Alexandra women mark women’s month with a walk
Scores of Alexandra women set out on a 7km walk to open women's month, and each one brought her own reason for showing up.
As Alexandra marked women’s month, organisers used a community fun walk to press home a message about women’s health.
It was a call, as much as a celebration, for women to take their bodies and wellbeing seriously. The walk, which took place on August 9, set off from KwaDlozi carwash, better known locally as The Dip, and wound almost 10km through parts of Sandton before looping back into Alexandra. Scores of women, joined by a handful of supportive men, took part, each carrying their own reason for showing up.
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Participant Londiwe Lebeloane said she wanted to start her morning on an energetic note. “I just thought, let me do something in the morning just to wake me up.” She added that the walk marked the beginning of her own National Women’s Day celebrations.
Another participant Emma Maredi’s reason came from a scroll through social media. A frequent hiker, she said the announcement caught her at the right moment. “When I saw this, I thought, ‘What a chance’. We haven’t hiked in a while, so I better join this walk.”
Her daughter, Phillipine, matched her stride for the full distance, and by the time the group re-entered Alexandra, still had energy in reserve. “It is good. I wish we could go to Alex Mall and come back.”
Before the morning was out, she also left the women around her with something to carry beyond the walk itself. “Fight for yourself. Let’s be a rock. I don’t believe in the adage that a woman holds a knife by the blade, the blade is sharp. So, just take care of yourselves, queens out there.”
Also read: Women’s Day fun walk urges Alexandra women to prioritise their health
Behind the walk was organiser Sibongile Tshabalala, who said the day was about marking Women’s Day, and also a call for women to prioritise their health. “I would like for women to take care of their bodies. They will age very nicely.” The walk, she noted, ties into work already under way. She and her team host aerobics sessions six days a week, Monday to Saturday, between 07:00 and 08:00.
Co-organiser Sibusiso Radebe pointed to a further motive behind the initiative. Given that their work mostly involves alcohol, he said their aim is to promote healthier lifestyles and help people strike a balance between drinking and exercising.
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