University of South Africa: Women’s role towards a global peace agenda

Unisa held the 4th Chief Albert Luthuli Research Chair Founders Lecture, which provided a platform for engagement and reflection on the need to put women at the centre of peace and security efforts, which inspired the theme: Women, peace and security: Women’s role towards a global peace agenda.

The lecture drew inspiration from Chief Albert Luthuli, who, in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in 1961, asserted: “In our contribution to peace, we are resolved to end such evils as (gender) oppression, white supremacy, and race discrimination, all of which are incompatible with world peace and security.”

The lecture, directed by political analyst and broadcaster Eusebius McKaiser, also had a performance by the Positive Vibrations Foundation, a group of high-school students that themed their performance on gender-based violence and gender inequality.


Prof Puleng Lenkabula, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Unisa

Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Puleng LenkaBula welcomed esteemed guests, including the Luthuli family and members of government who came in the spirit of commemoration towards Africa’s notable giant of gender equality.

“I am truly privileged to welcome you to the Unisa. Likewise, I’m appreciative of welcoming you to the 4th Chief Albert Luthuli Research Chair Founders Lecture,” she said.

LenkaBula said Chief Albert Luthuli was an illustrious leader who championed women’s rights and created an opportunity for society to reflect on leadership, freedom and moral agencies.

“The commemoration of Chief Albert Luthuli is a reminder to all of us that leadership is a serious spiritual, moral, ideational, practical, but also an economical, ecological issue that the current generation of leaders must not take for granted,” she said.

LenkaBula also said Unisa aligns itself with the life and work of Albert Luthuli and the monuments established in his honour.

Patriarchy kills dreams and hopes


The First Lady of the Republic of Namibia, Monica Geingos, delivered the keynote address on the theme: Women, peace and security: Women’s role towards a global peace agenda.

Other than being involved in activities aimed at addressing issues faced by the vulnerable people in Namibia, Geingos is also engaged in various international bodies. She is the Chairperson of the Africa REACH Leadership Council, an initiative which aims to create a new action agenda around ending AIDS in children and youth in Africa. In addition, she serves as a Director in the Monrovia-based Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development. She is also a Leadership Council member of Concordia, a New-York based non-profit which builds global partnerships for social impact. She is committed to utilising her institutional and strategic experience in Africa’s public and private sectors to influence institutional change and support women and young people on their leadership paths.

In her address, Geingos said: “Many women sacrifice their careers to support their husband’s work and expect no acknowledgement.” She added that society has normalised demands that women should not have financial expectations for their labour.

Geingos said presently, in 2022, there is a generation of women with empowerment and success, which complicates their relationships at home, at work and in social settings. She said: “Women are told that they are too ambitious, intimidating, un-African and that they are not humble enough. But in 1962, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Chief Luthuli said the opposite, that women belong, and their contributions matter.”

She added: “The need to include women at all levels goes beyond speeches and action plans. We must believe it. We must live it.” Geingos emphasised: “Many read eloquent speeches about gender equality while mistreating spouses at home and undermining female colleagues at work. The true gauge of gender equality is basic respect.”

She further expressed a gloomy picture of the current state of the society, adding that men are central to how society is shaped. “Patriarchy kills. It kills dreams and hopes. It kills people. If women are not safe in physical spaces, they are also not safe in digital spaces,” said Geingos.

She asserted that societal rules that believe men are superior to women reflect a society that is not at peace with itself. Quoting recent statistics from Africa Check, Geingos said that of 6083 people killed in South Africa in the 4th quarter of 2021/2022, 898 were women, and 4879 were men. She said: “This works out to an average of two women and thirty men murdered per day.” She added: “South African men are killing each other and themselves at significantly higher rates than women. So it is not only women who are afraid of men; statistics tell us that men have a good reason to fear other men.”

A lifeline to change men’s perspective on women

Geingos said the African Union has created what they call a circle of champions, comprised of heads of state who are engaged in shaping positive masculinity that disavows gender-based violence, with Former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as a patron of the initiative. She said the heads of state part of the positive masculinity initiative are all men. She continues: “This should not surprise us, firstly, because the compelling voices for redefining male identity are male voices, particularly the powerful and persuasive voices.” She added: “The second reason is that there is only one female head of state at the African Union level, which makes a strong case for the inclusion of women at all levels.”

Quoting the African Union’s positive masculinity theme, Geingos said positive masculinity was crucial to ending all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls. She added that it provides a critical lens through which to reshape masculinities that promote healthy, peaceful individual and social well-being for all.

Geingos continued to emphasise that men are not the problem; instead, they have the problem, which she said places all of us at risk. And to solve this problem, she affirmed: “We need to redefine who we are. We have been socialised to accept patriarchy as the norm, even when statistics show it is harmful to everyone.” She asserted further: “If it is not working, why does it have so many defenders? Why is there a pushback against gender equality?”

She also fervently stressed the need for women’s representation in African politics and where critical governance decisions are made.