Educator, author, poet and community activist Zahida Wahab has built a life around words, service and the belief that stories can give a voice to those who are too often reduced to statistics.
From promoting literacy and writing children’s stories to her work with Child Welfare Chatsworth and Chatsworth Hospice, Wahab’s passion lies in using storytelling to inspire kindness, empower women and advocate for children.
Tabloid Newspapers sat On the Couch with Zahida Wahab to discover the woman behind the words.
Tabloid Newspapers (TN): For readers meeting Zahida Wahab for the first time, who is she beyond the educator, author, poet and activist?
Zahida Wahab (ZW): I am a sister, a doting aunt and a consummate volunteer. I love reading as much as I love writing and enjoy unwinding with an engrossing Netflix series.
TN: What is something about you that people are often surprised to learn?
ZW: Despite having a public profile, I am a very private individual with a small circle of friends. I value “me” time and time spent at home with family more than being at social events.
TN: Where did your love for writing and storytelling begin?
ZW: My love for writing and storytelling began at primary school, where I excelled in speech contests and elocution. I was regularly called upon to write speeches and essays in English and Afrikaans for most of my classmates.
TN: Was there a particular book, writer or experience that shaped the kind of writer you wanted to become?
ZW: I love the poignant writings of Maya Angelou. She turned pain into power. Angelou didn’t just write about suffering from a safe distance; she lived it – childhood trauma, racism, poverty and single motherhood. For many women who have faced hardship, that resilience is personal. I also enjoy the literary offerings of Khaled Hosseini. He articulately describes the adult burdens that children often endure, and I still reread my copy of “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, which undoubtedly is my favourite book.
TN: You have written poetry, children’s stories and contributed to anthologies. Which piece of your work feels most personal to you, and why?
ZW: My poem entitled “Being Sunflowers”, which features in my anthology, is a very special piece which I wrote in tribute to my forever sunflowers – my precious mum and my mentor and best friend, the late Salochana Moodley, former director of Child Welfare Chatsworth.
These two remarkable women have shaped the woman that I am today. Their constant love, support and motivation fuelled my passion to write and uplift my community. Dedicating my anthology to them was deeply personal and my little way of showing that, while I miss them tremendously, I hold them safely in my heart and endeavour to uplift and empower others as I have been through their unconditional love.
TN: Two of your poems on indenture formed part of the 160th commemoration of the arrival of indentured labourers. What did writing about that history mean to you personally?
ZW: Penning these two poems was more an act of remembrance and reverence than it was about writing. To pay homage to those who sacrificed so much so we could be the beneficiaries of their hard work and determination was truly special to me. It was my way of acknowledging our forefathers and holding them up as the architects of the success we now enjoy.
TN: Your Nal’ibali story, “There’s No Price for Being Kind”, was selected for the World Read Aloud Day reading list. What inspired that story and its message?
ZW: This was my first children’s story, and having it published in Nal’ibali and selected as part of the department’s reading list was an absolute honour. This story was motivated by my belief that we need to nurture children to be ambassadors of kindness. Stories are now needed more than ever. Social media has exposed our children to realities that belie their tender age. Stories engender empathy and are a way of returning childhood to children, while creatively teaching them values.
TN: Several of your stories have been translated into nine official languages and featured on radio. What does it mean to know that your words are reaching people from so many different communities?
ZW: Stories don’t belong to the writer; they belong to the reader. Stories truly have no borders. When Nal’ibali translated my stories into nine official languages, I was humbled to know that my pen has a purpose bigger than me, and that is a responsibility I carry with gratitude. To know that a child in Limpopo and a child in Chatsworth get to read my story in their mother tongue, drawing lessons that will enrich their lives, is a joy for any writer.
TN: Through your involvement with Child Welfare Chatsworth and Chatsworth Hospice, you are exposed to some very difficult realities. How has this work changed the way you see people and community?
ZW: I am inordinately humbled to be afforded the privilege to serve our community through two of the largest NGOs in Chatsworth. While both organisations differ in terms of their core function, they serve a common purpose – to bring hope and relief. Through my involvement with these organisations, I have been exposed to the most phenomenal human beings – individuals with an unparalleled generosity of spirit who are always willing to support good causes and help us articulate our visions and values. I am blessed to work alongside the most selfless and amazing volunteers whose only recompense is knowing their volunteerism is making a difference in the lives of others.
TN: You are passionate about protecting children. What do you believe are some of the biggest challenges children face today that adults are not paying enough attention to?
ZW: I believe that we underestimate how much children are carrying silently. Beyond the social ills they are forced to endure, there is emotional neglect. Children need to feel seen, heard and valued, but because adults are so busy, children are spending more time on their screens. We also don’t pay enough attention to how children absorb trauma in the home, and if that trauma is not healed, it will affect them in all aspects of their lives. Mental health issues in children are sadly on the rise. We need to do better as adults in raising children who don’t need to heal from unresolved childhood trauma.
TN: You have also been part of conversations around gender-based violence. What do you believe needs to change for society to move beyond simply talking about GBV to actually preventing it?
ZW: We need to move from awareness to action, and that action must start early. GBV prevention cannot begin after a woman is harmed. We must stop raising sons and daughters with different rules. Sons must be taught that real strength is about protecting, not controlling, and daughters must be taught that their safety and voice matter. We need these conversations not just on podiums in August, but in our homes, classrooms and places of worship. We also need consequences. Talking must be matched with efficient policing, safe reporting systems and support for survivors at places like Child Welfare. We need men to hold other men accountable. GBV is not a women’s issue to solve. It is a collective wound on society that needs collective action.
TN: Your anthology, “Being Sunflowers When the World Turns Grey”, centres women’s experiences. What does being a “sunflower” in difficult times mean to you?
ZW: Being a sunflower means turning toward the light even when storm clouds gather. As women, we carry the weight of so much, but we don’t wait for the light to find us. We constantly reach for the light. For me, being a sunflower is standing tall, rooted in your values, being resilient in tough times and radiating your light to illuminate the path of others.
TN: The phrase “women’s empowerment” is used frequently. What does genuine empowerment look like to you beyond slogans and celebrations?
ZW: For me, true empowerment means women, instead of just building their own table, build a table and invite other women to join them. At that table, the conversations are not about other women, but about ideas, upliftment, empowerment and making a difference. That, for me, is true empowerment – where nobody is left behind. Where we become the hope-dealers, bridge-builders and light-bringers in a world that needs our light. Because I believe that it is only in the light of another woman that we truly discover our own.
TN: You have said storytelling can turn abstract statistics into lived realities. Can you recall a moment when a story, either yours or someone else’s, made you see a social issue differently?
ZW: At Child Welfare, we deal with statistics every day – how many children are removed, how many cases of abuse – but beyond the statistic is a traumatised little girl or boy. That is what stories do. They make you stop seeing a case file and start seeing a child. They make you stop seeing a headline about GBV and start seeing a mother, a sister, a neighbour. A story gives a soul to a statistic.
TN: Looking at everything you have done so far, what legacy would you like Zahida Wahab’s writing and community work to leave behind?
ZW: I don’t want to be remembered for how many books I wrote. I want to be remembered for how many hearts my books touched. If a child remembers that my story taught them to be kind, if a woman reads “Being Sunflowers When the World Turns Grey” and finds the courage and strength to turn toward her own light again, if someone at Chatsworth Hospice or Child Welfare felt seen because I took the time to listen – then I have done my work. I want my legacy to be that I used my gift of writing and serving to uplift others; that I wrote with compassion, served with sincerity and left behind heartprints of kindness. And, of course, that I was someone’s sunflower in our often dark world.
