As August is regarded as Women's Month, the nursing staff of Elim hospital held an event last Friday to commemorate the historical 1956 women's march. The gathering took place at the hospital church.

The speaker of the Makhado Municipality, Cllr Joan Hoorzuk, said that the women of 1956 had laid a foundation, but her address was mostly centred around ritual murder. Hoorzuk said that while the government is taking the lead in deploying women in senior and other strategic positions, other women are still choosing to be trapped under the 'sexual harassment for job opportunities'.

“One blanket, one job is a fact, but the problem is our women seem to be not prepared to speak or use proper procedures to achieve their goals,” she said. She added that she had developed a personal vendetta against individuals who are killing women and children for muti purposes. She urged more women to join the Makhado Women's Forum, so that more plans would be developed to involve ordinary women in the deep rural areas.

“As a local government, we are the only government sphere closer to the people. Let's unite to fight the meaningless killing of our women. Critics used to claim that the municipality will crumble because it is in the hands of women. As seeing is believing, I hope they are now using myself, municipal manager Faith Muthambi and the mayor Cllr Glory Mashaba as examples. At the beginning, there was resistance, but questions like ‘why her and why not ourselves’ by men at Makhado, are fading away,” she claimed.

“This is the age of hope. It is my wish to see a woman succeeding Pres Thabo Mbeki as State President,” she said. The speaker urged women to use their voices in blowing the whistle about any form of women and children abuse. She said that women are playing meaningful roles in making a difference in their respective communities.

The corporate manager at Elim Hospital, Mrs Sharon Muthambi, indicated that the event forms part of celebrating the employees’ wellness programme and women empowerment under her section. “This is a starting point; we are just trying to do big things in a small way,” she said.