By Nokuthula Zwane
Award winning musician Zahara has been revealed as one of BBC 2020 top 100 Women.
Under the banner of ‘How women Led change in 2020’, Bulelwa Mtutukana has been celebrated for inspirational and influential work she has done over the years.
Speaking on behalf of Zahara, her manager Oyama Dyosiba said this was an exciting time for the Loliwe singer.
“She is quite excited being selected as one of the most influential people on the world is a big deal. On it’s one the last decade she has been the best selling artist in terms if record sales in Sothern Africa.
“For them to recognize her this year is quite a big deal. But she also wanted to focus more about the gender based violence pandemic in South Africa which is also a problem. She want to share with world that we have a problem but it is something that we are going to be fight together,” said Dyosiba.
Zahara in a promo video for the organisation explained her tragic story of GBV and how she was lucky to have survived it.
An emotional Zahara said: “There was this guy who had sprayed me with something, I don’t know what it’s called, pepper spray. I could seen or breathe. I wanted to jump out of the car.
His one mistake was to go to the back of the car and I opened the door and ran into the bushes. I heard two gun shots.”
“GBV is sad. They feel like they are entitled to women. They don’t care about our dreams, men in South Africa,” she said in the video.
She also revealed that she started a new founds called the Zahara Army where she gives young girls a guitar as a symbol of hope.
The Top 100 Women celebrates some of the scientists, public health experts, and healthcare workers who have helped us weather the storm of the global pandemic, as well as women from other industries who have all been leaders of change in their own way - from politicians, lawyers and architects to actors, writers, athletes, singers and those who have sought to improve the lives of others in their community.
Some of the other recognisable names on this year’s list include US actor Jane Fonda, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Malaysian actor Michelle Yeoh, Belarusian Politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Pakistani actor Mahira Khan.