Bok Women call on South Africa to “Make Room for Her”

The Springbok Women’s team is joining forces with Project Flamingo this month, supported by Engen SA, to Make Room for Her, a campaign that brings women's sport and women's health together around one simple idea: every woman deserves to be seen, supported and cared for.

The Springbok Women are familiar with the fight for room: Room on the field, room in the sporting conversation, room in the media, room in the stadium and room for women’s sport to grow.

That has resonance with Project Flamingo’s campaign moving from the locker room to make space in the chemo room, so that every woman can be seen, heard, treated and supported.

In the call-to-action, the Springbok Women are asking all women to TOUCH, PAUSE, ENGAGE:

TOUCH: Check your breasts monthly – know what’s normal for you.

PAUSE: Notice any changes and do not ignore it.

ENGAGE: Speak to a healthcare professional or go to your nearest clinic.

To mark the launch of the campaign, Bok Women players Babalwa Latsha, Nadine Roos, Insaaf Levy and Chumisa Qawe, as well as international referee Aimee Barett-Theron met with Dr Liana Roodt, founder and CEO of Project Flamingo, and the multi-disciplinary care team at Groote Schuur hospital’s breast clinic in Cape Town, where thousands of women are seen and cared for every year.

“This is not just another breast cancer awareness campaign,” said Dr Roodt.

“Our women need systems that respond when they speak, pathways that work when they ask for help and the confidence to claim the space that was theirs all along.

“We need to stop talking about making room for women and start doing it, because change will not come from talking about it, but rather from building it – from the inside out.

“With the Springbok Women and SA Rugby behind us, we can turn hope into meaningful, empowering change for good.”

Project Flamingo plays a significant partnership role in ensuring timely treatment is provided to patients.

Dr Roodt said that this October, she would wear black, not as a symbol of despair but as an act of reflection and of grief, “to mourn the preventable suffering we have allowed to become normal.”

SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer said the initiative had come from the Springbok women’s team.

“We know that our valued Springbok Women have had to earn their own room in South African sport and that their journey has not always been an easy one,” said Oberholzer.

“Project Flamingo has spent 16 years bridging critical gaps in the public healthcare system through surgery, diagnostics, patient support and system strengthening. Together, this partnership makes the same case twice over – that women deserve to be seen, heard and given the opportunity to thrive. As SA Rugby, we are extremely proud to power forward together and make a genuine difference.”

SA Rugby partner, Engen, are backing the initiative. SA Rugby partner, Engen, are backing the initiative. CEO George Roberts said: “At Engen, we believe making room for women and fuelling their fight means more than raising awareness – it means supporting action that creates meaningful change.

“We are proud to stand alongside the Springbok Women and Project Flamingo in helping ensure more women are seen, heard and supported when it matters most.”

For women, body-awareness is a powerful tool on and off the field. For the Springbok Women, it’s a scrum. For all women, it’s a life-saving monthly check-in.

The Springbok Women know what it means to fight for their place. Now they're asking South Africa to Make Room for Her.

About Project Flamingo

Founded in 2010, Project Flamingo works within South Africa’s public healthcare system, alongside key state hospitals, clinical teams and volunteer specialists, to address bottlenecks that can delay breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Through surgery, diagnostics, patient support and system strengthening, it works to create faster, more effective pathways to care. More here: https://www.projectflamingo.co.za/