Colette Solomon | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | University of the Western Cape, Institute of Development Studies University of Sussex (PhD), University of Cape Town (honorary doctorate) |
| Occupations | policy researcher and women's rights activist |
| Employer | University of Namibia |
| Organization | Women on Farms Project (WFP) |
Colette Ursula Solomon is a South African policy researcher, women's rights activist and the director of the feminist non-governmental organisation Women on Farms Project (WFP).[1]
Education
Solomon lives in Windhoek and was educated at the University of the Western Cape.[2] She holds a PhD from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex,[2] for the 2003 doctoral dissertation Giving women choices?: development interfaces-women and credit in Tamale, Northern Ghana.[3] She has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Cape Town.[1]
Career and activism
Solomon has undertaken policy research in Namibia, Malawi, Ethiopia and Ghana, focusing on the gendered implications and impact of rural development interventions,[2] whilst working at the Social Sciences Division of the Multi Disciplinary Research Centre, University of Namibia.[citation needed]
In 2006, Soloman became director of the Women on Farms Project (WFP),[2] which works with women farm workers who are employed on wine farms in the Western Cape and Northern Cape in South Africa and supports them to understand and exercise their rights.[4] The organisation is partnered with Oxfam.[5]
With WFP, Solomon raises awareness of issues experienced by women workers on farms to national and international audiences, including women earning less than their male counterparts;[6] being paid less than the legal minimum wage and other labour law violations;[7][8] seasonal workers needing a living wage,[9] job security;[10] household food security;[11][12] housing conditions;[13] access to drinking water and toilets in the vineyards;[12] lack of protection from hazardous pesticides,[14] the impact of climate change and drought on the agricultural industry;[12] mechanisation;[15] and the links between gender-based violence and alcohol consumption.[12]
In 2015, Solomon opposed bail being granted to a suspect arrested in connection with the murder of Deoline Demas, a teenager she knew through the WFP's Young Women’s Programme.[16]
During the COVID-19 pandemic Solomon campaigned for an increase to government grants for farm women.[17]
Solomon was arrested while sitting in the road singing protest songs during an anti-eviction protest near to Simondium, Western Cape, in 2020.[18] She appeared at Paarl Magistrates’ Court on charges of public violence, which were dropped.[19] She was represented by Seeham Samaai, Director of the Women’s Legal Centre, South Africa.[citation needed] She has also spoken about farm evictions to Members of Parliament at the Constitutional Review Committee in 2018,[20] and has provided evidence in the court cases of individual evicted farmers.[21]
In 2023, Solomon was an endorser of a call made by several civil society organisations against the National Treasury’s tax regime proposals[22] and was present at a march by farm workers to Parliament calling for a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza to discuss issues of food security, land redistribution and agriculture.[23]
Solomon has joined protests over a decision by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to abandon a promise to phase out harmful pesticides in South Africa, which are banned in the European Union due to health and environmental risks.[24][25][26] Her comments on how the European green transition can lead to environmentally and socially harmful impacts in the Global South have been cited by organisations such as the SOLIDAR Foundation.[27][28]
Publications and conferences
Solomon has contributed chapters to publications, such as "The Many Faces of Feminism in Namibia" in The Challenge of Local Feminisms (1993) with Dianne Hubbard,[29] and Organizing Women Workers in the Informal Economy: Beyond the Weapons of the Weak (2013).[30] She has written articles for the South African news agency GroundUp.[31]
In 2011, Solomon presented at the Social Protection for Social Justice conference held at her alma mater the Institute of Development Studies in Brighton.[32] In 2024 she delivered a session on stakeholder engagement, human rights abuses and due diligence in food supply chains at the 13th United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva.[4]
References
- ^ a b Davids, Niémah (26 July 2023). "Four distinguished South Africans receive UCT hon docs". University of Cape Town. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ a b c d "Colette Solomon". World Benchmarking Alliance. Archived from the original on 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Horton, Lynn (2017-12-28). Women and Microfinance in the Global South: Empowerment and Disempowerment Outcomes. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-31127-4.
- ^ a b "Snapshot series on stakeholder engagement". 13th United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Green, Duncan (26 March 2013). "Strikes, Spookytown, and a traumatic exit from feudalism: Women on Farms in South Africa | From Poverty to Power". From Poverty to Power, Oxfam. Archived from the original on 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Hlati, Okuhle. "Women's rights in SA: 'Promises, but no action'". Independent Online (IOL). Archived from the original on 2022-03-27. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Maliti, Soyiso (15 July 2017). "Spike in illegal evictions at Western Cape farms". Weekend Argus. Archived from the original on 2024-12-08. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Bratton, Laura (4 September 2017). "South Africa: Women Farm Workers Protest Labour Law Violations". allAfrica.com. Archived from the original on 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Gontsana, Mary-Ann (2018-01-30). "Unions fed-up with new minimum wage for farm workers - South Africa Today". South Africa Today. Archived from the original on 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Human, Liezl (2022-10-31). "Farm workers march to Parliament to demand major reform". GroundUp News. Archived from the original on 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ "Empowering women to curb hunger: Colette Solomon". ABC listen. 2012-06-12. Archived from the original on 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ a b c d Wuchold, Eva (2021-05-18). "Exploitation and Gender Discrimination in South Africa's Wine Mines". Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (in German). Archived from the original on 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ "South Africa: Labour Department to Probe 'Poor Conditions' On Cape Farm". allAfrica.com. Archived from the original on 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Baro, Joylean M. (2015-07-01). "A colonial hangover: big profits, massive exploitation in the Cape winelands". Equal Times. Archived from the original on 2024-05-16. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Ishmail, Sukaina (16 October 2019). "World Food Day: Plight of farmworkers in the spotlight". Cape Argus. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Booysen, Chevon. "Teenage girl's murder suspect known to family". Cape Times. Archived from the original on 2025-02-21. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Human, Liezl (2021-08-19). "R350-a-month Covid grant is too low, say speakers at Women on Farms meeting". GroundUp News. Archived from the original on 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Payne, Suné (2020-02-26). "Farmworker activist arrested in winelands as family of six is evicted". Daily Maverick. Archived from the original on 2024-06-19. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Maregele, Barbara (2020-02-27). "Charges against Women on Farms director withdrawn". GroundUp News. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ "South Africa: Land - Call for Moratorium On Evictions Until After Parly Process Is Complete". allAfrica.com. Archived from the original on 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ "Farm worker challenges authorities in court over housing. Municipality and province accused of not meeting constitutional obligations". Eviction Lawyers South Africa. 20 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Slack, Justin (2023-03-10). "Civil society calls on Parliament to support progressive taxation and halt proposed regressive measures". Budget Justice Coalition South Africa. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Human, Liezl (2023-11-10). "South Africa: Women Farm Workers Demand Meeting With Minister of Agriculture". GroundUp News. Archived from the original on 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Harrisberg, Kim (2 October 2023). "'Double standards': South Africans exposed to EU-banned pesticides". TimesLIVE. Archived from the original on 2024-08-12. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Daniels, Nicola (14 November 2024). "State accountability urged amid pesticide-related child deaths". Cape Times. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Payi, Bulelwa (2 September 2023). "UN official raps SA for continued use of banned toxic pesticides". Weekend Argus. Archived from the original on 2025-02-21. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ "Global Just Transition: Not Just for (E)U". SOLIDAR Foundation. Archived from the original on 2025-02-18. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ "Case Study | Exported Toxicity:The EU's Banned Pesticides in South Africa". SOLIDAR Foundation. 2024-02-20. Archived from the original on 2025-03-23. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Basu, Amrita (2018-02-02). The Challenge Of Local Feminisms: Women's Movements In Global Perspective. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-97255-3.
- ^ Kabeer, Naila; Sudarshan, Ratna; Milward, Kirsty (2013-03-14). Organizing Women Workers in the Informal Economy: Beyond the Weapons of the Weak. Zed Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-78032-454-8.
- ^ "Author: Colette Solomon". GroundUp News. Archived from the original on 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
- ^ Devereux, Stephen and Solomon, Colette. (2011) "Can Social Protection Deliver Social Justice for Farmwomen in South Africa?" Paper presented at International Conference: “Social Protection for Social Justice” Institute of Development Studies, UK, 13–15 April 2011.
External links
- Living people
- Academic staff of the University of Namibia
- Alumni of the University of Sussex
- University of Cape Town alumni
- South African human rights activists
- South African women's rights activists
- South African women activists
- 21st-century South African women writers
- University of the Western Cape alumni
