Imenukuliwa kutoka PAMBAZUKA NEWS Gazeti la Afrika.
SOUTH AFRICAN FARM WORKERS TRADE UNION AND GENDER VIOLENCE
Asa Ericksson
If men want to join Sikhula Sonke, a women-led trade union for South
African farm workers, they must sign a declaration saying that they will
refrain from violence against women. Union members have also vowed to
intervene within their communities whenever violence against women
occurs.
Wendy Pekeur, Secretary-General of Sikhula Sonke, explains that these
and other innovative strategies, which do not focus squarely on labour
issues, but address major social needs of the members, are part of the
success of the small but growing union. For many of Sikhula Sonke’s 4
000 members, a large part of them women seasonal workers or unemployed
women, violence is often a part of life.
“Women are very dependent on men in the farmlands. Most women are
employed as seasonal workers, and depend on substituting for male farm
workers, whereas most men have a full-year employment. Women therefore
often only access housing through a man. This is one reason why women
tend to stay on in violent situations, because otherwise they will lose
their housing.”
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/52570
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