By Aurelia Mbokazi
By the time August arrives, there is a flood of invitations to different events in honour of Women’s Month. Breakfasts, lunches, panels and celebrations fill our calendars, and amid already busy lives, it can be tempting to wonder whether we really need another one.
However, last Friday reminded me that perhaps we do.
Suzuki Auto South Africa's Driven by Her gathering brought women from across the automotive industry and other walks of life together for a day that gave us something increasingly rare: permission to stop, reflect on where we’ve come from and where we are going.
We arrived dressed to the nines in shades of pink, ready for a Women's Month celebration. What unfolded was something more meaningful, time to connect, laugh, listen and reflect.
The milestones we sometimes miss
One of the day's most powerful lessons came from the current Miss South Africa, Qhawekazi Mazaleni, who reflected on a milestone that might seem surprisingly modest compared with wearing the country's most famous sash.
She took us back to her school years and being chosen for a library leadership role she had desperately wanted and worked towards.
It stayed with me because we so often achieve something we once wanted deeply, only to immediately move the goalposts. Yet those seemingly small victories are often the building blocks for everything that follows.
Proteas Women cricketer Tumi Sekhukhune offered another perspective. She reflected on reaching a point in her career where travelling comfortably and having support for her physical and mental wellbeing are part of enabling her to concentrate on being the best sportswoman she can be.
Success, she reminded us, can also mean reaching a place where you no longer have to carry everything alone.
The strength of being supported
Our MC, Samantha Lehoko, brought a beautiful honesty to the room by sharing parts of her sobriety journey and acknowledging the family and community supporting her through it.
Sindisiwe Kumalo-Sibisi of Orlando Pirates spoke just as candidly about navigating divorce with a young baby while studying towards her MBA.
Her story reminded me that the elusive "balance" women constantly pursue doesn't necessarily mean giving everything equal attention. Sometimes one part of life simply needs more of us. During an extraordinarily difficult period, succeeding academically gave Kumalo-Sibisi something positive to hold onto and propelled her forward.
While the stories shared were different, the common thread was that none of us gets anywhere entirely alone.
Celebration with purpose
Driven by Her also recognised that while we were being celebrated, there was room to extend that care to others.
Guests were asked to bring sanitary pads to support young girls who may otherwise gowithout. It was a simple gesture that became a meaningful way of ensuring that an afternoon centred on women wasn't only about receiving, but also about giving.
In keeping with Suzuki's youthful, energetic spirit, a Women's Month and Suzuki-themed quiz quickly revealed just how competitive a room full of women can become. Tables battled for points amid laughter, banter and increasingly determined attempts to out do one another.
There was beautiful food, coffee, flowers, splashes of pink and, most importantly, conversation. Women who usually meet while rushing between launches, meetings and deadlines had time to simply enjoy one another's company.
More than another August event
Women's Month shouldn't only remind the world what women contribute. It should occasionally give women themselves the space to remember.
To recognise the milestones we overlooked. To acknowledge the people who held us up. To celebrate what we survived and what we've built. To support another woman who may need us. And sometimes, simply to dress beautifully, laugh loudly and enjoy being together. Suzuki created that space with Driven by Her.
We arrived pretty in pink for a Friday celebration. We left a little lighter, more connected and reminded that there is still enormous value in women creating space for one another.
