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10 Women gently shaping a caring future

by | Aug 9, 2022

Women’s Day in South Africa is about more than honouring the tens of thousands of women who marched to Pretoria’s Union Buildings against the Pass Laws Act on this day in 1956. It’s also about deep reflection, paying homage to, and celebrating the women who continue to create nurturing, inclusive, and caring spaces while reimagining the future.

For Women’s Day 2022, Tandekile Mkize of Thug Alchemy and a creative team (Luxolo Witvoet, Lebogang Ramfate, Koa Matlala and Tiisetso Moreki) photographed portraits of ten women who are thought-leaders, activists, academics, scientists and artists. Tandekile was inspired by the stories of how these women create positive change through their work and in their daily lives. “The goal was to strike a balance between classic clothing and more radical thought-provoking pieces with a heightened sense of drama. Overall, the looks convey a contemporary African silhouette that is elegant and empowering. The design is innovative and promotes circularity, as well as size inclusive catering for a diverse representation of bodies.”

We celebrate these and all women working in big and small ways to reimagine and create a kinder and fairer future for all.

 

Parusha Naidoo models in a shoot featuring South African women

Parusha Naidoo

Born in Durban, South Africa, food artist and storyteller Parusha Naidoo has both African and Asian roots, calling herself Afro-Asian. She lives in Cape Town and creates food-themed images and stories as a means to unify people across different cultures and share lesser-known stories and recipes from Africa, Asia, and the Global South in general. Her archive of ‘Camphor & Coconut’ food and heritage conversations, which she shares with various guests on Instagram live, are a testament to this. Parusha is also the author and artist behind a digital illustrated cookbook, titled, ‘Least Effort Most Reward’, featuring Afro-Asian plant-based recipes. The goal of her work is to bring joy and ignite curiosity in others while sharing art, stories, and recipes that are undervalued, overlooked, or unknown in the mainstream. Parusha wears Amanda Laird Cherry shirt and Pichulik necklace and earrings. Styled by Tandekile Mkize. Photographed by Luxolo Witvoet. 

 

Atiyyah Khan models in a shoot featuring South African women

Atiyyah Khan

Atiyyah Khan, above, is an arts journalist, archivist, record collector, and events curator. Atiyyah tells stories with a richness and depth that reflects the nuances and complexities of what it means to be human. And, the role of art and culture in our human existence. Since 2007, she has worked in the fields of arts and culture in South Africa. Her multimedia journalistic work has been featured in renowned publications, both and international. Outside of her work as a journalist, Atiyyah uses music as a means of communication and connecting people across the continent. She works as a DJ and is the founder of Cape Town-based music collective, Future Nostalgia, which hosts gigs around the city. Atiyyah wears Mille Collines hand woven scarf and Michael Ludwig jumpsuit. Styled by Tandekile Mkize. Photographed by Luxolo Witvoet. 

 

Denisha Anand models in a shoot featuring South African women

Denisha Anand

Denisha Anand is a researcher and intersectional environmentalist currently employed as a Biodiversity Project Manager at the Princess Vlei Forum and Community Conservation Specialist with the City of Cape Town. Princess Vlei is home to several endangered and endemic species as well as being one of the few outdoor recreational spaces for People of Colour to access during Apartheid. “My work addresses the impacts that this history has had on both the people who use the Vlei and the Vlei itself,” says Denisha. As a progressive environmental educator and advocate for restoration and rehabilitation of neglected biodiversity areas associated with People of Colour, she is also completing a Masters Degree in environmental humanities, with a focus on intergenerational plant-human practice and intimacies, at the University of the Western Cape. Denisha wears Lara Klawikowski and Kirsten Goss accessories. Styled by Tandekile Mkize. Photographed by Luxolo Witvoet. 

 

Zaynab Sadan models in a shoot featuring South African women

Zaynab Sadan

“We have lost our connection to nature,” says Zaynab Sadan. Zaynab holds a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cape Town and currently works as the Regional Plastics Policy Coordinator at WWF. She is currently exploring policy and business interventions to catalyse the transition towards a circular economy for material value chains, with a focus on plastics. “The more disconnected [to the environment] we are, the less we care and the more we cause harm through this apathy,” she explains. Becoming more attuned to nature, Zaynab argues, will allow us to transition to a circular economy more effectively. She is curious about human-centred design, circularity, and leading with empathy for the self, community, and nature. Outside of her work, she is a yoga lover and holistic living enthusiast. Zaynab wears Amanda Laird Cherry upcycled cotton shirt dress, Pichulik necklaces and earrings, and Kirsten Goss rings. Styled by Tandekile Mkize. Photographed by Luxolo Witvoet. 

 

Zizipho Ntobongwana models in a shoot featuring South African women

Zizipho Ntobongwana

Zizipho Ntobongwana’s work as an artist and entrepreneur is expansive. She is a creative director, film producer, and entrepreneur. All of her life’s work centres around one focus: decolonising sustainability. When Zizipho discovered the dark side of the industry behind sanitary products, and its exploitative practices towards both the environment and people, she wanted to see transparency and accountability in the industry. And so, in 2017, Zizipho started Sheba Feminine, a brand that creates 100% organic cotton and biodegradable menstrual products. Sheba Feminine also aims to challenge taboos and stigmas around sexual and reproductive health. Zizipho wears UNI FORM shirt and skirt. Styled by Lebogang Ramfate and Koa Matlala. Photographed by Tiisetso Moreki. 

 

Zayaan Khan models in a shoot featuring South African women

Zayaan Khan

Cape Town-based artist, practitioner, researcher, and facilitator, Zayaan Khan’s work grapples with the nuances within food systems by navigating land from an interdisciplinary perspective. Firmly rooted in a socio-political context, Zayaan works at unhinging our dependence on neoliberal consumption. Her work is based on transdisciplinary praxis, both as practitioner and facilitator, and can mould between various spaces, from environmental, political, cultural, social, traditional, educational, and historical. Zayaan is currently completing her Ph.D. working with seed as a tool of storytelling at the Environmental Humanities South at the University of Cape Town. She is also the founder of Seed Biblioteek, a project where she works to highlight the stories of different seeds as a way of reconnecting and re-positioning our relationship with food. Zayaan wears Amanda Laird Cherry shirt and top, Pichulik necklaces, and her own earrings. Styled by Tandekile Mkize. Photographed by Luxolo Witvoet. 

 

Thobeka Mbane models in a shoot featuring South African women

Thobeka Mbane

Thobeka Mbane is a Johannesburg-based fashion director, stylist, and visual artist with an eye for compelling African fashion stories that focus on Black women and queer bodies. As an image maker, much of her work is centred around expression and the politics of beauty and freedom. As a person with a disability, Thobeka finds working in the industry a challenge as it can often be quite physically demanding. She also notes the difficulties of being a Black woman in the industry. “You can either have your voice or a career, and never both,” she says. But despite these hurdles, Thobeka has interned at the South African Fashion Week and, more recently, worked as a stylist for the Elsa Majimbo x Maison Valentino campaign. Thobeka wears Wanda Lephoto SS’22 suit. Styled by Lebogang Ramfate and Koa Matlala. Photographed by Tiisetso Moreki. 

 

Thando Mazomba

Thando Mazomba is an intersectional environmentalist interested in a holistic approach to marine research. Thando works towards understanding the ocean from as many perspectives as possible, opting for intersectional research within marine studies. She is also the director of The Beach Co-op, which is an organisation working collaboratively and creatively within ocean communities, government and business to urgently protect, restore and regenerate the integrity of ocean ecosystems. Thando is also a member of the inaugural cohort of OceanWomxn, a fellowship aimed at celebrating Black and Brown women in oceanographic research. Thando wears Amanda Laird Cherry Upcycled cotton shirt skirt as a top and upcycled fish tale skirt. Styled by Tandekile Mkize. Photographed by Luxolo Witvoet. 

 

Moagabo Ragoasha

With the sciences being a white, male-dominated space, Black South African women oceanographers are a rarity in South Africa. As the first Black South African woman to get a Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography, Dr. Moagabo Ragoasha’s work focuses on intersectional environmental justice. Now a lecturer in the Oceanography department at the University of Cape Town, her work looks at the blue economy – an emerging concept for sustainable economic growth that preserves the health of our oceans, while encouraging public participation in marine and coastal decision-making. As a traditional healer, or sangoma, she also has a spiritual connection to the ocean and Earth’s water systems, which informs her innate responsibility to keep bodies of water healthy. Moagabo wears Amanda Laird Cherry upcycled shirts and padded heard piece, and Michael Ludwig asymmetrical panel dress. Styled by Tandekile Mkize. Photographed by Luxolo Witvoet. 

 

Mbali Mthethwa models in a shoot featuring South African women

Mbali Mthethwa

Mbali Mthethwa is the Founder and Creative Director of local jewellery brand, The Herd. To celebrate and honour the work she does with The Herd, Mbali was the winner of the Changemaker Award at the Twyg 2021 Sustainable Fashion Awards.The Herd is a collaborative platform that works with female artisans based in rural South Africa. Together they create a combination of artistic contemporary wearable art pieces rooted in tradition. Their conversational pieces are inspired by and pay homage to the iconic beading culture pioneered and mastered by Nguni women. Mbali wears the white Drape Dress from UNI FORM Project 4, beaded necklace from The Herd and gold pendant from ANOQI. Styled by Lebogang Ramfate and Koa Matlala. Photographed by Tiisetso Moreki. 

CREDITS

Fashion Editor | Tandekile Mkize

Photography | Luxolo Witvoet and Tiisetso Moreki

Styling | Lebogang Ramfate, Koa Matlala and Tandekile Mkize

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