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HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY TO THE PEACE GARDEN IN BONTEHEUWEL!!  And there to greet the WOMAN ZONE delegation was founder herself, Soraya Salie - vibrant in her sunflower outfit - yellow the colour of Peace, because she is also an ambassador for the International Women's Peace Group. .
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Well it took a while, but we finally made it! Since all the volunteers hung up their needles, the assembled yoyo rows hung about in the Education Department in the basement of the Zeitz MOCAA, in wait. There was some debate about where her ultimate hanging place would be at Artscape - it needed to be a space big enough to take its 7,5m width, light enough to be seen and accessible enough for everyone to get to. And as you see, such a spot was eventually identified on the 2nd floor outside the theatre.....but first...
 ...and packed. Phew! Thanks to Emily, Beryl and Matthew xx
 Thanks Team: from left, Matthew, Lerato, Liesl, Emily and Julia...Good Job! xx
For more information on WOMAN ZONE we're on info@womanzonect.co.za and on Artscape and their 50th celebrations check www.artscape.co.za.
And last but not least a huge THANK YOU to all who made EVERYWOMAN happen. xxx
Since PART 1, our NEXT STEP was to organise the many-hands workshops necessary to stitch the nearly 4000 yoyo's together. No small task! But we put out the call and volunteers come flooding in. To our delight very quickly all eight of our two-hour workshops were full - with a waiting list. So with the Zeitz MOCAA education department on board, we were all set to go!
 The Singing Skirt came up as another because of the sound the tin lids at the end of each row when they swing together in the wind...but for now, until it finds its way up on to the walls of Artscape to celebrate the theatre centre's 50th birthday - we just call it EVERYWOMAN!
 The story behind the epic artwork created by the women of Cape Town. A joint initiative between WOMAN ZONE and ARTSCAPE WHERE IT ALL BEGAN: In 2016 WOMAN ZONE and ARTSCAPE marked the 60th anniversary of the Women's March of 1956 with their annual Women's Humanity Walk in Cape Town on August 9th, now known as Women's Day. While several thousand women walked symbolically in unity from the Iziko Slave Lodge at the top of Adderly Street down to the Artscape plaza, CEO Marlene le Roux and a few others travelled on a truck decorated with metres and metres of shweshwe fabric donated expressly for the purpose by manufacturers Da Gama Textiles.
 Da Gama kindly donated 100's of metres of fabric, in a rainbow of colours and designs. But to decorate our truck and make a giant rosette, we only used a few...so what were we to do with the fabric leftover?  Well Sis' Thoko Ntshinga had a good idea, 'Make a patchwork quilt!' she said.
 ....and at her suggestion, the yo-yo was born. 'Little gathered roundels of fabric. Use a CD as a template - easy!' she said.
SO WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP: Well four years later and during lockdown, we did some adding up to find we had nearly 4000 yo-yo's. Time to complete this project! And with Artscape's 50th birthday on the horizon, here was our excuse... but we had to act fast...  pWe invited the Magic Mara to come back on board as designer-project manager. She linked us up with the education team at the at Zeitz MOCAA....and well - look out for Part 2 of The EVERYWOMAN PROJECT to see what happened next. To find out more meantime, check facebook pages: The EVERYWOMAN PROJECT CAPE TOWN or WOMAN ZONE Cape Town, or contact us on info@womanzonect.co.za. xx
 Day 1 - Self-Driven Discipline How have you coped with the Covid-19 crisis? Keeping mind, body and soul together during Lockdown means different things to different people. Via Twitter, a psychologist counsellor shared her wisdom on nurturing a relationship and on facebook an artist and teacher draws inspiration from the world around her. Take a look here and see what you think. But more importantly tell us how you coped with the crisis, in love and creatively. Words: Daphne Cooper Pictures: Annie Bisset  The Great Unknown #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 1 Starting Point. Next 3 weeks could be tough or terrific. Rather than fill your relationship with hopes and fears, research. Study effects of living in isolation with loved ones. Write down your findings, share with us. Be curious, not judgmental. #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 2 Same Old? How was the weekend with your loved one, same same? Or did having all the time you’ve always wanted make a difference – for better, for worse, blessing or curse? Use that extra time to share something new to both - a game, hobby, puzzle. #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 3 Drift or Decide. Often relationships get what’s left over after work, kids, chores. You can let it drift or decide that it needs more. Make conscious choices about what’ll keep it alive. Negotiate and talk about what’s required. Flourish don’t flounder.  Changing Times #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 4 Turn Around Time. There’s no right way to respond to lockdown – you and your partner may have different approaches. See if what works for them, could work for you too. Take a risk, break your pattern. #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 5 Unlock Imagination. Just because you’re cooped up, doesn’t mean your imagination is. Let it loose, pretend you just met, write a love letter, go on a ‘date’ dress up (or undress) for dinner – no limits. Have fun! #LOCKDOWNRELATIONSHIPLESSON 6 Weekend Work. When every day feels like Sunday, boundaries are blurring. Make sure to ring the weekend changes. Slow the pace, let rules relax and dissolve into small acts of kindness.  Social Distancing #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 7 Create Boundaries. With time and space at a premium, sharing both can be a challenge. If you can’t both go into a room of your own, agree on and schedule a period of sharing time together and non-speaking time apart. #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 8 Check In. Internal stress, anxiety, irritability, anger, depression, fatigue, passivity levels through the roof? Check in on hope levels too. Keep a score on all and share. Acknowledging levels helps to regulate and not turn feelings against one another. #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 9 Silent Treatment. Take an hour out of each day to be completely quiet. Be still, meditate, draw, cook just don’t talk. Other senses will be heightened and there’ll be so much more to share when the time is up.  Optimism #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 10 Just to be Clear. In confined spaces, communication has never been more important. Make sure you explain clearly, concisely when you a) are/aren’t available b) what you need/ want. And listen likewise. 2nd guessing causes confusion and complaint. #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 11 Easter Rethink. Extended lockdown heightened feelings of frustration? Focus less on the feeling and more on the doing. Revisit plans and programmes, together – rise to the challenge. Do what needs to be done. #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 12 Retell the Stories. Easter is the Big Story. But you have shared stories, histories. Dig into the past and revisit where you met, your first kiss… compare your version to their version. Agree, disagree, but laugh and enjoy! Have a Happy Easter  Leap of Faith #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 13 Big Turn Off. If you haven’t tried it already, switch off all devices and shut down all so-me, for a day, half a day, an hour – once a week. Try it same time together - see how much better you connect with each other. #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 14 Anxiety Attack. Relationship reflecting the national ambient stress? Look outside yourselves. Do one thing to make a difference, together. Donate time or money, call a mutual friend in need of cheering. Reach beyond. #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 15 Gratitude Attitude. In these testing times, don’t let your relationship become a complaints container. Allow a few cupfuls of thanks. Dig deep, you’ll find much to be grateful for. It really does make change.  Porcelain Days #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 16 Running Dry? Now’s a good time to look at the role alcohol plays in your lives, individually + together. Relaxant, stimulates fun, sex, sleep? Loosens the tongue. Fuels fights and fatigue? How much, how little does it take? Judge yourself not the other. #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 17 Food Focus. If you have the opportunity to buy, cook and eat what you like – do it mindfully, creatively together. Share and swap roles. Be adventurous. Light a candle. Make mealtimes special. They are. Some are starving. #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 18 Tough Mind, Soft Heart. Like this crisis needs balance and perspective management, so does your relationship. Are feelings being acknowledged with understanding, are decisions clear and compassionate? Time for a balance shift?  Welcome Droplets #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 19 Let it RAIN on your relationship! Recognise Allow Investigate Nurture. Identify and name feelings, understand them. Do what you need to do to ease hard ones and encourage good ones. #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 20 Better Connection. Due to technology, an outcome of Lockdown has been connecting in circles BEYOND your immediate relationship/s. Honour these and note how they have helped you grow and extend yourselves. #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 21 Sow Good SEED. Sleep. Eat. Exercise. Drink (water). All habits that form the bedrock of your lives, individually and together, and help you navigate change well and safely. Appreciate them for yourself, and where you can enable them for others.  Puzzling #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 22 Plot & Plan. Post Pres’s speech, peep ahead. What’s going to be your first best move. How will you think, act differently – to the world, to each other? Lessons learned? #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 23 Play Time. Despite the serious situation, allow pleasure and play time. Give to others to stem guilt of privilege, but don’t lose sense of humour and fun #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 24 Free From..? Lockdown may have put the squeeze on your relationship, but has it also delivered some freedoms? Freedom to be clearer? Freedom to talk more, express more, play more? Imagination has no limits.  Interlocked #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 25 Art Works. Fuel for the soul. Discover and share the joy of online theatre, music, movies, paintings and books – but above all nurture and encourage each other’s creative projects. #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 26 Count down. Far from over, but locked down long enough to count the lessons learned – Patience, Compassion, Appreciation – or not? Make your respective lesson-lists and compare. See what you can learn from each other. #LOCKDOWN RELATIONSHIP LESSON 27 Last Post. First 35 days – tick! And now? Are you hopeful, scared? Let’s move forward together. Share your relationship lessons and thoughts with us – info@womanzonect.co.za Look forward to hearing. Till then – Strength, Safety, Love.  Holding Firm
couples, I am fascinated to know the effects of lockdown on relationships. Questions and tips for relationships during lockdown has been an interesting focus, and I’m looking forward to hear about the many experiences that will emerge.
inspiration. I chose to work within a circle, the radius of which is 8 cm. Within the brief I decided that a tiny clue in each should lead to the following day’s piece. And so my daily story began....
THE END. Thank you Daphne and Annie - and to you for reading and looking x  On a fine sunny Saturday morning, March 7 (the day before International Women's Day), over 20 of us met to do Woman Zone's CIRCLE IN THE CITY women's walk n talk route.  Starting point was the one and only Charly's Bakery - and joining us was Romaney Pinnock of the Desmond and Leah Legacy Foundation....
 Present day heartbreak to see evidence of the removed remaining refugees outside the District Six museum.
 ....which some of us were completely unable to resist! A wonderful walk in which the voices of women past and present were heard, loud and clear. To book a walk or find out about the next one coming up, email us on info@womanzonect.co.za or check our facebook page. See you there! Nancy and Theresa xx
 Then we took to the streets - Washington St in particular, where we found Guga S'thebe.....
 We met and talked to some of the artist, like Lonwabo Vimbi who works a lot with textiles and the subject of women.....
 ....to Gogo's house, where she and her neighbour had prepared a feast for us, and strewn the floor with leaves like an olive branch.....
 ....and of sisterhood.
 Thank you Gogo. You made us feel.....  ....so very much at home! Till next time. From us all at Woman Zone, blessings.  The WOMAN ZONE January Summit and AGM 2020. January 18 2020 Present: Nancy Richards, Daphne Cooper, Theresa Smith, Nomfundo Macuphe, Beryl Eichenberger, Nina Geraghty, Gogo Gala, Avis Fisher, Shuli Heller, Celeste Matthews-Wanneburgh, Pam Evans, Christine Weir, Margi Biggs, Joanne Friedlander, Ruth Friedman, Nozuko, Xola, Alutha Taho, Simone Heradien (Artscape), Kubeshni Govender, Roxy Levy, Marva Basson-Dhilwayo, Catherine Burnet |
 From left: Nomfundo, Celeste and Nina share respectively. |  |  |
FINANCIALS Daphne presented the financial statements as prepared by Yolisa. They were approved.
A well earned tea break!
  |   WHAT’S AHEAD IN 2020 |
The feedback session was fruitful, with Kubeshni taking notes.
Story Café Ruth suggested voice memos – mother/daughter stories
Simone suggested productions/events. One event could come from Margi’s involvement with women wine-makers. Listen to their stories and taste wine as a possible fund-raiser.
Somehow getting men involved possibly with a Story Café in conjunction with, among others, Life Righting Collective.
Story Café on sexism and ageism and other isms.
Theresa suggested a workshop on how to do a Vox Pop? And how could we get an idea of what it is like to be a woman in CT
5.2 Books and Library
Library must be open at stipulated times, and consider extending times. Are the current times the best times? Marva proposed opening also on Saturdays.
She also suggested the WZ Book Club get extended in terms of diversity – more working-class people to be heard. Proposed Rehana Rousseau as a guest author – amongst others. Some men could also be included, like Athol Williams (poet and founder of the Cape Flats Book Fest to which WZ has been invited this year), with certain sensitivities being respected.
She asked do we still want to use the old, male-founded Dewey system? How do we de- and re-classify? We also need to be mindful of the tools that we give to people. The library has already developed a more progressive system.
5.3 Walks
Walks planned
15 Feb – Walk and storysharing in Langa – TBC with Gogo. Asanda to be invited to contribute, with interest in this area.
7 March – Circle in the City
6 June – Female Fragments
9 August – Women’s Humanity Walk – proposed starting from Tutu Museum (formerly granary and women’s house of correction)
October – Walk Malmesbury with The Mama Project
Other walks in the making: To the Wash houses, Women in ‘Paradise’, Newlands
5.4 Sistering
Who should we focus on – start small with what we have. Celeste suggested groups of ten to start with. Mothers and grandmothers – honouring previous generations and understanding. Single mothers could be helped if we provide child-care. How do we spread the news? Not everyone on social media but word of mouth powerful. Linking by bringing people to us and going out to others. Join with links that we already have like The Mama Project. Access money from NAC for transport. Would need to source “specialists” for special focus groups and to run pilot projects. Margi suggested connecting with Women for Africa.
Suggestion that we have ‘branches’ elsewhere, most pressing in the rural areas. We have a template for women wanting to start a WZ branch. Pilot project possibly in Malmesbury.
Alutha closes the session with a song.
Nancy summarised that this had been a meeting rich in ideas, and reminded us that implementation is what counts. To get involved in whatever way, contact: info@womanzonect.co.za, check our wwebsite: www.womanzonect.com or facebook Woman Zone CT, Instagram: @womanzonect or @wzbookclub 083 431 9986 / 082 490 6652
Although many had left by the time we took this pic, we would just like to thank everyone who came and shared their time, energy, thoughts and ideas. Look forward to making it all happen. IF YOU WOULD LIKE ANY MORE INFO, PLEASE GET IN TOUCH info@womanzonect.co.za
I walked with the most inspiring young woman yesterday who in the space of twenty minutes blew me away with her story. I know 'inspiring' is an overworked word, but the fact that she was smiling with an inner peace after all she has been through in her short twenty three years, I found amazing and humbling as well as inspiring. A story of resistance. She was one of just over 200 young women from The Chrysalis Academy who walked along the promenade from Mouille Point to Sea Point to raise their voices against gender based violence. They sang, they held hands, they carried their banners high, stuck message flags in their hair - and they made a powerful statement that undoubtedly impacted all the dogwalkers, runners, pushchairs and leisure crowd out for a Saturday morning stroll.
They were led by two other inspiring women - Lucille Meyer, CEO of The Chrysalis Academy and Marlene le Roux, CEO of Artscape - and in conjunction with WoW - Western Cape on Wellness, they were fighting fit and ready to get the word out there.
 Although the reason for their walk was sombre and sobering, the young women were upbeat and strong. Some of them walking in this privileged part of Cape Town for the first time. |  |
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As much as the walk itself and the motivation behind it, what also impressed me was hearing about the course the girls (or women rather aged 18 to 25) are undergoing at the Academy. From 'vulnerable' communities all over the Western Cape, from Oudtshoorn to Stellenbosch, to the Cape Flats and townships, they have been recruited to do an intense three month personal training programme that takes them through orientation and self-esteem building, a range of skills - firefighting, welding, cookery, youth development and environmental awareness, leadership and the value of volunteering. Bonding and interpersonal skills are clearly integral.
 A graduate from the course herself, Linnique Myburgh gave insight into the input and outcomes of the course. |  While cell phones are notably absent for the duration of the course, Lucille Meyer was not about to let this moment pass without recording it. |
 Whichever way you look at it, this course and these girls are hope for the future.... |  .....a future of peace and inner strength. |
At the end of the walk, time to gather together for a quick pic to mark the occasion - joined by the feisty Bonteheuwel Walking Ladies who know all about the value of putting one foo in front of the other. So thanks for the walk and huge congratulations to all the team and young women at The Chrysalis Academy. And especially love to my young friend and fellow walker who has found perhaps more than she hoped for during this course. I wish her well - and look forward to seeing her on the journey.
And now for some well-earned rest! Best wishes, Nancy. Find out more about The Chrysalis Academy and their programmes on https://chrysalisacademy.org.za/3-month-programme/
This is the woman who started it all....PHILOMENE LUYINDELA, French teacher, translator and author of....
'Widening of the Womb and Other Stories', which gave rise to our Story Cafe discussion on FAITH & FEMINISM with the panel.....
 DR MIRANDA PILLAY of SAFFI, the South African Faith and Family Institute's Theological Advisory Council on Gender Based Violence |  REV BERRY BEHR chair of the Cape Town Interfaith Initiative and SA coordinator for the Charter for Compassion |  MOONIQ SHAIKJEE lecturer and researcher in the Linguistics Dept at UWC with interest in intersection between language, gender, sexuality and faith |  and of course Philomene herself who opened by suggesting that during this session we do not refer to God as 'he', and lit a candle. |
 Both panel..... |  ...and audience were intent. |
 Thoughts...  ....some light moments.... |  ...deep moments.... |  ....issues.... |  ...reflections, |
 ...and some interest and input from men. |  |
 ...questions.... |  ...statements... |  ....and feelings. |
And here are just some of the thoughts shared:
FAITH is inseparable from community.....is an evolving situation....is my connection to other people......a belief that there is something good. RELIGION is a man-made system, an issue of interpretation of texts...if God is male then male is God....it's time to rewrite texts FEMINISM is calling back the pieces of our souls that have been scattered.....is focusing on people who have been oppressed.....between Faith and Feminism there is suspicion on both sides.....like black people, as women we have not recorded our stories. And on GENDER BASED VIOLENCE...we need .to retell our stories...faith institutions need to hand the mic to those who don't usually get to speak. 16 Days of Activism needs to be 365 Days.
We are prisoners of the thinking of the times. We need new stories.
Much more was said, much more is to be said. But for now a big thank you to the panel for their informed wisdom and to all who came to listen, for their thoughts and questions. Till next time. October 26 2019 WOMAN ZONE
Images: Theresa Smith Words: Nancy Richards
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