Somali businesses are well known for an unusual pace when it comes to their business growth and development. Many wonder what their secret is to this growth and even though this community believes that they have none, they are still willing to expand and share their business skills with the rest of the small business community.
OVER THE WINDOW: She sits from 5.30am until 10pm in the evening, hoping and praying that someone will come and buy one or two items. The street is buzzing with similar businesses to hers, but Madina Umar says the money she makes every day is enough. Photo: Anelisa Tuswa
“Andazikubabenzanjani, velenjee bona bayaphumelela,” [I don’t know how they do it, but they are very successful”], said Lindelwa Mdanyana “ngingajabulaukwazi pho,” [“I’d love to know, hey”] as she changed seats outside her two-room house, running away from the sun while waiting for her midday customers to come and quench their thirst.
Mdanyana, 40, is a South African businesswoman who is the co-owner of ispoti (an illegal tavern) situated in an informal settlement called Ellias Motsoaledi behind Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto.She once owned a spaza shop but said the establishment of Somali businesses in the area killed her shop.
With bigger versions of a typical South African spaza shop but smaller versions of a supermarket, Somali “cash and carry” businesses in South Africa are growing. In all parts of the country, Somali shops are popular for offering goods and services at cheaper rates than most South African shops.
Welcome to Little Mogadishu
Eighth Street in Mayfair, popularly known as “Little Mogadishu”, in the west of Johannesburg, is no different.
From travel agents to barbershops, from cash and carry to clothing shops, success is assured. In 8th Street, where Somali nationals seem to dominate, many of them have flourished as entrepreneurs. Even though their businesses provide similar goods and services, this is considered less of a competition or threat but rather a benefit.
When Mdanyana followed her boyfriend to Johannesburg from the Eastern Cape in 1992, she struggled to find employment in Gauteng. And when she got married in 1994, Mdanyana said that she agreed to stay home and start her business.
When they started their business it was a normal spaza shop where she sold essential household goods. Instead of selling full packets of teabags, she would sell a single teabag for 15 cents, candle lights, paraffin, half a loaf of bread and many other items typically found in a spaza shop. Mdanyana believed she was doing well until 2010 when her business started failing.
Mdanyana described this phase and associates it with “ukufikakwamaKula [the arrival of foreign nationals]” who became her toughest competitors.
She said her competitors’ goods and services were very cheap, so she understood why she started losing customers.
“Bona ilitre ye paraffin yayi yiR4, njeba kum iyi R6,” [“Their litre of paraffin was R4, while I sold it for R6”], she said.
ISPOTI: Mdanyana says she only stocks her alcohol in one fridge because buying in the spaza shop manner (buying in bulk) in this kind of a business is a waste of money and a great loss. Photo: Anelisa Tuswa
Mdanyana said she needed something that could sell fast, and in this case it was cold drink and beer. However, even though there’s less competition in the ispoti business environment, it is highly regulated as there are serious consequences for those who sell alcohol without a liquor licence.
[“If the police arrive and you don’t have a licence, they either pour the alcohol on the floor or some of them leave with it, and say they are taking it to the police station” Mdanyana said. “I’d rather have them pour it on the floor, hey.”
‘No secrets hidden in Somali traders’
According to Abidririzak Ali Osman, general secretary of the Somali Community Board South Africa and a member of the Township Business Association South Africa (TBASA), there are “no secrets hidden in Somali traders”. But “their perseverance and persistence is what distinguishes them from other nationals”, including South Africans.
“They have to work hard beyond the limit of their capabilities,” said Osman, “because of their responsibilities.”
In a blog article by Neil Pate, an American business analytics expert, he shares his lived experiences where he goes beyond what is identified by Osman.
Firstly, he said, “immigrants stick together”. Sharing his experiences as an immigrant child who arrived in the United States of America when he was only seven years old, he said:
“One thing that I never forgot is that when my parents immigrated here, other immigrants helped them out.
“From providing free temporary living accommodations to helping a fellow immigrant to find a job, establishing businesses, immigrants help each other succeed,” he added.
Secondly, Pate said, many immigrants who work in foreign countries understand the notion that “It’s easier to save money than it is to earn it”, hence they find ways to save and invest more.
“They are never afraid to ask for discounts, buy in bulk or even on sale.”
Research conducted by the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS) states that not many have explored why Somali businesses are prosperous and how they achieve growth at such a rapid pace. But many Somali business traders are willing to share their skills.
The story of Ebrahim Qaxwo
Ebrahim Muhammad Ali, a father of 17 children and owner of Ebrahim Qaxwo (qaxwo means “coffee” in Somali), a convenience shop in Mayfair, Johannesburg, is one of them.
Ebrahim and his brother come from a very poor family in Somalia and never got the opportunity to go to school. However, as soon as he was old enough, Ebrahim joined his older brother in the city of Kismaayo where they opened a panel beating business.
In 1992, during a civil war, the Ali brothers fled Somalia to Tanzania for safety. This did not stop them from opening a business in Tanzania, and within eight years their panel beating business was fully established. They continued to work there until the political climate shifted. Media reports at the time suggested that refugees from Somalia were being targeted as foreigners.
And Ebrahim said this is what forced him and his brother to move again.
EBRAHIM SPECIAL: With special recipes, branded T-shirts for his employees and personalised cups, Ebrahim wants more. Photo: Anelisa Tuswa
Before coming to South Africa, he moved to Zambia where he stayed for two years, and worked hard to build up another business and bring his two wives and their children to Zambia. Finally, in 2000, accompanied by his brother and one of his sons, Ebrahim made his way to South Africa. He was given quarters in Mayfair and taken to get an asylum seeker’s permit.
According to Ebrahim, it took him and his brother four years to save up and open their panel beating workshop.
“One man gave me a welding machine, in exchange I fix his car,” he said.
At first, the Ali bothers worked on the pavement and from people’s backyards, but soon he linked up with two fellow Somali countrymen, an electrician and a mechanic, and they started a workshop. Working day and night, they built up a strong clientele among the Indian community in Fordsburg.
However, during the 2008 xenophobic attacks his panel beating workshop was destroyed and his brother was killed. This left Ebrahim with no choice but to start again from scratch and restructure.
Ebrahim said a panel beating shop was too expensive and “it was going to take time”.
“When I started selling coffee, I was selling from a flask,” he said.
Since then he has opened his coffee shop in Mayfair. His walls are decorated with a collection of items from Somalia that he said remind him “about home and keeps me going”. Within 15 years, 47 Somerset Street in Mayfair has developed from a panel beating shop to a coffee shop and now a convenience store that sells a variety of things, including homemade juice and fast food.
“I employ six people now, one at home and five here at the shop,” said Ebrahim.
In 2013, research conducted by the African Centre for Migration and Society in the Western Cape suggests that it is the business strategies that Somali traders employ and the effects that Somali trade has on a range of stakeholders. While Somali spaza shops compete with their South African counterparts, the report finds that Somali spaza shops also provide a range of benefits to local economies.
A report released in 2012 by the Migrating for Work Research Consortium (MiWORC), an organisation that examines migration and its impact on the South African labour market, found that “people born outside the country [South Africa] were far less likely than those born in South Africa to be employees, and far more likely to be own account workers [self-employed without employers] or employers”.
The research further states that 31% of these traders employ South Africans. This has enabled more job creation in the informal employment sector.
Economic development: The Township Business Association South Africa
In addition to employment benefits, research done by African Centre for Migration and Society in the Western Cape states that skills transfer is another way that Somali business owners contribute to the South African economy. And with the newly launched initiative of skills sharing programme and the establishment of Township Business Association South Africa, “more sustainable economic benefits are expected”.
Abasi Mkhize, a local businessman from Soweto and chairman of the Township Business Association, said the establishment of the association came “earlier in 2015 when mass looting was taking place in Soweto which spread to various parts of the country. There was a lot of communication and interaction between local businesses and foreign nationals.”
After numerous interactions, Mkhize said the association was then established with the aim of trying to change “the image and the face of a migrant trader in the township”. “In a manner which fosters cohesion with the broader community and society where our migrant trades in.”
There are also a number of developmental activities that are put in place to create a healthy competition with South African businesses.
“We have in place a programme to train any aspiring entrepreneurs to enhance their skills free of charge,” said Mkhize. “We even go as far as availing R50 000 start-up capital.”
The road to this has, however, not been smooth. Both the Somali Community Board South Africa and the Township Business Association have identified a few potential stumbling blocks that hinder the process of skills sharing and challenge the development going anywhere further with the idea.
“As the foreign component of this initiative we have managed to sit down together and realised that we are finding ourselves in the same boat,” said Osman, “but we pride ourselves to say we managed to create one voice for all foreign nationals operating in township spaces.”
According to Osman and Mkhize, it is now the local associations that seem to fall short when it comes to decision-making.
“They have their own issues which include the inability to work together or collaborate to establish a single body,” said Osman.
According to Osman, a memorandum of collaboration with the South African Spaza Shop and Township Association (SASSTA) has been put on hold after various organisations asked SASSTA who they were to sign on their behalf.
But chairperson of SASSTA Rose Nkosi has rejected the accusation that the organisation has any issues that are delaying the collaboration. She said she is waiting for a planned roadshow where she is going to propose the idea to her members and see if they agree.
‘South African business people do not need more help’
Nkosi said South African business people do not need more help in developing their skills. She said further training is not necessary.
“The skills training is not a problem but it’s already done by the University of Johannesburg,” said Nkosi. “Whoever comes and trains people now, it’s just his own thing where they are trying to get money from CETA.”
Although many Somali entrepreneurs such as Ebrahim have lost many things in their journey to seek refuge in South Africa, their future business plans are looking beyond that.
“I hope to grow my business, like franchise, like Mugg and Bean or something,” said Ebrahim “imagine Ebrahim Qaxwo everywhere in the world.
FEATURED IMAGE:OVER THE WINDOW: She sits from 5.30am until 10pm in the evening, hoping and praying that someone will come and buy one or two items. The street is buzzing with similar businesses to hers, but Madina Umar says the money she makes every day is enough. Photo: Anelisa Tuswa
Addressing a full classroom of over 50 journalists and students, Cheryl Thompson, a journalist from the Washington Post, shared her insights into investigative journalism at the Power Reporting conference in Johannesburg today. Anelisa Tuswa, a student journalist, shares her five takeaways from the talk.
Thompson, also an associate professor of journalism at George Washington University, used anecdotes from her own work to outline the key lessons she’s learned over the course of her career.
HARD-HITTING: Cheryl W. Thompson of the Washington Post, shared her insights into developing an investigative story at the 2015 Power Reporting Conference at Wits University today. Photo: Samantha Camara.
Outlining steps into the investigation process, Thompson described investigative journalism as “jigsaw puzzle”, where all the pieces in the puzzle matter.
Briefly, Thompson says the key steps are deciding on a topic, researching the topic, developing your sources, analysing your data, fact-check and writing, rewriting and writing some more.
5 Key lessons to learn:
“Always ask questions that you already know the answer to”
The emphasis on well researched investigation remains key in all parts of Thompsons presentation. As a result, Thompson believes that when you are preparing for an interview, you’re must “be mentally prepared” and that includes well researched questions.
“Never sacrifice speed to file for accuracy“
It might take you a couple of years to complete an investigative piece, but rather you spend years in it than to rush for a timeline that is less researched and lacks accuracy.
Confrontational Questions? Keep those for later
According to Thompson, questions like “why did you steal the money” should be at the bottom of your list. She says to start with questions that allow your interviewees “ease into the interview'”, added Thompson. “Try to find a commonality or connection with your interviewee”.
“Don’t pick up the phone for interviews, go there in person”
Thompson notes that on one of her investigative pieces that she was working on there were “ghost children in a ghost school” and she only figured this out by actually visiting the schools.
Trust your intuition
“I trust my instincts, especially as a woman”, said Thompson, addressing safety and security issues related to investigative journalism.
Mosiah Moshe Tau serves as the current Miss Limpopo Province. This third-year Civil Engineering student is one of the few black South African women to have won a major pageant with their natural hair. Wits Vuvuzela sat down with her to pick her brain on African beauty and beauty pageants.
Photo supplied
What is the role of beauty pageants in African societies in 2015?
The aim of pageants in general is to empower women and create role models, most especially for our young people. We encourage being happy in our own skin. But nowadays, we are steering in a direction where the title holder is an ambassador, rather than a beauty queen. It’s not just a beauty contest, it’s ‘beauty with a purpose’. So it is more about what the woman can do with the title to better the society than her own physical beauty.
Are beauty pageants in S.A a reflection of South African beauty?
No. I think they tend to be a bit superficial and most of them still miss the point. I wasn’t aware of how many pageants there are out there until I was crowned. I get invitations to come judge local pageants and sometimes when I ask the organisers what the pageant is about I realise that they don’t really have a real intention, but to make money but they hide behind “we just want to motivate the young girls”.
Following the cancellation of swimsuit wear in the Miss World pageant, do you think that South African pageants should adopt the same principle?
Yes, definitely. Like I said it’s not just a beauty contest, it’s ‘beauty with a purpose’. The beauty we are promoting is the beauty that is within the heart and mind, and I think with swimsuits it is more focused on the outside, on who is more physically appealing than the other, so I don’t think we need to have a swimsuit section. As for the outside beauty, we are saying let’s love ourselves and be comfortable and happy in our own skins.
I think it is commendable what the Miss World board did, because it is a step closer to sending the message of what pageants in these modern days stand for. Beauty with brains.
As a beauty pageant ‘queen’, in an African community, how do you celebrate African traditional values without conflicting the ‘beauty standard of the pageant world’?
By being myself I think I have already conflicted those standards *jokes*, for instance, I was the first person to be crowned Miss Limpopo with short, natural hair as opposed to popular belief that a beauty queen has to have long [sexy] hair, because that is what is more appealing apparently.
I am an African and I am beautiful. I see myself as an agent of societal change than just a ‘beauty queen’. I have come to learn that there are really no rules of being a beauty queen, but just perceptions and a mentality that people have developed over the years and I am rebellious to those ‘standards’.
Eighteen-year-old Francis Salman, who was recently crowned Mr Wits Residence, does not consider himself a “beauty pageant guy”, and does not see himself going further than Mr Wits Res.
Speaking to Wits Vuvuzela, Salman said: “This was my first and although I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, it probably was my last.”
Photo by Anelisa Tuswa
How would you describe yourself?
I’m a calm person, outgoing and I love meeting new people.
How did you get into the All Residence Pageant and why?
A friend of mine suggested it and I thought it would be fun. So I took the opportunity to get myself out there and meet new people and I’ve made a whole lot of friends in the process.
Holding the title, Mr. Wits Res, what does it mean to you?
I’m yet to find out hey, but honestly speaking at the moment I’m still trying to get used to the idea. I am hoping to figure it out soon, though.
Are you hoping to continue with the “beauty pageant” life, and if so, what’s next?
No, I feel like I should focus on my studies for the next few years.
So in the future, will we be seeing you competing for Mr. South Africa?
Definitely not, this was my first and although I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, it probably was my last.
Besides being handsome and a Witsie, what are your actual talents?
I wouldn’t call myself an artist or a poet but I love writing. I write more socio-economic related poetry and about the way I view the world.
The Wits All Residence Council (ARC) only started with the Mr. Element (the inclusion of male contestants) in the Wits Res beauty pageant this year. Do you think all beauty pageants should have the Mr. Element and Why?
I think they should, I mean recently there’s been a trend in beauty pageants of celebrating and including different women. So including men in such competitions might be part of the transition, but also celebration of men in society is important.
Two university students believe they have introduced a new culture, by creating “a vibe” around their newly launched brand, Kaus Kulture.
ITS NOT JUST SOCKS: One of the distinct designs by Kaus Kulture. Photo by Anelisa Tuswa
Two students, from Wits University and the University of Johannesburg (UJ) have combined heads to launch a new ‘culture,’ a Kaus Kulture.
Marcus Prime, 3rd year Architecture student from Wits, and business partner Kabelo Moabelo, from UJ, recently launched a range of socks, which they design and sell.
According to the two students, the idea of ‘socks’ came about during a conversation that they were having as friends.
Prime and Moabelo described their design elements of the socks as “a balance between class and sophistication … you could be a rebellious business man or your Wits student.”
Moabelo says he remembers seeing “an image on the internet that had a black man with a sign stating that ‘socks are the most needed but least donated article of clothing in homeless shelters’… this statement inspired me and Marcus to research into socks as a product.”
Even though their business is still operating in a “you call, we will deliver” environment, they have managed to sell their socks at a boutique in Braamfontein.
“But we are definitely hoping to open our own store soon,” said Prime.
Kaus Kulture’s business model depends on them creating a fashion buzz around the idea of socks and sock-wearing. They pride themselves in creating an appreciation for the small details in fashion culture.
Following rumors of “eviction” for Parktown Village Residents to expand parking space for Wits Business School, Wits University has responded.
PARKTOWN UNITED: All Res Council (ARC) Treasurer Tebogo Mothivhi singing along with the workers last week Thursday during their protest. Singing “uHabib kasoze ayithole le” the workers, were mainly concern with their jobs if the residence closes. Photo: Anelisa Tuswa
WITS Business School (WBS) has responded that a plan to turn a student residence into a parking lot it still just a “draft” though student leaders say the university has confirmed to them privately that the plan is to go ahead.
Speaking to Wits Vuvuzela, Jane Balnaves, spokesperson for WBS, said the plan to close Parktown Village (PKV) residence is still a “drafted potential expansion plan.”
However, deputy chair of the All Residence Council (ARC), William Mokone, says the university has sent an official response to the SRC which confirms that the university is planning on closing Parktown village for WBS’ facilities, including a parking lot.
“The university has made it clear that, they will not stop the expansion on WBS into the village,” added Mokone. “But we have agreed, that they will not move any student before the end of the year.”
Students have raised concerns that the removal of Parktown Village Residence, a series of small houses that accommodates 150 students, will leave postgraduate students without affordable accommodation. PKV costs only R33 785 a year, which makes it the cheapest postgraduate residence. In comparison, West Campus Village costs R67 160 and Wits Junction costs R45 753 for shared rooms and R54 540 for singles.
The residence is also popular with medical students because of its longer, more flexible time tables accommodates the Wits Medical Schools’ schedule.
Gloria Phasha, a 5th year medical student and PKV resident, told Wits Vuvuzela that she has no idea where she would stay if not for PKV.
“Where are we supposed to go to next year? Junction is too expensive,” she said.
Last week Thursday residents of PKV staged a protest against the closure of the residence. They were joined by some cleaning staff and students from neighbouring residences. The group chanted “uHabib akasoze ayithole le” (Habib will never get this one), as they protested outside the WBS.
Makone says the concerns raised during the protest have been sent to the university and the university has promised “alternative accommodation of equal standard and pricing.”
However, Makone believes “that the university is either being naive or they are trying to just pacify us.”
The issue came to the ARC’s attention a month ago in a meeting with university management, which indicated that “at first they wanted only three houses.”
However, Makone said that two weeks ago the ARC was called to a meeting by Rob Sharman, the director of Campus Housing & Residence Life. According to Makone, he told the committee that “PKV is only going to have eight houses remaining … and the rest is going to be turned into a parking lot” Mokone said. The eight remaining houses will be turned into facilities for WBS.
Wits Vuvuzela contacted Sharman for comment but he is currently out of the country.
Pandelani Nekhumbe, chair of the PKV house committee, said the proposed closure was causing stress on residents.
“We cannot have villagers stressing and worrying at a time when exams are just a doorstep away.”
Dr Pamela Dube, the Dean of students has assured the students that the University will not further any plans without the interests of the students.
“The University is mindful of our responsibility around the accommodation needs of students, and have given an undertaking that we will not reduce, but rather increase beds” said Dube.
Student residents of Wits University residence, Parktown Village (PKV), staged a protest following an unofficial announcement that parts of the village will be sold to the Wits Business School to build more parking and office space.
CAMPAIGN CONVINCING: Project W’s Musawenkosi Makhelemele tried her best to convince two 2nd year Education students, Thapelo Seanego (left) and Frans Thoka (right) to vote for ProjectW at the elections held in Parktown last week. Photo: Riante Naidoo.
THE 2015 SRC elections started with a lot of cancellations and some near expulsions. However, despite the hitches leading up to the actual voting days Jabu Mashinini, Wits chief electoral officer said “the elections were vibrant and exciting but very peaceful.”
On August 18, the opening event of the campaign, an SRC debate, was cancelled when Wits EFF took over the stage chanting “NO SRC” resulting in a brawl. The fight led to the suspension of seven students, later overturned by a court order, as well as the disqualification of Wits EFF from the SRC campaign.
The expulsion of the Wits EFF is not the only hiccup that occurred during the campaign. Also impeding the candidates’ campaigning was the cancellation of residence circuses and the cancellation of the debates in the Great Hall, Main Campus and the Education Campus.
But according to Mashinini, the only struggle presented during the actual voting period was “removal of candidates’ posters.”
However, many candidates do not agree: “The elections were democratic, but rather not in the spirit of democracy” said Thamsanqa Pooe, a candidate from Project W.
Pooe believes that students didn’t have enough options “especially the strong left-wing”.
However, Floyd Nyalungu, a campaign manager for the Democratic Alliance Student Organisation, disagrees that Wits EFF should have been included saying it “would have been undemocratic, because they broke the rules.”
“Overall, the elections were democratic,” Nyalungu said.
Mashinini defended the cancellation of the circuses and debates, saying that it was the right of the Wits elections office to do so.
“Debates and circuses are platforms created at the discretion of the elections office to expose candidates to the student body,” explained Mashinini. “They are not mandatory”.
Speaking to Wits Vuvuzela, Omhle Ntshingila, a Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) campaigner, said the cancellation of the residence campaign affected every political party because “people didn’t get a chance to interact with the students on a personal level.”
However, “for the PYA, it gave us a challenge of being strategic and more creative on the way that we campaigned and engaging with students,” said Ntshingila.
Kagiso Nkudimeng, a Wits student, told Wits Vuvuzela that he did not vote and he “will never vote because the SRC is just another wing of the university”.
“These political parties, just want to get into SRC and wear the blazers,” added Nkudimeng. “And not represent students.”
The Wits Accounting Student Council (ASC) handed over calculators and gave a few words of encouragement to disadvantaged learners in Zola, Soweto.
FUTURE WITSIES: Grade 11 accounting students accepting calculators from ASC’s chairperson Sewela Makgolane and Social Development office Siphindile Gumede with Miss Magagula.
The Wits School of Accountancy Students Council (ASC) visited Kwadedangendlane High School in Zola, Soweto, earlier today to motivate learners to pursue accounting and mathematics.
The students took the opportunity to hand over 40 calculators that will be used by the Grade 11 class at the school.
Siphindile Gumede, ASC’s social development officer, said the visit was to “encourage but also emphasise the importance of education to township learners”.
Speaking to Wits Vuvuzela, the head of the commerce department in Kwadedangendlane High, Iris Magagula said “when it comes to commerce, we hardly get visitors”.
“I promise you, you are not betting on a losing horse” said Tom Mnisi, school principal.
According the Mnisi, “the learners in this school come from squatter camps around the area”. He added that “despite these circumstances, our matric pass rate has never been less than 80%”.
The ASC started collecting the calculators in May and are hoping to collect more before the year ends.
“The initial plan was to collect calculators from students, but we got companies like SAICA [South African Institute of Chartered Accountants] and LBOC Fund [Lets build our count] to sponsor us”, said Gumede.
“We hope those who become part of the council continue with the initiative and do more,” she said.
A group of Wits academic staff have signed a petition requesting the Wits vice chancellor to withdraw the suspension of seven Wits students and EFF members.
By the end of the day yesterday, over 35 signatures were added to a petition by Wits academic staff calling on the vice chancellor (VC), Professor Adam Habib, to reinstate seven suspended Wits students. The students were suspended last week as a result of their involvement in the disruption of a SRC election debate in the Great Hall.
Zimitri Erasmus, associate professor in Sociology, who started the petition, told Wits Vuvuzela that, “the most important part of the request is that the VC is more mindful about the ways he uses his power and authority”.
The petition indicated that while the group condemned the events of last week’s disruption, it was concerned with the way in which the disruptions were handled. “Given both the fragility of this moment at Wits, and the widespread perception that the VC’s response to student activism thus far has been repressive, a more peaceable or amicable approach on the part of the VC would be, in our view, more conducive to transformation and more supportive of cultivating a democratic ethos.”
In response, Habib said the academics who have signed the petition have every right to do so.
“However, I am surprised that they have chosen to take a public stance and to draw conclusions without having all the facts at their disposal,” he added.
Habib explained that he provided “further details of the threats and the actions with which Council Executive committee was confronted and explained why it was necessary to take the action that we did. The safety and security of our staff and students is paramount and the executive management and executive committee has taken the responsibility for this and acted accordingly”.
The Wits SRC honoured women on campus through a series of events under the campaign ‘pretty is last on my list’ this past week.
Something for the sisters: Maziya Sibeko, Jason Erasmus and Abby Molema do their street dance for the SRC talent show. Photo: Anelisa Tuswa
The Wits SRC (Student Representative Council), hosted a week full of events titled ‘Pretty is last on my list’ to the empowerment of women. From a battle of the sexes competition to an outdoor talent show, the week brought out the talent in Witsies.
Speaking to Wits Vuvuzela, Blaise Koetsie, the SRC projects, media and campaigns officer said this week (17-21 August) is dedicated to breaking stereotypes and showcasing that “there’s more to women than their exterior.”
“We also want to get men in our society to celebrate women beyond their bodies and faces,” said Koetsie.
One of the objectives of this campaign was to give women different platforms to express themselves.
The launch kicked off on Monday with a variety of mental and physical games between men and women.
“That was just a minor way to show that we are equals,” added Koetsie.
Tuesday’s programme included an outdoor talent show where students performed poetry, danced and sang.
One of the performances included Thandiwe Lerato Sekhibane’s, contemporary dance piece called The costume doesn’t fit, which was dedicated to full-figured women.
Sekhibane told Wits Vuvuzela that said she hasn’t performed since her matric year (2008) and that this was her “return”.
Her performance was meant to “express the struggles” a young woman in performance and academia goes through. She is not only a dancer, but also masters student in Science Education.
“The expectations that people have of you are ridiculous,” said Sekhibane. “Things like you must be small, you must fit a particular genre, or you can’t dance if you are this size.”
Chaanice Lee, 1st year BA, sang Pretty hurts by Beyonce. Her performance was dedicated to women who struggle due to “beauty standards” set by society.
“I feel like I’m one of those girls that are not pretty or beautiful enough even though we try.”
The ‘pretty is last on my list’ week also hosted the Silent Protest against sexual abuse and violence on Wednesday.
The 14th annual Ruth First Memorial Lecture stirred up some heated discussion on racism in post-1994 South Africa.
RACE TALK: From left, Eusebius McKaiser moderates a debate about race with Panashe Chigumadzi, middle, and Sisonke Msimang at the 2015 Ruth First Memorial Lecture at Wits University tonight. Photo: Samantha Camara
Frank, and often hard-hitting, observations and commentary characterised the 2015 Ruth First Memorial Lecture as Panashe Chigumadzi and Sisonke Msimang tackled the issue of race in South Africa.
Speaking to an audience of close to a thousand in the Wits Great Hall earlier this evening, Chigumadzi and Msimang, the two Ruth First fellows, reflected on their research around the theme: “Race: Lived Experiences and Contemporary Conversations”.
Chigumadzi, 23, the founder and editor of Vanguard Magazine, presented her work which explored the concept of a “coconut”.
“Coconut experiences are not new,” added Chigumadzi, “Tiyo Soga (a South African journalist and minister from the 1800s), might have been the first black coconut.” In unpacking the term, Chigumadzi said a “coconut” is an “experience of socialisation which leads to a knowledge of white grammar.”
Despite the many negative connotations attached to the term, Chigumadzi believes “coconuts” can achieve black consciousness.
For Chigumadzi, also a Wits postgraduate student, the language of black consciousness and critical race theory helps to empower “coconuts” to speak back to racism.
“Coconuts” have not been coopted as a white buffer but are joining the Black working class in struggle against racism, she explained.
Presenting her research on “interracial friendships”, Msimang choose the mechanism of performance to deliver her findings. In collaboration with celebrated artist Lebo Mashile, Msimang reflected on the nuances of race relations in South Africa.
Incorporating racialised headline news stories such as Rian Malan’s admission to sex with a domestic worker to the incident of “black face” at the University of Pretoria, the entertaining performance probed the serious topic of “interracial friendships.”
Their piece ended on a less than promising note with the conclusion, “with friends like these, who needs enemies?”.
A discussion, moderated by political commentator and author, Eusebius McKaiser, saw a number of mixed responses and questions from the audience. One person questioned why the event was named after Ruth First and not Robert Sobukwe. Another criticised the speakers, asking how long were they planning to be “victims”. Several audience members recounted their own experiences of Blackness and their difficulties in negotiating the issue of race in South Africa.
The event, commemorating the life of journalist and activist Ruth First, who was killed by a letter bomb on this day in 1982, opened with an address by a scholar from Jeppe High School which First attended as a child. Susan Mahingaidze paid tribute to First and acknowledged her contribution to South Africa. “Words cannot describe what a remarkable woman she was,” said Mahingaidze.
In this episode, we explore the feasibility of social housing for students, and the advantages and disadvantages that the inner city offers to the development of a student precinct.
