Learning happens when you grab opportunities
“Some challenges that you face in being an activist are issues like teamwork, and feminism has taught me the importance of collective working and accountability and to overcome this by collectively working on it with the team and leaders in our organisation.”
Bab’ Mavundla as she is affectionately known is one of the most dedicated participants we have in the group. The first time we met her in the group, she was quite exhausted but still participated in conversations and group work. When we enquired about her exhaustion, she told us that she works night shifts but when she heard that there is a feminist workshop that the rest of her peers were attending, she opted to join them and not be left behind. She chose the opportunity to learn than sleep and this showed us the passion and commitment she has to changing the narratives of queer women in her community.
In the time that she has been part of the project, we have seen the growth in her articulation and analysis of queer women’s experiences in the line with the bigger discourse on gender-based violence against women. She is able to connect the dots and not only focus on single-issue politics but look at the larger scale of women’s oppressions in South Africa and the world. “What I love most are the challenges and exercises we get from the 1in9 team that have helped me to think outside the box and through that I have learned how to be a team player and to handle hard situations even when under pressure.”
“At Lebo Basadi I was appointed as secretary, but honestly I’m everywhere whenever someone needs help I assist.” Like most organisations, members are usually doing more than one job or focused on a number of areas in the organisation to make sure that work is done and our constituencies are assisted.
She adds that from participating in the project, she has also gained leadership skills and that One in Nine has taught her how to make decisions and be able to handle conflict. The skills she has learned have made people open up to her and trust her to solve whatever issue they are faced with within the organisation and in her life generally.
She also realized that there is so much out there that women can learn in order to change their lives; “There are people out there who can teach you more than you even know, like queer activists who share their knowledge with others.”
“Some challenges that you face in being an activist are issues like teamwork, and feminism has taught me the importance of collective working and accountability and to overcome this by collectively working on it with the team and leaders in our organisation. I have learned a lot especially in relation to queer work that I do within the organisation that I represent in the community.”
“Going forward I want to continue gaining knowledge and learning with 1in9 so that we can have more dialogues and workshops in the community, especially for the queer youth; teaching them about their rights, responsibility, accountability, creating safe spaces, respect and most importantly education. Meeting other queer activists from across our borders so that we learn strategies that have worked for them and build solidarity with each other.”