FIGHTING LAND INJUSTICE ...
RURAL WOMEN’S FEARLESS STRUGGLE AGAINST TRADITIONALISTS
THEY shot to fame when they took the Ingonyama Trust head on.
Their gripe?
Rental fees and permission to occupy land in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)region.
While they have emerged victorious, the Rural Women’s Movement (RWM) is adamant that the battle for women’s emancipation and empowerment is far from over.
The most senior member of the KZN RWM Monica Mswane, believes that as long as forced marriages in areas such as Estcourt in the Midlands continue unabated, more work beckons for women in her circle.
Mswane, 63, recalls how she learnt about this movement – a group of women fighting for women’s rights in areas across KZN.
While she cannot confirm the exact number of women who have signed up with the movement over the years, she takes comfort in the knowledge that they are constantly present where it matters the most – rural areas – which she says are still ruled by traditional chiefs who believe women should be under men to be granted land.
“I joined the RWM in 2007 when the late Sizani Ngubane (founder of the RWM) arrived at Table Mountain in Pietermaritzburg to address women about rural farming and the need for them to access land. I was impressed by her presentation to an extent that I later talked to her about our plight.
“At the time, my sister and I were rendered homeless when our brother sold our family home in Wasbank, north of KwaZulu-Natal, without our knowledge. The local inkosi (then) sided with him, saying unmarried women should not have homes,” Mswane says.
She says comments by traditional leaders left her utterly hurt.
This also evoked the notion of the Bantu Administration Act of 1927 and the Bantu Authorities Act of 1951 which sought to discriminate by stating that all indigenous women were considered minors and could therefore not own property.
Mswane says it was shortly after that incident, that she took it upon herself to fight what she perceived as an injustice perpetrated against women in rural areas.
“In fact, the inkosi (chief) that heard that particular matter asked why, as beautiful women, we were not already married so that we can own homes. That hurt me a lot. It left a scar because as women, we were not treated fairly.”
Mswane also recalls that their battle with Ingonyama Trust began around 2017 when they wrote three letters to the Board of Trustees asking it to refrain from barring women from owning land. All three letters were ignored.
“We were left with no option but to take the matter to court as our plea fell on deaf ears. I must say that it was a long battle as it settled after three years,” says Mswane, indicating that the Sizani Ngubane had played an integral role by in assisting the women to clinch this victory.
After sharing her personal story, Mswane tells of what RWM’s next important battle is as well as their views on land restitution and why it is vital to include women in the process if the government of the day seeks to ensure that the land is productive and promotes food security.
“Our areas of focus include fighting for women’s rights, rural women empowerment, land for women and the battle to end forced marriages for young female children and widows. Lastly, to promote total emancipation and empowerment of rural women,” she says.
According to Mswane, her resolve to fight for rural empowerment began in 2009 when she attended a traditional council meeting in uMkhanyakude district in KwaZulu-Natal and saw how women were rendered voiceless by the traditional council that should be protecting them.
She says at that meeting, men sat under a tree and from a distance sat a group of women who had to rely on men to participate as they were not allowed to raise issues directly with the council’s senior leadership.
“If a woman wanted to speak, she had to relay her message via a man and the man would then tell the council what the woman was saying instead of having the woman to directly speak to the council. It was the worst form of humiliation of women and we fought to end it.”
Mswane believes that some of the successes that the RWM has recorded over time include women’s rights now being respected in most rural communities where women were once treated as second-class citizens.
She says they are now allowed to participate in traditional council meetings.
But it didn’t come easy.
She had to take traditionalists head-on before women could be afforded equal platforms.
Mswane says the battle to liberate women would not be complete if they (women) are not included in land reform programmes.
“We would be happy to have land as women. Sizani died while she was pushing the government to include women in land restitution programmes. That fight is still on. Winning it would be sweet.”