A WOMAN’S doek is like a crown and should be worn with pride.
This is according to Thandi “Babes we doek” Mavata (36), who held an all-white Doek on Fleek picnic at the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town on Saturday. It was attended by over 300 women.
She told Daily Sun: “We are embracing something that was left with us by our great-grandmothers. We are saying to women, stand up. When they wear this crown, they should know they are queens who represent something.”
She said doeks represented a woman’s pride in being African.
“It’s also a sign of respect when you go to a funeral or traditional gathering.”
She said the picnic was a great place for women to be themselves, dance as much as they wanted and build friendships.
“I get goosebumps every time women come here to testify that they met at Doek on Fleek. Others didn’t have jobs before and they helped each other. “Women here don’t pull each other down but lift one another up,” she said.
Nodumo Jongile, co-founder of Mayine Gin, told the women: “We have to support each other as women and also as black people. Money has to circulate among us. Look at the Japanese. Their money circulates among themselves 15 times before it goes to someone else.
‘We can only change this if we strive to have our own businesses.”
Nolizwe Sewukhe (47): “I’m happy to be here because as a single parent, I’m both a mother and a father. Being here refreshes my soul.”
