Amplifying Her Voice

AMPLIFYING HER VOICE: NAVIGATING CHALLENGES, ENVISIONING A JUST FUTURE

Honourable guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to say all protocols observed. On behalf of South African Black Women in Law (SABWiL), I am incredibly honoured to attend this event as a key speaker.
Allow me to say “Igama Lamakhosikazi Malibongwe”, this comes at a time where we have just entered the Women’s Month. It is a time when we not only celebrate, but also reflect on our progress, both our accomplishments and the challenges we face in our fight for women’s empowerment and gender equality. While it is necessary to recognise the country’s democratic development, it is becoming increasingly critical to guarantee that women and girls see themselves reflected in our leaders.
In the words of Molly McCook, “Women should be celebrated everyday…it doesn’t just honour the iconic women who have changed history but encourages new generations to dream big and know that anything is possible”. There are a many obstacles Black Women encounter in the legal field and I will be dealing with a few and try to address how we as SABWiL tackle these challenges and the broader implications on human rights and gender equality they pose.
But first allow me to say, SABWiL is an international consciousness movement that celebrates South Africa, Blacks, Women, and Law. We are founded upon dignity, equality and freedom infused in the philosophies of Ubuntu and Zenzele, and that is the epitome of what we are about today.

OBSTACLES THAT BLACK WOMEN ENCOUNTER IN THE LEGAL FIELD

1. Lack of Basic Skills

The entry requirement in most law firms is that you must have experience or to have held a PLT certificate from LEAD in order to qualify to be taken as a candidate legal practitioner. Whilst the Legal Fraternity has seen that graduates lack the necessary skills in disciplines such as comprehension, Litigation and/or drafting there has not been much of progress in ensuring that they are skilled in a way that would allow them to qualify or to be better candidates for this field. Take for example graduates from previously disadvantaged universities and background, the means they have to make for their voices to be heard. Gary Haugen once said, “When our grandchildren ask us where we were when the voiceless and the vulnerable in our era needed leaders of compassion and purpose, I hope we can say that we showed up, and that we showed up on time”.

SABWiL specifically lauds the doctrine of Ubuntu: I am because you are, together with the concept of Zenzele: which aims to uplift people to take the power and do it for themselves. It holds the notion that the way we are able to truly transform, especially in the legal landscape, is through consciousness. Consciousness that leads to opportunities, which is the gateway to equality, dignity and freedom. By this it has implemented programmes to succumb the lack of basic skills such as the SABWiL Human Rights Court (SHRC) which has been able to actualize Human Rights issues and create consciousness around varying topics. This is where the participants are required to draft heads of arguments and litigate in front of the  SHRC Justices. We also have SABWiL Shadowing, a program where a law student shadows a practicing attorney or advocate for three days in order to gain insight on the nature of the practice of law.

2. Presumed incompetency

In Ms Mabasa’s speech based on the survey on the transformation of women in the legal profession done and released by the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) in 2014 she said the report revealed that black women were treated differently and that they received double prejudice because they are women, and they are black. Ms Mabasa said black women often face challenges of presumed incompetency and that as a result, they have to work harder than the white counterparts, as well as harder than men, in order to prove themselves. She added that practicing for black women was even harder as they also have to deal with the issues of motherhood, which requires them to take some time off work which ‘leaves them behind’. She said a particular kind of intervention was needed to deal with this kind of harm.

As SABWiL we have collaborated with Motsoeneng Bill Attorneys to bring an Women Empowerment event that focuses on Embracing Resilience while unveiling your professional journey. In celebration of 100 years of women in legal practice, this is where we will encourage women to take up space while prioritizing healing. We understand that it is not a once of thing to try and encourage our fellow women in practice and in general, but we are heading towards the direction where women will eventually take up space.

SABWiL has also identified a gap on the topic of financial literacy and as a result, with Standard Bank, hosted a financial Literacy Maestro Class to empower our members on financial literacy, moreover, wealth creation. In the light of the doctrine of Ubuntu: I am because you are, SABWiL believes that if we are financially equipped, we are able utilize our resources to better transform the legal landscape.

Of all that SABWiL has achieved, she comes across as a consciousness movement that is only getting started. She continues to contribute to the changing landscape of our country so that we all have equal opportunities. Undoubtedly, the future of SABWiL is forged in the hearts of those who contribute to and through her.

VUK’UZENZELE!!
UBUNTU
South African Black Women in Law

NDLOVU ZIYABUKWA 

SABWiL 5th PRESIDENT