She has become a voice against gender-based violence (GBV) and has moved many with her thought-provoking talk which saw her gain fame.
Women’s Auxiliary was approached to nominate girls to be part of a panel of Connexional Methodist Women’s Prayer and Service Union. The Grade 10 Alberton High School learner was then nominated as a representative of Women’s Auxiliary and she decided to grab the bull by its horns and talk about GBV.
The talk, which aimed to conclude Women’s Month, was themed The World Girls Want.
Sandra Human of Women’s Auxiliary said: “She was phenomenal in voicing her stand against GBV. Our Methodist Church Bishop, Purity Malinga, was also part of the panel, the first female bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. This was screened on August 30 on Facebook.
According to Nikita, they were given an opportunity to share their thoughts about one of any five topics of interest. She chose GBV as it is close to her heart.
“I thought this was a topic on everybody’s minds right now, and everyone is talking about it but not doing anything about it. It’s not just men who are abusers, it’s women and it’s men. Women and children are the ones who mostly get abused,” she said.
Greater heights
Her recognition paved the way for her to also be among other guest speakers at a Synod Women’s Auxiliary Heritage Fun Day on September 24.
She spoke about GBV and challenged people to support her plea to coach young boys into men with correct values and respect for others.
Nikita suggested church leaders should mentor, influence and coach youngsters to have good morals. During her talk she highlighted the government should give more attention to the 16 Days of Activism campaign and the violation against women and children.
International exposure
After being part of the panel of young leaders, on October 11 Nikita joined others in celebrating International Day of the Girl Child. She was approached to give her views in a briefing screened on Facebook in conjunction with the United Kingdom.
James Dunn, her youth pastor, applauded her for stepping up and setting a good example among her peers. Her mother, Magda Binedell, told the RECORD Nikita is a person who cares about people’s well-being.
“She is really passionate about welfare in totality due to something that happened so close to home around GBV. In her speech, she made it clear that girls must stop being on mute and encouraged them to speak out. As a mother, this is a proud moment for me and I support her all the way,” she said.
Sandra Human of Women’s Auxiliary thanked Nikita for her liveliness and enthusiasm for tackling this social issue.
“We as members of the Women’s Auxiliary and Alberton Methodist Church are extremely proud of this young lady. She is not scared to take a stand and make her voice known to the world in her plea to stop GBV. We support her in her stand and will not keep quiet,” she said.
Human said they will be inviting Nikita to most of their events, where she will be able to promote her advocacy.
