The Multi-Party Women’s Caucus in Parliament and the Office of the Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) hosted the inaugural Charlotte Maxeke Memorial Lecture in honour of the legendary gender rights activist and freedom fighter.

The virtual lecture was held under the theme: #Choose to Challenge, and was also used to launch the Charlotte Makgomo Maxeke Legacy Year 2021. The theme is derived from the International Women’s Day theme which aims to challenge the prevalence of gender inequality in all sectors of society. 

Delivering the the lecture, NCOP Deputy Chairperson, Ms Sylvia Lucas, described Ms Maxeke as an iconic leader of the oppressed and dispossessed people of South Africa, a woman of great courage, great fortitude and a true daughter of the soil.

“Mme Charlotte Makgomo Mannye Maxeke has left an indelible mark in the history of our country’s painful past. She has blazed an uncommon trail through courage, servanthood and a dedication to advance the liberation of our people,” she said.

Ms Lucas announced that Parliament will continue honouring Ms Maxeke throughout the year, and in the coming months the national legislature will engage district and local municipalities across all provinces to advance the revolutionary morality embodied by the values that shaped Maxeke.

“Throughout this year we will seek to write a women activists history and in that history there will be scores of names not so familiar, and those who ordinarily would never be mentioned.

“Throughout this legacy year, we must also take a moment and pay tribute to all other heroines like Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, Rahima Moosa, Madi Hall-Xuma, Dorothy Nyembe, Adelaide Tambo, Albertina Sisulu and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, to mention a few,” she said.

The NCOP Deputy Chairperson also urged South Africans to take inspiration from Ms Charlotte Maxeke and her teachings, especially in tackling the challenge of gender-based violence and discrimination against women.

Ms Charlotte Maxeke is celebrated as freedom fighter and gender rights activist who challenged the status quo during a time when the social, political and legislative landscape was defined by discriminatory norms and traditions.

Ms Lucas said: “During that time, patriarchy was rife and deeply entrenched. The brute force of colonialism and land dispossessions, created an acrimonious atmosphere where the identity and voice of Africans was forcefully undermined and diminished. Additionally, African norms of patriarchy also denied women the right to speak and be heard.

“The stark reality was that women had no place in spaces of leadership and activism. Despite these limiting beliefs, Mme Maxeke made a formidable contribution towards shifting entrenched levels of patriarchy and racial segregation. She showed fortitude and courage by daring to challenge the socio-political system that she was born into. In most of her undertakings, Mme Maxeke played an important role in profiling the struggles of women,” Ms Lucas said.

She added that in commemorating Ms Charlotte Maxeke, it was important to authentically tell her story in order to give true expression to the contribution that she has made in the liberation movement, because the contribution and participation of women in the liberation movement is often downplayed or minimised. “Patriarchy often paints a distorted picture a ‘male liberator’, who marched unaided and uninspired by the hand, voice, wisdom and courage of women,” the NCOP Deputy Chairperson said.

“Today, we must commit ourselves to tell our daughters and grand-daughters these stories of heroism, of women in battle, in order to ignite another generation of gallant leaders to respond to the challenges of this epoch.”

Ms Maxeke played a remarkable role in building confidence in many women of her time. She co-founded the Bantu Women’s League of the SANNC in 1918, which later became known as the ANC Women’s League, to ensure that women’s participation in the liberation movement was not stifled or undermined by patriarchal norms and traditions.

She also wrote on women’s social and political situation, which was a bold effort to begin to advance the cause of gender equality and the status of women in South Africa.

Among other contributions to the struggle for human rights and equality, Ms Charlotte Maxeke was also involved in protests on the Witwatersrand about low wages and participated in the formation of the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) in 1920.

“As we celebrate and commemorate the life and times of the ‘Mother of Black Freedom’, we must be reminded that we stand on the shoulders of giants, some of whom have indeed made superhuman efforts to improve the human condition. Many of the heroines of our liberation movement and its enduring trajectory are the countless gallant women, whose stories are often not told by history, or acknowledged for their contribution.

The NCOP Presiding Officers also spoke strongly against gender-based violence, saying that it lowers the dignity of women and insults the integrity of the nation.

“Gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) has reached alarming levels, while the material conditions of poverty as experienced by women continue to undermine their independence and status in society. We must root out GBVF in every area and locality in our society. The battle must be intensified and taken to every battleground where the lives of women are threatened, whether it’s in the home, the workplace or any other platform,” Ms Lucas said.

She also highlighted the need to strengthen the National Gender Machinery Structures throughout the country, and to accelerate the implementation of the outcomes and recommendations of the Provincial Reviews of the 1994 Women’s Charter for Effective Equality, the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as ensuring that the implementation of policies and laws that have been enacted by our government since 1994 delivers the necessary impact on women’s quality of life.

The year-long commemoration of Ms Maxeke will also include campaigning for adequate budget allocation and budget oversight processes in order to support gender equality and develop programmes that enhance women’s empowerment, and advocating for gender equality education in schools and call for the implementation of women’s rights and gender power relations in the school curricula.

NCOP Chairperson, Mr Amos Masondo, said there was no better way to contribute to the acceleration of the progress of women than to support and celebrate the strides that they are making, including breaking centuries-old barriers.

“At the start of the past century, women’s role was primarily a domestic one; it included child-rearing and seeing to the well-being, feeding and care of the family. Women were not expected to concern themselves with matters outside the home – that was more properly the domain of men.

“Thus for a long time, women have been at the bottom of the social hierarchy, with poor access to land, credit, health and education. In 1994, the Reconstruction and Development Programme directed our country to focus on ensuring a full and equal role for women in every aspect of our economy and society. Furthermore, it stated that we must unlock boundless energies and creativity that were previously suppressed by racism and discrimination,” Mr Masondo said.

He also commended South Africa for making great strides in developing the legislative framework and implementing programmes to facilitate women’s full participation in all social, economic and political spheres.

By Sakhile Mokoena
15 March 2021

Source: https://www.parliament.gov.za/news/multi-party-womens-caucus-parliament-holds-inaugural-charlotte-maxeke-memorial-lecture