‘I was worried of how I was going to make it financially’
‘I wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to see Beyoncé and Jay Z in South Africa’
We neglect our health. I didn’t take the doctor seriously. Until I collapsed
‘I was very afraid to speak English, but with her all the fear disappeared’
‘On my way to that Pride — my first ever — I bought this gorgeous red lipstick’
‘There’s no power to the building anymore’
Life had to start for Refilwe Leso in the throes of tragedy
‘There are many football players in South Africa who have the talent to represent South Africa at a national level, but they chose me’
‘I held Yin’s hand and we both looked’
‘You must understand that I was an Afrikaans girl who had not been exposed to the outside world’
‘It was so refreshing being in a different town, sharing a small space with people who love me and I love so much’
‘Kitted out in dusty cross-trainers I set out on my mission’
‘It’s very important to me to introduce opportunities into my community that people don’t know how to access’
’I was working on a story on male corrective rape and, during that time, I had this recurring dream.’
‘I do not know where I will have my party but I have already spoken to Mama about it’
‘Most of the time I am the only woman present at the meetings’
‘It’s sort of like attending to a wound that has been festering under a Band-Aid’
‘It was almost like a stampede; people were falling on the floor.’
The rappers were told that we’d be going on last, so we had no choice but to sit and wait. Then came heartbreak
‘Balungile was always protective of me and I got comfortable in the knowledge that she’d always be there for me’
‘This belief that women divorcées are embittered — there’s a very overt streak of patriarchy in that’
The sacrifices of a mother are endlessly inspiring
"Her holding my hands and talking about the work I do like that was so, so powerful".
‘In fact, in every job I’ve done I’ve been connected to uMam’Winnie’
‘It wasn’t long before he had my name in ink as well’
‘I don’t think I have a cooking style yet; I’m still figuring myself out’
‘Our mothers are always telling us never to show the world what a mess we are’
‘Movies were never going to be something that I could watch. But that interested me’
"Out of desperation, I took a job. Ironically, by accepting leadership, it led me back to teaching"
‘Wearing hijab is a reminder about the way I should behave to represent Islam’
‘It’s not often that people who are in his position of status do something like that’
‘You see the church does not go with this politics’