South African Feminst Forum

South African Feminist Forum

Following the gathering of South African women at the AWID forum in Cape Town in November 2008, as well as resolutions from taken at previous regional African Feminists Forum, feminists living in and from South Africa are coming together for reflection, alliance building and to explore the possibility of establishing a South African Feminist Forum. The two day meeting will take place in Cape Town from the 20th to 21st of October 2011.
The meeting will draw on the creative collective feminist experiences and organisation in South Africa in order to develop a process for moving forward with a bigger group of feminists. It is also a space to gain a better understanding and develop conceptual clarity of feminism and women’s/feminist movement in south Africa in order to develop a road map to host the next regional African Feminist Forum in 2012.

This page will be used to share the discussions from the meeting and the final outcomes of the two day meeting. The two day creative space is a start, we are inviting more input to those of you who could not attend the meeting in person so that we add your name to the bigger group. You can also follow the discussions on twitter using the hashtag #SAfeminists Or talk to us on our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/WomensNet/170417333020351

What?

At the AWID Forum in Cape Town in November 2008, South African women met to discuss challenges facing the South African women's  movement. The meeting, facilitated by Pregs Govender and Natasha Primo,  was entitled ‘Women in South Africa: Building our unity, our movements and our power'. In small groups we discussed the challenges that face women in South Africa today, how we feel about it, and what action needs to be taken on the situation.

At this meeting we developed and released a statement, and resolved to created opportunities for discussion and engagement on building a stronger South African feminist movement.

Photos: Laurie Adams (group photo) and Zanele Muholi

The Statement 17th November 2008

Cape Town, South Africa

We are South African Feminist Women gathered at the Association of Women Rights in Development International Conference in Cape Town from all regions in the country.

Although we have come a long way, for many women conditions remain unacceptable with endemic violence, a feminized HIV epidemic and worsening food security.

We are outraged, fearful and feel betrayed. We opposed ex-President Mbeki's position on HIV/AIDS, neo-liberal economic policies, the arms-deal and Zimbabwe. We are appalled at the current context of political intolerance, misogyny, and the language of violence by the President of the ANC, the leader of the ANC Youth League and other political leaders.

We call for an end to all the wars in Africa, particularly in Zimbabwe, Congo and Darfur where women and children are experiencing the brunt of delayed resolution of conflict. This cannot be allowed to continue as normal.

With the upcoming election we will be wary of empty promises to women. We will not be used as voting fodder.  

Together today we have experienced hope and excitement at the power that a critical independent women's movement can achieve. We call on women to unite and defend women's human rights.
 
Those of us who sign this statement respect the fact that there are women whose lives would be endangered if they did so. 
 

How To Join:

Women'sNet has established an email list for further enagement. To join, please send an email to: sallys [at] womensnet [dot] org [dot] za

Leave a comment below to show your solidarity (you must have an account to make comments -  it's free and easy-  click on "create account" on the top right of this page, under the 'Login" box. Once you have filled out a name and email address, you will recieve an email - click on the link in the email to activate your account. Once done, you can blog, make comments and contribute to forums)

Download the statement: http://womensnet.org.za/files/resources/PRESSAWID.doc