Tracey Saunders
ARTSCAPE has been a hive of activity since Thursday evening and in many ways the centre of events celebrating women in the mother city. In addition to the usual fare associated with the festival over the years, there were two book launches, film screenings, free health and legal services and a multitude of workshops on offer.
The first launch on Thursday was of the book, The Black Sash: Women for Justice and Peace. Author Mary Burton showed no indecision in standing for justice since she first moved to South Africa in 1961. The book is a testimony to her fortitude and an account of the history of the women who formed the Black Sash and were resolute in their defiance of the apartheid regime. The launch coincides with the opening of a photographic exhibition documenting the Black Sash’s 60-year history. Members present included current trustees Jenny de Tolly, Di Oliver and Dr Hilary Southall.
Both the book launches and the photographic exhibition befit Artscape’s role as a community centre and not only an arts centre, according to Marlene Le Roux, the Director of Audience Development and Education at Artscape. Over the past nine years the festival has grown to include audiences from across the length and breadth of the Western Cape, crossing cultural and religious divides. The Humanity Walk exemplifies this more than any other activity, with the walk beginning with blessings from various religious communities.
Performances by community organisations, including that of the Rape Crisis Peer Educators Group and the Amy Biehl Foundation Marimba Group, added to the vibrancy of the entertainment line up.
One of the theatre highlights of this year’s festival was the performance of Cold Case, a play portraying the life and death of activist Dulcie September. Mayor Patricia De Lille confirmed the importance of September’s role and her place in the history of Cape Town, referencing the renaming of the Athlone Civic Centre in her honour.
The continued role of women activists in the growth and development of society was a common theme among the speakers.
Speaking at the opening Ayanda Mvimbi, the UN Women Programme Specialist to the Multi-Country Office urged women to continue to find “innovative courageous acts to put an expiry date to violence against women”. Judge Albie Sachs paid tribute to the work done by the Black Sash in the struggle against apartheid and the role that women continue to play in building social cohesiveness. While women of a bygone era were being celebrated upstairs, Woman Zone represented the rich diversity of women in Cape Town today when the book Being a Women in Cape Town was launched on Friday. The launch took place at the Woman Zone Women’s Library, which has found a permanent home on the lower level of the building. The book has been more than a year in the making and is a collection of personal narratives of 13 women who participated in monthly storytelling events hosted across the city.
Nancy Richards, journalist and champion of women’s rights, said at the launch: “The book is a symbol of so many things: of faith, of what can happen when women work together with no money at all changing hands – the currency was smiles and hugs and many cups of tea.” Woman Zone itself is the fulfilment of Richards’ vision of a centre where women from Gugulethu to Greenpoint, from Kenilworth to Khayelitsha can come together and share experiences. The book is a literary manifestation of that vision with its collection of stories including a football player, a business leader and several activists and community workers. Also present at the launch were Dr Mamphela Ramphele, Marina Petropolus, Nomfundo Walaza CEO of the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre, and several local writers. There were few women as well placed as Sindiwe Magona to address the diverse audience on the many roles played by women.
Magona began her working career as a domestic worker and retired from her role in the UN’s Public Information Department. She is a poet, dramatist and speaker who is currently editing the final proofs of her new novel to be released this year. She spoke proudly of having recently acquired her driver’s licence and urged all women to follow their dreams and do what it is they love to do, rather than what they feel they ought to do. She applauded the women whose personal narratives are included in the book, saying: “It takes courage to tell your story. Often there are things that you wish could remain hidden, but now that you have started. Don’t stop. There are worse things than writing to be addicted to.” In her address she lamented the lack of personal safety of local women and their inability “to walk where they want when they want. Forget finding solitude on a solitary mountain walk, or even on the beach”, she complained.
Referring to the struggles fought by activists during apartheid she encouraged women to continue to fight oppression. “Something is broken and we should not tolerate it – what you tolerate you perpetuate.”
Her words drew a strong response from the women gathered and for a moment we were reminded of that same energy that drove the march to the Union Buildings in 1956. Dr Ramphele acknowledged the occasion as one of few where women across class, generations and racial divides were afforded the opportunity to come together. Patricia Schonstein, Dr Maria Philame and Liesl Jobson read extracts from their books and Vera concluded with a rendition of songs dedicated to the editors and writers of the book.
The final events of the festival were a Humanity Lunch and Gospel Concert on Sunday – which served as an opportunity for participants to share a meal and end a weekend that nourished both body and soul and left them fortified to continue the struggle for freedom and justice in their local communities.
l www.artscape.co.za,
www.womanzonect.com