The song was among several mournful songs popular among anti-apartheid activists in the 1960s. The song repeats the line “What have we done” a number of times, which musician Sibongile Khumalo has described as giving the listener a sense of desolation.

We are currently experiencing two devastating epidemics. Both can be overcome if we work together, take personal responsibility for our actions, and take care of each other.

Women and children are being subjected to violence at a time when the pandemic has left us all feeling vulnerable and uncertain. Rapists and killers are living among us; they are in our communities.

In recent years, it has become increasingly common for women to be murdered by men. Our society as a whole should strongly condemn this trend, as if we don’t address the root causes of violence against women and physical abuse of women, this trend will continue for years to come.

A critical component of ending Gender Based Violence and Femicide is the achievement of Gender equality.

We also drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela who was a champion of women’s rights because he believed that women’s rights are an integral part of a free society as in this quote from a speech he gave on 8 May 1994, Parliament, Cape Town:

“Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression”.

Our society must be honest about the power relations between men and women.

We need to create an enabling and supportive environment that places women at the forefront of this struggle.

We – Sister and Brother, Mother and Father, Teacher and Student, Priest and Parishioner, Manager and Worker, President and Prime Minister – must add our voices to this call for action. Through education, economic opportunity, and participation in the political process, women can be empowered.