The vision of Nokuphiwo Jada, an activist and yoga teacher in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, is for the women in her community to be empowered and inspired, and to realise their potential as “women kings”.

It was with this vision in mind that she raised money for 40 women from Khayelitsha to watch the film The Woman King at the V&A Waterfront’s Ster-Kinekor cinema recently.

It was an opportunity for the women — many of whom are mothers struggling with unemployment — to empower one another and have meaningful conversations around the film’s complex themes.

“I wanted them to see the bigger picture — that, at the end of the day, there’s a victory and they are all winners. As women, we are so powerful. All we need is to believe in ourselves,” said Jada. 

The Woman King is an epic historical film, inspired by actual events, that follows the lives of the Agojie, an all-women unit of warriors who fought for the kingdom of Dahomey in 19th-century West Africa.

The film — visually striking and dominated by strong black women characters — explores difficult issues such as gender-based violence (GBV), discrimination and slavery.

Khayelitsha women walk the red carpet to the movies at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town From left: Asi Phithi, Anathi Phithi and Nowethu. It was a first visit to the popular destination for many of the group — not to mention a first trip to a cinema. Struggles endured by the women in the movie, ‘The Woman King’, such as gender-based violence — echo those faced by women in their community. (Photo: David Harrison)

Asi (left) and Anathi Phithi take their seats at the V&A Waterfront before the film. (Photo: David Harrison)

Inspired by her own viewing of the movie, Jada raised funds through social media so that women from her community could share the experience. One of the supporters was Sivuyile Ngesi, a South African actor in the film, who donated 10 tickets.

Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations

People take the experience of visiting the cinema for granted, said Jada, but for many of the women who joined her on Saturday, it was the first time they had watched a movie on the big screen. 

As part of the occasion, both Jada and the cinema company provided a gift for each woman, and the group had their snack combos delivered in-theatre.

“It’s wonderful … some of the women, it’s their first time coming to the Waterfront. So, when they came, they were so excited,” said Yandiswa Futshane, a resident of Site B, Khayelitsha.

“For me, it’s my first time to come and watch a movie [at the cinema]. As women in the location, we are always busy with our kids — everything that we do, we do for our kids. So, now it seems like it’s our own time to have our own space; our own time to come and enjoy.”

Nokuphiwo Jada (in the red dress) poses with members of Sisterwood, a group she formed in Khayelitsha to bring together unemployed women in the area to engage in activities that build confidence and give them incentives to better their lives and those of their families. (Photo: David Harrison)

Futshane told Daily Maverick the movie was “touching”, and showed “the kind of spirit that women have”.

“I was crying … almost the whole movie,” she said. “It shows us that we, as women, are very strong, and also we have that heart of loving. We’ve gone through a lot, and I’m seeing that in Nanisca.”

General Nanisca, played by actress Viola Davis, is the leader of the Agojie and an adviser to the king of Dahomey in The Woman King. Her trials and triumphs as a woman leader are central to the film’s story.

Many of the struggles endured by women in the movie, including abuse and GBV, echo those faced by women in the townships daily, according to Jada.

“Being a woman is not easy, especially in this country,” said Noluvuyo Ndzendze, another Khayelitsha resident who joined the viewing. “We’ve got rape, we’ve got abuse, and, most especially at our age, there’s lack of employment.”

The significance of the event was that it highlighted the need for women to stand together and to help one another, Ndzendze continued.

“What the women in the movie did, they always [looked after] each other — some risked their lives to help each other. But, most especially, they encouraged each other. Not a single woman could say to another, ‘No, you cannot do this.’ So, we need women like that, to make us see what we don’t see in ourselves,” she said.

Project Sisterwood

The viewing of The Woman King falls within a broader plan that Jada has for empowering women in her community. She recently started an informal project called Sisterwood, which brings together about 20 unemployed women for yoga classes, sharing circles and other activities.

Fitness and yoga teacher Nokuphiwo Jada addresses a group of about 40 women from Khayelitsha at the V&A Waterfront’s Ster-Kinekor cinema on Saturday. (Photo: David Harrison)

In the coming weeks, she aims to pilot an empowerment curriculum for the group that will help them to connect with themselves, their surroundings and the tools at their disposal.

“The whole point of Sisterwood is women empowerment — women lifting each other up, supporting each other in different ways,” she said. “I want people to reach their potential.”

Jada’s efforts to uplift women were rooted in the work she had been doing with children in the Khayelitsha community for more than a decade, said Tamsin Sheehy, a Cape Town yoga studio co-owner who has worked with Jada.

As a founding member of the nonprofit organisation Earthchild Project, which provides educational programmes in disadvantaged communities, Jada teaches yoga in four Khayelitsha schools. Through this work, she has got to know mothers in the community who she now empowers by imparting various skills.

“I think this is vital for the health of any community — that the women within that community are empowered and can contribute and are seen and heard, and feel good about themselves. I think that’s actually the bedrock of any healthy community,” said Sheehy.

Speaking of her vision for the Sisterwood group, Jada said: “I want them to really feel special. I want them to believe in themselves, and know that there are people who believe in them.” DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R25.