‘I certainly know that I resisted it, and I didn’t want to give in to it, and it was the worst thing I ever did to myself.

It’s hard to fight with your family, when you’re family is saying, “no, you will do it”. ‘I have friends in the audience who have been married more than once and have tried different things, because it’s hard. ‘I have no idea,’ Gqola said, to much laughter. ‘So how do you make it work?’ Motene asked. ‘I know that there are some feminists in my life who say “hell no, when I get married I want the lobola”, and that’s fine, if you can make it work.’ ‘Honestly, lobola is a mess,’ Gqola said. Gqola was in conversation with Rosie Motene, and the two discussed many of the contentious issues that crop up in the book – including feminism and lobola. The venue was packed out for the launch of her latest work, and Gqola signed copies of her book for over an hour. Gqola is a gender activist, award-winning author and professor of African Literature at Wits University, and is the author of three previous books: What is Slavery to Me?, A Renegade Called Simphiwe and Rape: A South African Nightmare.

Other essays included in the book include: ‘Disappearing women’, ‘On the beauty of feminist rage’, ‘Mothering while feminist’ and ‘Becoming my mother’.Pumla Dineo Gqola launched her new book Reflecting Rogue at Love Books in Melville last night. I've enjoyed how it appeals to me as a man and re-affirms my role in society and how to co-exist in a complex world. But as a male, I felt empowered by the book. When some of my colleagues saw the book, they thought here is another book about male bashing. I loved prof's narration of her experience as a women in academia. From a secure Centurion estate in one case to being a cop in another, and being taken by men who know them. These include essays on ‘Disappearing Women’, where Gqola spends time exploring what it means to live in a country where women can simply disappear. Host Eusebius McKaiser says 'Reflecting Rogue' is Gqola's most personal book to date which delivers twenty essays of 'deliciously incisive brain food', all extremely accessible to a general critical readership, without sacrificing intellectual rigour. She adds that she felt, if she was ever going to write another book, she had to do it now. Gqola explains that she was humbled by how well received her previous book, Rape: A South African Nightmare was. Gqola is no stranger to the literary scene as she's written three other works. Reflecting Rogue (Inside the mind of a feminist) is the much anticipated and brilliant collection of experimental autobiographical essays on power, pleasure and South African culture by Professor Pumla Dineo Gqola. 'Reflecting Rogue' is the much-anticipated collection of autobiographical essays on power, pleasure and SA culture by Prof Gqola.

Reflecting Rogue by Pumla Dineo Gqola