Cape Town - A three-book series has been launched, introducing young and eager readers to powerful stories and the remarkable contributions of South African women.
Realising the absence of books depicting South African stories of women who have paved the way for so many others, a non-profit organisation commissioned ‘Imbokodo: Women Who Shape Us’ with Jacana Media with funding from the National Arts Council.
Biblionef South Africa donates new books in all eleven languages to South African schools and children’s organisations throughout the country.
The series, authored by Athambile Masola and Xolisa Guzula, consists of titles: 10 Curious Inventors, Healers and Educators; 10 Extraordinary Leaders, Activists and Pioneers; and 10 Singers, Writers and Artists.
‘Imbokodo’, a Zulu word meaning rock, is often used to convey the striking strength of women with the phrase ‘Wathint’ Abafazi, Wathint’ Imbokodo!’, meaning ‘You Strike a Woman, You Strike a Rock!’
Biblionef South Africa General Manager Sunitha Amod said: “We are proud to be part of this project and applaud the authors and Jacana Media for bringing these women’s stories to the forefront.
“We have received 6 000 copies of the books in isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans and English, and are excited to distribute them to schools and children’s organisations across South Africa.”
The books are aimed at nine to 14-year-olds and were officially launched at Biblionef South Africa offices at Central Square, Pinelands, on March 16.
Biblionef SA fundraiser and social media marketing coordinator Darcell van Buuren said: “We are always advocating for mother-tongue books, and we encourage children to embrace their mother tongue.
“So ensuring that there’s a wide variety of story books in children’s home language is vital to us.”
Authors Masola and Guzula said South African children’s literature is dominated by English and Afrikaans authors, with the need to often translate these books.
“While translation is one way to develop languages, it is important that we grow a pool of black women authors writing for children and contribute to the content of what children learn in school.
“This is especially important for us in terms of representation of who writes what children must learn.”
The authors also noticed that there was little non-fiction content for children in the intermediate phase related to history in particular.
“If children don’t know about women like Madosini, Busi Mhlongo, Magogo, Brenda Fassie as examples from the book, they will always think that they have to neglect their culture if they are to be successful in the global world.
“If children don’t know about Ellen Ngozwana and the influence she had in Uganda, they will only know about xenophobia.
“If children don’t know about Mabel Cetu and Gladys Mgudlandlu’s challenges, they will not fully appreciate the importance of the arts and how it makes a difference. We want children to read different stories in order to see themselves in different ways.”