In celebration of International Women’s Day 2018, the Women’s Rights unit of the Centre for Human Rights in collaboration with the Department of Library Services, University of Pretoria collaborated to screen the film, Queen of Katwe, and also revealed the ‘I Am Woman’ photo exhibition. The Centre’s Assistant Director, Norman Taku, opened the event by discussing the historical context in which we celebrate International Women’s Day. He shared his thoughts on how women persevere and prevail in a world designed to challenge them at every opportunity, and called on participants to fight for women’s rights, not only on International Women’s Day, but on every day of the year.

Queen of Katwe is a story of ambition, courage, determination and skill. Phiona, a Ugandan girl living in a slum in Katwe, dared to strive for success, despite the despair piled around her. She learned to play chess, advancing to international competition, and ultimately became a beacon of hope to her entire community. Reflecting on the film, participants, who came from across the UP community, shared their reactions on how the characters in the film portrayed the different ways in which women exhibit fortitude and resilience. Quotes mentioned include ‘Sometimes the place you are used to, is not the place you belong’ and ‘In chess the small one can become the big one’. They also gave their opinions on how they can press for progress in line with the International Women’s Day theme for 2018.

The ‘I am Woman’ photo exhibition, prepared by Adebayo Okeowo, Advocacy Coordinator of the Centre, accompanied the event, and was designed to promote women’s strength, audacity, resilience and courage through visuals. Adebayo discussed the importance of the role of men in uplifting and amplifying the voices of women, and reminded participants to either join the movement to press for progress for gender equality or step aside. The photo exhibit captured the spirit and character of women from across Africa, with each photo accompanied by a quote from the models expressing their thoughts on what makes women strong.

If you would like to share with us your thoughts on how you will join activist and advocates from around the world to press for progress, please tweet to us @chr_humanrights