By Shelly Guni
The world’s most popular sport for women is netball.
It has the ability to inspire groups of people and transform lives.
Proscovia Peace, a well-known international player for Uganda, once said: “Netball has empowered me to play a sport I love, but it has also given me the gift of seeing the world outside of Uganda and gaining an education I could only have imagined.” I hope that by sharing my experience, I will motivate others to use netball to help them reach their goals as well.
Numerous organizations use netball to improve young, underprivileged girls’ lives on and off the court. Many organizations use the sport of netball to transform the lives of young, underprivileged girls, both on and off the court.
The Southern Human Rights Defenders Network (SHRDN) supported the African Diaspora Workers Network (ADWN), Umphakatsi Eco-Peace Village (UEPV), and Community Organising Working Group (COWG) in hosting a human rights netball tournament on April 2, 2023 in South Africa.
The tournament was running under the banner of promoting social cohesion, self-care, and peaceful communities.
This was the second tournament after successfully hosting the first one last year in commemoration of International Human Rights Day during the 16 Days of Activism in December 2022
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“…the idea was to observe and reflect on the meaning and significance of those who sacrificed their lives to ensure South Africa becomes the “Rainbow Nation” ” it is today.
This was a ‘delayed but not forgotten match’ as human rights and social justice are what we stand for in our everyday lives.” reads part of the statement:
“More than 100 grassroots WHRDs from East Rand, Johannesburg South, and West Rand in Gauteng Province converged in unison to commemorate the historic March 21st, 1960, massacres, in which poor black human rights defenders selflessly sacrificed their lives fighting racism and social injustice.
“In South Africa, March has been declared human rights month, due to the gross apartheid violations that happened during this month. Apartheid has been declared a crime against humanity by the United Nations. In the same month of March 1960, on March 26, dubbed the Atteridgeville Massacre, about 11 youth and women were killed while hundreds were severely injured.
“The Human Rights Netball Tournament served as a virtuous platform to forge self-care networks, social cohesion, and transnational feminist solidarity, as well as a common agenda and tolerance against all odds.”
“Gender-based violence is pervasive, and all women are prone to violence regardless of race, nationality, or class. Henceforth, we all have to unite in our fight against this scourge. It is our hope that the program will go a long way toward advancing international understanding, protection, and peace through sisterhood and brotherhood.