By Yeukai Chideya

International Women’s Day is observed annually on 8 March to celebrate the achievements of women and to promote gender equality. The theme for 2025 is For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment. This year’s celebration also marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a global commitment to advance women’s empowerment and gender equality.

The Beijing Declaration identified 12 critical areas requiring urgent action, including Women and Health, which focuses on promoting reproductive rights, maternal health, and access to healthcare, and Violence Against Women, which aims to prevent gender-based violence and provide support for survivors. In South Africa, women face a multitude of challenges that impact their daily lives. Many experience sexual and gender-based violence, which is widespread in the country.

Gender-based Violence

The Human Sciences Research Council’s The First South African National Gender-Based Violence Study, 2022 reported that 36% of women have experienced sexual or gender-based violence in their lifetime. Women’s safety is often threatened by intimate partner violence and deeply entrenched patriarchal gender beliefs.

Escaping cycles of violence and abuse can be particularly difficult due to the high unemployment rate among women, which stands at just over 35%. These challenges are interconnected, with many women experiencing multiple layers of poverty, leading to long-term effects on their overall well-being.

As a clinical social worker, I spent over a decade providing psychosocial support to women facing challenges such as mental health issues, and gender-based violence. In the counselling room, I had the privilege of hearing about their experiences and understanding their need for support. However, one of my main challenges was that these experiences remained confined to the privacy of the counselling room because I had limited access to resources that would allow policymakers and other relevant stakeholders to address the urgent needs of women.

Health and well-being

Five years ago, I made a career change when I joined the Institute for Life Course Health Research (ILCHR) at Stellenbosch University as a junior researcher. The Institute produces evidence to improve health and wellbeing for women, children, adolescents, and caregivers in under-resourced areas. Our research addresses some of the Beijing Declaration's critical areas such as maternal health, sexual reproductive health, violence and trauma.

For the past five years, I have had the privilege of working with a team dedicated to tackling the very issues affecting women I encountered in the counselling room, which I often felt powerless to resolve. Research plays an important role in advocating for women’s rights and achieving women’s empowerment and gender equality. Through research, we gain insight into women’s lived experiences and the barriers they face.

Based on the information they provide, researchers can develop interventions in consultation with them to address issues such as mental and maternal health challenges. Research also offers a public platform for sharing women’s experiences, reaching potential policymakers and stakeholders who might use the findings and suggested interventions to address women’s needs at local, national, and international levels. One such example is the collaboration between research institutions to generate impactful evidence on women's well-being.

Childcare

Since 2008, the ILCHR has been conducting a long-term study on the impact of a home-visiting intervention during the perinatal period. Trained community health workers from the Philani Maternal Child Health and Nutrition Trust delivered home visits to improve a range of maternal and child health outcomes relating to HIV, nutrition, alcohol use, mental health, and general health care practices.

The children who participated in the original Philani study are now well into their adolescence, and the team is continuing to conduct follow up assessments with them and their mothers or caregivers to assess the long-term impact of the intervention and to track their health and developmental trajectories.I n 2018, the ILCHR partnered with Cambridge University for the Evidence for Better Lives Study, an epidemiological study of exposure to violence and adversity during pregnancy in eight low- and middle-income countries (Jamaica, Ghana, Pakistan, the Philippines, Romania, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam). In South Africa, 150 pregnant women were assessed on experiences of violence, nutrition and food security, and child and maternal well-being.

After completing the data analysis, the ILCHR hosted a policy impact workshop at Ukwanda Rural Clinical School in Worcester with policymakers, interested researchers, local government staff and healthcare professionals to present the study findings and discuss implications for practice.

Intimate partner violence

One key finding revealed that 41% of the women had experienced intimate partner violence while pregnant. These findings highlighted the urgent need for targeted interventions and policies that support pregnant women’s safety and well-being, reinforcing the role of research in advocating for women’s rights. Over the past year, the ILCHR, in partnership with the One to One Children’s Fund Africa, has launched the MASANA research project to support young adolescent mothers living with HIV in the Eastern Cape. The project seeks to improve access to and retention in HIV care, parenting support, and sexual and reproductive health services for these young mothers. The MASANA project has been exploring the specific factors that influence retention by mapping the risk factors affecting younger versus older adolescent mothers and identifying potential tools to facilitate interventions.

This project is crucial for advancing the maternal and sexual reproductive health rights of young women and girls. Strengthening healthcare systems to be more accessible and responsive to adolescents' unique needs aligns directly with the Beijing Declaration’s priority area of women and health, particularly in ensuring equitable access to care. The ILCHR, together with the University of Roehampton, has just launched a new research consortium called “Community Health Interventions through Musical Engagement (CHIME) for Maternal Mental Health”, funded by the UK’s NIHR.

Mental Health

The project aims to investigate how culturally embedded musical practices can support perinatal mental health. It builds on a growing evidence base on how participating in music can improve mental health and wellbeing, including during pregnancy. The role of research in advocating for women’s rights and empowerment and advancing gender equality cannot be understated.

It is important to establish more platforms where research institutions, civil society, government, community leaders, and other stakeholders can collaborate and work together to address the challenges women face. By working together and using research-driven solutions, we can create a more just and equitable world for all women and girls.

*Chideya is a researcher at the Institute for Life Course Health Research at Stellenbosch University

Weekend Argus

#women-empowerment

Brutal Fruit’s The Pink Table launch: A star-studded celebration of sisterhood and style

Empowering women on International Women’s Day | confronting violence and health challenges

Ilitha Labantu celebrates 35 years of advocacy at conference honouring its founder Mam Mandisa Monakali