The Mpumalanga Inkanyezi project team held a three-day training for elected officials, religious leaders, traditional authorities, and community representatives in collaboration with the Commission for Gender Equality, from the 13th to the 15th of November 2924.
The workshop was to capacitates participants to better understand feminist leadership. The session highlighted how feminist principles can motivate attempts to achieve more gender equality as follows:
Supporting Gender Equality: examining how feminist leadership can address the underlying causes of inequity while strengthening the rights of women.
Strengthening Networks: establishing and fostering linkages between feminist movements and women leaders to present an organized front for advocacy.
Empowering Advocacy: ensuring that women leaders’ voices are heard in decision-making processes by encouraging them to actively participate in feminist public policy advocacy.
‘’We combined knowledge, theory, and practical applications drawn from women’s leaders and organizations’ experiences during the session. Participants shared about leadership obstacles women encounter and tips on how to overcome these’’ said Sonke’s Senior Trainer Rhandzekile Mathebula
The Commission for Gender Equality led a session which focused on cultivating female leaders to promote gender equality. Commissioner Eurika Mogane emphasized on the importance of capacitating especially young women leaders.
‘’Gender equality is still a challenge in society despite advancements. It is imperative to keep opposing patriarchal norms and informing communities about the negative impact that they have on young girls and women, and we do this through our many interventions’’ Mogane said.
The meeting agreed that charity begins at home in terms of effectively addressing gender inequalities. ‘’From an early age, parents should encourage their children, regardless of gender, to share household duties equally. In addition to improving family dynamics, this approach will help lower gender-based violence. Boys can have a deeper awareness of the difficulties women encounter and develop greater empathy and respect by learning about the roles that are typically allocated to women’’ add Mogane.
The workshop provided a safe space for women to ventilate on various issues and learn from one another. A key takeaway from the session was one participant, who wished not to be named, who indicated that after the training, she now had the courage to run for the local ward councilor position in the upcoming elections, given the knowledge and encouragement received on how to navigate leadership roles from the trainings.
Sonke through the Inkanyezi project, continues to empower women leaders in Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape provinces.
