Mall of the South celebrated #Holler on Women’s Day at Zeal Café on August 9.
They unmasked the truth about gender-based violence and embraced women empowerment by giving three women a platform to share their stories.
Sarah Wissler, Aggy Moiloa and Andile Gaelesiwe shared their life journeys and their gender-based violence encounters.
Tandi Potgieter was the host.
Sarah Wissler shared: “My family and I were victims of both physical and sexual abuse from my parents and this perpetuated throughout my life until I managed to break the 40-year cycle.
“My brother was sexually abused by my parents and he killed himself. In the 80s, we never had protection; however, when we complained about what was happening to both of us, the state intervened and we were both removed from our parents and we had to live in a children’s home.
“I didn’t see much of my brother then, we were separated.
“Terrific things happened in my life. You go through a stage where you have a feeling of either elation or complete utter devastation. The only way that I felt I was loved was through violence.
“My relationships with the men in my life were abusive. It was much later that I realised it was not good.
“I have written a book, which is my journal that detailed everything in my life from when I was about four years old. I wrote my journey to fix my life and make things better for myself.”
Aggy Moiloa added: “I was born from a polygamous family. My father had three wives. I was brought up by a single mother; my mother had 10 children. She never went to school, she couldn’t write nor read, she was self-taught and later became an entrepreneur. I am what I am today because I was able to stand on her shoulders.
“Beyond that, I got born-again at the age of 16. I gave my life to the Lord and I never looked back. I want to talk about purpose. You are here because you have a purpose. You are uniquely you, there’s no one like you in this world.
“Remember to be your greatest cheerleader, don’t wait for people to cheer you on because people are sometimes content to stand by the wayside and watch you make mistakes. Allow yourself to make mistakes because that’s when you learn.”
Andile Gaelesiwe explained: “In gatherings like this, as women, our energies are activated. We are the givers of life and remember if a woman is hurt or not healed the world suffers.
“In my book, Remembering, I described things that I went through, like being raped by my biological father when I was a little girl and another incident of rape.
“The reason I wanted to write this book was that I wanted to share with women from all walks of life that your story matters. I wanted to tell you that people around you may not see or hear you but that doesn’t say you are not invalid.
“Each one of us is born with clenched fists with gifts that we come to earth to give, you cannot die with your gifts intact.
“Everyone here has a story and that is why we need to write books. We need to share our stories because the biggest issue in South Africa is rape and gender-based violence. We need to be loud about our pain.
“I put my pain and everything in my book. When I finished with this manuscript, I felt like a newborn baby because everything that was resting heavily on my shoulders was now off.”
About the guests
Sarah Wissler
Is an active community member who cares deeply about serving her ward and building a prosperous and inclusive South Africa.
Sarah has taken on the fight against women abuse by creating a haven for abused women. The safety of abused women is close to Sarah’s heart as she too was a victim of abuse.
She is fervent about women empowerment, as well as ensuring that women’s protection is a priority.
Aggy Moiloa
Aggy is the deputy director-general (inspection and enforcement services) at the Department of Employment and Labour and believes that a leader is a vision bearer.
She has global professional experience in the public sector and continues to search for challenges in the field of economic development by utilising broader experience in management skills and knowledge to enhance organisational creativity.
She also shares her wisdom as a pastor and a motivational speaker.
Andile Gaelesiwe
She is the founder and CEO of the Open Disclosure Foundation, which aims to help survivors of sexual violence as she was twice a rape victim.
Andile is a veteran in the music industry and has been active for over 20 years. She is also an author of Remembering, which provides an insight into her consciousness that keeps reviving her and will resonate with young and adult readers.
