Her Throne Africa

C elebrated artiste DJ Tira is this year celebrating 21 years in the music industry and to mark that milestone, he is releasing an EP on August 24 that will take fans down memory lane. DJ Tira who runs the popular Afrotainment label has not only managed to rise to stardom himself, but has also helped others, chief among them Big Nuz, DJ C’ndo, DJ Fisherman, Dladla Mshunqisi, Zodwa Wabantu and most recently, the Qwabe Twins. Popularly referred to as Durban’s Finest, DJ Tira has collaborated, for the first time, with Zimbabwe’s songstress Berita for a single titled Uyandazi that is expected to serve as a teaser to the forthcoming EP. The track was produced by Mondli Ngcobo who sang the 2017 Inkanyezi hit and recorded at Afrotainment Studios. Speaking from his base in South Africa yesterday, DJ Tira through the Afrotainment artistes’ manager, Senzo Shezi said Uyandazi which will be released tomorrow, is part of the six tracks on DJ Tira’s EP. He said the EP was mea...

While many took to social media this week to commemorate the sacrifices made by the youth of 1976, actress Pearl Thusi has called on young people to take a stand against femicide and abuse of women and children. Thusi brought attention to today’s struggle of women and children being at the centre of abuse, saying that something needed to be done by this generation. The actress took to Instagram in honour of the youth involved in the June 16 1976 Soweto student uprising to address the issues faced in the country, questioning whether people were willing to die to get justice. With a picture of the Soweto uprising, Thusi captioned her post saying:  The more things change, the more they stay the same. The powers that be may have changed, but the struggle continues Women are killed. Police are still specifically violent with black people. Are we a generation willing to die for justice? Or are we willing to watch our fellow citizens, especially women and children,...

Fitness fanatics have been in bliss heaven since Covid-19 lockdown restrictions were downgraded to level 3. The streets have become an oasis of jogging enthusiasts and I must admit that we missed them. They add 'colour' to our dry roads.  One thing has changed though. The joggers now wear masks. Touche!   But did you know wearing of face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic is compromising people’s health, especially those that lead an active lifestyle. Apart from that general discomfort feeling of having your face covered for extended periods of time (Uuughm), joggers and walkers who resumed their fitness routines following the easing of the lockdown regulations in May have mostly reported worrying symptoms. In simple terminology, exercise while wearing masks is a dangerous toxic mix. I'm not a health expert so I won't mislead you with misguided facts so this is what the health experts say about this issue.  Three local doctors for their opinion. All agree...

For the first time in three months, news headlines shifted from the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic to another pandemic that is painfully staked against women - femicide. Lockdown alert level three brought more pain than joy in South Africa as the number of murdered women drastically rose. It prompted president Cyril Ramaphosa to condemn gender based violence and further highlighted the challenges that modern women go through.  What's painful and heartbreaking is the fact that so much has been written and said about gender based violence, yet the curve hasn't flattened a bit. Women still go through painful experiences in their homes and in the hands of their inamorata's - the very men who are supposed to shelter, provide, love and care for them.  Society has watched in silence as they believe that they can't interfere in private matters or family issues.  Femicide concerns us all. Talk and social media hashtags amount to nothing if action is still a faraway mirag...

It’s weird how at one point you have it all sorted out; you know exactly where you want to go and have it all planned out. And then life happens... Whereas you once had control over things, your hands are now tied and, on top of that, you are now facing Covid-19. But wait, you still have to make a plan, keep your head high, smile, be strong and brave, even if you’re unemployed and have no idea where the next meal, electricity or school fees are coming from. You see, your plan was altered or mangled by this... Yet you smile, still believe, say grace and pick yourself up. Why? Because you have this perfect little boy, who is now a teenager, depending on you, looking up to you as his go-to person and mother. In this world today single mothers are labelled “unstable” and the whole world misses the part where we are the ones who actually make it through the worst of times. We are here, still driven by the fact that there is hope and a better world – a place for us. We still beli...

Her blissful voice can fascinate anyone and there is so much power in her lyrics, there is no doubt the music industry just received another golden voice. The 17-year-old upcoming songstress, Alvara Lucungo, recently spoke on how she's paving her career path in music. Born in Windhoek, Alvara started songwriting in 2018 but she officially joined the music industry last year when she released her first album titled ‘Fin'. As a person with poor vision, Lucungo said, music became her first career choice because the career paths for people with her disability are quite minimal. “Due to my inability to see clearly, I was indecisive of which career to follow after school and I started singing and songwriting which came easily for me because I am a selftaught songwriter,” said the eloquent speaker. Lucungo said since she was able to do everything, she realised there was no other place she would rather be, other than the music industry. The songbird's album ‘FIN'...

Never in my entire life have I ever woken up so extremely dejected. My body spontaneously vibrated over the thought of a looming unfortunate possibility. We may have joked on social media in the past about SA, deserving to be “closed” as we unleashed our comical prowess. Mother Nature, when we said “Mayivalwe le country” as we laughed at memes and jokes created by our compatriots, we never meant it this way. Unfortunately for us, that wish has finally been granted, though in contrast to our greatest projections. When coronavirus was still a TV disease, it neither beat nor bothered us that much. It never dawned on us that one day we would walk on this thorn infested road with low levels of optimism. Never did we think the pandemic would one day land on our shores and render us strangers in the towns and cities we built with our own sweat and blood. It never crossed our minds that one day, the houses we have built would transform into our own exiles, as we attempt to run awa...

Eish many events are occurring right round the world but many are going unnoticed because this Covid-19 sensation. When will it go away so that life returns to normalcy? While an answer to that question isn’t available, 2020 has been an amazing year for women as they continue claiming their throne in an ever advancing society. The latest being 23 year old Emma Theofilus, who was appointed as Namibia’s deputy minister of Information and Technology. That feat has made her Namibia’s youngest ever MP and Minister. What an achievement! “I do not think I am special, but I do not think I am inexperienced, and I do not think being young or female has anything to do with my appointment. Anything I set myself to and any environment I want to work into, I can do it; so the issue of inexperience does not hold any water,” she stressed. Academic She was born and bred in Windhoek. Theofilus has a Diploma in African feminism and gender studies as well as a Diploma in Busin...

What a dull and miserable weekend it was! No tennis, no Formula 1 and no soccer. To add to our misery there’s the spectre of recession, load shedding and piles of dirt on the roads. Before it was Brexit. Now all you hear day and night on the news channels is the wretched Covid-19. We have already become a nation living in fear, barricading our homes against brazen criminals who have taken over towns and neighbourhoods. Now we have to contend with another deadly enemy so tiny and microscopic that we cannot even see it. But it carries a lethal force. Like squirrels we scurry to the shopping malls emptying the shelves of essential items to store up for the hard times ahead. How could humankind, which is the most successful species on Earth, be at the mercy of such a tiny thing as a virus? Did any astrologer worth their salt look into their crystal glass and prophesise that a disease of Biblical proportions would descend upon the Earth and threaten to wipe out the human race...

An old adage states – its not how much you have that matters. Its what you have that does. A big heart can make a huge difference in other people’s lives. A Cape Town university student is living true to that notion by assisting at least 12 young school girls just being good to them. Call it the big sister rescue act. The deed started when she saw a little girl walking to school wearing a dishevelled uniform. “As i was waiting for her to come closer i noticed that she wasn’t well dressed. Her shirt wasn’t on properly, her skirt wasn’t ironed and her shoes were torn,” said 20 year old Olwethu Maqungo who is a third year student at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). On approaching Maqungo, the little girl disclosed that she was afraid of going to school because her books were not covered and she did not have stationary. Rewind to your school days: we all know what that means – an angry teacher. “It was disheartening. I fixed her uniform, put ...

Sport has the power to change the world and the Namibian Football Association (NFA) is keeping that notion alive through its groundbreaking Gals & Goals initiative. The NFA Gals & Goals Development Programme aims to increase the empowerment of adolescent girls to make healthy and constructive life choices on and off the field. Through the creation of leagues in all regions of Namibia for different age groups between 12 and 19 years and also the integration of HIV & AIDS information sessions, life skills and healthy lifestyle components into the programming network, Galz & Goals has created a unique platform through which adolescent girls can gain skills and knowledge through active participation. Currently covering most of Namibia’s top metropolis, there are ongoing plans to expand the initiative to all 14 provinces of the sub-Saharan nation. It recently sailed into the coastal town of Luderitz were councillor Jan Scholtz welcomed the programme stating that...

What will Isibaya be without the ever smiling charm of Nomzamo Mbatha? Well, the show moves on....and so does Mbatha – all in good faith. That’s what dreams are made of. The gorgeous Mbatha, a star attraction on the South African entertainment scene, left her role on Isibaya to purse international gigs. Having burst onto the scene after picking up the runners up slot in the 2012 MTV Base VJ Search, she streamed into acting and made her debut in 2013. Surprise, surprise..her first acting role was on Isibaya. Her character subsequently became a firm fan favourite. Mbatha never allowed the fame to slow her down. Infact it drove her as she scored a major role on e.tv’s Umlilo. She went on to bag her first movie gig in Tell Me Sweet Something. The rest as they say – is history! Mbatha became the face of Neutrogena, Puma and a United Nations Goodwill ambassador. Like fine wine in a barrel she has matured. She is now based in Los Angeles. What would she have...

Many women in our modernised world shun the importance of knowing more about breast cancer. They are guided by the false misconception that they can never develop the deadly cancer simply because it has never been detected in their families. A survey conducted by Her Throne Africa revealed that 1 in every 10 women actually understands the importance of going for a breast cancer test. One of the easiest ways of eliminating ones chances of developing breast cancer is through getting a mammogram. Mammograms are a surefire way of eliminating the breast cancer pandemic that has hovered across Southern Africa in a dark cloud. While mammograms are obviously not the most pleasant, they are undoubtedly necessary for every woman in ensuring good health, and safety that contribute to a peace of mind. A mammography is an X-Ray photograph of the breasts that help in detecting possible cancers or diseased growths that attack women. A mammography workstation uses mammography, a specially...

What the men failed to do at last year’s cricket World Cup, the Protea women are showing their male counterparts just how it’s done! And all this is coincidentally happening right at the beginning of Women’s Month. Having cruised past England in their opener, South Africa booked their semi final berth at the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup. They beat Pakistan by 17 runs, making it three wins out of three in a tough group that also features the big hitting West Indies. Cricket South Africa acting CEO, Jacques Faul, heaped praises on the ladies stating that he had been impressed with “the number of different players who have come up with the match winning performance when it was needed”. He acknowledged players who who had reached personal milestones, including Mignon du Preez becoming the first South African, male or female, to play 100 T20 international matches. A remarkable feat indeed in this landscape dominated by male sport. The final is on Tuesda...

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The ministry of defence has promised to throw their weight behind Class two Warrant Officer Helalia Johannes and support her during her preparations for two upcoming competitions. Warrant officer and marathon runner Helalia Johannes presented her medals to her employer, the Ministry of Defence. During the event, the Deputy Minister of Defence, Billy Mwaningange, said he appreciates all the sportsmen and women within the ministry, especially Helalia Johannes. Mwaningange also assured her of the ministry's support during her preparations for the upcoming international games that she qualified for. “The ministry of Defence and Namibia Defence Force wish Warrant officer class two Helalia Johannes all the best especially on her upcoming international games that she qualified for. One is Nagoya Woman's Marathon that will be on the 8th March 2020 in Nagoya Japan and other one is Olympic Games on the 8th August 2020, In Tokyo, Japan” Mwaningange said. Johannes was the ...

Many people wonder how much sex they should be having. They wonder how much sex is enough for a married couple, or if they are “normal” compared to others. Just how important is sex, anyway? These are common questions asked in the offices of  couples therapists  and sex therapists (and maybe just as commonly, worried about but not asked). It’s risky to cite  statistics  on sexual satisfaction for a few reasons. This is because much of the data is from self-reported information. We really aren’t 100% confident about the accuracy of the results. While it is important to have an initial reference point for different groups of people, it is typically not what someone is really asking. People actually wish to know if their relationship is healthy. They are wondering if they are enough for their partner or if their partner is indeed enough for them. They are wondering if “too much” or, typically, “too little” sex is at issue in their relationship. Sometimes ...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has praised Zozibini Tunzi for her work in battling the scourge of femicide and gender-based violence (GBV) on the African continent, electing her an ambassador in the fight. The announcement was made as Ramaphosa took his place as AU chair at the weekend. He will share the position with arts and culture deputy minister Nocawe Mafu. Speaking at a homecoming celebration for Zozi in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, Mafu said the president had been asked to address the issue of violence against women on the continent. “He said: 'I can do it because already I have an ambassador in SA. Her name is Zozibini Tunzi. She has already committed to this challenge, so I can take it, as president and as the government of South Africa, that she will be championing it on behalf of the government,” Mafu said. The government would fight GBV and femicide on the continent “using the face of a women from Esidwadweni in Tsolo”, she said.

Farai Diza (FD): What inspires your poetry? Natalia Molebatsi (NM): I am inspired by words and how they are able to influence conversations. Through poetry we can also navigate our emotions and experiences, including the joys and trauma that our bodies carry. I’m inspired everyday to use my poetry to speak truth to the ills of the erasure of black women, racism, misogyny and capitalism and how these phenomena impact the lives of our people. FD: Having edited a number of poetry anthologies, do you think African poetry is still relevant? NM: I have actually edited one poetry anthology called We Are and working on the next one. However, I have published two collections of my own poetry. Our stories, visions, and experiences are valid and important. We need to hear them and affirm them, locally and globally. Our poetry is relevant now than ever before and it will never cease to be exciting because we live against the odds and continue to push through the violence of colo...