Several South African and Chinese women drawn from different sectors including the academia, media, business and political formations gathered in Joburg last week at an event marking the annual Women’s Day celebrations.
The commemorative event hosted by the Chinese Consul General in Joburg, Tang Zhongdong, brought hundreds of women from contrasting backgrounds to deliberate on self-reliance and empowerment in the context the BRICS community of nations.
Lilian Chen, general manager of Joburg-based Apollo Solar Technology said to achieve self-reliance, women in South Africa and in China have to believe in themselves first.
“Do not listen to the no’s. Take the yes’es that you get in life and ignore the no’s. There is a book called ‘Change the way you think’ and it says as a child growing up, especially for girls, they get told three times more no’s than boys. I was privileged the way my parents supported what I was doing,” Chen spoke to IOL on the sidelines of the Women’s Day forum hosted in Joburg.
“Ignore the no’s and believe in the yes’es. Believe in yourself by being true to yourself. Know your worth and be self-aware.”
Chen said unfortunately the burden of poverty is experienced amongst women in most populations across the world.
“In my view, I think representation is quite important for the younger generations, that is why forums like these are important, so that we represent what they can become. Additionally, all women should take it upon themselves to fight those little battle in our lives - it doesn’t have to be something big like starting an all-women political party,” she said.
The event in Joburg was co-hosted by the Chinese Consulate General and the African Chinese Women’s Association.
Popular businesswoman Jenny Wu, founder of the Jenny Wu Sports Academy and the chairperson of the African Chinese Women’s Association said women should work tirelessly to achieve self-reliance.
“Women must know what they want and who they are. Women should always feel ambitious in achieving her goals. Being confident and independent is the start of success for women. Hence, women should always be bold and ready to take on leadership roles in various fields of society,” said Wu.
She said the biggest challenges faced by women are historical inequality, social and economic disadvantages.
“Comparing to men, South African women have less opportunities to receive better education which negatively affect their future careers. My advice is that women must find more time and energy to empower themselves with knowledge alongside their family responsibilities. Enriching the knowledge of self-sufficient capacity will definitely liberate South African women from the current predicament, and open up a brighter future,” said Wu.
The Jenny Wu Sports Academy is a charity organization, established in 2018, which sponsors more than 200 learners annually in the eastern suburbs of Johannesburg.
China-Africa specialist, Dr Farhana Paruk remarked that despite the considerable inroads made in the emancipation of women, there is still a long way to go.
“My message to women is, we are not there yet, of course. We have made some inroads in creating better opportunities for women in South Africa but in many ways, we have not made progress, for example, we have one of the highest incidents of violence against women in the world,” she said.
“Some of the biggest challenges by women are HIV, poverty among lower income groups, single mother syndrome, high levels of unemployment, lack of upskilling for women in AI and technology and highest level of domestic violence.
“We need stringent laws to protect vulnerable woman in society, for example our laws are too lenient on women who have been violently abused or raped.”
On Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa led the national Women’s Day commemorations at the Union Buildings in Pretoria where he took a swipe at the suffering the apartheid regime has inflicted on women’s lives across the country.
“We recall the suffering that women have endured for no reason other than that they are women.
“We remember the courageous struggles waged by women against oppression; from those who stood up against colonialism and slavery to those who risked jail rather than carry the hated dompas,” he said.
Women gathered at the event to celebrate and commemorate women who took up arms against a violent regime, organised workers to fight exploitation, led political movements and civic organisations, and were involved in the drafting of our new democratic constitution.
IOL