Durban’s Verushka Memdutt was recently appointed as the national co-ordinator of the Right to Know (R2K) Campaign, becoming the first woman to hold the position.
She has been in the hot seat for just over two months and hit the ground running. The Right2Know Campaign has grown into a movement centred on freedom of expression and access to information.
Memdutt, who also holds positions in the Market Users Committee and the SA Informal Traders Forum, said R2K projects in urban areas received more attention and funding, while in the rural areas women were still neglected and projects there were not well monitored.
She said R2K was running a project involving working with women in Mthwalume, south of Durban, where there have been political killings.
“To hear what these women are going through is horrifying. One of the accused is walking around freely; I work on the ground… these women are living in fear. We find women in very horrible circumstances and they continue with their daily routine.”
She believes that this should not be the case considering that South Africa is a fully-fledged democracy.
Memdutt said her appointment meant that R2K had confidence in the leadership of women. It has made her realise that the strength of women is being recognised, and that women can lead a coalition of organisations.
She said her being the first woman in the position at R2K was an important milestone.
“It means that men have recognised that I have what it takes to take office, perform, to deliver, to work and grow the organisation.”
She said R2K was working on a Countering Patriarchy campaign, with the view of bringing women, both young and old, into the organisation to be part of “something progressive”.
“In doing this we have reached out to communities, where in one we found a group of about 12 women and children who have been practically left destitute; this is while the government has provided them with a place to stay. To reach out into that community and for us as an organisation to make sure that there is accountability, is important.
“I would like to see a project like this through till its end. I do not want to be the kind of leader that says ‘let's reach out here and there’, but then we get nowhere,” she said.
Daily News