In order to implement activities and a detailed action plan, JFPSA signed an agreement with Women Win, a not-for-profit organisation incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands and funded by Nike, which has been a partner of JFPSA for many years.
Since its inception, the programme has hosted 12 women-only events across various locations in the country (5 events in Berea, 3 in Brixton, 1 in Alexandria, 1 Soweto, 1 in Orange Farm and 1 in Parys). Through this initiative, JFPSA has helped 2 female judoka to reach brown belt and and has developed 31 women as competitors, with 4 of them serving as coaches too. Notably, at the 2023 Judo for Peace Grand Gala Awards, Warda, now a brown belt, competitor and coach, received an award for the most consistent woman in training, resulting in other girls being inspired to remain active in the programme.
Judo for Peace South Africa is presently active in 10 schools in the Johannesburg metropolitan area (Soweto, Central Johannesburg). Through all the activities, schoolteachers are encouraged to bring girls to the judo classes and a successful 45% rate of girl’s participation in schools has been reached. At the same time, JFPSA is active in Observatory Girls’ Primary where judo classes are taught twice a week, raising the total number of girls in judogi considerably.
The women’s events initially focused on promoting self-defence in response to the gender-based violence that the country is facing. As the programme evolved, JPFSA began to introduce judo as a sport, hosted body confidence seminars developed by Nike, and invited professionals from the safety and security sectors, including the Alexandra Police Station and Kwanele App to provide tips on how to stay safe in their communities. The UNHCR, that has been another very active supporter of JFPSA for many years, is also helping at the events, in particular, hosting round tables that promote women’s empowerment, such as for World Refugee Day.
The JFPSA girls are not only training, competing, grading and enjoying the women only events, but they are active community members. The girls joined in the Berea Cleaning Campaign where the team restored the park behind the main dojo. The event was a great success as the girls were able to learn more about the surroundings of the dojo.
More recently, they participated in the ‘Big Pack,’ an initiative where community members filled food jars with soup mixes, at the Linden Police Station. The girls have also engaged in demonstrations at schools, events and family markets, showing the increasing interest in expanding the reach of the programme and the community at large. Participants were then involved in collaborating with Kwanele App NGO, Phola NGO and Gun Free South Africa, to mention a few.
The impact is tremendous and the programme is growing at an increasing pace. JFPSA strongly encourages growth and development of women and girls in judo to create the conditions of a better society. Through all the activities, stereotypes such as 'judo is a man's sport' can be fought while safeguarding, mentoring and anti-bullying aspects can also be talked about, especially within the framework of the partnership with Women Win. For more information, don't hesitate to contact JFPSA ([email protected]).