Celebrating a decade of The Women’s Library: Woman Zone at Artscape Festival

The Women’s Library, run by the Cape Town organisation Woman Zone, is celebrating its 10th anniversary by taking part in this year’s Artscape Women’s Humanity Festival.

Founded in 2015, the library was the brainchild of Rondebosch resident Nancy Richards, inspired by her long career in women’s media and her lifelong love of books.

 “Having worked for both a women’s magazine and a women’s radio show for many years, I acquired a huge number of books by, for and about women,” she said.

“Sadly, I gave many of them away, but I always felt they formed an important collection representing the voices of numerous women, particularly local ones."

Her inspiration to create a dedicated space came after her niece told her about the Glasgow Women’s Library. 

“Being the ‘mother city’, Cape Town should have one too,” Ms Richards said.

The London Women’s Library, founded in 1926, was another model.

 “I never stopped to think about its lifespan at the time, but yes, I hope it will be going for many more decades to come,” she added, crediting chief librarian and publicist Beryl Eichenberger for keeping it vibrant.

As far as Ms Richards knows, The Women’s Library is still the only one of its kind in the country - and possibly on the continent.

 “We’d love to ‘sister’ with other women’s libraries in South Africa or Africa, to exchange news, experiences, stories and books,” said Ms Richards. 

She believes its uniqueness lies not just in housing women’s books, but in offering a platform for women to share their stories through storytelling, poetry, performance, art and craft.

“The intention is to understand one another, unite, and be stronger together.”

In 2015, the library published its first book, Being a Woman in Cape Town: Telling Your Story, followed in 2023 by Women of Soil, created in partnership with Soil for Life to mark the 10th anniversary of Woman Zone.

Woman Zone’s partnership with Artscape began in 2014 with the Women’s Humanity Walk through the streets of Cape Town. 

A year later, Artscape CEO Marlene le Roux offered the group a permanent home for its books near the theatre’s Box Office.

“Our relationship has grown stronger each year as our goals of amplifying unheard voices align,” said Ms Richards.

This year’s festival theme, Peace in Action – Working Together, is reflected in the group’s activities. Their two-metre-high statue, Wire Woman, has been dressed as a Peace Messenger in white, covered in paper doves bearing messages against gender-based violence.

Visitors have been invited to add their own messages to her skirt.

Looking ahead, Ms Richards hopes the next decade will bring an even bigger vision to life. “Our dream is to have not just a Women’s Library, but a Women’s Centre and Archive in Cape Town,” she said. 

She encourages the public to visit, volunteer, join the book club, and support events. 

“As the saying goes, ‘We can go faster alone, but further together.’”

For more information, visit www.womanzone.org.za or follow Woman Zone CT on Facebook and Instagram.