“I am the product of the masses of my country and the product of my enemy.” These are the words of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
It is hard to believe that 30 years into South Africa’s democracy that around the world we are celebrating only 50 years of women being allowed to have credit cards in their own names in the land of the free, the United States, and six years of women having the freedom to drive legally in Saudi Arabia.
Back here at home in South Africa it’s been 31 years of marital rape being criminalised; 28 years of women legally having access to abortion services, giving us control over our reproductive rights, and 26 years of laws promoting gender equality in the workplace.
And while it may be surprising how recent these milestones are, they represent significant strides in the protection and advancement of women’s rights and should be celebrated. Yes, we are not where we want to be, but we are certainly not where we used to be.
The same is true of our child of democracy —“u Tinswalo” — yes, it may be an idealised story given the harsh realities many of us face today but the story serves its purpose in highlighting the vastly different society a child born after 1994 would experience compared to previous generations. Tinswalo’s lived experience is progress.
And it is because of this progress that a girl such as me, a girl whose roots are deeply planted in the villages of Tshifudi and Xhihoko, was able to attend the University of Cape Town. It is at this institution of higher learning where I first encountered a real-life Tinswalo, a real child of democracy (although not born in 1994), a beautiful Tsonga girl with big bright beautiful eyes. Tall, majestic. She had (and still has) an air to her; I would go as far as saying regal. Her name is not Tinswalo. Her name is Fumani Mthembi.
In 2003, Fumi, like me, had left the safety of her mother’s nest in Gauteng to pursue her undergraduate degree at UCT. We both had the unfortunate or fortunate fate of being placed in the basement section (what I imagine may have been the servants’ quarter at some stage) of Fuller Hall Residence. Fuller was the prestigious on-campus residence designated for boffin girls (those that had matriculated in the top echelons of their year). Fumi and I formed a bond in those thinly carpeted halls, fighting over a single shower that served what must have been 10 girls. A bond that I pray will continue throughout many lifetimes and will extend to our daughter, Zime.
It has been a marvel to watch Fumi throughout the years. Not only because of who she is but also because of what she represents. Fumi was born in the East Rand and spent her formative years in Etwatwa. A township, like many in the country at the time, that was a hotbed of anti-apartheid activists and where unrest and clashes between police and residents were the norm. At UCT she studied a Bcom in politics, philosophy and economics. She was passionate about her studies.
I remember finding her lights on, on a night (okay, maybe nights) when I was coming back from the club at 2am and knocking on her door to check in on her only to find her hard at work writing essays.
I also recall her excitement and how enthralled she was by a specific project where her class had to simulate one of the global organisations tasked with fostering cooperation among member states;I think it was the United Nations. If I recall well, she represented Djibouti. I must pause here and mention that one of her classmates and very good friends that participated in this simulation, Dr Sithembile Mbete, recently spoke on much needed reforms at the UN Security Council on Common African Position on UN Reform held earlier this month. In her address, Mbete called for at least two permanent seats for African nations, complete with veto powers, as well as an increase in non-permanent seats.
Fumi would go on to further her studies like a real boffin girl was expected to, obtaining a BA Honours in politics and development studies from the University of the Witwatersrand, and a Master of Science, Society and Development from the University of Sussex — and of course, both degrees with distinction.
And her essays … well, those have now turned into publications, including Where Constitutionalists Fear To Tread, Chapter 12 in the book titled Seeking the Ethical Foundations of the South African Nation, and The Co-Benefits of Decarbonising the Power Sector.
Fumi would also go on to become one of the founders, notably the only female, of the Pele Energy Group. Pele is a sustainable development company that was founded with the objective of positively affecting communities, both peri-urban and urban, by providing them with sustainable energy solutions and creating sustainable education and employment opportunities. The organisation prides itself as a leading, African independent power producer that develops, builds, owns, and operates green energy plants of about 2000 megawatts across the African continent, as well as developing the communities within which they operate and beyond.
Fumi would also go on to establish and run an economic development consulting services division within the Pele Energy Group, which was initiated by consulting Spanish Energy Utility Gestamp Solar. This was followed by establishing and having since managed Knowledge Pele, the group’s research, development, advisory and social impact investment firm (KP). Under her guidance, KP’s research division grew beyond the renewable energy sector to include the implementation of research projects for political and economic randomised control experiments for clients including the University of Michigan, Yale University, the University of California, San Diego, and Oxford University.
KP has launched several initiatives in line with the objectives that the founders set out for Pele, including the launch of social infrastructure and community industrialisation impact funds, as well as an online training platform targeted at people who live in remote areas and without access to traditional colleges. It launched the Touwsrivier Commercial Hydroponics Farm, which has created 20 new jobs for the local community, and launched an organoponic farm in Costa Rica as an affiliate of Coldplay, yes Coldplay, Chris Martin Coldplay!
Fumi sits on the boards of the National Business Initiative, the Accenture Foundation, and the First Rand Empowerment Foundation.
A true marvel to bear witness to. I often stand back in awe and maybe a little younger sister jealousy as I watch my father’s face beam with pride when he describes her as “my boss”. Following his short-lived retirement, my father worked for KP, training young people in the community of Kanana on how to install solar panels and batteries.
But it is not all these achievements that make her a child of democracy. Yes, she has benefited from the dream of democracy being realised and is proof of the significant progress made in our country over the past 30 years.
Albertina Sisulu, co-founder of the Federation of South African Women and Women’s March leader, said: “Women are the people who are going to relieve us from all this oppression and depression.”
There are no truer words spoken. Back in uni, one of the things that had struck me about Fumi was her closeness to her grandmother,“Kunu” as she fondly refers to her. Yes, this is the case for many African children, but this one was a different bond, a special one. I distinctly remember Fumi scheduling frequent phone calls with her Kunu. These phone calls would last for hours, and she seemed so immersed in these ongoing engagements.
Fumi describes Kunu as her pseudo-mother. She is acutely aware of the importance of her role in raising her and in her own words describes this as “an unspoken culture: the mastery of life embedded in the proverbial village within which children are nurtured. Contrary to the nucleus, in the village, we (being Africans) believe that children belong to their spiritual homes, to an expansive collective that predates those who come into immediate contact with the child on Earth”. She further goes on to say, “So great then is the responsibility of parenting that it compels all of us to action, it calls all of us to the responsibility of loving and raising that child to their highest place in history.”
Fumi could have gone on to do anything, anywhere in the world following her studies but her mission has always been to plough back into her country, give back to her people. This trait I came to learn is one that was inherited from her mother, Mama C.
Fumi describes Mama C as a community organiser, a woman that deeply loves community service. Mama C reflected to her on how she opted not to go into formal politics in 1994 when her friends were choosing to become ward councillors. Instead, she chose to plough back into her community. Mama C was an avid churchgoer who taught Sunday school and still does so today, even establishing a special Saturday class at her house for children whose parents cannot afford the taxi fare to get to her church. All this in addition to the home visitations of the bereaved, sickly, and indigent.
Fumi recounts childhood memories with the benefit of the perspective of the responsibility that women bear in teaching their children and raising them to “their highest place in history”. As they say, hindsight is a beautiful thing. A recent account of one such memory took place in a taxi. There was a young boy travelling alone who wanted to sleep on Mama C’s lap and Fumi was jealous. She was shouted at so much when they arrived home because Mama C wanted her to empathise with his situation. Even though she was also tired and would’ve ordinarily been the one lying on her lap, her argument was that that child was vulnerable — travelling alone at such a young age and clearly in need of nurture. So Fumi needed to know what it really means to share, which is to share even when you have little, so we can all be better off.
Fumi describes this incident in the context of what Mama C stands for, her values, ideals and principles. She also recounts how Mama C even learnt how to make Vaseline with candle wax so she could help a poor family in their community because she did not want their children going to school mbashile, looking ashy.
She then goes on to describe her mother as someone who has a greater sense of vision and connection to the meaning of life. Someone who bears no grudges or resentment. Someone who believes in always having a futuristic orientation.
What a blessing to have sucked at the teat of Mama C’s knowledge and wisdom.
A blessing to have been taught “that heaven is on Earth and that if you want to know heaven, all you need to do is be good to yourself, and others”. These are Fumi’s words, not mine.
One may argue that Fumi’s experience and inheritance is not unique to the South African child of democracy. This may be true.
I however cannot think otherwise as I listen to Thandiswa Mazwai’s “Nizalawa Ngobani” where she reflects on the complexities of post- apartheid South Africa and the importance of identity, history, heritage and our rich culture.
It is hard not to feel special as I marvel at the progress of the child of democracy, “Tinswalo”, the one that was raised on the backs of multiple generations of women across this country. This child has risen on world stages: Caster Semenya, Nelson Makamo, Trevor Noah, Black Coffee, Rich Mnisi, Laduma, Akani Simbini and Tyla to name a few.
And here at home, our women across different spheres and generations have made significant strides over the past 30 years. Professor Glenda Gray is the first woman appointed as president and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council. She has been internationally recognised for her contributions to medical science and health, particularly in the fields of HIV/Aids and infectious diseases. In 2017, she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most influential people.
Nonkululeko Nyembezi, a distinguished executive recognised for her leadership in several major corporations and sectors, with many notable achievements including being the first black woman to be appointed chairperson of the JSE and the first woman on the African continent to be appointed chairperson of a major financial institution (Standard Bank Group and Standard Bank of South Africa.)
Mpumi Madisa is the chief executive of Bidvest; the first black woman to be CEO of a JSE Top40 listed Company. During her tenure she has maintained over 5% growth at an organisation that employs an estimated 130,000 people. She is driving a bold international expansion strategy including acquisitions in Australia, the UK and Singapore, and recently paid the company’s highest total dividend in seven years.
Ruwayda Redfearn is the first female chief executive of one of the Big Four audit firms in South Africa, and the first woman to serve as the chair of the Deloitte Africa Board.
Tsakani Maluleke is the first female auditor general. Her reforms include implementing enhanced audit powers, including the authority to take remedial actions and to issue binding recommendations.
Dr Mampho Modise is the first female and youngest deputy governor of the South African Reserve Bank.
So today as we take pause to celebrate 30 years of women empowerment, let us not only look at ourselves. Let us remember the backs on which we were raised. The generations that carried and still carry us and will do so for generations to come. Mama Charlotte Maxeke, founding member of the Bantu Women’s League, put it so well: “This work is not for yourself — kill that spirit of self, and do not live above your people but live with them. If you can rise, bring someone with you.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, I did not greet when I took to the stage, my mother would be mortified. Ndi masiari, avhuxeni. My name is Luna Munei Nevhutalu (Mutavhatshindi, Mhlave!), and I am honoured to have been given this opportunity to address you today. Thank you.