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South Africa Women's Day

| Wednesday, January 12, 2011 |

South Africans identify Women's Day this month, an chance to both commemorate the contributions made by women during apartheid and to highlight the point of women's rights. Fifty-four years ago, on August 9, 1956, over 20,000 South African women marched on their country's Parliament to protest the arduous "pass books laws" of apartheid. One of the most symbolic acts of apartheid's racial oppression, the pass laws stipulated that all black South Africans over the age of 16 were required to carry a pass book, a sort of internal passport that documented permission to cross through, reside, or work in obvious areas of the country. Arrest, eviction from obvious areas of the country, and imprisonment were accepted consequences for any private found to not be in proprietary of the pass book, or even to have a pass book with insufficient documentation. South African women, in their fight against these laws, professed their courage and empowered women in any place as they shouted outside the Prime Minister's office, "When you touch the women, you assault a rock!"

South African women have made great strides over these past fifty-four years. Over a third of senior management positions in government and state entities are held by women, and South Africa recently ranked 42nd out of 113 countries in The Economist magazine's index of women's economic opportunity, the second top ranking of any African country¹. Nevertheless, challenges remain. Where the pass books have been abolished, poverty, violence, and sexual exploitation have stepped in. As in most developing countries, South African women are more affected by poverty than men, as they bear the brunt of providing for their families, palpate lower wages, and face discrimination that limits employment opportunities. South Africa is also well known to have the top incidence of rape in the world, to say nothing of the high rates of crime that plague the whole country. Finally, in nearly every age bracket South African women have a higher prevalence of Hiv than men - in some age brackets, four to six times higher.

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Still, there is hope. Instruction is underlying in addressing the poverty, violence, and sexual mistreatment that South African women face. Communal and inexpressive sectors alike agree that Instruction empowers women, promotes gender equality, and is an indispensable element in eradicating poverty. Instruction of women is consistently linked with improved maternal condition and a woman's potential to freely move about her society and country. A quote conducted by the International center for investigate on Women² shows that these obvious outcomes increase with higher levels of education, such that secondary and tertiary Instruction have the greatest payoff in women's health, societal position, economic opportunities, and political participation. Thus, while primary Instruction is indispensable for developing skills and the foundation for prolonged learning, it is higher levels of Instruction that ultimately leads to a salutary democracy and civil society.

So possibly the best way to commemorate Women's Day is to not only remember those who fought before us, but to continue their fight in protecting those who come after us. Instruction is our most fine weapon in fighting the pass books of today.

¹Women's Economic Opportunity: A New Global Index and Ranking. Economist brain Unit, 2010. Retrieved 02 August 2010.

²Malhotra, A; Pande, R; & Grown, C. Impact of Investments in Female Instruction on Gender Equality. International center for investigate on Women, 2003. Retrieved 02 August 2010.

South Africa Women's Day

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