By Dideka Njemla
Consent is one of the many lessons emphasised and instilled in the young girls attending Entangeni Adolescents Girls Movement, an initiative organised by the Eugenia Nothemba Gxowa (ENG) foundation. The chairperson of the ENG foundation, Nomkhitha Gysman, said, “This project falls under our Knowledge Production and Application program.” She told the Entangeni project aims to curb gender-based violence against young girls. This four-week program is hosted on Saturdays at T.E.M. Mrwetyana Secondary School in Makhanda.
The girls and facilitators of Entangeni
The Entageni Movement has five facilitators who are directly involved in engaging with the teenage girls. In facilitating these sessions, the facilitators ensure that the young girls connect with the topic, making it relatable and interesting. One of the facilitators, Wendy Mandla, said it is important to make the girls comfortable, as this encourages them to speak freely. “They are curious young minds who give valuable input in these sessions,” Mandla said. She hopes girls gain more confidence and self-reliance through this experience. “They should have a voice,” said Mandla. 16-year-old Entangeni attendee, Emihle Gagayi, highlighted the value of the Entangeni Movement in empowering young teenage girls. “We learn about different sexualities and the importance of finding your voice in society as a growing young woman. We are taught to know our sexual rights and what we should say no to when it comes to our body,” said Gagayi.
Entangeni’s bigger purpose
Gysman described the role of the facilitators and said, “They were provided with a toolkit to help them in collecting the sexual and reproductive health and rights experiences of the adolescent girls they are overseeing.” Gysman further explained that once the data sampling has been concluded, the data will be analysed for the development of Makhanda. “We have a volunteer from Finland who will release a report on the findings, and that will be handed to our drama curator. From there, a short performance piece will be written to be disrupted across all schools in this town.”
The origins and core values of Entageni
Gysman said, “The sessions offered at Entangeni fall under sexual and reproductive health and rights, which tackle issues of adolescent pregnancies.” She explained that the increasing rate of teenage pregnancies in the province sparked the Entangeni Movement. “This was never a priority of ours, but these alarming rates of teen pregnancies made us take a stand. People of this town approached and asked us to salvage. That is what motivated Entangeni.” She explained the name’s origin and said, “Entageni is a locative from a noun ‘Intanga’ with various meanings. The one we are dealing with is the definition of ‘intanga’ as a peer group.”
Gysman continued, “You know, when a nation is faced with unique challenges, it reverts to old practices. Intanga is a practice in a Xhosa household, where there’s a hut dedicated to the girls of that household. The young girls will gather in that hut, and it will be a safe space to deal with their issues, specifically sexual reproductive health rights.” Gysman stated that the Entageni Movement has adapted some of the advantages of the classic Xhosa practices that could be applied to the modern world. “Our meeting here every Saturday is us trying to mimic that, allowing girls to talk with their peers and the facilitators who are young women in their youth.” She explained that Entageni is a multiverse movement that enriches the lives of teenage girls. “At the heart of Entangeni lies nurturing leadership and promoting self-reliance in our teen girls. That’s the culture we want to foster in this town and province,” said Gysman.
