Ashton Botha, Colorado Park
I am currently doing my Master’s degree in African Feminist Studies at UCT and will make my mark at the South African national and provincial elections on Wednesday May 27.
The 2024 elections are upon us and as a young 24-year-old female I think it is important to voice the living fears of many South Africans.
It is no secret that poverty, gender-based violence, unemployment, access to healthcare and education are growing issues within our vulnerable communities.
Many of us hoped that 30 years post-apartheid we would not still be paying the consequences of the violence of this system. However, we as the South African community have lost hope in our government to protect us from the devastating realities; 7.9 million people are unemployed, women are constantly living in fear of violence, there are 10 516 reported rape cases, and 18.2 million people are living in extreme poverty.
It is under these circumstances that I am excited to place my vote on Wednesday. I am hopeful and optimistic that my vote will contribute to bringing about the changes necessary to remediate the concerns of the South African people. We all need to maintain that hope in our democracy as it’s only as a collective that we can make real change.
I hope you’ve read the manifestos of political parties so that you’ve assessed which policies they agree with. We have all been promised a better quality of life. Let our lives not be the playing field for political parties. Let your life be a testimony to the failures of our government. When we vote we take back our power to choose.
Voting is our voice and our space to stand up against the violent realities many of us live in. We have never been silent but silenced. Let us take our voice back and vote for a better South Africa. Every election is determined by the people who show up.
