From the 5th to the 8th of August 2022, members of the women’s assembly were convened in an educational camp held in Simon’s Town, Cape Town to discuss issues of race, class, gender and power.
August 7th : Xoliswa shares her story in a group activity on what the core issues facing women in Cape Town today are.
Day 1: Race and Class
On Day 1 of the camp the women reflected on race and class. They reflected on a poem by Siphokazi Jonas – “My daughter says that we’re the right kind of poor for an application form.” Published on Twitter in February of 2022.
“My daughter says that we’re the right kind of poor for an application form.” pic.twitter.com/2zIGg8fs9Y
The program also asked them to interrogate some of the biases of race and class that they hold and how it may create challenges for the different ways they organise in their communities. They acknowledged the racial and spatial divisions perpetuated by the system and agreed to address it in their homes, communities and organisations to build better organisations and futures.
August 7th: Feziwe (Member of the Education and Learning Committee) listens to reflections from the group.
Day 2: Gender, Power and Feminist Movements
Day 2 saw the women reflecting on their ideas of feminism – the good and bad – towards building their own definitions of the ideology. They did this by developing a feminist pot with three legs, each leg representing an ideal on which to build their kind of feminism. Ideas such as ubuntu, unity and freedom emerged as important for the women. It was in this moment that the group identified that feminism means the end of “Patrick” – or patriarchy – the structural force preventing them from achieving equality and freedom. They also discussed how their struggles intersect and what this means for their organising. This was done through a reflection on the covid-19 pandemic and the ways in which is specifically meant exclusion from the economy for women.
In the afternoon, the women encountered and reflected on movements such as Sikhala Sonke, The Women’s #TotalShutdown and #RUReferenceList discussing the power and importance of women-led movements opposing violence, patriarchy and inequality. They discussed how feminist movements operate and the victories and shortfalls that emerge for these movements.
During the tea break Tandeka from the Housing Assembly reflects on what she knows patriarchy to be.
Day 3: Peasant Feminism & Building Our Campaigns
On Day 3 the women discussed food sovereignty with members of the peasant movement, La Via Campensina and the Food Sovereignty Campaign. Theresa Falatsa, Jolene Scholtz-Kearney and Charmaine Jacobs joined us throughout the program to discuss peasant feminism, food security, agri-ecology and food growing as they’ve encountered it in their movements. Through their involvement in the program long-lasting relationships were established connecting the women’s assembly to rural women’s movements in rural and peri-urban areas.
August 8th:Charmaine reflects on La Via Campensina and what it means to share the message of food growing and peasant feminism.
The discussions around radical feminist food security as a mechanism to oppose food insecurity motivated the women to want to take action. They spent the afternoon conceptualising a campaign that can capture the essence of what they had learned during their experiences within the women’s assembly: a safe space to reflect on the structural challenges facing them as women in working-class and impoverished communities.
Charmaine from the Bonteheuwel Development Forum (BDF) reflects on how food insecurity affects her health.
Through a careful process, a press statement was conceptualised by those within the women’s assembly who prioritise food security. The Food Sovereignty Committee – a body developed in the women’s assembly – aspires to start community gardens, bakeries and kitchens that can directly tackle the challenges of hunger and poverty. Drafting the press statement happened alongside learning about messaging and banner-making where the group was challenged and given skills to draft effective messaging through the careful use and consideration of colour, slogans and art-making.
Mohammed Jameel reflects on how to build a campaign and list demands.
A large part of building demands and slogans included reflecting on the stories which make up the women’s every day experiences. While reflecting on the slogan: “Empty Pots = Empty Promises” a story emerged that defined the struggles faced by the women in food insecure contexts. Xoliswa from the Housing Assembly reflected on her story which highlighted the urgency and importance of action against systemic inequality excluding women from the food system.
Xoliswa’s shares her story about boiling pots of water because she has nothing to feed her children.
The weekend culminated into a picket at the Constantia Circle in Constantia. The protest’s demands reflected on the intersection of struggles between race, class and gender and highlighted the violence of inequality and patriarchy. The women nicknamed patriarchy “patrick” as they did in the program on Day 2.
This workshop focused on questions of nutrition and building alternative food systems such as community gardens and “people’s bakeries”. Dr. Chantal Witten shared insights on nutrition – how in maternity and through the formative years of a child’s life, nutrition plays a role in their overall development. The women discussed local and school feeding schemes and the types of foods these programs provide to communities. They were equipped to contribute to community nutrition through building their own alternative food systems by growing and bartering foods. The women were each given seedlings to plant at home, starting their own gardens and taking their first step towards building food security for themselves.
2 July 2022: Lucy Davids shares her experience of the nutrition workshop with Dr Chantal Witten
This workshop focused on the question: Where are we safe and what makes us feel safe? The women focused on their homes, communities and the greater national context to outline what makes them feel safe. Issues like drug violence, domestic abuse and the effects of load shedding and poor street lightning emerged as sources for their discomfort and feelings of insecurity at home. Things like vigilant neighbours, dogs and secure fencing emerged as things which indicate security for the women. The women interrogated case studies of women with different identities, race and class experiences so that they could understand how different degrees and kinds of violences affect different women. The workshop was facilitated by the women in the education and learning committee supported by Tshisimani.
12 March 2022: Claudine from the Education and Learning Committee, facilitates a session on what makes us feel safe in our communities.
Tshisimani held space in collaboration with the Bonteheuwel Development Forum to extend the space of the Women’s Assembly to working class women’s organisations across the Cape Flats. Through a program of engagement, discussion and sharing women from Heideveld, Delft, Blikkiesdorp, Woodstock, Bonteheuwel, Khayelitsha and Phillip came together to discuss the expectations and possibilities for a joined women’s assembly and the principles on which it should be based. In this workshop the women agreed on themes for the year and formed the education and learning committee – a structure which would co-design workshops for the women’s assembly with Tshisimani and gain skills to facilitate workshops independently in future.
9 February 2022: The Women discuss their hopes and expectations for the women’s assembly through a high-tea hosted by the Bonteheuwel Development Forum.
The Pocket Queerpedia is a resource Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education developed for activists, educators and the queer community generally, to assist in teaching on queerness. Queer education can be one of the most freeing of experiences, yet resources are not always accessible, suitable for a South African context or visually appealing to young audiences. The Pocket Queerpedia is an offering to respond to this. It has been reviewed by academics, progressive organisations and queer activists. The book comes in three languages during the first phase (English, Afrikaans, isiXhosa). It is available for free download below
The Story Behind Pocket Queerpedia
Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education is an organisation dedicated to resourcing and supporting activists towards their goals of equality, freedom, dignity and better futures. The idea for this glossary was sparked by a moment in one of our offerings ‘Feminism and Freedom’ a course we hosted for young activists in 2019. While grappling with discussions on gender, sexuality and freedom, we ran into a number of difficulties. As with most of our courses, the participants in the room were quite diverse – drawn from different communities, geographic locations and organisations. What we considered basic and familiar terms in queerness, we thought all would know, left many participants lost. What we thought were commonly accepted definitions proved otherwise. In that moment, we faced a big dilemma – how do we discuss the power and importance of queer politics, when so many terms are not commonly understood? This question led us to reflect deeply on some of the questions posed by our participants. Why are some terms used in different ways by different people? Where do I begin understanding the differences between biology and gender? What are these terms in my own home language? How would I explain all this in a way my mother can understand? Are there African examples and experiences we can draw on to better understand and make cultural links?
Words have power. They can offer recognition or erase experiences. We offer this glossary to activists who wish to broaden their understanding of the world and how gender and sexuality shape it.
About the creators
The book was conceptualised, designed, and illustrated by Seth Deacon, Tshisimani’s Visual Materials Developer and Art curator, with input from the entire Tshisimani staff. Seth is a queer artist who previously taught digital arts and multimedia design, and completed an MAFA in which he focused on the depiction of violence, gender, race and class in photographs of the body in a South African context. Content editing, consultation and copy edits were done by Tshisimani’s Social Media Specialist and Content Creator, Mohammed Jameel Abdulla. Further consultations outside Tshisimani were done with queer performance artist, activist and scholar, Tandile Mbatsha; Clinton Osborne, an activist, artist and educator of the Sex Workers’ Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT); and activist and scholar Mmakatleho Sefatsa. Veteran pan-african, feminist scholar, and co-director of the Association for Women’s Rights in Development, Hakima Abbas, provided extensive consultation on the written content of the glossary, as well as academic feedback. The many rounds of translations were held by a team of writers, activists, educators and translators consisting of Simone Cupido, Kealeboga Ramaru, Allan Maasdorp, Chulumanco Mihlali Nkasela, Dinga Sikwebu and Akha Hamba Mchwayo Tutu.
Trans Activist, filmaker and educator Zoey Black reacts to #PocketQueerpedia
Various political traditions have been seized with the questions: “what is the meaning of freedom?” “who should enjoy freedom?” and “what is the content of this freedom?“. Different theoretical traditions provide different answers to these questions. The starting points are different, and so are the emancipatory visions. As an intellectual and political project, feminism grapples with women’s status in society, gender roles, gendered power relations and how various political traditions exclude women from their visions of freedom. From multiple angles, feminism provides a critical evaluation of the core claims and visions of freedom contained in political traditions such as liberalism, anti-colonial struggles, Marxism etc. This module will set up a conversation between some of the major currents of feminist thought, and political traditions such as liberalism, Marxism, and anti-colonial nationalism. With a focus on the different strands of feminism and where they stand in relation to these theoretical traditions, this module will explore broadened and enriched ideas of freedom. The module will also explore how – through interventions like queer theory – different currents of feminism have been challenged and critiqued for their incompleteness, blind-spots and exclusions. At the end of the module participants will assess whether feminism offers a radical vision of freedom in a world that is punctuated by horrifying levels of gender-based violence, inequality, the policing and surveillance of women’s bodies, and a lack of reproductive justice.
This module aims to answer these questions:
How does feminism help us to defend freedom?
How does feminism give us expanded notions of freedom?
How does feminism give us insights that are neglected in other traditions?
Part of our struggle as activists in creating a more equitable and just world is the need to rethink our ideas and practices around gender, power and consent. While the need for change in the world on these issues is overwhelming, the idea that we need to challenge our own practices in our movements and organisations is equally important. In an effort to contribute to this area of work, we at Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education have (in collaboration with Equal Education) created a set of materials for a workshop that can be run as presented here or adapted to your needs as required.
Key focus areas are:
understanding how gender stereotypes are constructed;
gender relations in organisational settings and social justice movements;
types of sexual harassment and understanding consent.
We suggest facilitators start by having a discussion with participants about the necessity of being sensitive and respectful during the process, and how feelings of discomfort and vulnerability might arise but are part of the process of learning and change.
In addition to this facilitators working with organisations or other groups that will continue to work together in the future should conclude with the drawing up of a charter outlining a way forward that will foster a progressive and welcoming space for everyone participating in that space going forward.
Activity 1: Some facts on global gender inequality
Objective:
This exercise is intended to highlight that the position of women is key to ANY struggle for social justice, whether it be health, housing, education, sexual harassment, or violence against women and girls.
Read the handout (there is a linked infographic that can be handed to participants to make the activity more visually engaging and accessible), and discuss responses with participants.
What do these facts tell us about the world and the position of women in it?
How do we feel about this?
Activity 2: What are the aims of this workshop?
Objective:
To give participants a sense of the day to come, and the direction in which the facilitators will be heading.
Resources required:
N/A
N/A
Notes to facilitator:
Outline the programme and the intended objectives:
Understanding gender, gender stereotyping and discrimination, patriarchy and positionality;
Understanding how these play out in our personal lives, and in our social and work spaces;
Understanding consent, and which behaviours are unacceptable and harmful (such as sexual harassment);
Developing a set of principles to foster an organisational culture that is a welcoming and safe space for all staff, in our day-to-day interactions and practices.
Activity 3: Our position
Objective:
Reinforce the need to see gender equality as part of a prefigurative politics and successful movement building, and to highlight the link between the personal and political.
Read and discuss with participants the provided quotes by Thomas Sankara and bell hooks and lift out any insights and comments participants may have. What do they have in common? What differences do they have in emphasis and focus?
Activity 4: Sex, gender and sexuality
Objective:
To understand the difference between sex, gender and sexuality.
Ask the participants to draw from personal experience, and think about what it means when they are told to “act like a lady” or to “man-up”.
Divide participants into small groups and give them these instructions:
Draw 2 large boxes on each sheet of paper (or print out the large templates provided to A2/A1 size), one titled “man up!” and the other, “act like a lady”.
Using the sticky notes and markers, write down the words or phrases that describe how you are expected to act when these ‘instructions’ are given to you. Stick these onto the drawn boxes/provided template on the wall.
Think of how you might be perceived (by colleagues, comrades, family, community etc.) when your behaviour doesn’t fit into these boxes. What are the words or phrases that describe this? Each group should have an anchor person who will write the associated words and phrases outside of the boxes.
Discuss reflections and commentary in plenary.
Box Stereotypes 1.
Box Stereotypes 2
Activity 2: Introduction to the social construction of gender
Objective:
To encourage participants to challenge socially-constructed ideas about gender.
Use slide presentation 2 to understand the following concepts:
Social constructs
Gender stereotypes
Evolving cultural perceptions around gender
Gender as performance
The gender binary vs gender as a spectrum
Activity 3: Gender stereotypes in our society and organisations
Objective:
To highlight the prevalence of prescriptive gender roles and the ways in which they can be harmful to individuals and organisations involved in social justice work.
When are gender stereotypes or stereotypical ideas of gender roles harmful/dangerous in organisational or activist spaces? How do these understandings of gender hinder social justice work?
Facilitators can choose from the selection of readings provided on women’s struggles in the workplace, social movements or other organisations.
Ask the participants to read the text/s in groups of no more than 5 (where possible) and use the following question as a guide for a discussion:
In what ways do sexism and prescriptive gender roles play out in your workplace or organisations?
Groups to report back in plenary.
Session 3: The insidious nature of sexual harassment – creating a comfortable and welcoming environment
Activity 1: Sexual Harassment World Café
Objective:
To lift out the various behaviours that are inappropriate and cause discomfort in the workplace or organisations. The process should clarify the more subtle micro-aggressions people experience, how to tell the difference between welcome and unwelcome gestures, and help participants understand why these are problematic.
Resources required:
3 A0/A1 sheets of card (contrasting colours); Labels
Introduce the participants to the notion that while there are clearly defined cases of sexual harassment, there are many more subtle interactions that can leave people feeling exposed, vulnerable and disempowered. These behaviours can create an uncomfortable, even toxic working space, and be difficult to confront due to a multitude of reasons including the fear of repercussions or of not being taken seriously.
It is important to provide a trigger warning at this point, as the exercise may surface some uncomfortable emotions and experiences.
Divide the participants into 3 groups and task each group to take a sheet of card, markers, and one of the labels. Ask each group to create a list on the card under one of the following labels:
Unwelcome interactions between co-workers which are non-verbal & non-physical and make individuals uncomfortable.
Unwelcome interactions between co-workers which are verbal and make individuals uncomfortable.
Unwelcome interactions between co-workers which are physical and make individuals uncomfortable.
Once completed allow groups to view each others’ lists of unwelcome interactions, and then bring them to the plenary group for discussion. Go through each list and facilitate a discussion in which participants explore the commonalities between their experiences, what they find surprising, what the differences are between welcome and unwelcome behaviours and how to recognise, and why they think these behaviours continue to flourish.
Session 4: Sexual harassment, consent and power
Activity 1: Introduction – Sexual harassment in organising spaces
Objective:
To highlight how prevalent sexual harassment is and how it manifests in movements/organising spaces.
Resources required:
Notes to facilitator:
Building on the ‘Sexual Harrasment World Café’ activity, provide an overview of sexual harassment and its prevalence in activist/organising spaces.
Sexual harassment is pervasive across many social spaces and institutions:
Workplaces (factories, offices), universities, religious institutions, trade unions, student organisations, social movements, civil society.
It is one of the major indicators of unequal relations in society, especially between men and women.
While most organisations commit to an environment that is free of sexual harassment, there are still far too many cases of sexual harassment within movement spaces.
Sexual harrasment can take many forms, including the following:
Unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct. Physical conduct of a sexual nature includes all unwanted physical contact, ranging from touching to sexual assault and rape.
Verbal forms of sexual harassment include unwelcome innuendoes, suggestions and hints, sexual advances, comments with sexual overtones, sex-related jokes or insults or unwelcome graphic comments about a person’s body etc.
Non-verbal forms include unwelcome gestures, unwelcome sexually explicit electronic messages, indecent exposure, and the unwelcome display of sexually explicit pictures and objects.
Quid pro quo harassment occurs where a person with more power, undertakes or attempts to influence the process of employment, promotion, training, discipline, dismissal or other benefits of a person with less power, in exchange for sexual favours.
Sexual favouritism – a person in a position of power and authority rewarding only those who respond to his/her sexual advances.
Activity 2: Sexual harassment myths and realities
Objective:
There are many commonly held ideas about sexual harassment that are taken as true and uncontested. This session aims to explore some common myths about sexual harassment and the implications they carry for the struggle against patriarchy.
Divide participants into groups. Give each group a short statement that introduces a popular myth about sexual harassment in the workplace. On a worksheet, request the participants to share some thoughts about the statement:
Where have you heard this before?
Do you agree with the statement? Is it myth or reality?
What are the implications of this statement/belief?
While some statements may appear obvious, some will be harder to determine and members of each group will most likely debate and have disagreements about them. It is important for the facilitator to encourage respectful discussion and active listening.
Reconvene the groups in plenary to share their reports on the discussions. The facilitator can open the discussion to the floor. It is important to note that these myths are context-specific. Feel free to draw your own list of myths that might be more applicable to your context.
As a facilitator, be ready provide additional examples and to elaborate.
Activity 3: Envisioning a culture of consent
Objective:
To encourage participants to think more deeply about consent and identify when it is and is not given.
Resources required:
N/A
Flipchart; coloured card; scissors; markers
Notes to facilitator:
Based on discussions around the popular myths on sexual harassment and assault, ask buzz groups of between 5 and 10 participants to identify key words associated with a culture of consent. These words will be used to populate a chart on Consent Culture.
Together in plenary, ask the participants to explore a separate and contrasting chart that depicts what consent is NOT. Wrap this activity up by reinforcing the discussion on the pervasive nature of sexual harassment and its implications for activists and their movements.
Session 5: A charter to foster a progressive and welcoming space
Activity 1: Creating a charter
Objective:
To develop a shared set of principles and guidelines which will enable everyone to feel comfortable and welcome.
Resources required:
N/A
Flip-chart paper; markers
Notes to facilitator:
Ask participants to break into small groups of no more than 10, and discuss how their gender effects their experience of life and work.
Have them draft a set of principles that will foster an organisational culture that is welcoming and create a safe space for all within it.
Participants should report back to plenary to combine the principles into a single charter that everyone can unite around.
Other resources & activities
Resource/Activity 1: Visual glossary
Objective:
To develop an understanding of the terms and issues around gender, sexuality, sexism and patriarchy.
This a visual glossary that can be used as a short game to encourage learning and discussion, or the completed version can be used as a take-home resource.
As a game, split the participants into groups of 2–4, and task the participants to place the correct definitions next to the terms on the handout.
Once the participants have completed this task, ask them to discuss in plenary what they have learned, and what terms they felt were missing.
Resource/Activity 2: Tea & Consent
Objective:
To provide a simple explanation of how consent works, and its importance.
Resources required:
Video Linked below:
Notes to facilitator:
Because this resource uses the technique of metaphor, it is crucial for the facilitator to distill the important messages and ideas it communicates after the clip has been shown.
