Standing her ground: Mamodupi Mohlala says people need to be educated on gender issues, not only in a domestic context, but also in the boardroom. (Delwyn Verasamy)
You matriculated at the age of 14, obtained an LLB degree at 21, went on to get a master’s degree at 23 and were an admitted attorney by the age of 24. Those could be considered records.
My background had a lot to do with that. My parents were political exiles and activists, which means I was born outside South Africa. We had a lot of knowledge about apartheid, and we advocated against the regime. Seeing these injustices being perpetuated under apartheid motivated me to study law and to make sure I educate people about their legal rights. My father never treated me differently from my two brothers and always told me that I could do as well as, if not better than, my brothers. As a young girl, I had a reading disability, but my mother never gave up on me. She helped me to study and paid a lot of attention to me.
You hold several prominent positions while running your own company, Mohlala Attorneys. Tell us about how you juggle your responsibilities?
At Mohlala Attorneys and all the other companies I am involved with I hold non-executive positions. It means I will contribute where I can, but I have admitted attorneys running the practice. I decided in the past not to close the firm because a lot of families depend on that income. It has been in existence for more than 25 years, and should it close it will affect the so-called black tax. Until recently, I was a wife; I’m still a mother, I’m a daughter, and there are many other roles I fulfil as a woman. I also don’t spend too much time sleeping, because I’m a bit of an insomniac. I don’t know if that
works for or against me [laughs] … Next year I will be starting my PhD, and working on my proposal will also take time: there’s no time to sleep.
You are also the deputy chairperson of the SABC board. The public broadcaster has been in the news for its staff retrenchment plans. What is your view on the issue?
The SABC has recently received a bailout and is implementing a turnaround strategy. Now, if you proceed to retrench people, it will affect the implementation capability of the turnaround time. Therefore, retrenchments need to be halted for those reasons and because [they are] inhumane during the Covid-19 pandemic. It would not make sense to implement a turnaround strategy if you don’t have workers. We are mindful that we have financial constraints as the SABC, but we believe there are other cost-cutting measures we can put in place to deal with these financial constraints. Those would be looking at cutting salaries, or for people to take voluntary retrenchment packages or early retirement. So, instead of using a wam-bam-boom approach, we can phase in any job cuts.
There is a minority group of us on the board saying that retrenchment is not an option: we should have other strategies before retrenchments. We are a public institution, and we are at a point where we will not be able to get a further bailout. So we need to put all measures in place to prevent retrenchments and use the money and human resources we have to turn around the institution.
You are not new to controversy and have been accused of misconduct and bullying in the past.
I always tell people I think I was born way before my time. We live in a highly autocratic society, and a lot of people are not used to women having a view and standing their ground. You find that men who are opinionated and who refuse to budge for the principles they believe in are regarded as assertive and even seen as role models.
But when a woman does the same, they are called so many derogatory things. I think society is very unfair and that’s when they start calling you “a bully” or “pushy”, and it has nothing to do with that. Simply because you want to stand your ground and don’t want to conform to society’s opinion and rules for the conduct of women, you are exposed to all kinds of abuse.
I am a great believer in female excellence and black excellence, and I never want to be in a position where it is said that I, Mamodupi Mohlala, dropped my standards, especially not as a public servant, because we have a public mandate. We are here to serve the common South African. I demand excellence from the people I work with, and I have a low tolerance for failure.
What is your view on gender-based violence?
I firmly believe it starts with the parents. You need to raise your girls and boys with a clear conscience around gender issues and [the knowledge] that they should never perpetuate any form of gender discrimination. There is no justification for gender discrimination, let alone gender-based violence. It begins in the home, where we need to make sure that our boy children and men fully understand that any form of gender discrimination or violence cannot be tolerated.
Gender-based violence is not only physical, it’s also psychological. Gender discrimination also exists in the boardroom, in a professional context where you would expect that the level of education and consciousness is at its highest. One needs to emphasise educating people on gender issues, not only in a domestic context, but also in the boardroom.
What irritates you most about South Africa?
For me, this is the most difficult question. I am the child of an exile. Throughout my childhood, I was told about this land of milk and honey: the chosen land and the place we will one day come back to. I am an eternal optimist and believe that this country has potential, and we can achieve so much. Having said that, I believe that a lot of work still has to be done.
Racism, for me, is a big problem. Unemployment worries me a lot and especially the fact that unemployment figures are growing by the day. We have a society in which young people are brought up to be employees and not entrepreneurs, and we need to change that mindset. We should teach our children that there is no big bang theory: they need to work hard to achieve great things.
We have such a big cake in the property sector, and we should learn how to share it. Issues of transformation also worry me, because if people don’t have land or access to property then who are they as human beings?
What do you do to relax?
My afternoon nap on a Sunday is essential, otherwise I’m an unpleasant person the whole week. I don’t sleep a lot, so I must take a nap on a Sunday with the family, which I regard as passive bonding.
I also love to play Scrabble with my younger daughter. One hobby I picked up during lockdown is hiking, and it gives us an excuse to have a three-course lunch afterwards. I love comedy and mostly dry, British humour. I like comedy because I always try to find the humour in things: it’s my coping mechanism.
I also love action movies, but I really don’t watch horror movies. They actually scare me, and although people try to convince me that it’s not real, I can’t watch it. I want to see the beautiful side of life, because in our day-to-day life we see enough horrors.
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