The Speaker of the City of Johannesburg Council, Cllr Colleen Makhubele, celebrated Women’s Day at Alexandra’s Altrek Sports Ground on Wednesday, 9 August 2023. “We honour some of the famous resilient women residents of Alex: Former first lady Zanele Mbeki, Joyce Mogatusi of the Mahotella Queens and many others.

These women and many other unsung women in this country kept alive the spirit of resistance. They were the driving force behind the path to freedom and women’s equality, which had been a long and challenging road. 

“Alex people are what its women are. The woman is the conscience of her nation as well as the measure of its values. The moral life of a nation is controlled by the women, and by the women can we measure the moral condition of the people,” said Cllr Makhubele. 

She honoured the unpaid labour of women within the household, saying it is not merely an essential contribution towards the maintenance of the existing structure of family and communities at any time, but also, through the rearing of children, the foundation of the social economy of the future, and a mainspring of social change.

Women in business, women workers, contribute their share towards the socio-economic progress of the nation as a whole, in every corner of our nation you will find women hustling and hard at work. 

“It is women who must make sure that more diverse women are considered for business opportunities and are paid well and they are sustained by recurring businesses at every single level of government and private sector. Together, galvanise their communities, the nation and global community.

“I would like to encourage all the women that have made it in the corporate world to please take time to mentor another girl child adopt another girl child. Choose to make a difference and give back to your community.

“Alex people, please remember that Alexandra was named after a woman who loved people! Let us foster friendship and bonds that will bring mutual profits, productivity, and prosperity for this township and for all of us,” said Cllr Makhubele in conclusion.