Publications
Partners
Does the call for a womxn’s only march by #TheTotalShutDown movement equal the exclusion of men?
This is a question many, including the media, have been asking in relation to the intersectional #TheTotalShutDown protest against gender-based violence planned for the first day of womxn’s month (August) in South Africa, this year.
The #TotalShutDown is a movement of womxn and gender non-conforming persons who are planning to bring the country to a halt on August 1 2018. Specifically, the movement is making a call to all intersectional womxn from different parts of the country to participate in this protest action.
How do womxn join or participate in the movement?
The many ways through which one can connect with the movement include the closed Facebook page for womxn and gender non-conforming persons or via the WhatsApp groups that have been created to facilitate mobilisation in specific areas. A call has also been made for womxn and gender non-conforming persons to stay away from work on that day.
In addition, there is a call to refrain from all economic activities, unless absolutely necessary.
Marches will take place in all nine provinces of South Africa.
So, what is the significance of #TheTotalShutDown?
It is the brink of a moment in history …
For the first time since the historical womxn’s march of 1956, womxn in South Africa are mobilising one another across the divide towards a common cause. At least 60 000 womxn are expected to peacefully march to the Union Buildings on the 1st of August.
A reincarnation of 1956 looms … as womxn declare en masse that enough is enough! The pain of violence is no longer bearable. It is time to reclaim our agency. In our own way. Using our own terms. Where are the men in all this, one may ask? Or should we also be asking, where were the men in 1956?
Should men be demanding or expecting to be part of a march planned expressly for womxn, by womxn? Womxn and gender non-conforming persons have organised this march to raise their concerns and emphasise the state of emergency and threat to their existence, safety and wellbeing. It is womxn who live, feel and experience the pain of abuse on a daily basis.
Gender-based violence is an issue that predominantly affects womxn. Statistics cited in the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation 2017 study reveal that the recorded murder rate of 24.7 per 100 000 females in South Africa is significantly higher than global levels. One in five womxn and one in three young womxn (between the ages of 18 – 24) report having experienced physical violence. According to this study, South Africa finds itself in a state of crisis.
With this in mind, it is essential for womxn to exercise their agency in organising this march. This should not be interpreted as an act of excluding men. Not participating in the march does not mean that men do not have a role to play. Rather, leaving womxn to march on their own demonstrates men’s respect for womxn’s need and right to reserve certain spaces for themselves to address pertinent issues peculiar to them.
However, misreading this as the exclusion of men would be tantamount to a sense of patriarchal privilege and entitlement. It communicates a message that men believe they have a mandate and a right to define and/or occupy each and every space – even those womxn have reserved for themselves.
It is such attitudes that drive and sustain the abuse of womxn.
While it is undisputed that men should be involved in finding solutions to end violence against women, this should not negate the critical need for maintaining womxn-only spaces.
Furthermore, there are organisations implementing initiatives that are designed to engage or target men specifically, yet there has not been a major womxn’s uproar about being left out. Thus, when men are being called upon to support the #TotalShutDown in other ways besides marching, this is not excluding them.
The womxn of South Africa, have clearly outlined how they would like men to support the movement.
Specifically, while men are not permitted to join the Facebook and WhatsApp groups, they may follow the public page for information and updates about the movement. The movement also has a public twitter account, where information is shared publicly and which one can follow for more frequent updates. Men are also encouraged to support the movement by staying away from work and not being involved in any economic activity on the day of the march. Also, men who are employers are requested to release their female employees to participate in the protest action.
There is no need to hide behind the banner of exclusion. A South Africa free of violence against womxn is worth fighting for. By all of us. In our respective spheres.
• Nonhlanhla Sibanda-Moyo is a gender specialist at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and the lead researcher and author of the recently published study titled: Violence against Women in South Africa: A Country in Crisis. Follow her on twitter.
