Over the past few weeks, I have been thinking about what it means to me to be a woman in South Africa. I have had a tough time understanding exactly what my experience has been in why, because I am aware of the fact that I am an outsider in this country, and I also spend much of my time in a township where I am the only “white” person. So, I ask myself in general, for me, what does it mean to be a woman? What are the challenges, both personally and in society?
My personal experience has been a unique one, because my opinion today, and even over the last five or so years, is different than it was when I was younger. After entering college and beginning to read social and feminist theory and apply those theories to my life, I began to view life through a different lens. I remember one of my first women’s studies professors telling me that once one becomes aware of certain issues in this world, there is no turning back; your life will be forever changed, and your view of the world will be forever different. I had no idea how right she would be.
Even after taking my first women’s studies class, I suddenly had a dramatically different view of the world. It’s not that I learned things I didn’t already know, necessarily, but more that it was explained in a different way. More so than that, actually, it was about beginning of the process of unlearning most of what I had learned in my life. Beginning that process was a difficult and challenging one, but in many ways, it was also empowering. Once I became aware of all the subtle ways in which women are objectified and oppressed in society, both on a personal and systematic level, I also became aware of the many ways that things could change. Although I had previously been involved in animal and environmental rights initiatives, I then also started becoming involved with feminist and women’s rights organizations. Little did I know, it would be the start of me going down a path that would become a defining part of my life.
Being a woman in the United States, for me, is different than being a woman in South Africa. I am always acutely aware of my surroundings, of the dangers of being a woman and so on, but being in South Africa has brought things to an entirely different level. But, I don’t want to fool myself; I do not believe my experience as a woman has been different here simply because of a geographical difference. I think it is also because here, although I am Cuban, I am viewed as a “white” person, and consequently and automatically a person of privilege. In addition, once I begin talking, it becomes apparent that I am also, at least perceived as, a “white” woman of privilege from the United States.
It is strange and also surprising how often gender and violence against women is talked about in Cape Town and in the township in which I work. The estimated statistics in Khayelitsha are that two out of three women were forced into their first sexual experience. Given that I am not from here, I have no right to argue why the statistics are so high. I do wonder, though, if part of the reason is because there has been such a push here to report sexual and domestic violence, but it is not so in the United States. This summer I interned as a counselor at a sexual assault crisis center, and becoming aware of the sickening reality that up to 85% of rapes are not reported in the United States, and of those that are reported and actually prosecuted, only 1% actually lead to a conviction. (These numbers come from the 2000 FBI Statistics and Bureau of Justice.)
The combination of being a women’s studies and sociology major, working at the Sexual Assault Crisis Center, and for the Violence Against Women Prevention Program has left me with a unique perspective of women’s place in society, but it has also left me quite frustrated with the lack of conversation and initiatives taken in the United States. Although the statistics here are beyond comprehension, I do have to commend community members and organizations to their devotion towards bringing about positive social change, especially in the realm of gendered violence. Even the simple fact that violence against women comes up in every-day conversation is something that was unexpected and that I was pleasantly surprised by.
Although I sometimes feel like I am a target in specific areas of South Africa, I also feel like that is because I am an outsider and not part of the community. I think there are a lot of things I still need to take into consideration before I will come to any sort of real understanding. The thing I have been most surprised about, though, is the commitment within the community to changing the current status of women. Even if nothing else, I think this is something that I can take with me and hopefully apply to my work back home. My experience as a woman is forever changing, and endlessly complicated and challenging. But, my experience in South Africa has made me begin to question many things about life, and particularly about myself and what I want to do with my life. I have been reminded how true it is that a committed group of citizens really can change the world.
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
-Mahatma Gandhi
