The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown,
And yet on and on and on it sings
for it is not just any bird
the caged bird wants nothing more than to be heard from that distance
into that distance it sings
for not only is it caged for its being
but it is also caged for the fear of its songs
The songs it sings tearfully for the outcomes of it are known
for the response of those who from that distance hear the songs unknown
and yet on and on and on it sings
With the fearful trill of things unknown to those who hear, who have heard and
who will hear
Maya Angelou
–
“Hai Suka! awbheke lama Ntombazne azenza abafana” they are a disgrace to the
community. One of these days siszo shisa lezinto”
In a crowd of people, that hoarse and loud voice pierced my ears from a distance.
He appeared in his Rastafarian ensemble, with a face that expressed hatred and
disgust. He stood looking at me and my four friends. A lot was going on in my mind. I
did not know what to do or say. We were making our way to a community dialogue at
the Tsakane Park so we were rushing to get refreshments for the day. Tons of
people stood there in the mall looking at us. A lot was written on their faces. In their
hearts and minds, words were forming into lines and sentences, sentences were
forming into paragraphs. Paragraphs filled with hate…love…pity…shame and the
need to express themselves.
“But my brother what’s wrong with you?” asked Mpo my friend. ”People like you are
the people we need for today’s session, please be kind enough to join us at the park
at 2 pm because what you just said shows that we as lesbians are failing to reach
our goal in educating and equipping the community with knowledge and so we will
face this kind of behavior every day.”
I was amazed at how calmly and respectfully he addressed the guy who had just
insulted us in front of a ton of people. Slowly I turned around, my pretty smile worn
on my beautiful face, and I asked, “Will you join us Bhuti?” He just looked at us with
eyes of disbelief and then walked away.
For this excellent behavior I really have to say that a huge catalyst was the Gender
Action Learning (GAL) process. Sitting with people and sharing ideas at the action
learning process on how to deal with issues that came up: “You cannot end violence
or abuse with violence or abuse.”
So we did what we came to do at the mall and we headed for the park where we
found a group of people already there. The atmosphere was very chilled and
welcoming. People had gathered in a circle on their camping chairs, some on the
grass, some even standing.
We had invited people from the community—mothers, fathers, sisters, daughters
and every community member. The expressions on their faces said a lot, but most
importantly the day we had all been waiting for had come. Friendly faces relaxed us
a bit and we used the facilitating skills we had learned in the GAL workshops.
We were ready to stand in front of a crowd with different opinions, views and beliefs.
We were ready to start the work in breaking cultural and societal norms. We were
ready to accept positive and negative criticism, but through our learning with GAL,
we knew we were equipped. In our hearts we knew we had to listen and keep the
crowd engaged.
After the greetings we asked: “Which problems are our communities faced with?
Unemployment, teenage pregnancy, crime?” The community members expressed
everything but left out hate crimes, gender-based violence (GBV), HIV and
stereotypical behavior. It could be that they did not pay attention or that they did not
know. The truth of the matter is we also did not pay much attention to GBV and HIV,
yet we knew that women were being abused.
What surprised us most was when a pretty, bubbly, tall and slender black girl stood
up and said “as much as abuse is there in heterosexual relationships, it exists in
homosexual relationships too. You find a girl beating up another girl she is in a
relationship with because she is butch and claims to be the husband of the femme.
(A butch is a masculine dressing lesbian and a femme is a feminine dressing
lesbian).This is not only in relationships. Even in society or in the workplace there is
abuse. Abuse is not only beating up someone but also denying to do what they
desire because you feel it is against your culture or religion. That is also a violation
of your rights.” Silence and shame was written on almost everyone’s face. But also
written was discovery.
Many issues were tackled—from HIV and xenophobia to GBV and for us facilitators,
it was easy to give answers to everyone. They also shared bits and pieces of
knowledge with us and we learned from each other as well.
We realised that we were growing and becoming more polished through the GAL
because really a lot has changed since the process begun. Everyone is now eager
and more determined even though we don’t have a structure and a leader, we still
keep on.
We are stronger than before. The GAL process taught us that even without a leader,
through determination, ambition and hard work, a lot can be done. Having been
through the process, we were equipped with information. We have learned how to
trust ourselves and we have learned a different and inclusive style of facilitation
where everyone can be a teacher and everyone can learn. We learned a kind of
facilitation that breaks the wall between audience and facilitator. This kind of
facilitation says “we are all teachers as well as learners in this place”.
Through the GAL, we could look at problems not at eye level only. We learned to
remove the lens and we were guided to look deeply into matters such as societal
norms as things people believe in. People believe that this is how it has always
been, and in so doing people forget that we are groomed like this. The Gender
Action Learning process created spaces where we could voice our views and
opinions. We could tackle issues without being judged.
During the dialogues we tried to get to know the norms community members hold on
to. This was important to understand in order to deal with issues like gender-based
violence, homophobia and xenophobia, HIV and more. The knowledge and guidance
we received helped us with these discussions.
A lot has changed since the process began or rather since we became a part of it.
The people who attend the study circles and especially the coordinators have
changed their approach to addressing cadres and community people. There is more
energy and clarity. Now we can hear and see passion and dedication when they talk.
People have more drive and their spirit has changed.
I recall an incident in the study circle where we were discussing dialogues and for
the first time, people were complaining about the reading material. One of our
coordinators, Sweeto, suggested that people read at home but bring their
information and have an open discussion in the groups. This resulted in people
being more active in the study circles.
After all is said and done, after the marches, the study circles and dialogues, we
hope that the acceptance, equality and respect we long for will eventually come. One
day, someday, the hard work will pay off and people will see with the same eyes.
The struggle shall continue.
by AYANDA MASINA
Ayanda Masina is a participant in the Gender Action Learning process that we
faciliated in South Africa in 2012-13. At the end of the year, we had a short writing
workshop with some of the participants. This is the first in a series of blog posts
featuring the stories that emerged.
