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WELCOME TO THE WOMAN ZONE BOOK REVIEW PAGE.
This is where members of the WZ Book Club get to share their thoughts on titles seen on the shelves of our Women’s Library. All reviews are unsolicited and only those attending the WZBC may borrow and review books.
The Woman Zone Book Club meets on the 2nd Saturday of every month between 2pm and 4pm at The Women’s Library, ground floor, Artscape. All are welcome.

COVID19 ALERT! Please note that while the Women's Library is closed during lockdown, we welcome your reviews of women-authored books. Send between 200-500 words and cover pic if possible to info@womanzonect.co.za or hipzone@mweb and we will post it here!

Being Dianne

9/23/2021

Author: Qarnita Loxton
Publisher: Kwela
Reviewer: Nancy Richards
Let me first admit that I have huge respect for Qarnita Loxton – practiced as an attorney, studied psychology, worked as executive coach – but you can read all that in the blurb at the back of her latest book. But my respect is born from the fact that she is unpretentious (despite the success she’s had with her Being books), she’s openhearted and minded, stylish, funny and, judging from this latest book, filled with insight.
So Being Dianne follows on from the series

featuring friends Kari, Lily and Shelley – you may know this/have read them – if not, you can catch up now. But notable about Qarnitad this book specifically, is that through Dianne, her divorce from the unlikeable Alan, her desperate attempts to reach her clammed-up teenage daughter Kate to discuss issues of same-sex relationships, or anything else for that matter, not to mention her own multiple, complicated and colourful relationships (why she ever married the narrow, mealy-mouthed Alan is a mystery), she addresses so many enormously contemporary social conundrums.
There are some agonizing conversations between characters – both deep and slight, a very recognizable, revealing and expletive-laden friends @HELP WhatsApp group with from-the-hip advice, some killer confrontations and a jaw-dropping, very public confession that can only be described as… sjoe, out there! The local Cape Town settings, in the city centre, Blouberg, Noordhoek, Waterfront Primi etc, and not least the very real and much-loved Book Lounge in Roeland St, scene of a catalytic Teen Pride meeting, make it extraordinarily relatable for many of us Mother City residents – but not exclusive. What she’s dealing with here is universal first-world.
Putting it all into bang-up-to-date context, there’s even an emerging COVID lockdown backdrop – she claims in fact that writing Dianne kept her sane during the chaos of 2020. But the sense I get about Qarnita is that she inhales the world around her - the dialogue, the mood, mixed-upness, the pain, passions and peccadillos - processes it all and wraps it neatly in a package of humour and empathy. And while she liberally credits all the people who have helped her craft this and all the other Being books – she is undoubtedly the chief cook who has so perfected the Being recipe.

Bantu Knots

9/22/2021

Author: Lebo Mazibuko
Publisher: Kwela books
Reviewer: Hazel Makuzeni
COVID has done us wrong; horribly wrong. It has stolen from us and paralysed our psyche. It is thus quite refreshing and uplifting to read a number of books this year written by black South African women. Bantu Knots is

one of those books I had the pleasure of reading. The novel revolves around Naledi Kwena. It’s an adolescent tale of growing up in a township and navigating life’s hurdles while pursuing your dreams.
Naledi is born and raised in Zone 2, Ndende Street in Pimville, Soweto. Her mother Dineo had her when she was still a teenager and for the most part of the book, is busy chasing the good life with ama-blessers. Naledi is raised by her grandmother, Norah. A strict Christian woman who hasn’t forgotten nor forgiven her daughter Dineo's past transgressions. This leads to her stern approach in parenting Naledi. To be fair to grandma Norah, Dineo is not pulling her weight around the house. Most times – she’s nowhere to be seen and her relationship with Naledi is non-existent.
You feel for Naledi right from the start. As a young girl, she’s banned from playing with the other kids from her street. She watches them by the gate and is envious of their freedom. She has only one friend at school and the only person she can have a meaningful talk to in Zone 2 is Karabo, her next door neighbour. Even then, their talk is usually through the wire fence that separates their two homes. The less said about her father Xolani, the better. He has denied paternity and is demeaning towards her – lowering still further Naledi’s already fragile self-esteem. On the home front it’s no better. Mama (Naledi calls her grandmother Mama) demands complete obedience – almost suffocating the poor girls independence and imagination. Each and every night she recites Bible verses with Naledi. And is quick to put the fear of God and Hell in the heart of the growing young lady whenever she senses mischievousness. She’s also militant about the household chores that Naledi must fulfil. Mama is definitely not the sentimental type. She will not even say “I love you” to Naledi.
Dineo’s wishes do come true when she finally meets a blesser who ends up marrying her. But not without drama! Naledi gets liberated at university. She takes up drama, makes new friends, parties, falls in love and have sex. Danger lurks around the corner; and she soon discovers that. Dineo’s fairy tale romance crumbles to dust and she moves back home abused and defeated. A sorry state of affairs for a girl who once got a Porsche Cayenne as a wedding gift from her sugar daddy. She’s now car-less and is back sleeping on the mattress on the floor of Mama’s living room.
Bantu Knots is a book that examines notions of beauty. Why should your worth and status depend on the hue of your skin colour or on whether your hair is relaxed or an Afro? The book also looks at the generational-gap and the importance of finding common ground. It touches on the taboo issue of sex discussions especially in black families. It explores religion, identity, youth, freedom, guilt and redemption. Dineo’s episode is a cautionary tale to the girls pursuing the blesser lifestyle.

FLOW - the book about menstruation

9/20/2021

Authors: Karen Jeynes, Candice Chirwa, Pontsho Pilate
Publisher: Kwela
Reviewer: Beryl Eichenberger
This is a vitally important book for every woman. It is seminal in unpacking menstruation taboos and demystifying the period. It is also a practical, empowering read skilfully navigating the ebb and flow of this most natural of female bodily functions. With contributions by Dr Ilana Johnson, Tariq Hassan and Claire Fourie and other experts it addresses everything you need to know.
Candice Chirwa, is known as the Minister of

Menstruation, a menstrual activist with an avid interest in gender and youth issues. Karen Jeynes, a writer for stage and screen has co-authored teenage books as well as the Karen Book of rules and published numerous short stories, articles and poetry. Pontsho Pilate an award winning journalist, editor and media training.
We know that in this country 30% of our girl children miss school because of lack of access to sanitary products. Equally sad is that, even now in the 21st Century, so many young women also suffer embarrassment, stigma and cultural barriers about their monthly flow.
All three authors are passionate about talking about menstruation and answering all those questions about a woman’s period. The book is an important source on the natural, biological and fundamental bodily process. It opens all the doors on being period positive. And if talking about this is making the reader uncomfortable – then you need to read the book.
Warmly chatty and incisively written the book is divided into three parts, the physical, the psychological and the political (coincidence that all they start with the letter P?) Reading through the chapters the personal experiences from these three young writers and their research subjects is revealing. Pontsho relates her own journey with her ‘Flow Journal’ and brings up the question of ‘why is having a vagina so expensive?’ – by counting the cost of having a period the need for free sanitary products (as with free condoms) is long overdue but, when you read of the long political journey in making sanitary products Vat free – only achieved in 2018 – how far is this into the future?
Menstrual rights are human rights – why is it then that it can be so difficult to talk about menstruation? ‘Well, it is because it is still unacceptable to talk openly about their period, to make it visible. When we think of how society portrays menstruation, it is usually in the format of horrific PMS jokes or first menstruation horror stories, and this results in socialising our young menstruators to expect to hate their periods before they even start.’
With conversations conducted with young and old, the chapters are open and informative as they speak from the hearts of women and their experiences. Men, both young and old, reveal the ignorance perpetuated through generations but also there is empathy, understanding and a desire to be supportive. Gender issues and transgender experiences are spoken about with sensitivity and practicality: sex, pregnancy, disability, sexual assault all come under the microscope. This is a tightly packed book where the authors have explored every avenue. It should be required reading, not just in schools but for all adults. Drawing as it does on both lay and professional experiences, there is passion and purpose towards a period positive country which is to be applauded.
I would encourage everyone to join the #FreeToBleed campaign - the journey for free menstrual pads products in our lifetime. Menstrual activism is an important part of allowing our young girls to grow up being proud of who they are and what they represent.

Unbecoming

9/8/2021

Author: Joanne Fedler
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Reviewer: Beryl Eichenberger
Fearless and feisty is how i would describe Joanne Fedler’s new novel “Unbecoming” . Published by Penguin Random House this is a story that packs a punch with its bold, humorous and beautiful writing. For any woman who has suffered or is suffering the ‘slings and arrows’ of menopause this novel will take you by the hand and lead you into a place that is so familiar, binding as it does the sisterhood of over 50s, the changes that are wrought in those years and the process of finding the new person that is you. ‘Unbecoming’ by Joanne Fedler is written with huge empathy, pithy prose and laugh

out loud moments that catch you unawares.
As Fedler warns in the author’s note – ‘you are about to enter perilous terrain’. For women of this age are entering their last phase of life and what the hell are they going to do now the kids are grown, childbearing is over and perhaps the partner is not quite up to expectations. It is a trying and turbulent time.
Set in Australia, protagonist Jo has taken a three month sabbatical – a sort of eat, pray, love quest - from husband and adult children. Writer’s block, is she happy with Frank, her children’s choices, all have become bewildering questions in her life. When she bumps into former friend Fiona who suggests she joins her and some friends on a ‘sacred silent walk’ to mark her 57th birthday, Jo is reluctant to say the least. Not her friends, not her thing at all, not one to bare her soul…a lot of nots and yet she is persuaded. And into the bush they go these six dissimilar women – or so it seems. For one night they experience the midnight sky, camping out,peeing through special funnel (i kid you not) fabulous food and meet a stranger who unleashes such powerful and conflicting emotions that they are all forced to take stock. Tongues are loosened, secrets shared and futures become clearer as the wild land creeps into their bones and preconceived ideas are taken on the wind. As perceptions, women’s rights and stereotypes are dissected Fedler draws on her talent to expose and shock as the conversations turn inwards and revealing.
Fedler draws the most wonderful and memorable characters. The gentle Fiona, struggling with her husband’s death, the earth-child attuned to nature, the immigrant Yasmin with her passion for food and her cultural family history, brittle Liz, corporate to the core with her own pain, nurse Kiri who is the all-embracing mother earth and the profane Cate who says it likes it is. Deliciously colourful they are all pursuing the ‘what next?’ They are the friends each of us know and love.
“Menopause is where sexism meets ageism’. Ouch! Here we are in the 21st Century and still women contend with the stigma of normal bodily functions, those bodily functions that bring life and latterly give us a new path. In my own experience i have seen the blossoming of over 50s women as they experience a new freedom and creativity. Fedler takes us through this dense bush and brings us out on the other side into the gleam of a different liberated future.

The Rose Code

9/8/2021

Author: Kate Quinn
Publisher: Harper Collins
Reviewer: Beryl Eichenberger
I have long been fascinated by the role that Bletchley Park in the UK played in World War ll. So when ‘The Rose Code’, a historical novel by Kate Quinn published by HarperCollins fell into my hands i expected to be in for a really good read. And so it was! With its heady mix

Remembering

9/6/2021

Author: Andile Gaelesiwe
Publisher: Tafelberg
Reviewer: Hazel Makuzeni
If you’re ever wanting to get a personal insight into the workings of the entertainment industry, Remembering is one of the books to get your hands on. A personal story of much-celebrated media personality, Andile Gaelesiwe, this book exposes the murky world of an industry more often portrayed as glamorous and richly rewarding. Andile’s Remembering is a powerful testament of love, forgiveness, perseverance and triumph over abuse, cruelty and evil.

Born in the township of Meadowlands, Soweto, on September 13, 1973, Andile grew up in Phiriphiri Street surrounded by the richness of our country’s diversity. Her neighbour’s included Sotho, Tsonga, Xhosa and Venda families - helping her to become multilingual. A valuable asset later on with her TV career. Andile says she was a problem child - sulky, stubborn and hard to understand, she was also depressed early in life. Given the sexual abuse she suffered as a child this is hardly surprising. Her relationship with her mother (Dolly) was not an easy one. Her mother had her in her late teens. Dolly was a former model and singer and had had a hard life herself. Andile’s biological father had abused and abandoned her while she was pregnant. Andile often ran away from home where life was strained even though her mother had now settled with a wonderful man, Papa Gaelesiwe. It was during this time of strife that Andile connected with her biological father, meeting him without her mother’s knowledge.
These secret encounters with her father would lead to a catastrophic act – his rape of her in his apartment. Rape in our country is rife and this book sadly highlights the scourge. Andile would be senselessly beaten and raped again by a taxi driver who was taking her to the boarding school she was attending in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga. At about sixteen she tried to commit suicide. Through all the trauma, the loss of innocence and the violation of her being, she found solace in music and spirituality. Her exposure to the entertainment industry began when, during the school holidays, she worked as a receptionist at Om Alec Khaoli’s Lyndhurst studio. It was here that she was introduced to the elite in the industry. It was here too that her singing talent was discovered by Om Alec. And, it was here also that she recorded her first album with singer/producer Joe Nina and Om Alec. Her first single ‘Abuti Yo’ was a national hit in 1996!
But Andile had to break from her shell. During this sensational period she says, she went from being a nerdy girl to the “it” girl. She was opening up at concerts for legends such as Brenda Fassie, Lucky Dube and Jabu Khanyile. This was also the beginning of her journey to colouring her hair.
In this book Andile is reclaiming her power. She tells her truth and has no fear. She came out about her rape ordeal in 2001 – live on Yfm. She talks about the sexual harassment she had to endure over the years in the industry and how she took on big men and won. It’s a cautionary tale to every young woman thinking of entering this business. Know who you are, embrace your values and worth. She left the music industry in 2004, refusing to sell her soul and compromise on her principles. Refusing to be exploited as an artist, she also talks about her love life, friends, spirituality, witchcraft, TV shows and Open Disclosure Foundation (ODF) - an organisation she started to support other survivors of sexual as well as other forms of abuse. Her mother is now her number one fan. She’s the project manager at ODP.
Many of us know and adore Andile as the courageous heroine presenter of Khumbul’ekhaya on SABC 1. But in Remembering, she faces her demons and insecurities. She takes charge and now does things on her own terms. This book is her healing.

The Grief Handbook

9/3/2021

Author: Bridget McNulty
Publisher: Watkins Media
Reviewer: Beryl Eichenberger
‘One day at a time’ is the inscription in my copy of ‘The Grief Handbook’ by Bridget McNulty, never more apt in this grieving world that we have been plunged into. But

this is an intensely personal and empathetic guide for anyone who has lost a loved one at any time. COVID has meant there are very few who have not suffered devastating loss in some form or another. How does one deal with this? Put on a brave face and go about your business? Curl up in a corner and isolate yourself as you cry yourself out? Each individual will handle grief differently and it is this that makes McNulty’s book so important. It is a guide through the worst days of your life. And one that’ will take you by the hand and offer empathy and compassion’.
Grief is a mixture of emotions – a process - for McNulty the book came about as she struggled to come to terms with the sudden loss of her mother. With two small children, a husband, grieving father and siblings the person who had been at the pivot of their lives was gone leaving a huge void. For McNulty the support she needed just didn’t seem to be there and she was confronted with emotions and loneliness that seemed to be insurmountable.
Coping seemed to be almost impossible but we do cope during the very worst times of our lives: ‘We keep breathing. We keep eating. We keep sleeping. We keep walking, one step at a time, in the hope that one day we will emerge from the worst thing. ‘
And it is this journey that the handbook takes you on. Acknowledging we are all unique and that there are no rules for grief – we will each find our way through it in our own time – McNulty gives practical advice, from personal experience and psychological insights. She brings in quotes from writers who too, have made this journey. As she traces the path of her own grief and how she devised ways of coping this little book has developed into a beautifully interactive volume that understands, suggests but never insists. Activities to distract, rituals and safe spaces where you can let it all out; and all the time there is the gentle support of her helping hand. As a writer and journalist writing was obviously a salve but you don’t need to be a writer to just put on paper how you are feeling – journaling has a cleansing effect. There is the physicality to be dealt with, the fear of breaking down in public, whatever it is you feel or do is totally normal. ‘You do grief the way that works for you.’
As a reader I was reminded of my own personal losses down the years and how I wish I had had this handbook to help me on my way. ‘The Grief Handbook’ resonated deeply and will do to so many. Thank you for being there in the midst of your own loss.

RETHINKING AFRICA

8/28/2021

Title: Rethinking Africa: – Indigenous Women Re-interpret Southern Africa’s Pasts
Editors: Bernedette Muthien and June Bam
Publishers: Fanele
Reviewer: Nancy Richards
The essence of this book is wedged firmly in the title. It’s a thinking and rethinking book that offers much on which to reflect. At the same time, challenging on many levels. And so it would, because the contributors are all women who are not shy to state their cases strongly in their chosen fields. Ana Ligia Leite e Aguar is a professor of Brazilian Literature; June Bam heads the Khoi and San unit at

UCT’s Centre for African Studies; Shelly Barry is a filmmaker: Diana Ferrus a poet and writer; Gertrude Fester a former Commissioner for Gender Equality; Sharon Groenmeyer a sociologist; Khadija Tracy Heger a poet; Robyn Humphreys has a BSc in human genetics; Babalwa Magoqwana is a sociologist-anthropologist; Sarah Malotane Henekman is a transdisciplinary practicioner-scholar and Sylvia Vollenhoven is a storyteller-playwright. All of them are so much more than these drastically redacted bios and I hope that as multi-layered activists they will forgive me.
Bernedette Muthien together with June Bam was the prime motivator for the book. An academic, poet, researcher and co-founder of the Khoisan Women’s Circle, she is every bit as multi-layered as the others. In fact she says, the contributors were in part chosen for their various skills, and that ‘herstory’ as distinct from history, needs to be told as much through the arts as academia. Hence the opening chapter by writer, playwright Sylvia Vollenhoven is called Writing ourselves back into history: the liberating narrative of who we are. Likewise, the contributions from Ferrus, Barry and Heger are all poems and some photographs and artworks are also included.
But Bernedette’s own essay Rematriation: Reclaiming indigenous matricentric egalitarianism offers some especially pertinent thinking: ‘Indigenous societies have compassionate spiritualities at their core, with feminine or dual-gender deities, rather than a vengeful, raging, patriarchal deity that inspires fear rather than love.’ She goes on, ‘there is a distinct contrast between the patriarchal power over’ and the matricentric, egalitarian ‘power as a resource’, to be shared in abundance and with respect, like all other resources.’ You only have to look at the legacy of some of the so-called ‘strongman’ leaders around the world today, to see that there could be some lessons here.
As a non-academic, for me there were many lessons. First that from the lists of references and footnotes I learned that this is not a book that has been put together lightly. I also learned that ‘deep listening’ and ‘deep research’ are required if we are to reopen the door to shareable and fair power and rethink the way we live.
More simply I learnt the meaning of the words ontological (a philosophy based on the existence of things) and epistemicide (the killing of knowledge systems). As well, more tragically, that the word ‘ausi’ meaning older sister or first born girl child, according to June Bam extends to ‘ausi-cide’ (attempted erasure of the knowledge and role of indigenous Khoi elder women. Much to make you think.

Strike a Rock

8/24/2021

Title: Strike a Rock – The Thembi Kgatlana Story
Author: Nikolaos Kirkinis
Publisher: Jacana
Reviewer: Hazel Makuzeni
The book is a gripping account of one of the best female footballers South Africa has ever produced. It’s so engaging, it was hard for me to put down once I started reading. The book offers an insight into the incredible journey of a sporting hero from humble beginnings to international recognition. It’s a story of one woman’s passion for football that defies all the odds.
Born on 2 May 1996, Chrestinah Thembi Kgatlana grew up not afraid of playing soccer with the

in the dusty and gravelled streets of Mohlakeng township in Johannesburg’s West Rand. She grew up with her mother (Constance Masinga) and father (Matlhomola Kgatlana) and two boy siblings, Tumelo and Mpho. Technically Mpho, a year older, is Thembi’s cousin but to her he’s her brother – they’re inseparable. They all lived in her maternal grandmother’s house after she passed away. Although tiny in stature, Thembi was fearless even as a child, playing rough with the boys and mischievous most times. This got her in hot water at home and in school.
Not a shy one, at primary school she signed up for any and every sporting event. Her amazing talent in football is soon spotted and in Grade 5 she’s invited to be part of a real team – a boys’ soccer team. Back then, only boys played the sport in school. She’s the laughing stock – girls taunt her for playing a boys game and her parents discourage her love for the game. Her mother tries to teach her how to brew umqomothi (traditional beer) in case she has to take over the family business one day – but with no success. Thembi is not interested, period!
Her excellent striking skills are noticed by a local recruiter who invites Thembi for training with a local women’s football team – the Parma Ladies FC – at the tender age of 13. Thembi’s meteoric rise is unstoppable. In Grade 8 she’s officially invited by SAFA (South African Football Association) to train with the South African Girls’ National under 17 squad. From there, she joins the HPC (High Performance Centre) as a student footballer. The HPC puts her through a rigorous training schedule. Her time there taught her about the importance of respect, teamwork and staying focused.
Her major break comes when she’s selected for trials by Vera Pauw, the legendary Dutch coach and now coach for the women’s national football team, Banyana Banyana. She’s looking for a squad to take to the Africa’s Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON). Thembi’s first game with Banyana Banyana is an international friendly against Namibia in August 2014. In between training with the team, she’s also preparing for her final matric exams. She passes with two distinctions, including an A for isiZulu. Thembi accepts the invitation by the University of the Western Cape (UWC) to study there where she enrols for a bachelor’s degree in tourism in 2015. She continues to practice and plays for the UWC women’s football team. She also joins the boys at Ajax Cape Town for gruelling training sessions.
Thembi is only 20 years old when she plays for Banyana Banyana in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She signs with one of the biggest women’s football team in the world, the Houston Dash from Texas, USA. The head coach is none other than Vera Pauw, former Banyana Banyana coach. In January 2019 she signs with the Beijing bG Phoenix – earning six times more than she earned in the US. What readers might not know incidentally is that the biggest women’s football league in the world can be found in China.
Thembi has fought many obstacles in her young life and has emerged triumphantly. Coming from a place where a girl had no business playing soccer to now being a role model for many young women in the country. She has faced addiction and its destruction to family life when her elder brother, Tumelo, became a drug addict and a thief. She’s experienced first-hand discrimination that women face in sport. She won Player of the Tournament for two international competitions in a row. She won both the 2018 CAF (Confederation of African football) Goal of the Year award and, CAF African Women Footballer of the Year award. In 2019 she scored Banyana Banyana’s first ever World Cup goal in the team’s first ever World Cup tournament in France playing against Spain. In the same year she also founded the Thembi Kgatlana Foundation. An initiative to make a difference in the life of the South African girl child.
Thembi is a living legend, a resilient footballer, a world-class striker with lightning speed and a nightmare for opposition defenders on the field. A thrilling and inspirational read.

Comrade Editor

8/21/2021

Title: Comrade Editor: On life, journalism and the birth of Namibia
Author: Gwen Lister
Publisher: Tafelberg
Reviewer: Hazel Makuzeni
Comrade Editor is the tell-all passionate story of the award winning activist journalist Gwen Lister. Born in December 1953 in East London, Gwen’s childhood was spent in different places in South Africa. Her father (John) worked in the banking sector for all his life and her mother (Joan) became a stay-at-home mom once she was born. Her father’s reckless indulgence in alcohol left a negative

imprint on her life and that of her family (including siblings John and Gillian). Like many English speakers, her parents were conflicted about South Africa. Critical of apartheid but not vocal in public. Her political awakening started in her teen years – thanks to the progressive minded nuns that taught her at the convent schools she attended and her interest in the world, including the Civil Rights Movement in the US.
Gwen was liberated at UCT (University of Cape Town) where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Ethics, Political Philosophy and History in 1975. Not an armchair critic, she took part in many anti-apartheid demonstrations on and off campus. It was while she was at UCT that she and fellow students staged a protest at Newlands rugby field – the British Lions were playing the Southern Universities team.
Her first job as a reporter was with the Windhoek Advertiser in Namibia in 1976, working under Hannes ‘Smittie’ Smith. A hell-raiser of a man, a drunk and chronic insomniac, with a contempt for female journalists. When he met her for the first time, he was already drunk at mid-morning and told her “women belong barefoot in the kitchen or naked in bed.” Though an unsavoury character in many ways, Smittie was a dedicated newspaperman through and through.
Gwen’s strong commitment to journalism, human rights and true grit carried her through the Advertiser, the Windhoek Observer and The Namibian newspapers. Her reporting in Namibia created a greater awareness of South Africa’s illegal occupation of Namibia, the extent of racial segregation, discrimination and the atrocities committed by the South African security forces. She was at the frontlines – covering SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organisation) rallies in townships around the country and interviewing many key players in Namibian politics. Including Andimba Toivo ya Toivo, an icon of the Namibian liberation struggle, with whom she developed a close bond for many years until his death in 2017. And Sam Nujoma – Namibia’s first president and founder of SWAPO.
After she left the Windhoek Observer (a newspaper she started with Smittie) in 1984 under duress, she started an independent newspaper, The Namibian, in 1985. A paper critical of the oppressive colonial regime under which the majority of Namibians lived. With no money to sustain it and constant harassment from security forces, the paper faced hardship from the outset. A courageous journalist at all times Gwen has been through it all - arrests, death threats and fire bombings. She was there to witness the end of colonialism in Namibia and see the road to freedom and independence. She stepped down as editor in 2011, a position she held for 26 years.
Reading the final pages of the book, I sense her feeling of disillusionment with how things have turned out post-independence. The huge gap between the rich and poor, high unemployment, corruption galore, a bloated civil service, an intolerance of gay rights, rise in rates of gender-based violence and attacks on the media. The government in December 2000 put a ban on all government advertising in The Namibian – the ban stayed for over ten years.
Comrade Editor is a fascinating look at the life of Gwen Lister - the first woman newspaper editor in Southern Africa. An absolute must on the importance of press freedom. Through turbulent years her convictions she never wavered. She stuck to her guns and stood her ground.
It’s a good read for those starting out in journalism to see how things used to be in the old days of the profession – good and bad. It’s also a goldmine of information on Namibia’s political history from the brutal occupation to democracy.