“I will not give up on them. I will bring light to their darkness,” announces the feisty, damaged hero of Lola Shoneyin’s poignant, gripping, jaw-to-the-floor hilarious 2010 novel The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives. 
Set in Shoneyin’s home town of Ibadan, Nigeria, it shadows the academically gifted but domestically naive graduate Bolanle (a Yoruba name, pregnant here with irony, meaning “find wealth at home”) and her struggle to adapt to, and escape from, her life as the fourth and youngest wife of Baba Segi, a prosperous, corpulent building materials dealer.
After two years of marriage, Bolanle has failed to add to the offspring provided by the three other matriarchs, and a visit to a maternity clinic with her fretting husband is the catalyst of the pungent crisis to follow.
The book has now been adapted into a one-woman show by storyteller Maimouna Jallow, who performed the piece on June 15 to a full house at Nairobi’s Goethe Institute.
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The event was the latest in the ongoing Artistic Encounters series organized by South African novelist and journalist Zukiswa Wanner, and with Shoneyin also in attendance, there was a unique opportunity to talk to all three women about the prickly, convoluted drama inherent in the internal politics of polygamous marriages.
The novel is based on the bare bones of a true story related to Shoneyin by a childhood friend.
“So, what I then had to do was decide what each wife’s story was going to be,” she says.
“What do I want this character to embody? Bolanle’s situation, for me, was very much about sexual violence. And depression, which sometimes people would rather not admit exists.”
Bolanle is a complex persona, occasionally abrasive in her condescension towards the illiteracy and feral guile of the other wives, but never less than exhilarating – we cannot but cheer her defiant intellect and resolute grit. Her decision to squander her education and surrender to a smothering polygamous union is rooted in the open psychic wound of her rape by a wealthy stranger, committed when she was still in high school, and the subsequent backstreet abortion recommended by a callow paramour.
“I knew Baba Segi wouldn’t be like younger men who demanded explanations for the faraway look in my eye,” she narrates. “I chose this family to regain my life, to heal in anonymity.”
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Her pain is exacerbated by the frequent and sourly-articulated disappointment of her mother, who is unwilling to believe that a daughter equipped with such rare and precious intelligence would move in with “an overfed orangutan”.
Confronted with the burden of dashed maternal aspirations, Bolanle yearns for societal solace; instead, she discovers only an oppressive new universe of strife, before her resilience – and a delicious key twist in the plot – delivers a rousing psychological and emotional triumph.
“There is this pressure on a woman of the expectation of marriage,” says Wanner.
“The one thing that really struck me about Bolanle is that she would rather be in a polygamous relationship than not being married at all – because she doesn’t know whether she’ll still be able to conceive.”
<div id="attachment_33533" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33533" class=" wp-image-33533" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Maimona-Jallow-e1505897362380-300x229.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="382" />Jallow performing the adaptation at the Goethe Institut, Nairobi. (Photo by Donald Gregory)</div>
It is striking that many of the characters in the novel, male and female, hunger for the reassurance of love, driven by the terror of abandonment.
“After having performed it several times, I then re-read the book a few weeks ago. And there was a layer to Bolanle that I realized I had completely excluded from the performance,” says Jallow.
“I saw her as a victim, but she’s still very much a strong woman who believes in the power of education, and who can still have a positive influence in this household.”
Jallow’s electric adaptation strips the narrative down to the individual histories of Bolanle and the three older wives: the tyrannical and materialistic lesbian Iya Segi, the kind and unworldly Iya Tope, and the cunning, weaponized glamour of Iya Femi, arguably the novel’s most fascinating personality, whom Jallow brings to life with particular swagger and relish.
“When I am transitioning from Iya Tope to Iya Femi, I do a little dance in front of the mirror,” she says. These histories are the empathetic heart and soul of the story, providing psychological context for the characters’ most mischievous, startling, horrifying choices.
“Baba Segi’s wives spoke to me the minute I read the book,” Jallow says. “All I could think about was that these women needed to be given a physical body and voice, to be accessible to new audiences. Lola’s writing is so vivid, her characters so alive, that it just seemed natural that they should be adapted into theater.”
While the novel’s depiction of polygamy, and, by implication, the swelling phenomenon of the ‘benefactor’, ‘blesser’ or ‘sponsor’, is almost uniformly unflattering (at one stage, Bolanle even refers to the other wives as ‘inmates’, in what is probably the novel’s most unambiguous reference to enslavement and subjugation), Shoneyin says her feelings about these practices have softened.
“I shy away from being prescriptive, where consenting adults decide to engage in transactional relationships,” she says. “However, this continent needs leaders who recognize how critical it is that girls have access to the quality education, skills and opportunities they need to attain the economic independence they have a right to.”
She says she is aware that her own life has been blessed.
“I feel there must be something about my upbringing, or my country, that have put me in a situation where I am never afraid to break into spaces women didn’t occupy before. When I want to do something creative, I do it. I force my way and I make it happen.” She smiles her blazing smile. “And that’s how I’m raising my daughters.” &#8211; Written by Alastair Hagger
– Jallow will perform The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives at the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, Edinburgh, from October 20 to 31

Three Women, Three Wives, One True Story

Operatic soprano Pretty Yende is arguably one of South Africa’s greatest cultural exports today.
The Milan-based opera singer has performed alongside music heavyweights such as Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion and graced the stages of major opera houses such as the La Scala Opera House in Milan, the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and Liceu Opera in Barcelona.
Yet, Yende’s musical beginnings were in a world far away, around a humble bonfire in the small timber growing town of Piet Retief, in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa.
“I remember every night after supper, we would gather around the fire and sing hymns, which was where, I believe my solo career started.”
Although she developed an interest in music as a child, it was not until much later, in 2001, that she heard about opera music.
Yende was at home watching TV, when she came across a British Airways commercial featuring Flower Duet, a famous duet for sopranos from Léo Delibes’ opera Lakmé, first performed in Paris in 1883.
“That was the moment that changed my entire course as far my career was concerned. I was touched by something so supernatural that I truly never believed was humanly possible,” says Yende.
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In high school at the time, as &#8220;one of the smartest, competitive students in class&#8221;,  Yende was well on her way to becoming an accountant. But she couldn’t shake the “supernatural sound” that continued to linger on, long after the life-changing commercial.
She made it her priority to find out more about that distinct sound. Her high school teacher advised her to join the choir. But she was told she didn’t have a singing voice.
Yende was convinced she did.
“I never give up on anything that feels right. I couldn’t say no to the deep desire in my soul for I knew that if I were to be taught, I could do it. I didn’t quit… and the rest is history.”
Determined, Yende enrolled at the South African College of Music in Cape Town where she received a scholarship. She was taught and mentored by Professor Virginia Davids, a trendsetter who was also the first black woman to appear on opera stages during the apartheid years in South Africa.
“It was very challenging at the beginning, like anything unknown to the mind,” says Yende.
She was guided by her instincts and intuition as well as support from her family and what she calls the entire ‘prettyarmy’, encompassing individuals who played a role in making her dreams come true.
Her successes also led to an offer to join the prestigious young artists’ program at La Scala. She performed at the opera house in 2010, but by then had already performed in Berlin and Latvia.
Yende has received accolades including at the International Hans Gabor Belvedere and Operalia Competitions. In South Africa, she was conferred the Order of Ikhamanga by President Jacob Zuma.
The 32-year-old is the only singer to have ever won all the main prizes at the renowned Belvedere Singing Competition in Vienna. She is also the first black singer to play the lead in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor at the Paris Opera.
“I learned from the beginning that I was in competition with no one, and that has taken away a lot of pressure and expectations that come with this career,” says Yende.
Yende has traveled the world, and spends some of the year in New York and Paris, which are quickly becoming her “artistic homes”.
Ever since she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York in 2013, playing the lead role of Countess Adèle in Rossini’s Le Comte Ory, she hasn’t looked back. The opera house has become one of Yende’s favorite places to perform in. She has had numerous performances on that very stage, one of the most recent being The Barber of Seville production.
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The work is never-ending for opera singers as it calls for utter dedication and versatility. Most operas are written and performed in foreign languages, so they have to act and perform in them.
Yende speaks four South African languages, is fluent in French and Italian, and is currently learning German. In September 2016, she released her debut classical album A Journey.
A journey that has taken her across the globe, she has now come full circle, as she was honored at the South African Music Awards in May with the International Achiever Award.
&#8220;I want to be remembered as a girl who never gave up on anything that felt right in her heart,&#8221; says Yende.
<blockquote>&#8220;Failure is a big fat lie; I don’t have it in my vocabulary. I triumph always, if it doesn’t look or feel like triumph is it a lesson well learned and I am never the same as I was before a challenge.&#8221;</blockquote>
When she performed Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor at the Paris Opera, the 3,000-strong Parisian audience were on their feet in the middle of the production.
“It was overwhelmingly historic and thrilling,” says Yende.
She prides herself in championing opera music through the Pretty Yende Foundation launched in 2013, which has been able to donate music instruments to a few schools in her community. Yende hopes to help cultivate classical music in South Africa and the rest of Africa.
“The dream is to have a music school and an opera house in my home town as well as every village in Africa.”
Music has given her a deeper meaning in life, but it is universal and has to be accessible to all. Yende is encouraged by the opera music scene in South Africa.
“It’s growing immensely and I look forward to see the incredible wealth of my country being graced on the world stage.”
Otherwise, she sees herself as a normal girl who enjoys life, constantly enriching it with experiences.
“Rest is a very big part of that and I enjoy cooking very much and I always say that if I kept my quest to be an accountant, I would have been a very successful one but the wealth that music gives me is priceless,” she says.
Yende also adds that if she hadn’t been an opera singer, she would have been a chef. At the moment though, her diary is packed until the second half of 2018. She is also excited about the release of her second album, Dreams, in October this year.
“Pretty awesome for someone who never thought she could ever sing professionally,” she says. &#8211; Written by Zikhona Masala

Pretty Yende: The Wealth Music Gives Me Is Priceless

Reinette van der Merwe has been in the banking industry for more than two decades, and risen to be one of Botswana’s most formidable professionals, but says she still sees glaring gender imbalance in the boardroom – most times, she is the only one woman present.
Van de Merwe, Managing Director of Barclays Bank of Botswana, is aware giant strides need to be made to include more women in corporate Africa.
“I have never really seen gender until a couple of years ago when it was pointed out to me that I am the only woman in the boardroom,” laughs the 47-year-old.
While she never felt discriminated against at any point in her career, her exposure and interactions with other women have highlighted to her that their experiences are not all the same.
While 40% of today’s global workforce is female, only 5% of women hold global chief executive positions in Africa.
This is a far cry from the desired target of 50% to achieve gender equality, according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
In South Africa, there is only one female chief executive in the Top 40 JSE-listed companies and that’s Maria Ramos of Barclays Africa.
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Van de Merwe worked her way up the ranks and was appointed Managing Director in 2013 after serving as Chief Internal Audit Executive. She is also an avid equestrian.
“I never thought I’d end up where I am now, but from the time I was a child, I wanted to become a chartered accountant and then one day become the chief financial officer of a company.”
Despite being at the helm of a bank in an industry characterized by an onslaught of fines, slowed market performance and litigation since the financial crisis, Van der Merwe, says: “I really love running a bank and although I develop women and men equally, I see competence, not gender.”
That has been the driving force of Van der Merwe’s leadership.
“For me, talent development and management in a bank [is fundamental]. A bank is made up of the people and we’re a service-orientated organization, so people are your most important assets,” she says.
“So for me the most rewarding element of my job is when I see someone really excelling at what they are doing and being able to promote them.”
Van de Merwe elaborates:  “&#8230; when I moved to Botswana, I had a really strong head of IT and in terms of her development, she put up her hand and showed her capability, she’s now my chief operating officer.”
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Leading a people-centered organization is central to another one of Barclays Bank Botswana’s passions carried through programs initiated by the government.
“The government is actively involved in developing entrepreneurship,” she says.
Another of the bank’s focal points is investing in cutting-edge technology that enhances efficiency levels across the business for the consumer.
“One of the government’s aims in Botswana is to bank the unbanked and we are firmly set on this path.”
Recently, the bank continued its digital journey which started with mobile banking followed by internet banking, and international money transfers, where customers can pay school fees or suppliers across the borders by launching a card-less cash deposit service which allows for real-time card-less cash deposits into its accounts by both customers and non-customers at any time and on their own.
And, despite Barclays PLC’s divestment in Barclays Africa, there are still many opportunities and resources for the bank to explore in this space.
Under Van der Merwe’s leadership, the bank has been named Botswana’s ‘Bank of the Year 2016’ by Acquisition International. She attributes some of the success to policies enabling ease of business drafted by the country’s leadership.
“The future of the bank is very exciting as we look to continue developing it as a pan-African bank,” says Van der Merwe.
“We are looking forward to a lot more creativity in making [Barclays Bank Botswana] Africa relevant. We can determine how we want to do business in Africa for Africans and if you look at the divestment which took place in June, it was oversubscribed, so clearly, the market has a lot of faith in the management of the group.
“There’s nothing that stops this group from expanding into the rest of Africa, Asia and even back into London as an African brand,” she laughs. &#8211; Written by Rofhiwa Madzena

The Only Woman In The Boardroom

Venus Williams made her debut at Wimbledon in 1997. That same year, Wang Qiang, Noami Osaka and Jeļena Ostapenko were born. In 2017, Williams beat all three of them on the way to reaching her ninth Wimbledon final.
At 37, she’s the oldest player in the top 300 in the world and has been on the professional circuit for two decades. In that time, she has won seven Grand Slams and millions of hearts, has battled poverty, racism, sexism and her sister, Serena, who has collected more than three times the number of major trophies.
Imagine being as good as Venus Williams and not even being the best tennis player in your family. But she has filled her supporting role with grace and as her career winds down, she is being acknowledged as one of the greats of all time.
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Though the magic of the Williams sisters starts from their childhood, when their father Richard oversaw rigorous training sessions and insisted on top marks at school as well, Venus’ story is really about the second-half of her career.
In 2006, she suffered a wrist injury which plagued her for months and kept her out of competition. As a result, she slipped down the rankings to No.46, her lowest since being on the scene. After coming back in 2007, winning Wimbledon in 2008 and working her way back to No.2 on the rankings, she suffered a much more serious setback. In 2011, Venus was diagnosed with Sjogren&#8217;s Syndrome, an autoimmune condition that should sap her of the energy required to play elite sport. That year was the first time she failed to reach the quarterfinals of any Grand Slam.
Her career appeared over, her flame extinguished.
By that stage, Serena was the headline act. She was the more successful sister, the stronger of the two and the more sassy in interviews. The leg-up her big sister provided – Venus was the runner-up in seven of Serena’s Grand Slam wins – was acknowledged as a novelty and Venus’ status as a role-model spoken of only as a sidebar to Serena’s. The truth is that as a pair, they provided young women and especially young black women with strikingly contrasting icons in a sport where they are under-represented.
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Tennis remains an elite and mostly white sport. While Serena showed how a power-house personality could force itself through that, Venus wove her way in with determination. Her resolve to play on despite a disease that causes muscle and joint pain provides a different kind of inspiration and she admitted it has not been easy.
“It has been a challenge, and a challenge to myself, and really just knowing that I can’t be defeated by anything,” she said on CNN’s Open Court in March 2014.
That year, Venus won the Dubai Tennis Championships to claim her first cup since 2010 and begin her resurgence. In 2015, she progressed to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and reached the fourth and quarter-final rounds of Wimbledon and the US Open respectively, but lost to Serena both times. In 2016, she reached the semi-final at Wimbledon, and in 2017, the final. And that too after enduring the angst of a fatality in a car-crash which preceded the tournament.
In early June, Venus was driving in Palm Beach when she was hit by another vehicle. The passenger in the other vehicle died two weeks later and there was an investigation into the incident which eventually cleared her of any wrongdoing. She broke down in tears in a pre-match press conference when quizzed about the effect the accident had on her mental state. Whatever it was, it did not stop her from reaching the Wimbledon final or looking beyond that.
Despite her age, Venus insists retirement is not on her mind just yet. There are still more barriers to break through.
As recently as January this year, a commentator at the Australian Open made a racist comment about Venus. ESPN’s Doug Adler said Venus had “put the gorilla effect on” her opponent Stefanie Voegele. The comparison drew widespread criticism but that does not mean the sisters will be free of the challenges that have dominated their time in the public eye.
Even some of their own peers are guilty. Pre-Wimbledon, John McEnroe, said in an interview on NPR to promote his memoir that Serena, the holder of the 23 Grand Slam titles, would likely rank 700 in the world if she played on the men&#8217;s circuit.
Serena, who has taken the rest of the year off while she has her first child, issued a curt response on Twitter in which she asked McEnroe to respect her privacy during her pregnancy.
The Williams’ baby will not be able to escape the spotlight forever though, especially not with a mother and aunt as famous as Serena and Venus. And while Serena will remain the superstar, Venus has shone every bit as bright. &#8211; Written by Firdose Moonda

The Superstar And The Star

What do you do when you stay six years without a job?
Lebogang Matsetse turned to what she knew best – cooking – to keep the fires burning at home.
With the rate of unemployment in Botswana at 20%, the 32-year-old is one of many young women who have turned to passion and entrepreneurship.
Matsetse started a catering company.
“I was literally tired of staying home doing nothing. It demotivated me and made me lose hope in life,” says Matsetse.
In September last year, she launched ChillieMama Catering Services. Operating from her home kitchen, Matsetse seems to have surely appealed to the taste-buds of her many different clients.
She may be rustling up the delicacies out of her kitchen stove, but Matsetse says her cuisine is classy.
“We take pride in the way we present it because we realized that is where most catering companies fail. Customers love well-presented food.”
Having grown up in an extended family in a township called Phiring in Broadhurst, Botswana, Matsetse learned it all from her grandmother.
“She was the extended family cook and nurtured me from as young as age five. By then I felt I was being overworked, little did I know she was preparing me for greater things as now cooking is what puts food on my table.”
The Bachelor of Arts Degree graduate with a major in English once tried teaching, but said she never enjoyed it, so quit.
“When I am cooking, I never feel tired. I literally cook every day and find joy in it and it somehow helps me unwind.”
Matsetse credits Facebook for most of her exposure and success.
“I never went around dropping my company profile to different companies and organizations. Every morning, I just upload pictures of the food I cooked on Facebook and will then receive calls from different companies requesting quotes. I believe the hard work I put in what I do speaks for me,” she says.
In March alone, Matsetse was able to make over P35,000 ($3,400) in profit. She believes it is not every day start-up businesses get big tenders and do well.
“My passion motivates me to put in more effort and I know this impresses my clients.”
With the business growing, Matsetse plans on finding a bigger space to operate from. She hopes to hire five more employees and intends taking her business to different parts of Africa.
“I want Africa and the rest of the world to know that great chefs can emerge from Botswana and I am the one to set that record and penetrate the international industry.
“Cooking is a craft that improves every single day and I plan to go to a culinary school to refine my skills,” she says.
Passion is the fire that keeps her dream alive, and her world of pots and pans busy. &#8211; Written by Gofaone Makhaya

Pots, Pans And Passion

A marriage is made, in part, of compromises, and one of the biggest most women make straight off the altar is changing their name.
In a time where a strong digital footprint and good Google search results are part and parcel of the vetting process before hiring new employees, changing your name can have real career ramifications. According to a 2010 Dutch study quoted in Harvard Business Review, “A job applicant who took her partner’s name, in comparison with one with her own name, was less likely to be hired for a job and received nearly $500 less per month in salary.”
There’s no denying that many take their husband’s last names with joy, but for others, this patriarchal law became a tradition that hinders their career trajectory.
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This is especially true for modern marriages, where the median age for first-time marriages in South Africa (according to 2014 research by Statistics SA) is 30 for brides and 33 for grooms. As a study for the University of Nevada explains, “More common than ever before, women are earning more degrees than men and are taking on different roles than what was once expected of them. With this new freedom, women have shifted from playing a supportive role within society to branching out and creating their own established identity.”
By your 30s, most careers are well-established or are on a steady trajectory, and your name is your identity and brand.
This was not always the case. The custom of women taking their husband’s names started with the English common law practice called ‘coverture’, which essentially meant that for centuries – from the 1600s to the 1960s – women had no legal identity of their own.
“At birth, a female baby was covered by her father’s identity, and then, when she married, by her husband’s,” explains the National Women’s History Museum, “The husband and wife became one – and that one was the husband. As a symbol of this subsuming of identity, women took the last names of their husbands.”
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For Lize Sadie, content marketer, taking her husband’s extremely identifiable name (he is well-known within his industry, with a unique surname) would have hindered her career ambitions, and she chose not to take his name after marriage. She told us, “Having set up two businesses in my name and having built a reputation in the media and advertising industry over time, I didn’t want to jeopardize that in any way.”
She adds: “From a business point of view, the disruption for women who change their surname compared to men who do not is – in my opinion – quite unfair and rather unnecessary.”
For others, a changed surname proved a formidable hurdle. This was the case with Cindy-Lee Minnaar, a PR agency account director, who had trouble setting up her business in her maiden name after her divorce. Because of a legal ‘hangover’ in the South African legal system, Minnaar had her name automatically changed to her husband’s without her consent by Home Affairs. She only found this out when trying to register her business and says, “I went to Home Affairs to correct this and it literally took months! This deterred my business ventures and prospects. Now that my maiden surname is reinstated means that I can open a business bank account and trade with peace of mind.”
Aside from the potential career implications, changing a name also takes up a lot of administrative time, which is why sites like <a href="https://www.missnowmrs.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MissNowMrs.com</a> and <a href="https://www.hitchswitch.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">HitchSwitch.com</a> popped up in the US.
Unfortunately, South Africans don’t have this online freedom and need to physically go to Home Affairs to change all the necessary documents.
In the end, changing, or keeping, your name is an intensely personal decision that women make for a variety of reasons. Depending on your industry, and if managed correctly, a name change doesn’t have to hinder your career. Unfortunately, for many women, it does.
<h3>What South Africa’s female professionals say:</h3>
Lesego Marimo, Public Relations Industry (she changed her name): “Put yourself first when making such a decision. If you have already established a brand associated with your name, think about what will happen when you have to change it and if you will be able to handle what follows.”
Lize Sadie, Content Marketing (she kept her name): “It has made absolutely no difference to us that we do not share a surname. My husband is quite proud that we are slightly ‘different’ in that way, though the ignorance from some people is quite astounding; I remember a woman (with a corporate job, living in Cape Town) asking me why we got married if I didn’t want to take his surname. Then asking him if he is okay with it (as if I needed his permission)! Haha!”
Cindy-Lee Minnaar, PR Agency account director (she kept her name): “I think it&#8217;s less of a mission to keep your own surname personally and professionally. Mind you, my five year old daughter has asked me not so long ago why my surname is different to hers and I very politely told her that she has her dad&#8217;s surname, and I have my dad&#8217;s surname. She seemed satisfied with that answer.”
Jerusha Sukhdeo-Raath, Head of Video at News24 (she double-barrelled her name): “Changing my surname was one of the toughest decisions I had to make. I consulted every woman I respected on the issue. Some said they changed their names as a symbol of the start of their new family unit, others said they’d kept their name because a new family doesn’t require a new name. I made the best decision I could for my situation – I double-barrelled my surname creating a mouthful of a name that feels true to me.”
Kelli A. Hayes, Director of Corporate Strategy and Business Development (she kept her name): “My views on gender equality were a huge factor in my decision around keeping my surname. It is incredibly unfair that changing surnames is a woman&#8217;s burden – no one even asked my spouse about it. Also, I&#8217;ve moved a lot, which has resulted in friends all over the world, and I don&#8217;t want it to be hard for them to find me in the future. Everyone seems to have an opinion about this. Ignore them and concentrate on what works for you, your spouse, and your relationship. Societal pressure and expectations shouldn&#8217;t determine such a personal identity decision.”
Suhaifa Naidoo, Founder of Mashup Marketing, Digital Marketing Strategist (she kept her name): “Because my husband is a different race to me, many people think we are not married or not married legally. Our family has been amazing; no one has ever questioned this. I am lucky that we both come from very liberal and open-minded backgrounds.”
Helpful Tip: Use an intermediary surname
Says TIME magazine:  “Use both surnames, either by making your maiden name your middle name, using both last names, or creating a hyphenated last name. Kim [Kardashian] took this approach initially. Shortly after exchanging vows with Kanye [West], she changed the name on her social media accounts to Kim Kardashian West. And just as Kim has done, you can use both surnames for a brief transition period to help people get used to your new identity before dropping your maiden name.”
&#8211; Written by Samantha Steele

The Real Cost Of Changing Your Surname When You Turn Mrs

When Irene Nkosi took to the stage at a glossy Moms+SocialGood event in New York recently, it was hard to pair the confident woman in a striking, Swazi-inspired dress with her tragic story: “By the age of 16, not really even a woman yet, I was a parent. I was also a victim of rape and my attacker was never jailed,” Nkosi told the stunned audience.
She went on to say how – after the birth of her second child – she was diagnosed with HIV.
“Now I was sure no one loved me – not even God.”
Nkosi, from Bronkhorstspruit, on the border between the Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces in South Africa, said the clinic didn&#8217;t educate her about HIV “or how to prevent my baby from infection”.
<blockquote>“I was heart-broken and frustrated. I feared for my life and the baby I was carrying.”</blockquote>
Hoping for support after sharing her status with family and neighbors, she was instead isolated and called names. Although she gave birth to an HIV-negative baby, it died after being smothered by a blanket. Nkosi believes crèche staff neglected her baby because of her own positive status.
Nkosi’s story took me back to 2005, to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa, where I was researching the challenges faced by HIV-positive, pregnant women for a Media Fellowship on HIV at Wits University’s Journalism School.
The stories those women told were just as heartbreaking.
Most of the women I interviewed were following the correct antiretroviral regimen to prevent HIV transmission to their babies, but for some it was too late. Almost all of them carried the terrible burden of stigma and rejection by their families, partners and communities. Often, they were “outed” after feeding their babies the free government-issue formula milk in its distinctive orange tins to prevent HIV transmission. They would tell elaborate lies to explain why they were not breastfeeding.
“My grandmother forced me to breastfeed. I told her my breasts were dirty, the nipples were cracked. Then I just take a razor blade and then I just cut… and I tell her that there is blood in my breast, it is not good to breastfeed,” one woman told me.
Another I interviewed had been hounded out of the house by her mother and sisters and forced into a shelter. One frightened young mom said she had been too scared to disclose her status at a hospital in KwaZulu-Natal and now had an HIV-positive baby. Several told me that their partners had rejected them and blamed them for “bringing the disease into the house”.
I can only hope that the lives of those women and their children have improved since then. But, more than a decade later, what are the prospects for the HIV-positive women who are pregnant now?
The big picture is hardly rosy, with an estimated seven million South Africans living with HIV (according to 2015 figures). And it is women and young girls who still carry the greatest burden, with HIV prevalence in women almost double that in men, and with the rate of infection in young women aged 15-24 almost four times higher than in males of the same age bracket. Among certain vulnerable groups like sex workers, HIV rates are sometimes as high as 40-88%, according to the Human Sciences Research Council.
But without a doubt, massive strides have been made in putting people who need treatment onto it (now 48% of all those infected in the country are on antiretroviral treatment) and in reducing HIV transmission from mother to child. According to UNAIDS, more than 95% of the country’s pregnant, HIV-positive women are accessing antiretroviral treatment to prevent transmission to their babies.
In 2011, UNAIDS and PEPFAR (U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) launched the Global Plan to lower mother-to-child transmission by 90%. After four years, six priority countries – South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and Uganda – had met this target. Mother-to-child transmission rates in South Africa currently stand at 4%. If the rate of infection is under 5%, the UN considers mother-to-child transmission to be virtually eliminated, since 100% elimination cannot be achieved.
Over the years, the guidelines and treatment for HIV-positive mothers and babies have changed too. Now, the World Health Organization recommends that all pregnant and breastfeeding mothers begin lifelong antiretroviral treatment. And in 2011, the South African government phased out supplying free formula milk in public hospitals and clinics. Unless medical conditions dictate otherwise, breastfeeding is now recommended.
But what of the people behind the statistics, people like Nkosi, and the mothers I interviewed? Nkosi says her life changed dramatically when she came into contact with mothers2mothers, an organization that deserves much credit for helping to reduce transmission rates to babies as well as for improving the health and emotional states of HIV-positive mothers. The organization employs HIV-positive Mentor Mothers to help women access treatment and health services for themselves and their families and bring them out of isolation.
When Nkosi signed up as a mentor for mothers2mothers, her confidence grew daily. Now she is happily married to an HIV-positive man and together they have a four-year-old daughter, Nothando, who is HIV-negative. Their status is out in the open and the children compete to give their parents their daily medication, she laughingly tells me later.
Nkosi ended her short, powerful speech with the following words: “(My children) have a mother who they can be proud of, a woman who was once a victim. But now I can strongly say I’m a survivor.”
Stigma, she tells me, is gradually diminishing. “Even though some people still lack knowledge, in the support group sessions we share our challenges and fears, the problems we encounter in our households. We find out how best we can help each other.”
A mothers2mothers press release captures the organization’s simple but highly-effective approach: “The epidemic may be global but the solution is local.” When marginalized HIV-positive mothers are trained to be healthcare workers in understaffed health centers, and paid for their work, they become role models and leaders in their communities.
The results of this formula have been astounding. Studies showed that women who received two or more mothers2mothers visits were seven times more likely to test their babies for HIV at six weeks, than those who only received one visit. Among their clients, the rate of transmission is only 2.1%. A recent external study in Uganda also showed the model to be a huge money saver by avoiding treatment costs.
Launched in Cape Town in 2001 by Dr Mitch Besser, an American gynaecologist and obstetrician who fell in love with South Africa as a high school exchange student and returned to work there, mothers2mothers started out with five Mentor Mothers. Now it services 860,500 women and families in eight sub-Saharan countries and is partnering with both the South African and Kenyan governments.
In South Africa, mothers2mothers had by 2015 reached close to 51,000 HIV-positive women and 27,800 babies exposed to HIV. The organization also offers early childhood services and HIV counseling, testing and sex education for adolescents, through a peer mentorship program.
Robin Smalley, Co-founder and Director of mothers2mothers U.S., explains why the model is so successful. “If you empower women to take control of their health and their families’ health, they’ll move mountains to do this. We give them the tools to succeed and they do. We are not coming in as outsiders and telling them what they should be doing. We give them the information and employment and let them do what comes naturally, which is to support one another and their children.” Mentor mothers are employed for two years before they phase out, and let others take over.
Smalley’s own involvement with mothers2mothers came about when, in a grief-stricken state, she visited Besser after his sister (her close friend), died unexpectedly after minor surgery. Smalley was so taken by the work that Besser was doing in Cape Town, and the invincible spirit of the HIV-positive mothers she encountered, that she immediately persuaded her family to join her there and began working to grow the organization. Years later she moved back to the US to look after her ageing father and to keep building mothers2mothers’ financial base by lobbying US donors.
Since then, she has been working 24/7 to keep up with the organization’s expansion. Although mothers2mothers has had requests from India, Thailand, Haiti and Central American countries to open up branches there, it is staying focused on sub-Saharan Africa, where the need is greatest. &#8211; Written by Philippa Garson

‘No One Loved Me – Not Even God’

Preeti Kapoor moved to Cape Town, South Africa, in 1997 from Hamburg, Germany, and 10 years later, with her business partner, Sasha Aleksic, set up Scalini, a luxury boutique in the Mother City, after they had a challenge finding European designers locally.
Scalini brings luxury European clothing and footwear brands, such as Sergio Rossi, Fratelli Rossetti, Melissa Odabash and Eres swimwear and Penny Black by Maxmara, to South Africa.
For Kapoor, it has been a fascinating journey full of learning.
“Just learning the lifestyle here and what the women like has been interesting. In Hamburg, the women are a lot more dressed up and a lot more formal, whereas here, the women are more relaxed, easy and casual,” she says.
But every business, no matter how glamorous and successful, has its share of trials. Kapoor says her biggest challenge is sustainability.
“We’ve been in the business for almost 10 years and to sustain being in business for so long is challenging. Providing our customers with what they like has also been quite a challenge, good quality, good cost and good material, sustaining that has been a challenge, and we’re happy to be able to do it and still be in business despite all the tough times lately.”
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But the good parts, says the fashion entrepreneur, are the shopping trips to Germany, Milan, and others countries in Europe.
“It’s always a highlight because it’s always so inspiring to go to Europe. Seeing the fashion makes you feel so inspired, and you don’t want to give up. You always want to continue dressing women beautifully and elegantly.”
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On what clothes mean to her: “You don’t always have to follow the trends, it’s all about what suits you and your body type.”
Scalini recently partnered with UNICEF for a fundraising gala in Johannesburg, where the store donated a clutch to the organization. Kapoor says she partnered with UNICEF because violence against girls is on the rise. She says no girl should ever have to go through abuse.
Her message for the victims? “Whatever happens in one’s life, we can get through it with the correct amount of help and support. Nothing is impossible.” – Written by Edith Ngcobo

Fashion For A Cause

There was a time when the phrases ‘throw like a girl’ or ‘run like a girl’ were considered insults. These days, they’re not; especially not if you are a member of the South African women’s cricket team.
They are the only African side to have qualified for the Women’s World Cup, which is being played in England now. Their presence is a result of steady progression which has peaked over the last three years thanks to increased corporate backing and a more structured cricket program and could show the rest of the continent how rich the rewards of investing in women’s sport can be.
Four years ago, the South African women&#8217;s game was managed in much the same way as an amateur competition, where the main reward for involvement was enjoyment. Things started to change in early 2013. Financial institution Momentum had just bought the naming rights to the men&#8217;s one-day international squad and the domestic one-day cup and expressed an interest in extending their sponsorship to the women, a property that was not up for sale at the time.
“When we became involved in cricket sponsorship, it was with the intention of getting our brand out here but we also wanted to leave a legacy which showcased our values; things like diversity and gender equality,” says Danie van den Burgh, head of Momentum to FORBES WOMAN AFRICA.
“We saw an opportunity in women’s cricket and asked Cricket SA but they told us it was not something they were considering getting a sponsor for because they hadn’t had anyone interested. We wanted to get involved so we made them an offer and from there it just snowballed.”
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Momentum’s money made an immediate impact. Cricket SA could employ a full-time women’s coach, Hilton Moreeng, and awarded six players professional contracts. A year later that number was increased to 14, which meant that a full squad was being paid for their efforts. The effects on the field were immense.
In October 2014, the South African women’s team made their first trip to Sri Lanka – and crucial because that country would also host the World Cup qualifiers three years later – and won. Then, they traveled to India and the United Arab Emirates, notoriously difficult places for teams to tour, and won series against both India and Pakistan. Although the South African women could not repeat those feats at home in the full series against the powerhouses of England and West Indies, they made gains by beating both sides in a single match for the first time. Victories over Bangladesh, Ireland and Zimbabwe followed to confirm South Africa’s presence as one of the better sides in the women&#8217;s game and prepare them for what Moreeng hopes will be a successful World Cup.
<blockquote>“We are very excited and proud, especially when we look at where we came from and the amount of work we put in. From Momentum coming on board, to players becoming professional, the number of series we played, and the opportunities to play cricket against top teams in the world and test our skills,” he says.</blockquote>
“This team have been playing together for the last three years so the growth and the maturity of the squad is very good. Performances around the world have been very good. They are a team that travels well and can win away from home.”
England is a challenging destination for touring teams because of conditions. The ball swings early on but South Africa’s women have the resources to deal with that. The top-ranked bowler in the world, Marizanne Kapp, is in their squad, along with four other players who participated in a T20 tournament in the United Kingdom last year.
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Captain Dane van Niekerk, batsman Lizelle Lee and fast bowler Shabnim Ismail, all played for English teams in the Kia Super League – a monetized event similar to the Indian Premier League – last year. Accompanying them to the World Cup are youngsters like Laura Wolvaardt, an 18-year-old who already has a century to her name, and Raisibe Ntozakhe, an offspinner who made her debut in the series directly producing the World Cup and began playing cricket as a six-year-old with boys.
The balance of experience and youth and their common drive is what Van Niekerk hopes will set them apart. “We’ve got a purpose as a team and that’s to win a World Cup. It’s been a long and grueling process to get to this but we all bought into it,” she says.
Moreover, the team have plenty of people they want to impress, not least because they will receive an unprecedented level of coverage. All South Africa’s matches at the Women’s World Cup will be televised on pay channel SuperSport, a massive upsurge considering that the first time they ever appeared on a live broadcast was in 2014.
<blockquote>“It’s awesome to be able to share this with the country. It’s really special for our families because we can’t always get them to other countries so for them to be able to watch one of the biggest tournaments of our careers is really touching,” says Van Niekerk.</blockquote>
South Africa’s increased efforts in promoting the women’s game are a reflection of a changing global trend. At the macro-level, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has realized women’s sport deserves more attention and is providing it. Prize money for the Women&#8217;s World Cup has increased ten-fold from $200,000 in 2013 to $2 million this year.
“This is the first step towards greater parity and recognition. The change will not happen overnight but the women’s game is crucial to the global growth of cricket,” says ICC CEO Dave Richardson.
For Cricket SA’s general manager Corrie van Zyl, a massive monetary incentive like that could help convince more women to take up the game and to realize there’s great pride to be taken in throwing and running like a girl.
“It shows them that cricket can become a career,” he says. Touche! &#8211; Written by Firdose Moonda

On A Good Wicket Now

Flying over the 400-mile wide Mozambique Channel that separates Madagascar from the African continent, my heart raced at the prospect of visiting a remote island that separated from the African continent some 165 million years ago.
Imagine an island more than 1,000 miles long in a blue tropical ocean uninhabited for most of its history. Forests cover vast areas, interspersed with swamps where eight-meter-long crocodiles lie in wait to prey on pygmy hippopotamuses. In the rain forests and in dryer parts of the island live some of the strangest primates to have ever existed on earth. Some 110 species of these lemurs live throughout the island and range in size from the world&#8217;s smallest primate, weighing about one ounce, to a lemur the size of a gorilla (now extinct).
Peering out of my aircraft window, I watched the stratocumulus clouds tower over the many swollen rivers draining the rainwaters as we descended towards Antananarivo (Tana), the capital of Madagascar located in the cool central highlands. With golden paddy fields blanketed by green clusters of trees, I was descending into what appeared to be a paradise of forests, paddy fields and rolling hills.
At the arrivals area, I was surprised to be greeted by faces that displayed a unique blend of African and Indonesian bloodlines. First populated 1,600 years ago by ancient sailors from Borneo, in today’s Indonesia, its early history is being slowly peeled by anthropologists one excavation at a time.
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Nearly all the species here evolved in isolation since it broke off and drifted away from east Africa many million years ago. What I found here is a lost world of unique animals and plants, unseen by humans until their first arrival.
My planned take-away from this trip included photographing colorful chameleons, trekking the lush rainforests, navigating spiny thorn forests and climbing the spectacular rock formations. At the end of it all, what left me with a deeper sense of this country was its unique people following ancient customs, despite their wanton destruction of a paradise.
My guide in Antasibe, Maurice Ratsesakanana, was instrumental in me tracking down the apex lemur, indri. Its haunting calls are reminiscent of the songs of the humpback whales. Each morning in my bungalow, at the Hotel Fenny Ala at the edge of the rain forest, I woke up to its call. The indri is the largest lemur in existence today and tracking and photographing them in rain was a trophy to be had. Indris have never been successfully bred in captivity and this is the only place on earth that one can see these unusual primates.
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Maurice also exposed me to some of the 600 amphibians and reptiles that inhabit the forest, most of them endemic to Madagascar, meaning found nowhere else on earth. Frogs of every imaginable color and pattern leapt in this wet jungle. Chameleons, some brilliantly colored, and others shades of mottled brown, crept invisibly about. The largest can capture mice and birds, while the smallest, measuring only an inch, feeds on insects.
More than 80% of Madagascar’s 14,883 plant species are found nowhere else in the world. The rain forests had many orchids growing on tree barks and stems. Maurice indicated that three-fourths of Madagascar’s 860 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchid" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">orchid</a> species are endemic, as are six of the world’s eight <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adansonia" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">baobab</a> species. I found orchid nursery’s lining all along the Antasibe road, simply harvested from the rainforest each day.
At the World Heritage rain forest of Ranomafana, Theo Farafidison, my guide, educated me on so many aspects of the fauna there. Theo worked with filmmaker David Attenborough during the shooting of the BBC series there. Almost all the amphibians and reptiles in Madagascar, half the 300 birds and all its 110 species of lemurs are endemic. Theo and I spotted a Parson’s chameleon that was almost two feet long and capable of grabbing birds with its sticky tongue. I could not help but coax it to walk on my arms, a small violation of the park’s rules. The bamboo lemurs are a specialty here, along with seven other species.
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My personal highlight was that of grabbing a six-foot tree boa at night while we were looking for nocturnal lemurs and chameleons. He was quite docile and surprisingly comfortable in my hold. After studying him in my confines, I gently eased him on to a tree, not realizing that they hunt on the ground. After photographing many species of frogs, scores of geckos, including those that mimic leaves, several chameleon species, five snake species, including a very large Madagascar tree boa, I moved to the drier side of the highlands. The unique animals of this country, especially the tree boa constrictor, are a target for pet suppliers from all over the world.
Some of the amazing landscapes I found in the country’s national parks included spectacular rock massifs, canyons, aquatic environments, savannahs and dry lands. Isalo, Zombitse, Kirindy and Andatringa come to mind as places that cannot be missed. Waterfalls abound, cascading down tall cliffs into rivers and lakes, the central highlands are a mosaic of woodland and savannah, while the eastern regions are covered in dense, humid rainforest.
In my quest for soaking up this paradise I swam in cool pools inside canyons, trekked the Tsaranoro massif, a sheer rock 800 meters tall known for world-class rock climbing, went sapphire prospecting on river banks, walked in wet, dry, semi-humid and spiny forests enjoying everything from insects like the endemic kung fu cricket, which takes on a martial posture when approached by the diverse ethnic groups that populate this island.
One great adventure that will last in my memory was my attempt to reach the spectacular limestone karst formations of Tsingy de Bemahara in the rainy season. It is an impenetrable wilderness of limestone spikes and sharp rocks that dominates the North West. The Tsingy is an ancient 200-mile long coral reef lifted from the ocean and carved over the millennia by wind and water into dagger-edged pinnacles. Crossing rivers on barges and driving through the dirt roads that had become three-feet deep streams during the rainy season, I reached this remote area to be hailed as the first tourist to arrive there that season. A nine-mile trek and climb ensued my visit to this world heritage site from the top looking down since all road access was inundated.
Deforestation has been present on the island since its colonization by humans, approximately 2,000 years ago, with 90% of the original forests lost. With an unprecedented population growth, extreme poverty (one of the highest in the world), and a brewing political crisis, the nature of the island is helpless and besieged by multiple fronts including corruption at the highest level. There is a police stop almost every few miles; they find something wrong with every vehicle in order to squeeze a few arriaris out of innocents and crooks alike. Thankfully, they do not bother tourists. One interesting behavior that I wish to write about is that of the gendarmerie (national police) who offered a full ceremonial salute when all our papers were in order.
In addition to the traditional system of slash and burn deforestation, which allows local people to open forests to cultivate, international players in cahoots with local officials selectively log rosewood tree species and have become the main threat for the biodiversity of the island. Lorries of hardwood leaving forested areas forced me to enquire about its legitimacy to everyone I met. They all shrugged almost helplessly even though their future was being stripped one day at a time.
Other threats include killing lemurs for meat, poaching reptiles and amphibians for the pet trade (the ploughshare tortoise fetches $200,000), habitat alteration and the clearance of forests, primarily for firewood and charcoal production. En route to the rainforests of Antasibe, I could see virgin rainforests burning outside the limits of the park for agriculture and cattle grazing that brought tears to my eyes. At every turn during my trip, my driver Tony Rebetsitonta, reflected on the different forested areas that had disappeared in his 25 years of driving around the country. It is anticipated that all the island’s rainforests, excluding those in protected areas and the steepest eastern mountain slopes, will have been deforested by 2025. As a result, several charismatic species such as chameleons and lemurs that evolved for millions of years here may become extinct by the end of the century.
The urgency to conserve the habitat has long been noticed by western scientists and conservation funding for Madagascar is at its peak. From protecting flora, fauna, habitats and large swathes of remaining forest, organizations are finding new ways to compensate the locals, educate them on sustainable land use and above all deal with a complex system of taboos that hold back progress.
While at Ranofamana National Park, I came to realize that this large virgin rainforest was protected and later converted into a park by none other than Dr. Patricia Wright of Stony Brook University in 1980, while studying bamboo lemurs as a post doctoral research worker there. This is another example of a driven woman scientist challenging government officials, locals and vested interests to create a legacy for mankind.
By the 16th century, the central highlands where the bulk of Madagascar’s population resides had been largely cleared of their original forests. It was small wonder that I saw red top soil getting washed off into the rivers from the air with no roots to hold them down. More recent contributors to the loss of forest cover include the growth in cattle herd size since their introduction around 1,000 years ago.
I met a professor from the University of Pretoria who is studying land grabs and cattle rustling in Madagascar and did not want his name publicized. This is a country where people still keep their wealth in cattle and not cash. He told me that rustling cattle is big business and as a result big groups of heavily-armed men attack villages and run away with the several hundred heads of cattle. I am told that the Malagasy people register their Zebu cattle at birth with the authorities, and not their own children.
Today, there are around 18 different ethnic groups living on the island. These include the Asiatic Merina (who make up over a quarter of the population), the Betsimisaraka, Betsileo, Tsimihety, Antaimoro and the Bantu Sakalava. The Malagasy language is very similar to the Indonesian language Minaan; spoken only in Borneo, it has accepted some Bantu/Swahili words over time. Their customs especially of burials, land ownership, taboos and professions are very unique for the traveler to see and experience.
The Malagasy burial customs matches closely with cultures from Indonesia where I have traveled extensively to study them. This includes periodic exhumation of the bones and huge celebrations, keeping the corpse at home until it dries before burial or placing them inside rock cairns in hard to reach places, all of which bankrupt families in pursuit of satisfying their forefathers. Their philosophy, much like the ethnic Indonesians of Sulawesi and Borneo, is that life on earth is very ephemeral when compared to the soul’s journey through the universe.
This beautiful land and its people are in a ticking time bomb of land loss, top soil erosion and desertification in a few centuries. While western agencies are doing their best to stem the degradation, it is inevitable that it cannot be reversed. Added to this, poor education, absent healthcare and a corrupt government have kept the people very poor, just living under an annual $500 per capita.
It is a paradise in retreat and all our efforts to decelerate this decline is all I can hope for these wonderful people and its other living denizens. It is a travesty created by man in his effort to conquer nature. &#8211; Words and photos by Ramdas Iyer

A Paradise In Retreat

The time for an intervention of the workplace has arrived. The traditional office as we know it, bound by a desk with set working hours, being present for meetings, and processing paperwork, is no longer functional. Technological advancements have changed the way people work so that it’s no longer where it gets done but that it gets done. These are some of the key insights shared by Deloitte in a series of reports released towards the end of 2016.
One of the reports revealed that the work place of the future will be mobile and not bound by location; it will be independent (contractors); more people will be working from home; and co-working spaces will be an alternate to working from home; all this ties in with a traditional workplace no longer being functional.
The future is mobile
Technology such as laptops, tablets, smartphones; wireless connectivity; and networking software will be a key driver to this paradigm shift. Mobile manufacturers are catering to this – the new Samsung S8 offers a “Dex” mode that lets you switch to a desktop mode by attaching a few peripherals to its smartphone. According to Deloitte, many workers may still have a designated office space for themselves but they are treating work as something they do rather than where they do it.
Not bound by location
The combination of portable devices, WiFi and modern software solutions, means employees can work from anywhere and don’t necessarily have to come into an office, or sit in traffic to get there – an issue South Africans can identify with. As more companies shift to cloud-based or custom solutions, it means one can work from any location yet still collaborate via shared documents in the form of Google Docs, Office 365 or Dropbox, to name a few.
Co-working spaces
There has been an increase in co-working spaces in South Africa with companies renting out ‘hot-desks’ to freelance individuals. These spaces come with desks, phones, high-speed internet, boardrooms, meeting areas, coffee, and whatever other amenities are required to work from ‘anywhere’. Provided one isn’t bound by specific machinery; one could find themselves sharing office space with individuals from varying industries. Access to a set-up with all amenities is usually tied to a daily/weekly/monthly/annual fee, offering greater flexibility for contract work.
Gig economy
The gig economy is one of the major elements of the workforce of the future. It is where independent contractors and freelancers will be used for short-term projects, and also ties in with not being bound by location. If a job can be done remotely with the right hardware and software, a greater pool of employees are available for the picking. With people changing jobs more frequently, the gig economy is said to be an evolution of this. Additionally, businesses save on other costs such as office space, training, and employee benefits.
No more paperwork
Going digital or moving to the cloud means no more unnecessary paperwork, saving businesses a huge chunk in costs. All it takes is moving to smarter solutions such a digital HR software; electronic contracts; accounting software; online project management tools; collaborating via shared documents, and online video chats instead of face-to-face meetings.
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Could this work in a South African context? Forty-year-old Daniel Calbacho, Managing Director of RED Marketing based in Illovo, Johannesburg, took an interesting, non-traditional approach with his company. He “fired” all his staff and re-hired them as independent freelancers.
Calbacho manages a team of young writers and recognizes that people are all different, have a life outside of standard working hours and want to pursue their passions as part of their lifestyle.
“Each person in the business is encouraged to see themselves as an entrepreneur, and focus on their predominant skillset, which is linked to their passion to earn a living.” His team comprises of individuals who are motoring journalists, photographers, writers, bloggers and even a pop singer.
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They are also encouraged to grow at their own pace, and if they’d like to earn more, they don’t have to wait for an annual increase.
“Millennials are about instant gratification – ‘I want this now’. If someone in the team would like to earn a specific amount, we work towards that. Obviously this means taking on more work, much like earn-as-you-go.”
RED Marketing has offices with all the mod-cons, allowing the team to use its facilities at leisure. Cost saving for the company has presented itself in the form of equipment, bonuses, and benefits. As independent contractors, the team supplies their own laptops, cameras and smart devices, which they’ve insured. “Bonuses are no longer a cost consideration albeit we do believe in sharing the company’s profits for outstanding work, and there are no costs for medical aid or pension.”
Skills development has not stopped, says Calbacho. “Every three weeks the team gathers and a person within the group presents knowledge or a skill they’ve been elected to share.”
Leave has also become a secondary HR issue, with each team member allocated 18 days a year to take off completely. “Days are logged, not scrutinized; and most of them don’t take all of it because they are free to manage their time without the construct of a nine-to-five job.”
Calbacho says what they are doing currently works for the business. “The company is successful because the team is happy. Our main focus is delivering the best product to our clients.” &#8211; Written by Nafisa Akabor

The Workplace Of The Future – Or Now?

We recently spoke with film producer Helena Spring on being a woman in a very male-dominated field, her success with the box office hit Keeping Up With The Kandasamys and her opinions of the proverbial glass ceiling in the world of film and how it’s being broken. Spring has been a producer for some 30 years and was also a producing partner with South African filmmaker Anant Singh for many of those years. She’s a force to reckon with in the international and South African film industry.
Do you think the film business is still very male-dominated in South Africa? 
The SA film industry is evolving very dynamically and the number of women making their mark as writers, directors and producers has definitely increased. The ratio of men is still higher than women but there has never been more opportunity for people with talent, vision and ability, irrespective of their gender, than now.
Have you had to face challenges as a woman in this space?
My work is important to me in a very personal way. I have always aspired to excellence without thinking of my gender as an obstacle to that. Luckily, the film industry nurtures that approach. My main obstacles came from financial institutions that seemed to believe that even women with sound track records cannot be considered economically reliable without some guy in the background signing surety for them. And of course, our industry is a high-risk one which further underpins that misconception.
However, the hardest part for me, was making sacrifices on the home front when my children were young. Working 15-hour days, seven days a week when you’re in production is very tough on children and relationships. Without good support, this often becomes an insurmountable challenge for women.
How have you overcome some of these challenges?  
I’m sad to say that I’ve often put work first when I shouldn’t have but I’m fortunate enough to have a wonderful life partner and good family support. These were key factors that enabled me to work long hours for extended periods, under stressful conditions. It also gave me the latitude to be away from home on remote locations when necessary. Knowing that my children and household suffered minimal disruption during these periods gave me the freedom to keep making films.
Is there scope for growth with women in the world of film and TV? 
Of course, now more so than ever before. Young female filmmakers are being singled out for opportunity. That, together with the hunger for content, opens up many possibilities. Today, the main criteria for achievement in the entertainment industry is original thinking, strong creative vision and insight into audience needs. Combine that with discipline and reliability and the sky is the limit.
Do you think women&#8217;s voices are important in the world of South African film?  
Absolutely. We have complex gender issues in South Africa arising from challenging conditions such as lack of opportunity and education, domestic violence, poverty, cultural and traditional limitations around a woman’s role and sexuality and that’s just scratching the surface. There are extremely serious issues, such as the high level of rape of women in this country, a significant symptom of women’s subjugation in our society. So it is critical that female perspectives are communicated, be it through the eyes of a character or the storyteller. Film and television has the ability to embody dreams and aspirations, to create role models and smash stereotypes – music, art, film and television have at times been the catalysts that have brought about bigger societal change than politics or legislation.
Your director on Keeping Up With The Kandasamys was a woman – what prompted this choice?  
There was never any doubt about Jayan Moodley directing the film. Early on, there was some discussion about another possible director, proposed by Jayan herself, who was writing the script at that time. But this is a story about two matriarchs within a culture and lifestyle that she understood really well so she was our clear choice from the get go.
You&#8217;ve broken some local box office records with this film – tell us a little bit about the achievements from a box office perspective?  
The film resonated with audiences as an authentic slice of family life, with a lot of heart and humor. It offered people enough to entice them to leave their homes and go to cinema. Good box office is difficult to predict – the audience either warms to the film or not, however, it is important to give your film visibility with strong marketing and publicity.  You have to give the opening weekend your best shot, after that you’re at the mercy of good (or bad) word of mouth.
<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/entreprenuers/2012/02/01/film-africa-ready-strive-suffer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">More on film in Africa</a>
Do you believe that film in South Africa is still financially viable – if so how? 
SA has a small diverse market – 11 different languages, numerous cultural and economic divides. Europe, Australia and the USA with their large homogeneous populations are able to recover production costs in their home markets. We rarely do so in SA with the result that we have to keep our budgets small, so it is difficult for us to meaningfully compete with the high production values of international films. At some point, we need to make films that will sell into other markets too if we really want our industry to be economically sound. We also need to cultivate a stronger culture of support for our films in our home market.
What advice do you have for women trying to break into the world of film and television?  
I have the same advice to all filmmakers irrespective of gender: learn your craft well, develop your own authentic voice and vision, work hard, take risks, under-promise and over-deliver.
&#8211; Interviewed by Robert Haynes

Helena Spring

What Drives Sacrifice And Success At The Box-Office

I’ve never been paid a salary; I became an entrepreneur straight after college,’’ says Jenny Miller, CEO and Creative Director of MIGLIO jewelry in Cape Town.
The self-taught designer entered the tough, challenging world of business at the age of 21, when most girls her age were still contemplating a career, whether to have one or not.
Born and bred in Somerset West in the Western Cape province of South Africa, Miller attended high school in Stellenbosch and completed her degree in English and Latin from the University of Cape Town.
In the early 80s, Miller partnered with her husband, an IT specialist at the time, to start a jewelry company. They both had creative genes in them, so they began handcrafting bracelets and selling them to people directly.
“Jewelry doesn’t sell itself if lying inside the store’s glass cupboard. It needs a woman’s personality to bring it to life,” says Miller.
Whilst setting up the company, Miller lived with her parents in Somerset West, as she did not have a paying job on the side.
“I was lucky because I had my parents and I could still get a plate of food,’’ says Miller.
Besides selling jewelry door-to-door, Miller used trunk shows or sale events for showcasing her products to targeted customers. The shows did well, and in a few months, the brand drew the attention of local retailers. Its first lease of life was when Miller landed an order to supply 350 pieces of jewelry to The Foschini Group.
Miller acknowledges this as one of her bravest business decisions; and believes you are never too young to start.
“If you’ve got a business idea, you’ve got to do it while you’re still young, before you’ve got the comfort and security of a salary.’’
A couple of years later, Miller managed to partner with more major retailers, such as Woolworths, Stuttafords, Truworths and Edgars, supplying them with her accessories while operating under their labels.
Clearly, Miller has had a lot to learn during the 30 years of her entrepreneurial journey. When MIGLIO expanded overseas, the environment, cultural differences and time zones were challenges in establishing the brand.
MIGLIO operates over 80 multi-jewelry stores overseas, including 11 in South Africa, 18 in Australia, 10 in New Zealand, 40 in Germany and a few in London and the United Kingdom.
At her factory in Somerset West, Miller employs over 150 skilled craftsmen.
When we meet her, in Sandton in Johannesburg, on the sidelines of the SA Fashion Week in October, she excitedly shares news about her daughter winning an award.
Clearly, creativity runs in the family for the Millers.

Jenny-152

‘I Have Never Been Paid A Salary’

In the tiny dining room of a dimly-lit home in Alexandra, Johannesburg’s oldest township, the only child of Davidson Moyo would sit transfixed on her father’s lap, usually in the wee hours of the morning, watching grainy images of boxing matches on the family’s small television screen. Those were the moments when the father, a big fan of the sport, and his daughter, Promise Moyo, bonded most.
“People said I should have been a boy because I was with my dad every time and everywhere,” says Promise, who is today one of two female boxing promoters in South Africa.
“But obviously at that age, I never thought I would work in boxing. Funny enough, when I was older and working, I would rather watch a boxing match than go out partying. I would go just about everywhere for boxing, be it Carousel [a hotel] or Carnival City [a casino]. It has been always like that.”
Promise does not fit the popular – and rather unfair – perception of a woman in boxing. For this feature’s photoshoot, she showed up in an elegant silk black blouse with matching pants and stilettos. On her left arm, she sports a small tattoo of a rose. Her immaculate red painted nails matched the color of her lips.
Promise’s other avatar is as an entrepreneur running a beauty parlor, the KP Salon in Wynberg, an industrial area north of Johannesburg. There is more to her career graph.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30858 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/boxing-009-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/boxing-009-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/boxing-009-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/boxing-009-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/boxing-009.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Prior to turning both boxing promoter and salon entrepreneur, Promise worked as a civil servant for 15 years for the City of Johannesburg, starting as a reception clerk and working her way up to become deputy director. In April 2012, three months before her employment was to be reviewed – she had no doubt her five-year contract would be extended owing to her success at work – Promise injured her back, falling down the stairs at her workplace.
The accident resulted in her being hospitalized for a week, and she had to take a month off work. While Promise was recovering at home with only two weeks left to resume work, her employers served her with a letter telling her, to her shock, they were not renewing her contract.
Promise was shattered and depressed; she couldn’t look for another job for months as a result. The only silver lining was that a few days before she had received the disheartening news, the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, where she was studying for a post-graduate degree in private management finance, informed her she had passed the course.
Fortunately, during her tenure with the City of Johannesburg, Promise had also opened her salon. It was when she lost her permanent government job that she decided to fall back on her childhood passion – boxing.
“My dad played a major role in influencing and encouraging my interest in boxing,” says Promise.
But it took years and several bouts of disappointment to realize her dream.
“I didn’t know I would end up in boxing. All I knew is I loved the sport passionately, I would be going up and down to fights. But if you were to ask me anything about boxing, I was on point, I knew what was happening where and how many knockouts a certain boxer had. Being a young woman, people just couldn’t understand ‘why boxing’. Some raised concerns that I would turn out a violent person. That’s a lack of understanding. Boxing is a gentleman’s sport. If you are a boxer, you are the most disciplined athlete. Those are the things we need to continuously educate the people [about],” says Promise.
Promise spent months researching boxing promotion and by the end of 2012 was registered with Boxing South Africa. This was entering a terrain with few women officials, except for referees. Mbali Zantsi, South Africa’s first female boxing promoter, was licenced in 2003, two years after women’s boxing was officially established. In 2011, Ntambi Ravele was appointed chairperson of Boxing South Africa. She replaced a former Minister of Sports, Ngconde Balfour.
A future for women in boxing seemed impossible but Promise held her own.
“My family tried to persuade me to reconsider my decision and look for other business opportunities. They reminded me I have the necessary qualifications and experience to work at any municipality in the country. But it was only my pastor who understood and encouraged me to pursue my dream.”
It was a long and arduous journey for Promise as she faced umpteen rejections from potential funders.
“There were times where I would put up a proposal and a person would look at it and say ‘this looks good but I don’t think boxing is something I can fund’. Quite a few people turned me down. They would say to me I could choose anything else but not boxing. They thought I was wasting my time because no one would take me seriously with my boxing project. They would ask why not [start a] catering business.”
By January 2013, Promise had registered her company Skylon Promotions which signed a veteran boxer and former South African WBA and international WBC junior lightweight champion, Phillip Ndou, as its first boxer. Ndou, in his zenith, had fought and lost to Floyd Mayweather, a recently-retired world champion with a record 49 undefeated fights.
“When my licence was due to be issued, I went to see Phillip Ndou in his gym in Hillbrow and there were many others I approached. I think that was a wise thing to do because I heard boxers’ issues, their limitations, their frustrations. Those were good boxers with good records but they were not happy,” says Promise.
When Promise met Ndou, he had not fought for almost two years, but in six months, he fought against Pius Dipheko, a South African. Ndou won with a knock out.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30857 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/boxing-033-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/boxing-033-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/boxing-033-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/boxing-033-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/boxing-033.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
On August 9, Women’s Day in South Africa, Skylon Promotions hosted an international event at Thohoyandou, in Limpopo province. This was a homecoming for Ndou who had never fought in front of his community since turning professional in 1996. Ndou fought a young Tanzanian, Ramadhani Shauri, and won by knock out.
Margaret Nemukula, Ndou’s mother, was there to see her son fighting for the first time at home.
“Here is the man with forty fights but he never fought in front of his people. His mother couldn’t believe it was really happening since there had been many speculations that Phillip is fighting at home but those ended up in disappointments,” says Promise.
She did not only realize Ndou had similar traits to hers, Ndou was among her favorite boxers in the early 1990s. Ndou, aged 38, is the only man standing among those pugilists.
“Despite his tribulations, Phillip was at the gym for over a year without fail and yet there were no fights forthcoming. I knew he was the perfect dream team partner.”
A week after the fight in Thohoyandou, Shauri became a Skylon Promotions signee and was due to have his first overseas fight in October in the United States. Lulu Kayage, a Tanzanian female boxer, is also with Skylon Promotions. Mimi Bwanamoya of the Congo who lives in South Africa, is the recent woman signee in the stable.
The sport around the world is administered by men of questionable ethics, but Promise says she wants to keep her business clean.
“Bwanamoya recently approached me, but I had to check if she’s clear from any contractual agreement with another manager. I don’t want to step onto people’s toes, I am for clean business. Also being a woman I have to lead by example, I have to give opportunities to sportswomen.”
Petite Promise is a 21st century African woman who knows her place is not limited to the salon; she’s the one calling the shots in a boxing ring.

boxing-021

Trading Punches In A Male Bastion

<h3>If you could be a super hero, who would it be and why?</h3>
I would be Batman because I feel he’s the most attainable type of superhero and there should be a Batman in all of us. He does not possess any super powers, but instead he makes the most of the resources he had access to, coupled with a considerable amount of skill to make a difference in his society; someone who will happily risk his life for other humans.
<h3>The best city in the world to do business is…?</h3>
Unfortunately, my view on that is still pretty limited, however when it comes to the industry I’m involved in, it’s both Los Angeles and New York.
<h3>Your personal style?</h3>
I try not to box my personal style because I’ve always felt that constricts it into something not diverse enough. I have a number of influences and try and draw from those, from the dapper gentleman to the streetwear enthusiast. But if anything, I think my OCD side ensures a common thread of neatness and structure with attention to detail for whatever I wear.
<h3>What are the key aspects to launching your own label and promoting yourself as a brand?</h3>
When it comes to both I think there are many overlapping principles; you need to know what it is you are offering that sets you apart, who you’re offering it to, what value that offering adds, what your standards are and then simply never swaying because consistency is paramount to any successful product, brand or company.
<h3>So will you be the next Top Billing presenter?</h3>
(Laughs) I’ve been getting asked this question often lately; it seems the rumor mill is as resilient as ever. I will not be the next Top Billing presenter, at least to my knowledge, but perhaps one day that time may come.
<h3>If you could square off with any TV presenter who would it be and why?</h3>
<blockquote>If I could square off with any TV presenter, it would be Ryan Seacrest, because he has become somewhat of an expert in what he does and even if I may not be a real fan of his, I have a great deal of respect for all that he has achieved through presenting and the ventures that soon followed. So I think squaring off with him would be an opportunity to both put myself to the test as well as just to sit back, observe and learn.</blockquote>
<h3>What should the African businesswoman wear to impress?</h3>
To be honest, the African businesswoman can wear whatever she wants, from a chic tailored power suit to a traditional African dress. It’s the broad sense of diversity that makes us unique and African, right? So if an African businesswoman can pull any of that off with confidence and a smile (the draw card), and as long as it fits and complements her, I am sold and very impressed.
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Author: Forbes Woman Africa

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA