WOMEN went on a naked hike over the weekend to reclaim their confidence.
Nine ladies braved the cold and rain on Saturday, 26 November to lose themselves in the Drakensberg Mountains in QwaQwa, Free State, for the Mapona Hike.
They enjoyed themselves singing, dancing, splashing around in an icy river, as well as and motivating each other to overcome body shaming.
Moipone Mosito (26) told Daily Sun they discussed issues such as self-healing, self-acceptance and renewal.
“We are criticised and it kills our confidence. We are addicted to body shaming each other,” she said.
“For this reason, we decided to take a few hours far from home to deal with matters that undermine our dignity.”
She said she believed the women had motivated each other not to take any form of discouragement seriously.
“What will surprise you is that women are not afraid to be naked in front of their husbands or boyfriends because they won’t be undermined,” she said.
Naked hiking facilitator Fanafikile Lephakha said women struggled with many challenges.
“As a life coach, I want to make sure naked hikes have a more profound meaning than just being naked,” she said.
Nozipho Hoohlo, a personal development coach at a Lesotho empowerment company called Dynamic Transformations, said the event aimed to address life issues faced by women.
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“When you grow up as a girl, society expects certain beauty standards from you,” she said.
“This can lead to some women being victimised.”
Thakane Morapeli of the Free State Big Body Queens organisation said bigger women were often abused and she wanted to tell them to be brave.
Dimakatso Fukisi (28) said: “Being here with the other ladies without any quarrels, just sharing sisterly love, was amazing.”
