Women’s Month Profile: Genna Gardini
Genna Gardini has emerged as one of the strongest female voices in contemporary South Africa through her unique expertise in literature and poetry.
Name: Genna Gardini
Job: Writer and lecturer
Age: 30
Genna Gardini is a writer based in Cape Town. She holds an MA in Playwriting from UCT and has won multiple awards for her work, including the DALRO New Coin Poetry prize. She co-founded Horses’ Heads Productions and is a member of PlayRiot, the South African playwriting collective. Gardini’s debut poetry collection, Matric Rage, was published in 2015 by uHlanga Press and received a Commendation for the Ingrid Jonker Prize. Gardini is currently a Drama lecturer at CityVarsity and Institute for Creative Arts Fellow.
The theme for Women’s Month this year is: Pledge for parity. What does this theme mean for you personally? How do you respond to this theme?
We need to ensure that the same opportunities afforded to some are available to all South Africans. Women’s Month is meant to remind us of the presence and importance of womxn, but an awareness of this should not be limited to just a month. People who are protesting rape culture and toxic patriarchy in SA remind us that we can’t just ignore these issues and must continue to speak out constantly in order to try to change things.
We should also remember equality needs to be afforded to non-binary South Africans, as well.
According to the World Economic Forum, equity will only be achieved by 2133, how do you contribute to the struggle for gender equality?
As an educator, I understand my job to involve both teaching and listening. Part of working as a teacher in the creative fields is figuring out ways to help set up platforms for new voices to be heard. This is a small contribution, but I hope it means that some womxn students feel heard and other students encouraged to listen.
As a writer, I hope to use my work to question and destabilise the worlds of whiteness, patriarchy and privilege that I was raised in.
What have been some of your major obstacles and challenges personally and in terms of gender equality?
Look, I’m afforded a lot of opportunities because of my privilege. Many challenges that I’ve faced as a writer involve being dismissed by men who hold power. As a disabled womxn who is a new wheelchair user, I am faced with men trying to “help” by grabbing my wheelchair or self without my permission almost every day. If I need assistance, I ask for it but fighting the assumption that I do not have the autonomy to decide whether I need help or not is tiring.
Knowing what you know, what advice do you have for young women today?
Pay attention to what’s happening around you. Find out about the world and try to learn as much as possible. Understand that it is sometimes very necessary to practice self-care.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Don’t listen to the High School guidance counsellor: writing poetry and plays is an OK thing to do.
