Celebrating the strength and resilience of South African women

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On 9 August, we commemorate the 66th anniversary of strong and brave South African women, where we celebrate their courage and resilience.

We are proud to share the stories of two women – hairstylist Bomzi Lekgoro and photographer Basetsana Maluleka – who are pioneers in their careers, but are also brand ambassadors for HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones – which are also designed, built and tested to last for longer and meet life’s changing needs. 

We sat down with Bomzi and Basetsana to pick their brains about what it means to be a woman in South Africa right now. Here’s what they had to say: 

  1. What does Women’s Day mean to you? And what does it mean to be a woman in South Africa currently?
    Bomzi: Women’s Day means celebrating and remembering the women that came before us. Being a woman in South Africa currently means creating a life that’s full of endless possibilities.
    Basetsana:
    Women’s Day to me is mostly a day to reflect on how much progress we have made as a nation to better the livelihood of women’s health, wealth and safety. Being a black queer woman myself in this country and having certain matters directly affect me is quite challenging. I strongly believe we still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do to ensure the priority of women empowerment is at the forefront of everything.
  2. Who has been your inspiration to achieve success? And who or what inspires you to keep going?
    Bomzi: My mother is my inspiration to achieving success, my daughter inspires me to keep going.
    Basetsana: I have a lot of great influences around me, but I think I’ve worked enough on myself to become my biggest inspiration. Seeing how far I’ve come and have been able to achieve still blows my mind to this day. The one person that keeps me going and is one of the people that inspires me daily is my partner. She is the most hard-working person I know, and I think I feed that off of that most of the time.
  3. Name one challenge you have faced as a woman in your career.
    Bomzi: The challenge I’ve had in my career is working crazy hours. That being said, I am fuelled by my passion for the hair styling industry and the belief that patience and hard work always pays off.
    Basetsana: I work in a male-dominated industry, and I think my biggest challenge to this day is having to constantly prove my competence solely because I’m a woman.
  4. What advice would you give to other women who want to follow in your footsteps/pursue a career in hairstyling/photography?
    Bomzi: It took patience and discipline for me to be where I am today. If you apply these two principles, nothing is impossible.
    Basetsana: I would say be prepared to fail and do so gracefully. I’ve been given a lot of advice before and that one seems to be the one that keeps me going. No one will ever prepare you for the hard feelings you’ll experience along the way. When you fail always remember why you started and that will keep you going. “This generation of South African women come from a long line of predecessors committed to standing up for justice and equity. It makes us proud to be able to partner with South African women. We support them with Nokia phones that can go the distance and keep up with their busy lifestyles. We cannot wait to see what they achieve next and watch them succeed through their own dedication and strength,” says Khosi Sanni, Marketing Manager at HMD Global.
    WIN WIN WIN
    To celebrate Women’s Month, we are giving you a chance to win a Nokia G21 smartphone valued at R3,499. The Nokia G21 is designed to stand the test of time with a super-tough polycarbonate shell so it can handle life’s knocks and with a 3-day battery life so you can enjoy more of what you love for longer. Your Nokia G21 will also keep you safer for longer, with two years of OS upgrades and twice as many security updates as the competition. It comes with the 50MP triple camera with AI imaging and advanced low light imaging to make taking quality photos a cinch.

    To stand a chance to win, simply follow Get It Joburg North on Instagram and Facebook. Find the competition post – tell us which female has been an inspiration in your life.

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