IT'S A MAN'S WORLD BUT MY TERMS
Thuli Jawa is a fashion design student who epresses her voice through fashionwhen asked why, she immediately said that clothes communicate best how she feels. She further added, ‘Growing up I didn’t know stores like Edgars and Woolworths. My father used to take us to Newton Park and buy clothes for us there and the price range was like R5 to R20.” The experience broadened her fashion mind because she knew how to mix and match from such a young age. She is forever grateful for the experience itmade hergain herindividual voice, a voice she expresses herself in. When asked about being a woman she said that she loves being a woman and also loves expressingherselfthatwaybutshedoesn’tboxherselftogendernormshergenderisboundless.
She also mentioned that she wants people to see, that yes she is a woman but she is more then that she just doesn’t want to be labelled as just a woman. Sisterhood in Port Elizabeth is nowhere to be found in Thuli’s opinion in a sense that women don’t have each other’s backs. She mentioned that she was looking for mentors and to her realization later she noticed that her mentors were male because it was a lot easier finding male
mentors then women. That made her question why women weren’t stretching their arms and
offering some sort of community for each other. Thuli does not only see fashion in her future but also sees herself mentoring other young females like her. She said reason for that is because she wants to uplift the community and also wants to help the young Thuli’s who are still trying to make it in life.