“Madam Speaker, Sir” beyond the Politics

Authored by Speaker of Parliament Margret N. Nasha, “Madam Speaker Sir” has without a doubt ruffled a few feathers in the past weeks since its release. In this memoir MmaNasha as we’ve fondly come to know her shares with us the achievements and disappointments in her somewhat extraordinary life. While the book is no literary marvel in the sense of its basic writing, MmaNasha’s honesty makes it a good enough read.

In this Memoir the iconic woman leaves no stone unturned. She freely discusses her childhood, that of her children and even her ex-husbands adultery and her criminal dealing with it. It’s hard to imagine the respectable Speaker of Parliament throwing a pile of bricks at someone’s house but still quite humorous.

However, her chapters on her family (including the other woman) show a side to MmaNasha that young girls in our country need to see, that even she is a woman. It puts her within reach, makes her relatable giving inspiration to young women that beyond their dirty laundry, cheating boyfriends, controlling men and beautiful children is something that belongs solely to them.

It is un-debatable that Madam Speaker, Sir was a necessary book in our society today. Not only in reminding young women that she is amongst those who broke the barriers that we are allowing to be reintroduced in our lives, but also in reminding us that Botswana is a democracy. That, within that democracy is the freedom of speech.

While MmaNasha now faces criticism for openly discussing the politics of the ruling party, President Seretse Khama Ian Khama’s leadership style, and secret missions she participated in during her years long servitude as a Minister one cannot dispute that she has reminded the country of freedom of speech. In this book she discusses the compliance of BDP members in advising the president, confirms the existence of fractions in the party which has been whispers in the society. Although she does expose the deceiving and destructive nature of these fractions, there is nothing to be shocked about.

MmaNasha has shown herself to be a revolutionary, releasing a book that could quite possibly end her political career on such an important year. What this book does tell us about her is that she is here for the people and above all for herself. Madam Speaker, Sir is a book that was owed to each and every Motswana, regardless of political affiliation, age and gender, and quite frankly it would be impossible to forgive MmaNasha if she had never published it.

Here is a link to an interview Dr. Nasha did with Echoe newspaper where she discusses Women and how we need to stop being apologetic for our ambition. P.S she has amazing nails too. :)

Book Review: A Renegade Called Simphiwe

Reading A Renegade Called Simphiwe has been somewhat of an exhilarating experience. Often the book which is written by South African academic and author Phumla Dineo Gqola is mistaken for a biography of South African musician Simphiwe Dana. However, A Renegade Called Simphiwe is written way beyond Dana and her experiences.  It is without a doubt an excellent record and observation of multiple aspects of South Africa and without a doubt the patriarchal world as a whole.

Through writing about Simphiwe Dana’s opinions, challenges, achievements and South Africa’s reaction to her, Phumla gives you an extensive view of the relations not only between the artist and the audience, but relations within South Africa itself. She explores everything from the Simphiwe’s definition of ‘soft feminism’ to her opinions on monogamy, all the while still finding space to discuss the Language situation in South Africa.

Phumla Dineo Gqola presents you with a one of a kind of book, one she describes as “the kind of book I would like to read”. While the book does explore a variety of things it’s quite clearly written with an intensive view on the relations of males and females in the patriarchal society. It opens you up to a large number of truths.

Phumla’s ability to write about Simphiwe Dana as a woman, a writer, a mother and even an artist, as well as her opinions without validating or invalidating them is spectacular. On countless occasions she disagrees with Simphiwe but is not forceful of her opinion over Dana’s something that writer’s today lack. While the book is not exclusive to female readers, It is without a doubt the perfect gift for any lady during this woman’s month. 

ABOUT CROP TOPS, MINI SKIRTS, LOW RISE JEANS, IMMORAL DRESS AND SWAZILAND

I was going to write an article on Swaziland's recent decision to enforce the 1889 law that bans "immoral dressing". But I figure if you've read SLUT WALKS and you know how I feel about women being told how to dress. But I feel it is my duty to share with you a certain young lady I love and adore's article on it. I was going to ask her to write something on it as soon as I came back from my holiday because she is actually from Swaziland  well, half way. But anyway, she beat me to the punch because she doesn't holiday, and here is a link to my soul mate Siyanda Mohutsiwa blog SiyandaWrites.

About The Author

Siyanda is a 19-year-old BSc undergraduate studying Mathematics/Statistics at the University of Botswana. She lives for mathematics, literature and laughing loudly at her own jokes. She has a particularly inexplicable passion for feminism, pan-Africanism and a growing interest in the socio-economic landscape of her country. She also has a border-line psychopathic love for dead African heroes. She refuses to reveal more on that issue.

Her sometimes indiscernible cries to her imaginary audience can be found on Twitter (@siyandawrites). If you happen to be in the country you can find her articles in the award-winning Sunday Standard’s The Telegraph. If you aren’t, a quick browse through the Sunday Standard website will land you in her articles.

Email siyandawrites@gmail.com for inquiries regarding freelance writing and editing.

P.S I am glad I don't live in a country that subjects me to so much. They're still too many women out there in such situations. allow me to say it but too many of our women down in the field. But at least i know a lot of women whose skill and passion is strong enough to pull the rest out. My Christmas wish is that more of them are born and none of them are afraid to fight the war. 

Guest Writer: Lydia Kasese; Decisions

It seems this Guest Writer thing might become a monthly show. August's guest writer is a Miss Lydia Kasese. You should know I like her. Very much. so here you go... (UnEdited)

GUEST WRITER; LYDIA KASESE'S DECISION

Today, I decided I will not get into a relationship until I get my first degree. My friends' reaction to this over lunch was, “can I take note of this so I can remind you next week when you decide to start dating?”, we laughed about it and spoke about all the other things we had said we would not do but ended up doing the following week.

Just to put it out there I am not doing this because I want to focus on my academics and boys will be a major distraction because I am a firm believer in fun. I came to this conclusion because it dawned on me that I am worth so much more than what guys at this university are willing to offer. I'm worth more than sweaty nights gyrating on guys dicks in a club, sneaking into their residents late at night and sneaking out at 5am so their friends wont know that i'm the “hoe” he hooked up with. I am worth so much more than being a side-chick to a “boy” I know wont ever learn to love me right but because I am lonely I will stick with him. And I call them “boys” because men are so scarce nowadays, but its not just the boys, decent girls are even more scarce.

If I come off sounding bitter then you caught me. I'm not bitter from my own experiences, but because I have seen girls degrade themselves to a door mat and let boys wipe their dirty feet all over their hearts. I have seen girls trade their self dignity for the sake of not being lonely. I have seen girls trade their name for the title “bitch” just so they could be popular amongst the guys. Heck my friends have bent over backwards , leaned over side ways and cried and begged for a boy that threw away what they thought was “love”.


In all honesty, I do not know much about love. I thought I was in love once but turns out I wasn't. My best friend told me “you will know you are in love when you are willing to die for someone”. I have never loved anyone to be willing to give my life for them, my family yes, but not anyone else. But that is not the point. The point is, I do not know much about love but I have an idea of what it should be like. I think love should be like stripping off your clothes and standing in front of an audience you do not know knowing they will see your imperfections but knowing that they will love your imperfect bits anyway. Love should feel like those moments after the honey-moon phase when you find out that I snore like a pig but you still love me for that. Love should be you not being able to sleep because you went a whole day without talking to me.

This kind of love is hard to find in a place where everyone comes to shag and have the “time of their lives”. You cant find it in a place where boys are driven by peer pressure into seeing how many girls they can date at one time without being caught. You cant get this in a place where talk of commitment is as rare as virgins. True, there may be exceptions out there. There maybe boys out there that are willing to settle down and want something more than a quick shag, but lets be realistic how many of these guys are there? Five? Fifteen? And how many of these already have girls? Three quarters of them? All of them?  I don't know, I really don't know.

Let us be realistic ladies. We all know that boys dream of coming to varsity not for a degree but for all the “babes” that the Hollywood has painted exist. Boys are coming to varsity to have the time of their lives, get high and get laid. Getting committed to you is probably the last thing on his mind. But then again I do not know much about boys and relationships either so I will leave it at that. But this is my decision and my choice, who knows, I may change my mind about this decision next week, 2 months from now or even right before I get my degree. I really dont know, i'm human and my head has the tendency to deceive me sometimes. Who knows I just may come across a guy who actually wants to settle and “make love” once in a while and not just shag. I may even find a guy who loves spending time with me not because he knows there's sex coming his way but because being with me makes him happy. Until then, this is me riding solo, piloting my own plane and enjoying the view from above.

BIO;

My name is Lydia Kasese. I'm a student at Rhodes University. I dabble in poetry, I love the arts and music. I love reading, writing. I'm open minded about a lot of things and still unsure about a lot more. I'm not sure of who I am yet but i'm absorbing what society and the media has to offer me and picking out what I find fit in creating myself as a woman. Feel free to follow me on twitter @Ms_Lilly_Py or on my email address nykasese@yahoo.com

Still On "Your Fuck A N*gger Tip"?

"Still On Your "Fuck A N*gger Tip"?"

My best friend just asked me this. 

So I find myself in another situation were I'm trying to reason why I'm the single 18 year old that "supposedly" hates men. I don't hate men. I adore them. I'm team gender equality for males too, Team Where is the boy child?, Team cook for your husband. But my best friend has come to the conclusion that I hate men or the male species as I like to call them. She says my face falls into a grimace when any one of our friends mentions a boyfriend or a crush. Followed by the statement, "boys are such idiots".

 I'm what the African-american black community refer to as an "Angry Bitter Black Woman." But i'm just African. We don't have "Angry Bitter Black women". Further more if we do, I'm sorry to say I cannot be counted among them. "Angry Bitter Black Women"usually have something to be angry and bitter about; A baby daddy that wont pay child support, a white woman stealing her man, not being able to find a job. I'm an 18 year old girl, no baby ( hence no baby daddy), no man ( hence no white woman stealing my man), and I'm currently typing this from my 4digit paying part time job ( hence no unemployment). 

So how did I, end up in the "Angry Bitter Black Women"Category? I decided to land here. Or maybe they put me here. I mean if I can be categorized as one I must be giving of all the right vibes right.

• Feminist? CHECK
• Single? CHECK

So of course I must hate men. Wrong! I hate relationships. BINGO! That's why I grimace at the mention of boyfriends and crushes. Is it too much to ask to go through a girl's night or lunch without listening to anyone sulk about what an ass their boyfriend is? really? That is all I'm asking. To not be involved anyone's relationship. To not have to look at BBM ( Black Berry messenger) Display Pictures of people making out( that is disgusting why are you taking pictures while kissing), or endure the tears of a friend after a break up? I don't know what to say when this happens. I don't know how to react when you tell me what a fool he is. Truth told by the second minute into the conversation I've stopped listening and I'm trying to think of what to say to make you feel better. I feel horrible the whole time because I now feel like I am such a bad friend. Then on top of it... You're allowed to call your boyfriend a fool but I'm not. Even when he is a fool. 

Not only do I hate other people's relationships ( except for the occasional "nxawww aren't they cute") I pretty much despise the idea of me being in one. I'm 18 for Pete's sake!!! *insert me singing  Young, Wild and Free _ Snoop Dog ft Wiz Khalifa * I read a tweet the other day, "if by this age you haven't realized your parents were right about a lot of things you A. are not growing up, or B. didn't have very good parents" So I'm happy to say I have very good parents and I'm growing up because * sighs* MY MOM WAS RIGHT ABOUT BOYS. Yes, she was. In fact she is. No not the "boys just want to get into your pants talk"( that's my daddy's thing). My mother's reason for not dating at a young age was one and only one, "Relationships will hold you back from achieving what you want to.". That is it really. That's why I'm single. 

I'm single because I have dreams, ambitions and plans that don't allow for me to have a boyfriend. At least not now. Relationships are about compromise. They're about work, time and effort. Love doesn't build a relationship. I wish it did because I believe in love so much.  Trust doesn't build a relationship. Time and effort does. I don't have the time and effort to spare. My plate is full. I have a full time  (9 to 5) job. That I'm hoping will become part time as I go back to being a full time 3rd year student ( double majoring in politics and administration) this august. I run two of my blogs, ( check out my new poetry/photography blogspot Scribbles). I'm also now Brand Manager for my cousin's DJ group HouseNerds. I'm an Amway consultant. Manage my own poetry career. and For Pete's sake I'm trying to get a novel published.

I don't like to report to anyone. I don't like to discuss my ideas before I go for it. I just go for it. I'm too independent for all that. Even questions "like were are you?""who are you with?" I don't have the energy for the drama. Or for the emotional commitment of a relationship, Sure they're boys I like, boy's i'd take home and show my parents but I know I wont give them 100% . They deserve 100%. Everyone does. But at this point in my life, Tshepo Jamillah Moyo deserves 100% more than anybody else. I'm so filled with myself and my ambition that quite frankly there is not a thing any man out there can offer me that I don't already have. I have so much love filling my heart from my family and friends that a life partner wont change anything. besides, before you can be with or love someone you have to be comfortable with yourself. To define yourself, because otherwise you mesh together and become an ugly mess. So until i have the time and effort to spare.. I am Single and Happy with it.

CHEERS TO BEING SINGLE

I also wanted to include a BBM a male friend of mine sent me on his opinion as to why I'm single it made me smile. :)