• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Reporting South Africa Reporting South Africa
Reporting South Africa Reporting South Africa
  • Featured News
  • Nation
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Environment
    • Education
  • Art & Culture
    • Food
    • Art
    • Music
    • Fashion
  • Religion
  • Health & Science
    • Public Health
  • Our Student Journalists
    • Spring 2020
      • Ainsley Ash
      • Ayinde Summey
      • Elizabeth Stricklin
      • Laura Peterjohn
      • Renny Simone
      • Skylar Thoma
    • Fall 2019
      • Maggie Connolly
      • Kimberly Wipfler
      • Jamaica Ponder
      • Claudia Stagoff-Belfort
    • Spring 2019
      • Desi LaPoole
      • Kamal Morgan
      • Luke Riley
    • Fall 2018
      • Corey D. Smith
      • Francine Barchett
      • Natalie Elliott
      • Saam Niami Jalinous
    • Spring 2018
      • Kamilah Tom
      • Rebecca Redelmeier
      • Serena Hawkey
        • How circus school saved me from drugs and gangs
      • Hannah Green
      • Madeline Harvey
      • Jacqueline Flynn
    • Fall 2017
      • Mandela Namaste
      • Olivia Decelles
      • Samuel Gohn
      • Aisha Hauser
      • Samantha Tafoya
    • Spring 2017
      • Emily Rizzo
      • Arin Kerstein
      • Alexa Cole
      • Sealy McMurrey
  • Alumni

Women

Rural Dreams

October 22, 2018 By Admin

The life she lives is one she appreciates, mostly because it’s all she’s known, but that doesn’t stop her from dreaming. It’s her ability to dream that keeps her grounded while allowing her to be free, as freedom is the only thing she truly seeks.

The rural landscape of Dokodweni, which is home to a few hundred South African natives.

Just a few hours outside of the bustling city of Durban is the rural town of Dokodweni. Like anywhere, it has the four necessities for it to function; a church, a school, a clinic and a grocery store. The residents work both regular and odd jobs, most unaware of what lies beyond their homestead.


The same can be said for Lindelwa Dube, who has gone no further than a few kilometers into town, never venturing further.

She finds freedom in her ambitions. Because of the burden of expectation that comes with being a Zulu woman—namely being a homemaker and the requirement of marriage— she spends a good amount of time submitting to the wishes of her mother and father.

The main house on the Dube plot.

 

“I always have to be available to help.” she says. “Even if there are things I don’t want to do, I do them because I don’t want to disappoint my mother.”


Humility and respect are two concepts that govern Lindelwa’s life, both of which challenge her daily – on the one hand, submitting to her parents, while on the other rebelling against school to the point where disrespecting teachers is a daily activity, most times to the detriment of her education.

She tells how she  and her schoolmates sang and danced during a lecture. And how one week the teacher decided not to show up. But education remains part of her plan – Lindelwa still wants to be a doctor.

 

Lindelwa Dube, age 15.
gracefully smiling after being caught off-guard.

She smiles as I ask why. All she knows is that her mother deserves a bigger house and her father a new car. As we sit on the sofa, eyes glued to the TV set where Imbewu: The Seed tracks the daily drama of a Zulu family caught in a big city tale of ambition and tradition, she can see herself living this life – fast paced and glittering. But her ties to her rural homestead remain powerful. She breathes and says, “One day I’ll go to America…but I want to stay here forever.”

By Corey D. Smith

Environment

Ela Gandhi continues her grandfather’s legacy

March 9, 2018 By Admin

MAIN IMAGE: Portrait of Ela Gandhi taken by SIT student Serena Hawkey.

“He read the Quran, the Bible, all the scriptures so he could learn. These scriptures made him realize that there is something more to life. It’s about being more responsible, about the fact that everyone deserves to enjoy social justice,” Ela Gandhi reflects.

The man she refers to is her grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi, one of the most well-known historical figures around the globe. Known for his peaceful approach to conflict resolution, he showed mankind a new and nonviolent approach to political movements.

He was also an inspiration for his family, many of whom who have followed in his footsteps. Ela Gandhi has taken on political activism in her own life, previously serving as an ANC member of Parliament in the first democratic government and currently serving as a chairperson of the Gandhi Development Trust.

Speaking to a group of SIT students this week she said,“Contrary to what a lot of people believe —that he didn’t have a close relationship with his family — he was a very warm family member. He wrote letters to me up until the day he was assassinated — a seven-year-old. He felt it was important.”

Though Gandhi is widely known for his leadership in the fight for Indian independence from the British, he also had an influential impact in South Africa. He lived in the country for 21 years and had some of his first encounters with racism in Durban.

In 1893, Gandhi arrived in Durban to work as legal counsel for an Indian business firm. On a train ride from Durban to Pretoria, he was asked to move to a third-class car as Indian people were not allowed in first-class carriages. Gandhi had purchased a first-class ticket and refused. At the Pietermaritzburg station he was forcibly removed from the train.

Later on, while Gandhi was visiting a courthouse in Durban, he was asked by the local magistrate to remove his turban. Gandhi refused and walked out of the courtroom.

These events, along with growing legislative discrimination against non-white communities in the country, fuelled Gandhi’s involvement in South African social liberation movements. It also motivated the entire Gandhi family to speak for marginalised people.

Ela Gandhi, who is a social worker by training, was banned and subjected to house arrest for nine years by the Apartheid government. She remains passionate about the fight against inequality and non-violence.

Read more about Ela Gandhi and her work here Ela Gandhi Bio

Politics

Inanda Seminary Promoting Confidence in Young Women

March 29, 2017 By Admin

Due to the legacy of Apartheid, most of the private schools in South Africa contain predominantly white students. But Inanda Seminary School is purposefully made up of only young black girls. Inanda is an independent boarding school, founded by American Missionaries in 1869 and situated among the hills of Inanda Township, 25 kilometers from the city of Durban. Emily Rizzo interviewed two archivists and experts of the school. Their jobs are to collect and organize the school’s and students’ important documents and artifacts. Today the two women tell us about the warm familial environment of Inanda Seminary and how it nurtures confidence and pride among the young women. The students truly exemplify the schools’ motto, Shine Where You Are.

Listen to the audio piece below:
https://soundcloud.com/emily-rizzo-659593274/inanda-seminary-for-girls-1

By Emily Rizzo

Women

Hair Policy in South African Schools

March 7, 2017 By Admin

One of the earliest conversations I had with my homestay sister after arriving in Durban was around education. When I asked her what was one thing she would change about her school, without hesitation; she said the ‘hair code’.
In August of 2016 protests at the prestigious Pretoria Girls High School sparked a hashtag, #StopRacismAtPretoriaGirlsHigh, that went viral, trending worldwide. The protests were in response to school’s the hair code, which states that students may not wear their hair in wide cornrows, braids, or dreadlocks.
Historically, Pretoria Girls was an all white school under the apartheid regime. It began admitting black students in the mid- 90s. In support of the hair code, some educators have argued that the hair dress code deters personal expression that may take the focus away from learning. However, while the hair code never explicitly singles out Afro- textured hair, it does not limit straight hair styles to such a degree and with such specific detail.
South Africa’s minister of arts and culture, Nathi Mthethwa, tweeted after the eruption of protests that, “Schools should not be used as a platform to discourage students from embracing their African identity” (NPR, http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/09/06/492417635/a-ban-on-black-hairstyles-raises-deeper-issues-about-race). Black students have also recounted experiences in which their teachers and peers described their dreadlocks as “bird’s nests”.
One student said natural hair was being criminalized, stating, “You’re in fear when you go to school because you know you will be policed,”(The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/31/south-african-students-speak-out-ban-afro-hair-pretoria-school).
#StopRacismAtPretoriaGirlsHigh hit home for many Americans, myself included, as issues of black beauty and empowerment have plagued our culture in the United States. The issue of wearing naturally Afro- textured hair in particular is one that has affected my confidence and feelings of self- worth for much of my life. I made the decision to come to South Africa to study in July of 2016. Seeing #StopRacismAtPretoriaGirlsHigh on social media one month later prompted me to think about the ways in which racism continues to persist in South Africa. I remained curious to hear about the experiences of students at these newly desegregated schools.
Last week when I visited Durban Girls College, the faculty informed me that their hair code is currently under revision. It appears as though South African institutions may not be keeping up with the social transformations that the nation has undergone.
Despite the small victory of the students at Pretoria Girls, the girls at historically white schools still seem to be the ones who must assimilate into the preexisting culture of the school, as the schools are doing little to adapt to the changing demographics and social climates.

Women

Primary Sidebar

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Photo of the Day, 14 February 2020

The Mzamba bridge hangs across Mzamba river in the Eastern Cape. Completed in 2015, the … [Read More...] about Photo of the Day, 14 February 2020

Photo of the Day, 13 February 2020

This painting of a black woman in an upscale restaurant in Durban's Florida Rd shows the stark … [Read More...] about Photo of the Day, 13 February 2020

Photo of the Day, 13 February 2020

An inspirational poster of Nelson Mandela sits alongside two Bibles in the entrance of the iCare … [Read More...] about Photo of the Day, 13 February 2020

Photo of the Day, 12 February 2020

A pile of quarried lime in one of multiple informal markets located at Warwick Junction, Durban, … [Read More...] about Photo of the Day, 12 February 2020

Photo of the Day, 11 February 2020

Buses arrive at the transportation port near Warwick Juncture. Commuters arriving at this bus and … [Read More...] about Photo of the Day, 11 February 2020

Photo of the Day, 10 February 2020

Traders have their wares on display at the Warwick Junction Markets. With thousands of informal … [Read More...] about Photo of the Day, 10 February 2020

The Program

Reporting South Africa is produced by US college and university students on an SIT Study Abroad program called “South Africa: Social and Political Transformation”. They are mentored by veteran journalists in a program applying technology and global consciousness to produce high-impact journalism on vital social issues.

Reporting South Africa strives to be a reliable resource for news and information about South Africa.

Learn More

SIT Logo

A pioneer in experiential, field-based study abroad, SIT (founded as the School for International Training) provides more than 60 semester and summer programs for undergraduate students in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as comparative programs in multiple locations.

South Africa: Social and Political Transformation is a program of SIT Study Abroad.

FOLLOW REPORTING SOUTH AFRICA

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • The World Learning Inc. Family:
  • experiment.org
  • https://studyabroad.sit.edu
  • worldlearning.org

Footer

  • Academics
  • Admissions
  • Apply
  • Alumni
  • Alumni Connect
  • Give
  • Media Center
  • Request Info
  • SIT Stories
  • School for International Training

    1 Kipling Road • Brattleboro, VT 05302 • 802 257-7751 • 800 257-7751 (toll-free in the US)
    SIT is a private nonprofit institution of higher education.

  • Explore SIT Graduate Institute

    © Copyright World Learning, Inc.