Yesterday we went into the field for a meeting with the Sisters for Life trainers. These trainers are the ones who really carry out the program for IMAGE. They train a 10 session course on domestic violence, HIV education and female empowerment in the poorest communities in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The meeting was to discuss how the training was going and where everyone was at to look at opening a future branch. My role with IMAGE this summer is to come up with a survey and a way we can monitor the long term impact of the program in the communities.
On our way back from the meeting in Lebowakgomo I become deeply affected by something I realized at that meeting, these women are pioneering a change for the rights of women in South Africa. Very similar to the women in our country who have paved the way for other women including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Betty Freidan, bell hooks, etc… Having spent a little over a week in this country it is clear that the women are treated rather unfairly in comparison to the men. The women here are expected to pick up after the men and care for them. This was made clear when at my apartment a young man spilt his drink and he waited for one of the young girls to clean up his mess for him. It is quite common here for the women to dote on the men. Further, it is acceptable for a man to be violent if a woman asks he husband to wear a condom, or questions where he has been, or even refuses to clean. As I mentioned in an earlier post women are supposed to accept that men here cheat. It is these types of beliefs that IMAGE is trying to change, and they are a population of very few. Most people respect these traditions as they have been passed down from generation to generation and believe them to be right. When the group of women question why women must accept cheating, or be the primary caretakers often people look at them as if they are odd. However, this group of women charge forward in working to provide education for a change to the power system in this country. Furthermore, they are starting at a place where these beliefs are most deeply rooted, in the villages where many elder women and men live. My respect for these women has gained immensely as I feel that I am sitting in on the beginning of a movement for respect for women in this country. Although it will take time, as I can tell from questioning people who live here, these women never give up wanting to put power into the hands of some of the poorest women; and I feel immense pride working next to them.
(Image of one of the local villages that we help)
