Actress Manaka Ranaka has reflected on some of the hardships she endured when she fell pregnant with her first born child, who is now a young woman, and was told to abort the child or lose her job.
Manaka recently celebrated 20 years as an actress, and two decades later she's still doing the most. Her recent birthday wish to her eldest daughter Katlego also doubled up as a reflection on how far she's come and how the industry wasn't always kind to her.
The actress revealed on Instagram that 20 years ago, when she fell pregnant with her daughter, she was given an ultimatum by her then-bosses. Hoping to take advantage of her perceived naiveté, as she was just starting out in the industry, Manaka was told to either have an abortion or lose her job.
She chose to keep her child.
“Happy birthday mama. The one who made me a mother. The one who made me a Gmom (grandmother). You @kay.stone_core are such a blessing in my life. We were so meant to be. 20 years of doing this life thing together, and I’ve never looked back since. I remember when the women I worked for told me to abort you and I was like, la hlanya (y'all are crazy), they fired me!” she recalled.
The proud mother said she was glad she didn't listen to the people who were telling her to get rid of her blessing. Manaka said a song by Lauryn Hill, Zion, that details a similar situation that happened to the singer kept her going, and even though she lost a gig, given another chance she wouldn't change a thing.
“Honestly I didn’t care coz I was so determined to keep you and enter the next chapter in my life and that was being a mom. Lauryn Hill’s song Zion kept me going when I felt that the world was against us.”
Read her full post below.
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