s Month

30 August 2022 | Story Edzani Nephalela | Photo Lethabo Machabaphala

Womens Month event web read more — 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

Research conducted on economic impact of recent international soccer and rugby matches for Bloemfontein

2004-09-09

The Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently conducted a survey on the economic impact of the international soccer and rugby games that were played in Bloemfontein earlier this year.

The research focused on the soccer match between Bafana Bafana and the Cape Verdic Isle and the rugby match between the Springboks and Ireland .

“The survey was done as a result of a research agenda about local economic development in Bloemfontein ,” said Dr Lochner Marais, researcher at the centre.

“We conducted the research by doing 402 interviews with soccer supporters and 376 interviews with rugby supporters from outside Bloemfontein ,” said Dr Marais.

The centre distributed questionnaires, collecting the following information on the soccer and rugby supporters: their age, gender and origin, the number of nights spend in Bloemfontein , their household expenditure in Bloemfontein and their rating on the quality of service.

“It is estimated that 10 800 soccer supporters and 27 000 rugby supporters came from outside Bloemfontein . Of the rugby supporters 14,4% were female and 85,6% were men. For the soccer international the percentage was 33% females and 67% males,” said Dr Marais.

The highest number of people who came to watch the soccer game in Bloemfontein (35,8%) was from the Northern Free State . The rugby supporters mainly came from Gauteng (21,8%) and the Northern Free State (18%).

When visiting Bloemfontein soccer supporters spend R912 per household, whilst rugby supporters reached deeper in their pockets and spent R1 807 per household.

“The survey indicated that the two international matches resulted in approximately R58 million been spent in Bloemfontein . Rugby supporters were accountable for the largest part (R48 787 205) spent. The largest chunk of the money spent was on accommodation (R14 593 279). On average soccer and rugby supporters from outside Bloemfontein spent 1,4 and 1,9 nights in Bloemfontein ,” said Dr Marais.

Rugby and soccer supporters were also asked to rate the quality of service received from amongst others hotels, guest houses, restaurants, and transport and entertainment facilities. Soccer supporters rated their satisfaction with services higher as rugby supporters. The rugby supporters gave the services at hotels a 3,9 rating, whilst soccer supporters awarded 4,6 rating out of a possible five.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
9 September 2004

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