The Girls Table Magazine May 2022

Contents 03

Editor’s Note

Increase in the number of school drop-

outs.....Brilliant Sibanda 04

Profile Londiwe Malinga 05

Long Distances to school affect- 07
ing young women’s education in
Tsholotsho.....by Londiwe Malinga.

Young women and the Electoral Pro- 08
cess.....by Nombulelo Nyoni

Issues that affect young women in 09
Tsholotsho.....By Ntokozo Mlanzi

Factors that affect young women’s par- 11
ticipation in electoral processes.... By
Sibonakaliso Sibindi

Will COVID-19 end? Let’s talk about
mental health.....By Thandekile Ndlovu 13

The heartbreaking teenage pregnan- 14
cy..... By Phephisani Ncube

Profile Kwanele Ncube 15

Editor’s Note

D ear Reader Her Voice will serve as a platform for
We are very excited to bring young women in marginalized commu-
you our first edition of Her nities to tell their stories, experienc-
Voice Magazine. According to Media es and report on what’s happening in
Monitors report in 2020, women only their communities. We hope this plat-
accounted for 19% as compared to 77% form will remind young women of their
by men, as sources of news in both agency and the power that comes from
mainstream and alternative media telling their own stories.
platforms. In their 2021 assessment Thank you for Reading our first edition
report, women’s voices commenting on of Her Voice. If you would like to con-
withstanding hardships and conversa- tribute to this magazine, kindly contact
tions on building resilience only peak- The Girls Table on:
ed at 25% and this shows that women’s 0774744843 /0778976414
voices continue to be overshadowed. [email protected]
Even with these statistical figures,
young women’s voices in marginalized Yours,
communities are often excluded in the The Editor.
public discourse.

03

Increase in the number
of school dropouts

M ost young women and girls ngokuthi ungafika kugrade 7 suqede
in Tsholotsho are not edu- iskolo. Mina ngokubona kwami isiqinti
cated and this has now led sangapha labazali behluleka ukugq-
to lack of knowledge on ugquzela abantwana bahle bacabange
important issues. These young women ngokuya eGoli (South Africa) bengaqeda
and girls have to travel 20 to 30 km to isikolo. Kukanti khonokho njengeTsho-
go to school, and because of the dis- lotsho sikhangelelwa phansi kwezem-
tance, they have now dropped out of fundo. Amathuba evela beswele ukuthi
school opting to be housekeepers. ayamukelwa ngobani ngoba we dont
know how to read and write.. Ezoku-
Other girls are verbally and sexually vota, kuworse ulwazi alukho badinga
abused on their way to school by old- ukufundiswa kabanzi ngoba abanye
er men, taking away their interest to babengazi lokuthi enzenjani lokuba-
pursue their education. Most girls end la lowu ofuna ukumkhetha kuyehlula.
up choosing to be housekeepers where Yikho besuka bezihlalele emakhaya
they also face some challenges. We betshiyane lakho bengazi ukuthi ikusa-
need training centres and young clubs sa labo likhonapho. Indawo zangapha
where we can learn some skills. zikhatshana kakhulu manje ngokwa-
zi kwami amapolling agents yizikolo
Inengi lentombi ezisakhulayo azenel- njengoba ngike ngatsho umango(km)
isi ukuqeda iskolo iTsholotsho iyaziwa yiwo okwenza bengafinyeleli.

04

Londiwe Malinga

05

L ondiwe Malinga is a 22 year up, but helps in mobilising other young
old young lady from Tsho- women to register to vote and partici-
lotsho centre. She wrote her pate in electoral processes. She high-
grade seven exams and her lighted that, at first she felt discour-
results were very good. However, she aged to participate because she does
was unable to further her education. not have any of the national documents,
One of the barriers to furthering her but when the benefits of participating in
education is that she does not have a electoral processes was explained to
birth certificates well as an ID and her her, she felt the need to encourage oth-
mother does not have national docu- er young women to take part and not be
ments as well. She once tried to enrol left behind.
at Masotsha high school for her Sec- Furthermore, she is hoping that she
ondary education but they gave her 2 will soon be able to obtain these na-
weeks to fix her birth certificate issue, tional documents and continue with her
but she failed to get the place. She has education and also run as a candidate
sought help from other organisations so that she will be able to help other
but, nothing has prevailed. young women who are in the same pre-
Londy is one young woman who, de- dicament as she is.
spite this predicament, has not given

06

Long Distances to school
affecting young women’s
education in Tsholotsho

G irls in Tsholotsho are drop- fees for them. This year there was no
ping out of school because rainfall, therefore parents were unable
they cannot afford to pay to pay school fees because they rely on
their school fees. In addi- farming and they use their crops to sell
tion, their schools are far and pay fees.
from their homesteads. Children walk
as far as 3KM from Mguzane to Din- With such situations, they are forced to
yane school .They arrive at school tired drop out of school and stay at home idle.
and in turn fail to concentrate on their Many young women in Tsholotsho are
school work. then forced into early child marriages.
Some of them get pregnant (teenage
A lot of young women are not able to pregnancy) because some adults will
go to school because their parents or take advantage of the situations that
guardians are not able to pay school the teenagers are facing.

07

Young women
& the Electoral
processes

Y oung women from Plumtree Secondly, it will provide us with access
are reluctant to register to to more seats in parliament. Further-
vote as they feel their areas more,this will enable the voices of the
are already marginalized and masses and especially young women
they think voting will not change any- to be heard.With that said, young wom-
thing. However, it is extremely import- en should be encouraged to register to
ant to register to vote because it will vote in order to have development and
help our Province in the delimitation progress in our Province.
process.

08

Issues
that
affect
young
peo-
ple in
Tsho-
lotsho
1Tsholotsho is one of the largest

contributors of migrants, men
go outside the country in order
to support their family. Women
are left to look after children at home
and will be left to double roles at home
such as going to the fields, herding cat-
tle, and etc. Therefore, this leaves the
woman with no time to attend meet-
ings, discussions and projects. Men
believe that a woman’s duty is in the
kitchen. Many young women are unable
to make their own decisions, therefore,
they have to first get consent from men.
There is need for women to take up
leadership roles because there are no
female councillors here in Tsholotsho.

09

2Hospitals are too far, the distance to issues such as SRHR, prevention on
from Mgomeni to Pumula Mis- H.I.V and Aids, financial literacy, proj-
sion its 10km. Many young wom- ects due to barrier for communication
en find it hard to visit the hospi- with them.
tal because of the distance. Some have
no confidence to go and test for H.I.V 3In Tsholotsho schools are very
because they are too behind in terms of far, children walk long distances,
morden life. Furthermore, they are still this then leads to sexual abuse.
following cultural practices which do From Sfulasengwe line to Khum-
not allow them to use family planning. bula High, the distance is 25km. Lack of
Young Women who are far from the financial support for a girl to continue
business centre need to be visited and schooling leads to forced marriage.
educated with information pertaining

10

Factors that
affect young

women’s
participation
in electoral

processes

11

“The majority of youths in
my community

do not have birth
certificates...”

I am a young lady aged 27. I grew gadgets and well-dressed people they
up in Tsholotsho district at Lu- are intimidated to get to registry sites
bizi village, ward 8, where edu- thinking that those people will speak to
cation is not the cornerstone of them in English. Hence, they are afraid
the society. This is due to the fact that of such environments and end up not
both primary and secondary schools going there to register to vote.
are very far. From Lubizi, Nxuma and
Folosi villages, the distance is ap- Furthermore, the majority of youths in
proximately 13km to Mbiriya or Phele- my community do not have birth certif-
la Primary School and Khumbula High icates. Which in turn disallows them to
school. Therefore, most people tend to get national identification cards in or-
quit school at primary level to go and der for them to register to vote. Which
seek jobs in South Africa. means that even if the teams that
process birth certificates and nation-
Hence, lack of education is the most al identification cards come, they only
crucial factor that contributes to the come for a single day and would be
rise of young women who do not regis- in those far away schools and clinics.
ter to vote. They do not understand the Therefore, the message won’t even get
importance of voting. In addition, they to other villages or sometimes it gets
believe that voting is only for the elder- to them late and it won’t be possible for
ly. Furthermore, the sites chosen for them to walk such distances.
registration are usually too far away.
Which then results in people being re- It is therefore wise for the programme
luctant to go. Sometimes the message to reach out to youths and educate them
fails to get to other villages due to poor with enough knowledge so that they
or no network at all. Most of the time, understand the importance of voting.
other important information gets to us However, it won’t be easy to convince
when it’s outdated due to poor network. uneducated people to register to vote.
Even if a note is written, it fails to reach It really requires an equipped individu-
the place in time due to long distance. al who will be able to remove all those
Moreover, other individuals, especially beliefs in people that our community
the uneducated, see those computer are holding in their minds.

12

LET’S TALK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH TOO CWoILvLid-19end?

M ental health encompasses our emotional, psycholog-
ical and social well-being. Moreover,it affects how we
think, feel and act. Furthermore, it also determines
how we handle stress and make choices. Mental
health is important at every stage of life, from child-
hood to our adolescence and adulthood. Due to covid 19, a large
number of people have undergone a great deal of stress as they
have lost their jobs . During lockdown, people failed to access
services such as healthcare as they feared they would be infect-
ed by Covid-19. In addition, they also lived in fear because there
were increased cases of Gender Based Violence in many places.
Moreover, this has led to many young women to suffer from de-
pression.

Due to the consequence of Covid-19, young women have been un-
dergoing a lot of stress. They are being exposed to new risks such
as violence, pregnancy, HIV infections, sexual exploitation, as well
as limited or no access to education whilst schools are closed
and heightened risk of never returning.
Let’s help the girl child and young women in our communities.
Together, let us fight the pandemic as well as our mental health
and equality for all.

13

Tbtperrheeeeagnnkhaiaengngeacryt-

K halanyoni, a village
located at approxi-
mately one hundred
miles from Plum-
tree, along Plum-
tree -Mambale Road is part
of Mangwe District and is fully
dominated by Kalanga speak-
ers.

Despite having some edu- talk of the day not as ill, but as a norm. When people talk about
cated or qualified individuals how a girl behaves, they ask how many children she has. Like the
such as those who hold PhDs, mileage of a BMW vehicle, our behaviour as girls is now measured
most people have relocated using the number of children we have, not boyfriends and educa-
to South Africa for numerous tional performance.
reasons, one of which is to
search for greener pastures. Sex education must be brought to Khalanyoni and campaigns be
As a result, most homes are carried out effectively to all. Our youth need education on the use
headed by children and/or do- of contraceptives that would help them prevent both sexually
mestic workers, who in most transmitted diseases and pregnancies.
instances lack experience,
responsibility and account- While unplanned pregnancies are now viewed as a norm, it is
ability. heart-breaking that most girls attempt suicide when they discov-
er that they are pregnant. Some girls try to carry out pregnancy
Khalanyoni Village is rotten termination using indigenous concoctions and this has resulted in
with unwanted teenage preg- loss of lives. In addition, some parents send girls away to stay with
nancies. Babies and children their boyfriends whenever pregnancy comes to light. This alone is
with babies are now seen as a an eye opener on sexual education as having been missed at a
fashion trend amongst youth certain stage. Thus, there is unwavering inequality between girls
and this breaks my heart. and boys: Girls are the most affected.
What actually kills me is the People, both young and old in my area, need education on sexual
way in which our youth view matters to curb the issues pertaining to teenage pregnancies. The
sex. Why is it that, the blame people in question need to change their minds and negative ap-
is heaped on girls when the proach to things that matter the most regarding young girls lives.
pregnancy comes to light?
Sex education is needed in my 14
area, and this must not spare
parents and guardians who
are used as intermediaries in
these cases.

In my area, school dropouts
associated with unwanted,
unplanned parenthood are a

NKwcuabneele

S he is a young, vibrant, de-
termined lady from Plum-
tree Ward 9. She says that
initially, she was against
engaging and participating
in electoral processes until The
Girls Table taught them how ap-
athy towards electoral processes
affects them at local level.

She says elections to her meant
voting for the president and she
always thought participation is for
elders. She says she now under-
stands the importance of partici-
pating in electoral processes as a
young woman especially because
they are the ones who suffer a lot.
She says she has learnt that is-
sues of service delivery affects
women more than men for exam-
ple with clinics that are very far,
sewages running in households.
Women suffer because they are
the ones who care for children.
She therefore urges young wom-
en to take a stand and not only
register to vote but to also cam-
paign as candidates.

She also urges organizations
such as The Girls Table to con-
tinue doing the work of empow-
ering young women because she
says that had it not been for them
she would not know what elector-
al processes are. Kwanele says
that they need to be empowered
because the majority of young
women still believe that they have
no place outside the kitchen, they
still feel their duty is in the kitch-
en, that is why they do not vote
other women who are candidates
in elections because they feel pol-
itics is not for women.

15