Women empowered to defy the odds
The event was headed by four powerful female speakers with knowledge in the fields of women empowerment, environmental justice as well as health and cancer patient care.
WOMEN across KwaZulu-Natal and the world at large have been directly impacted by climate change and continue to suffer at the hands of environmental and social issues. This is according to the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA), which sought to spread more awareness on this issue by hosting an environmental politics and women empowerment workshop which took place on Wednesday, 21 August at the Austerville Community Hall.
The event was headed by four powerful female speakers with knowledge in the fields of women empowerment, environmental justice as well as health and cancer patient care, who engaged with fellow women in attendance, to empower them and discuss a way forward in being proactive in their different societal roles as well as for the greater good of the environment they live in.
“Women are disproportionately affected by climate change as they continue to have to endure the lack of resources and basic services. This is evident in the cases of women who live near mines or refineries because their families’ health is negatively affected and the responsibility then falls onto the women’s shoulders to take care of their family’s health and provide for their needs, above and beyond their other daily responsibilities.
“There are no resources, no proper sanitation or access to clean water, there is no provision of electricity and women are the ones that have to deal with these issues. Gender inequality is still rife in our communities where women are forced into certain roles and as a result, they end up forsaking their dreams in order to make a better life for their families,” shared SDCEA media officer, Joanne Groom.
Local pastor Priscilla Govender, encouraged the women to value themselves from within instead of on material things. “It is empowering women to understand their rights to be independent in every area for their proper growth and development. The real meaning of the women empowerment is to make women well educated, allowing them to express themselves and leave them free so that they are capable to make their own decisions in any field,” she shared. Priscilla also touched on the importance of women learning to show human kindness and guidance to one another in a world that already seeks to oppress them.
Fiona Singh from Durban Solid Waste (DSW) spoke on environmental justice and feminist solutions and highlighted that women need to defy the odds. “It is our responsibility to speak up and address the environmental issues that affect us. We cannot preserve or save the environment through a one solution approach, we must look within ourselves to be environmental heroes.”
With Wentworth being a community constantly at threat of developing cancer and related illnesses, Nola Nirghin and Siphelelisiwe Mabaso from BMW cancer support group and the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA), respectively, spoke on their experiences with the chronic disease, directly and indirectly. They also elaborated on the different kinds of support available in the forms of counselling, medical support, mediating between patients and doctors as well as cancer support groups available to those who may need them.
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