The danger of being a woman in South African media and politics
Source: Daily Nation
They are mocked, they are dismissed with jokes, they are humiliated online with deepfakes – they even have their very lives threatened. And still, as the poet Maya Angelou said, they rise. In this episode, Politically Aweh honours the fearless women of South African political life.
In honour of Women’s Month 2026, this week the satirical political podcast Politically Aweh shines a light on the sexism, disinformation and threats of violence perpetrated against the women who speak out in the political sphere in South Africa, to bully them into silence and acquiescence.
Ferial Haffejee, Associate Editor of Daily Maverick, was one of the first women in media who was exposed to this first-hand. “Very quickly it jumps from the ether into the real world.”
“The digital world isn’t separate from the real one any more,” says Politically Aweh co-host Zoë Barnes. “What starts with a post can become harassment; what starts with misinformation can become violence.”
“I’ve been threatened. It’s very scary,” admits Caryn Dolley, an investigative reporter who focuses on organised crime at Daily Maverick.
Political analyst Tara Roos received death threats so serious that she had to open a police investigation. “After I spoke online about the attacks that I received, there were many female journalists that also spoke up online and who contacted me to say they’d experienced the same thing,” she says. “I think threats like these are aimed at silencing people, and we should not be silenced,” she tells KG. “We should not be threatened for giving an opinion.”
They are mocked, they are dismissed with jokes, they are humiliated online with deepfakes – they even have their very lives threatened. And still, as the poet Maya Angelou said, they rise. In this episode, Politically Aweh honours the fearless women of South African political life.
In honour of Women’s Month 2026, this week the satirical political podcast Politically Aweh shines a light on the sexism, disinformation and threats of violence perpetrated against the women who speak out in the political sphere in South Africa, to bully them into silence and acquiescence.
Ferial Haffejee, Associate Editor of Daily Maverick, was one of the first women in media who was exposed to this first-hand. “Very quickly it jumps from the ether into the real world.”
“The digital world isn’t separate from the real one any more,” says Politically Aweh co-host Zoë Barnes. “What starts with a post can become harassment; what starts with misinformation can become violence.”
“I’ve been threatened. It’s very scary,” admits Caryn Dolley, an investigative reporter who focuses on organised crime at Daily Maverick.
Political analyst Tara Roos received death threats so serious that she had to open a police investigation. “After I spoke online about the attacks that I received, there were many female journalists that also spoke up online and who contacted me to say they’d experienced the same thing,” she says. “I think threats like these are aimed at silencing people, and we should not be silenced,” she tells KG. “We should not be threatened for giving an opinion.”