There is something special about women sitting together and having honest conversations about life, not just the beautiful parts, but the parts that challenge us, break us, and ultimately shape who we become.
That’s also where Anele Mgudlwa announced that The Anele Podcast: Her and Now was getting a second season. So when the first episode of that new season dropped, I simply had to tune in, and it stuck with me long after it ended.
The episode, titled The Good Woman Trap, has media entrepreneur and broadcaster Zizo Beda joining Anele and features media entrepreneur and broadcaster Zizo Beda joining host Anele Mdoda and co-host Mantsoe Pout. The conversation felt like sitting in a room with women who were openly sharing pieces of their lives and experiences.
I was at the launch of the second edition of the Her and Now report by 1st for Women back in August, where Dr Reitumetse Mpholle and Jill Mulligan walked us through just how hard life still is for South African women, from safety to money to the unpaid work piling up at home.
It made me reflect on how, as women, we sometimes put so much pressure on ourselves to be everything for everyone. We want to be strong, successful, caring and intelligent, while sometimes forgetting that we are also allowed to simply be human.
An important conversation
The conversation around spirituality and loss really moved me. Hearing Zizo speak about losing her mother and still being able to hold onto faith through such a difficult experience was something I won’t forget.
Grief can change the way you see life and question everything. But her story reminded me that faith doesn’t have to make sense when you hold onto it. You hold onto it when life doesn’t make sense.
It made me think about how strength doesn’t always mean having all the answers. Strength can simply be continuing to believe and continuing to love, while still moving forward even when you’re hurting.
They also talked about co-parenting, and how important it is to be intentional about what children learn from their parents. Raising kids is about teach them values just as much as it is about providing for them.
Confidence and knowing your worth
Another lesson for me was about confidence and knowing your worth. As women, we can sometimes find ourselves trying too hard to prove ourselves. Like we have to work harder, speak louder or show people how capable and intelligent we are, just to be recognised.
But why do we have to prove our value all the time?
The conversation reminded me that your worth doesn’t mean you constantly have to convince other people of it. Confidence is simply knowing who you are and what you bring to the table. It’s also refusing to make yourself smaller just to make other people comfortable.
I also appreciated their discussions around women and money.
Money is often a subject women are not encouraged to speak openly about. We are taught to be supportive, caring, selfless even. But we should also be comfortable talking about our ambitions and financial value, and what we deserve.
All women should tune in to this episode
What I loved most about this episode is that is was all about women supporting each other, and about sisterhood. It didn’t feel like women are competing with each other.
It was just three women bringing different experiences into one conversation and creating a space where women can laugh, reflect, learn, and perhaps maybe even see ourselves as someone else’s story.
I walked away from this episode thinking about the woman I am becoming and the pressure we sometimes put on ourselves to be a “good woman.” The type of woman who can handle everything, who never complains, who always gives, always shows up and rarely asks for anything in return.
Maybe being a good woman doesn’t mean sacrificing everything. Maybe it means knowing when to give, when to receive, when to speak up, when to rest. And most importantly, when to choose yourself.
That is what I took from Her and Now. A conversation about life, motherhood, loss, spirituality, confidence, money, and the beautiful complexity of being a woman.
If you haven’t watched the episode yet, I urge you to press play. You might just hear something that speaks to you directly, to the woman you are now, or the woman you want to become.
