Alex Rose-Innes
For the past 43years, People Opposed to Women Abuse (POWA) had fought for abused women and this year, a special anthology, UNROPED, will be published to celebrate the strength of women who haveovercome abuse and grown into warriors. NewsHorn spoke to Thandiwe McCloy, communications manager of POWA.
Putting their stories out there, sharing their pain and shame, UNROPED will highlight women’s struggles. The publication is meant to share with the sisterhood that they are not alone and that help is out there. It addresses the various forms of abuse and provides women a unique opportunity to reflect on their lived realities and in the process, positively shape their landscape and influence the thinking and decisions of other women in similar circumstances.
The Women’s Writing Project encourages South African women to speak out about abuse. The Breaking the Silence Anthology 2021/2022 (Unroped) is part of the #EndDomesticSilence initiative. Launched in 2019, this initiative is run by Unilever tea brand, Joko, in partnership with POWA and aims to encourage women to end the silence around domestic violence and increase speaking out, reporting of, awareness and education around domestic violence.
“The Women’s Writing Project it is a therapeutic tool for women, assisting them to break the silence and share their experiences with other women in similar situations. Through writing, they heal themselves as they heal others.” – Joan Hlako, POWA’s Chief Social Worker, who is managing the Women’s writing Project
Call for submissions – Deadline 31 March 2022
Open to women across the country, POWA is looking for poems, short stories and personal essays about individual experiences of rising and letting go of past pains and hurts, from abuse to claiming back their power.
They are looking for entries envisioning a better future. As McCloy said, “writing your own story is a brave, sometimes difficult thing to do. We all have a responsibility to respect and acknowledge bravery, in ourselves and each other.”
For details on the 2022 Breaking the Silence Anthology, visit the POWA website on www.powa.co.za or any of their social media platforms on Facebook: POWA, Twitter: @POWA_ZA and Instagram: @powa_za. The deadline for submissions is 31 March 2022. If you would like to donate to POWA to help sustain our advocacy, counselling, sheltering and legal services for GBV survivors, visit: www.powa.co.za/POWA/get-involved/donate-now/
