Women with a Cause

by Njabulo Ngobese

A project that has prided itself at taking initiative in addressing issues related to social and gender injustice has been the cornerstone for art feminists that hold no prisoners when it comes to political action for women's rights.

The Philani Printing Project was initiated in 1997 by the Philani Nutrition Project, the Western Cape Department of Social Services and primarily funded by South Africa's Department of Welfare. Established by a group of Xhosa women artists, the Philani Printing Project was built on the grounds of empowering women both politically and socially. The program educates, employs and empowers women with all the necessary skills to eradicate social ills such as child malnutrition and poverty.

The foundation of the Philani Printing Project was built around the ideology of empowering women first with financial security of which transfers to independence and then results to mothers taking better care of their children's needs. The Philani Printing Project has its roots firm in the South African township regions where the rate of unemployment and poverty are at its peak.

The work produced at the Philani Printing Project is exhibited and sold both locally and internationally and they operate at the Crossroads township on the outskirts of Cape Town. For more information, visit their website at : http://www.philani.org.za/about.php