Women’s Month hits differently when you’ve grown up in South Africa. It’s not just about the speeches on TV or the hashtags online, it’s about the stories that live in our homes, in our streets, in our history. It’s about the mamas who hustled to put food on the table, the gogos who raised us with wisdom sharper than any textbook, the sisters who carried us when life was too heavy.

When I think about “Voice,” I hear the echoes of women who spoke truth when the world told them to keep quiet. I think about how my own voice can plant seeds of change, even if it’s just in my small corner of the world.

“Power” reminds me of the women who fought without fists but with courage, who walked into spaces they were never invited into and refused to leave. Power is knowing you are enough, even when everything around you says you’re not.

And “Practice” that’s the everyday work. It’s in the choices I make, in how I treat people, in showing up even when I’m tired. It’s knowing that freedom and equality are not just big dreams, they’re small actions we commit to daily.

This August, JiK’iZinto is giving us - the Youth Action Panel the chance to step into that same fire. To speak our truth. To own our strength. To live the change we want to see. Because one day, I want a young person to look back and say, “They made it possible for me to dream.”

My Voice. My Power. My Practice.

By Zimi Xawuka