Aligned to the International Womxn’s Day theme of “Gender Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow” and continuing with the African tradition of art and storytelling, the Fundani Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED) recently hosted a workshop to celebrate CPUT womxn’s voices and experiences.
Fundani CHED Director, Dr Xena Cupido, says they were deliberate in the use of the noun, plural wom·xn [wim-in]. a woman (used, especially in intersectional feminism, as an alternative spelling to avoid the suggestion of sexism perceived in the sequences m-a-n and m-e-n, and to be inclusive of trans and nonbinary women).
Womxn within CPUT were invited to share their lived experiences, intergenerational stories, challenges, highlights and influence under the following topics: Womxn in Poverty; Education; Health; Violence; Power and Decision Making; The Environment; Girl Child.
The workshop which was held at Bellville Campus was facilitated by Janine Lange, a feminist indigenous storyteller, interdisciplinary artist and researcher. As a kundalini yoga instructor and narrative practitioner, she works with embodied practices to facilitate the focalising of peripheral stories to promote engagement, acceptance and collaboration rather than tolerance in institutional practice and the artmaking/ research process. She currently serves as an associate lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and is a PhD fellow in the New Imaginaries project for sexual and gender justice based in the Women’s and Gender Studies department at UWC.
The two-day programme journeyed with participants through the development of a tree of life. “Tree of Life” exercise was used as a metaphor to assist in storytelling based on one's life. Using arts-based pedagogies, participants captured the experience through drawing,” says Cupido. During the second day the participants were taken through a process to develop their stories, poem, narrative and or art piece.
The workshop was open to all womxn at CPUT, students and staff members. The womxn engaged in the workshop both face to face and online. It created a moment in time, away from the everyday business to take time to “exhale”.
“It is important to create spaces within our environment where we acknowledge the rich diversity, backgrounds, strengths and wisdom in the institution. We can learn from each other in surprising and unexpected ways when we share our individual and collective experiences. Faculties and departments are encouraged to host such events not just during womxn's month, but throughout the year,” Cupido remarks.
She added that cultural understanding emerged from the workshop, “but more so that our experiences are more similar than different, we are able to bring ourselves into a space through imagination and creativity. As we shared our stories, trust, empathy and feelings of community unfolded. We felt a sense of Oneness”.
Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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