As we observed International Women's Day on Tuesday, it is sad that we did so in the midst of gender-based violence (GBV), femicide, discrimination and other social issues that tamper with the concept of women emancipation.
However, my tribute goes to all the women who carry their families on their ailing backs without complaints, not because they are too strong but because they are the only hope. Women who lose sleep over where to get the next meal to feed their children the next day. Women who endure all harsh words from people whose help they seek.
Women who in their old age had to step in and raise their grandchildren after death had prematurely wiped away their dear children. Women who subject themselves to menial jobs just to put food on the table, thus sustaining their families. Women who choose to smile to hide their inner pain just to instill hope and also inspire confidence in the minds of their young ones.
Women who work for their families 24/7 without getting paid, because everyone feels that's how it should be. Women who lose their appetite for food simply because their loved ones are unwell or going through a terrible phase. Women who were there for all of us from the first day when we did not even know our names. Women who have seen it all, from abuse to discrimination yet stood tall for our rise.
Women who are mostly forgotten by their own offspring who label them witches when they realise they can now stand on their feet. Women whose hearts have been broken countless times by those who suddenly realised they were not women enough for them.
Women who have been betrayed multiple times by those whose wickedness was hidden behind a fake smile. Women who carry their children on their back, a bucket of water on their heads while pushing a wheelbarrow full of firewood just to keep the wheel of life rolling. Women who want nothing from their children but just to see them happy and significantly prosperous.
Women whom we used to be angry at, and also perceived them as useless beings simply because they could not afford to pay for our school trips and other necessities due to their poverty.
Women we were once ashamed to hug during school meetings because we believed their torn clothes and make-up-less faces would degrade us in front of our dear friends who were expecting us to do better in "choosing" a mother.
Women who used to collect our school reports with a smile and pride despite not knowing what was written in there. Women who used to tell us that “all would be fine one day” yet we chose not to believe them because they had nothing themselves but only hope and well-wishes for us.
Women who used to take a bullet for us whenever our childhood misbehaviour angered and annoyed our neighbours, and insults had to be directed their way for things they never did. We salute those women and also look up to them as role models.
They live their lives like a candle in the wind yet shine bright like a diamond despite their predicaments. Dead or alive, these women are all wonderful.
• Honwane is a Sowetan reader
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