A Message to Men from South African Women | The Justice Desk
A Message to Men from South African Women - The Justice Desk
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Written & performed by: Women of The Justice Desk!
Video by: Dan Tucker
Video Script
Let me tell you something about women.
To illustrate this, I am going to take a spin on an old saying.
Anything men can do, women can do whilst carrying the weight of the patriarchal values that undermine her very existence
Consider this:
You cage us, we break through
You break us, we mend
You spit on our very existence
We rise
You degrade us, disrespect us
And still we disarm
You censor us, objectify us
And shame us for your thoughts
You label and rate each part of our bodies
You brand our tears as too emotional
And our frowns as too aggressive
You expect us to smile and sit pretty
Whist you take and take and take
You clip our wings
and we invent a new way to fly
You try to own us
But we remain ours to keep.
We have to watch:
What we wear, how we wear it, how we carry ourselves, what we say, how we say it, who we say it to, if we are too aggressive, too loud, too soft, too prudish, too sexual, too threatening, too approachable, unapproachable, are we safe? Will we be safe if…?
Women are strong. But we shouldn’t have to be.
Women are survivors. But we shouldn’t have to be.
Women do not get to simply be in a space.
Women have to resist, adapt and survive every day, in every context.
Resilience runs through the veins of a women. But it is enough now.
I am tired of Women and girl children having to adapt and be resilient to fit your will.
It’s time society, it’s time men; wake up and begin to challenge the root causes of gender inequality and injustice.
It’s time for Women and the girl child to feel safe, to feel free, to flourish.
Join The Justice Desk to stop gender-based violence.
Visit www.justicedesk.org to find out how you can help.
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