A group of women farmworkers from the Western Cape marched to Parliament protesting evictions and calling for urgent land reform. They say Freedom Day offers little celebration amid ongoing landlessness and insecure tenure. The march highlights vulnerabilities persisting decades into democracy.
Women farmworkers in the Western Cape described Freedom Day as a reminder of unresolved issues. They marched to Parliament to protest evictions, landlessness, and insecure land tenure. The women stressed that even more than 30 years into democracy, their lives on farms remain precarious.
Farm dweller Johanna August said: “We are scared because there are many people who do not work there, but their partners have passed away. If they succeed in evicting Bradley, tomorrow it will be someone else. We are not safe.” Angelique Stevens added: “I was born on farm, my parents worked for 30 years, I grew up there and also worked on the farm. I worked for 10 years.”
Carmen Louw, co-director of the Women on Farms Project, explained that women are viewed as secondary workers. They face seasonal employment and housing tied to male partners' names, leading to evictions upon death, divorce, or protection orders. “When a farmer evicts her she often ends up on the street or informal settlement,” Louw said.
The group demands land redistribution and public land for farmworker housing. They have submitted repeated memorandums to the land reform minister but received no meaningful legislation or land. Without change, they say Freedom Day does not reflect their reality.
