After surviving a horrible ordeal, Zandile “Zeal” Dladla who presents the Fakumoya show on Ukhozi FM every Saturday from 10 PM to 2 AM, wants to focus on motivating other rape survivors while going through the process of healing. Dladla was raped eight years ago whilst deejaying at a university and thanks to the support of her friends, she survived.
To avoid being a permanent rape victim, Dladla decided to speak out about it a few years ago. “The thing about rape is that whenever it happens you start blaming yourself, asking questions like… what was I doing there? If I had not gone there this would have not happened,” said Dladla.
“Honestly, that is not the case; someone used his power to take an advantage of you. The healing process does not end because I’m still healing. That is why I don’t focus on how the rape happened but how I can help others. Rape is there with you for the rest of your life, but what is different is how you see it later,” she noted.
Dladla said the incident brought a lot of traumatic experiences, so she took the decision that she would talk about it as part of her healing journey. However, she did highlight that it is not easy to talk about because of the fear of being judged.” I knew it did not start talking about it in public it will depress me and take over my life,” she added.
Together with The Roots (a non-profit organisation based in KwaMashu, Durban) Dladla motivates young people and speaking about sexual violence and issues associated with it. “As the non-profit organisation we work with young people in the township and we try to empower them with all the information,” said the spokesperson of the NGO.
“I speak to them about gender-based violence, the importance of treating each other equally and encourage self-love and self-respect. Where we come short we invite social workers to speak to them about other topics. We want to keep these kids away from the streets, that is why we are looking for people who will donate computers to the NPO and music instruments,” noted Dladla.
