The women who carried us, then, now, and always

August in South Africa is more than just a new page on the calendar, and hopefully a wee bit of a warmer month than what we experienced in July.

It’s also a time to pause, reflect, and honour the strength, sacrifice, and soul of the women who built and continue to shape our nation. Women's month reminds us not only of what has been achieved, but of the continued journey toward dignity, equality, and recognition.

We reflect back on August 9, 1956, when over 20,000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, led by legends like Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa, and Sophia Williams-De Bruyn. Their silent protest against apartheid pass laws was loud enough to echo across decades. In the words they sang that day: “Wathint’ Abafazi, Wathint’ Imbokodo!” “You strike a woman, you strike a rock.” That chant is more than a slogan. It is a truth still lived by many women in South Africa, especially in small towns like Barberton.

However, Women’s month isn’t only about the heroines in our history books. It’s also about the women right here in our community of which De Kaap Echo has published a number of articles, and plan to continue doing so.

We also celebrate the teachers in Barberton, and elsewhere, who go far beyond the classroom, shaping young lives with love, hope and discipline. The nurses and clinic staff whose healing hands hold our hands during illness. The single mothers who work two jobs and still manage to pack lunchboxes with love and care. The community leaders who organise food drives, uplift the youth, and hold this town together through sheer will and dedication.

Let us also remember the local trailblazers, those who with their cultural artistry leave a legacy, or local elders who has counselled generations, those who opened and ran their own businesses and made a success. These are the unsung heroines whose names may never be printed in history books, but who are printed on our hearts.

Celebrating Women’s month is not a symbolic gesture. It is a privilege, a reminder that acknowledging women is not an event, but a responsibility. It’s about hearing their stories, honouring their pain, amplifying their victories, and ensuring they are not left behind in the telling of our nation’s story.

Let us teach our daughters to lead unapologetically, and our sons to respect unconditionally. Let us challenge gender-based violence not just in August, but every day. Let us create space for women, to be heard and celebrated in all their fullness.

So, as we gather this weekend to celebrate Women’s month all over South Africa, let us do so with grateful hearts. Let us say thank you to the women who carried us and continue to do so.

Because when we celebrate women, we are not just honouring the past. We are building the future.

I salute each and every one of you who make a difference, not only in our small but dynamic community, but in communities throughout South Africa.

𝓛𝔂𝓷𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓮.

• 𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠𝚜, 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚌t Lynette 𝚟𝚒𝚊 𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚕 (editor@dekaapecho.co.za).
• 𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙𝚜, 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚘𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜, 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝙰𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚟𝚒𝚊 𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚕 (𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚗@𝚒𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚊.𝚌𝚘𝚖) 𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚜𝙰𝚙𝚙 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎.