Tshwaranang Udadate, is the official newsletter of Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre to end violence against women

By Mazibuko Jara

On the 22 November 1997, thousands of men and children are expected to march to highlight violence and abuse of women and children. A first for South Africa, and indeed the continent and the rest of the world.

For 20 years of her marriage, my mother has known and experienced abuse and violence, the same abuse millions of women in South Africa face daily. Her abuse was also observed and experienced by her three children. She and her children seemed disempowered to do anything about the situation. This experience has been justified time and again, as part of Xhosa culture and customs because of her expected role as a woman and our position as children.

As much as we know the situation we have not walked out. How many other women and children are trapped in abusive and often violent relationships? How many other women and children have been subjected to violence and abuse on behalf of culture and religion? How many women, children and men who stood up against violence and abuse have been labelled as disrespectful of men, culture and religion?

What does the march mean to her? Will it end her misery and suffering? Will the energy and vigour put into the march end the abuse, violence and oppression of women in South Africa still face? Will the march raise the awareness of South Africans about the situation South African women face? Will the march lead to change? These are difficult questions which will require sustained action and struggles over a long period to answer it in full.

The march will certainly help highlight violence against and abuse of women and children. The march on its own will not change the situation of South African women and children.

Of extreme concern to me is the armchair gender equality and children's rights activists who will do no more than participate in the march. Too many women and children have been subjected to violence and violence at the hands of progressive political leaders who proclaimed equality and human rights from public platforms, but have not practised it in their homes.

The challenge is to minimise this. The challenge is to ensure that the march is consolidated as an educational and mobilising tool. The challenge is to ensure that ordinary South Africans acknowledge violence against women and children, and that ordinary South Africans start to act against it. This throws the challenge back to organisations and activists to build on the publicity around the march.

The men from ADAPT in Alexandra are a good example of education and mobilisation of previously abusive men around issues of violence against women in particular, and gender equality generally. It will be interesting to see how we learn from the experience of ADAPT and the Men's March.

Building on the March also means identifying all forms of abuse and violence directed to women and other vulnerable groups. This will help in the qy\uest for appropriate solutions. Ending violence against women needs the focus of a national programme involving government, NGO's and other stakeholders. Such a programme should include legal reform, provision of counselling and support services for victims, education and training programmes in schools and many other initiatives.

The initiatives listed will mot be realised without active support from the abovementioned organisations. However, these organisations and institutions are male dominated and often sexist. There are too many cases where trade unions, for example, tokk too long to adoopt gender equality policies.

We cannot allow the same to happen from the experience of the Men's March. The test will be to see what institutions and organisations do after the publicity of the March is gone.

In the final analysis, the men's march is a good start, but is not the end. Individuals and organisations must work together in taking up concrete actions and struggles towards the eradication of violence against women. Maybe not in my mother's lifetime, but hopefully in our lifetime.