The sheer delight of being a feminist | Pumla Gqola | TEDxJohannesburgWomen

Professor Pumla Gqola first declared herself a feminist as a fifteen-year-old in high school. She had fallen in love with the idea when a friend used it to describe the women at the forefront of the struggle against the violent South African Apartheid regime of her youth. The young Pumla found excitement in the possibility of a better world that could be created by the ideas of these “delightfully dangerous women.” The stubborn optimism they epitomised was an essential source of strength for her and other young women seeking solidarity in their formative years. These ideas opened Pumla’s mind to the realisation that she was not the only one uncomfortable with the metaphorical cages that society had built for girls. Thanks to these women’s pioneering work (and also that of Pumla and her contemporaries) today feminism has grown and is considered by many to be “trendy, sexy, and beautiful,” perhaps even “safe,” she says. This is so despite the ongoing resistance of patriarchy in Africa and beyond. But, these seemingly unending challenges often make us think of feminism as difficult and painful. Instead, Pumla sees sheer delight in the countless examples of trouble-making, empowering feminist expression evident throughout the African continent. She ends her talk as she started it, with an emphatic declaration: “I am a feminist.” Feminist, Pan-Africanist, academic, author This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Видео The sheer delight of being a feminist | Pumla Gqola | TEDxJohannesburgWomen канала TEDx Talks