LISTEN | Is colourism adding to the silencing of dark skinned women?

African queen, Nubian princess, dark dindi, indoni yamanzi are some of a few phrases used to describe beauty of the women who are dark skinned.

The growth of the internet and mainly social media has given more power to the prejudices we have that dark skinned women are not as beautiful yellow bones.

This week on Thetha Nathi we sit down with Lethabo Rapoo, 21, a young photographer and creative director for Hunt For Melanin, a social media movement that aims to open a frank dialogue around the way dark skinned woman are perceived, by showing and promoting the beauty of everything melanin.

With Women’s Day approaching, we decided to sit down and discuss some of the issues women are facing on a daily basis and how these things end up affecting the self esteem of the women whose voices are not taken seriously.

“We were never taught to express ourselves, especially when you’re from the hood because these things happen in the hood. Killings, women being abused, these things happen in the hood, we see it but nobody is doing anything about it,” says Rapoo as he shares his thoughts on the rise of gender based violence in our communities.

Listen to Thetha Nathi as we discuss some of the hard-hitting challenges women face on a day-to-day basis.