TO commemorate the 60th anniversary of the August 9, 1956 Women’s March on the Union Buildings, Beulah Thumbadoo & Associates is calling for entries for a short story competition to commemorate the historic event.

However, there’s a twist: entries must be written by men.

In a press release the company said: “Many women-focused cultural and political events are being planned to mark the contribution of South African women to our struggle for liberation. This call for essays is but one decisive way to bring the considered voices of men into the mix.”

Ten years ago Beulah Thumbadoo & Associates put together a book, The Face of the Spirit: Illuminating a Century of Essays by South African Women for the Department of Arts and Culture, SA.

The theme for the competition is the struggles of men with women.

“Do you have something you’d like to say to your grandmother, mother, a former wife, a current partner, a sister, an aunt, your daughter, or a former teacher?,” the company says.

“Write to the women in your life and tell them whatever you think might help us all to understand each other better and curtail the polarity between us. You might need to dig deep and go further than you manage to through the spoken word. But that is the wonder of writing.”

The essays that best portray the personal concerns, hopes and desires of South African men – and have the judges wanting every South African to read them in the interests of nation building – will be shortlisted, and our intention is that a selection of the best essays will be published in a book with the working title Words Left Unspoken.

For more information go to http://www.beulahthumbadoo.co.za

Submissions of no more than 2 000 words should be emailed to bt@beulahthumbadoo.co.za before or by 12 noon on May 1.