Zulaikha Patel came to public prominence as part of the silent march at Pretoria High School for Girls against discriminatory hair policies.
The month of August is a significant one for women in South Africa, owing to the 1956 Women’s March, which saw more than 20 000 women head to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against the apartheid government’s extension of pass laws to women.
That march birthed what today is celebrated as Women’s Day.
However, for Zulaikha Patel, who came to public prominence as part of the silent march at Pretoria High School for Girls against discriminatory hair policies at the institution in 2016, the month of August has a deeper meaning.
“My activism has thrust me into the public domain from a tender young age, and ultimately I spent all my teenage years growing up directly in the public eye, which at times became difficult as I had to grow up much quicker than my years in order to navigate public commentary and critique,” Patel tells The Citizen.
Patel was 13 when she protested in high school; she is 23 now.
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Patel in August
It was in August that the silent march at her former high school took place, and yesterday, Patel was announced as one of the new faces on Newzroom Afrika.
“I find this quite ironic that two significant moments in my life both took place in the month of August,” she said.
She says as a woman in South Africa, she holds the month close to her heart because of the selfless acts of 1956 by the likes of Lilian Ngoyi and Helen Joseph, among the slew of female activists.
Patel says the 1956 march continues to remain a “source of inspiration for me on the power that women’s voices hold and a source of inspiration to continue advocating for justice and human rights.”
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Patel on joining Newzroom
Newzroom Afrika shuffled its programming as a way of refreshing the channel, and Patel’s face will be one of the new ones on screen.
Patel will contribute to the AM Report and is part of the team that Iman Rappetti and Arabile Gumede spearhead with Vaylen Kirtley on the sports desk.
“With August marking the ushering of spring, which is symbolic of new beginnings, my new role with Newzroom Afrika marks a new chapter in my life, and this chapter of my activism is called ‘giving the citizens the mic to define the country through their voices’,” she said.
She says her contribution to the AM Report will be bringing a new segment that focuses on the voices of the citizens of the country on various socio-economic challenges that the nation faces.
She doesn’t describe her move into journalism as being bitten by the journalism bug but rather the “‘storytelling bug’, which bit me a while ago when I began writing books,” she says.
“A huge part of my activism has been to empower people to use their own voices to change the world and their circumstances. The world is changed by ordinary people that have the audacity to use their voices for change.”
She shares that this value is one that she’s carrying with her into her new role at Newzroom, to focus on handing the mic to citizens to define and shape the country through their voice and lens.
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Patel, the author
In 2021, Patel debuted her children’s book, My Coily Crowny Hair, a book encouraging young black girls to embrace their natural hair in a world where African hair is seen as uncouth.
“The book was received incredibly well, as African children with Afro hair and dreadlocks felt empowered, seeing African identity positively represented,” shared Patel.
“I strongly believe that seeing yourself represented in the pages of books empowers one’s existence.”
The success of My Coily Crowny Hair birthed a second book, Brave Like Me, that was published earlier this year.
“Brave Like Me is published in five languages: English, Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiNdebele and isiXhosa,” says Patel about the book that empowers children to use their voices to change the world.
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