In light of their 10 year anniversary, he Women’s Academic Solidarity Association (Wasa) held a conversation on Women's Leadership in Post-Apartheid South Africa at Rhodes University on 19 March.
In light of their 10 year anniversary, he Women’s Academic Solidarity Association (Wasa) held a conversation on Women's Leadership in Post-Apartheid South Africa at Rhodes University on 19 March.
The key speaker and first chairperson of Wasa, Darlene Miller, explored issues concerning the inequality experienced within academic spaces.
She said that Wasa aims to fully explore how race and class inequality can be fought, along with gender, in spaces of power.
The conversation, entitled; “Women's Leadership – A Useless/Useful Idea for Post-Apartheid Southern Africa?” grew to discuss the limits placed on women, specifically within the masculine constructions of African culture.
The way forward, Miller argued, was to challenge men in places of power and then work together rather than struggle for leadership.
Miller also made the point that vulnerability can be used as a tool in the forming of equality.
“It is us, the women, who need to be the figures of peace,” she said.
Babalwa Magoqwana, co-chair of Wasa, said what we need as a nation is a “leaderless revolution” to combat these issues.
It was also discussed how women are not present in protests because they feel that they have no place in fighting for their rights.
A suggestion was made to look to rural areas for inspiration, particularly the Western Cape 2012 farm workers’ strike that was primarily led by women.
These kinds of examples could firmly place women in politics leading with their own thoughts rather than expressing something that was described as “mimicking the patriarchal institution”.
An online pdf of the 10 year anniversary publication is available for view at ru.ac.za/wasa/
