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The International Women’s Forum South Africa (IWFSA) celebrated three women of courage, grace and conviction on Thursday, 19 October, in the presence of their fellow mbokodos and President Cyril Ramaphosa at a ceremony dubbed IWF Hall of Femme Awards 2023.
The SA chapter of the IWF was initiated by former first lady Mama Zanele Mbeki 22 years ago.
Programme directors Charmaine Houvet and Basetsana Kumalo led the guests through an inspired evening at the Standard Bank Centre in Rosebank.
The International Women’s Forum (IWF) is a global platform with a footprint across six continents, whose primary objective is to nurture future generations of women in leadership.
The forum focuses on mentorship and coaching through their multiple leadership development programmes.
The three queens hailed at the IWFSA Hall of Femme Awards 2023 were Mojanku Gumbi, Brigalia Bam - who could not attend due to ill-health - and Dr Winifred (Winnie) Karagwa Byanyima who takes pride in sharing a name with the iconic Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
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These three women have tirelessly dedicated their lives to the struggle for equal representation, authentic leadership and remain committed to the upliftment of other women.
Byanyima, an aeronautical engineer who received an honorary doctorate from South Africa’s Free State University last year, said:
The theme for this year’s awards was Paying It Forward, and Advocate Mojanku Gumbi’s appointment as United Nations Special Advisor for Addressing Workplace Racism fits perfectly.
Advocate Gumbi said that her law career was very deliberate on her part as she found this to be the best ammunition against the systematic oppression of women and black South Africans.
Ramaphosa reminded the attendees that world renowned writer Brigalia Bam, who holds a degree from the University of Chicago, is also a receiver of the Order of the Baobab in silver. Bam’s work extends as far as the World YMCA International Training Institute and Programme. Her award was accepted by her niece.
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The president sang praises to the three mbokodos and other women affiliated to the IWFSA, referring to them as trailblazing women who are making a mark in Mzansi and globally with their barrier shattering and inspirational work. The president said to the IWF:
Ramaphosa made reference to a United Nations convention where he was the only president with an all-women delegation.
The significance of the president of a country that is notorious for gender-based violence and femicide had an all-women delegation is something that should not go unnoticed.
In Ramaphosa’s own words, women remain the face of poverty. This is why it is pivotal for opportunities to not only be equally available but also equally accessible.
Internationally acclaimed poet Lebogang Mashile delivered yet another of her stellar woks where she equated women to a light that illuminates, elucidates and radiates in the stars.
Her words “We are here because of women” had the entire auditorium ululating.
Within a South Africa context, there is no better poet than Mashile to sing the praises of women with just the right adjectives to encompass the essence of femininity and the power it represents.
