Beyond the Grant: Bosadi: A Prayer for Women, A Mirror for the Nation
At Hyde Park Corner, Johannesburg, the atmosphere was electric with quiet reverence as acclaimed author and medical
doctor, Dr Kopano Matlwa took her seat in conversation with journalist Cathy Mohlahlana. The setting, framed by shelves lined with copies of Bosadi and bathed in soft light, became a sanctuary of reflection, storytelling, and womanhood.
As the audience leaned in, Dr Matlwa’s words filled the space with the calm assurance of someone who writes not just to tell stories, but to heal. “Bosadi is a prayer for women,” she said. “It’s an act of naming our joy and our pain and finally giving both permissions
to exist.”
That evening, Bosadi became more than a book launch, it was a national moment of reflection. Supported through the NIHSS Working Group Programme, Bosadi, meaning womanhood in Setswana and Sesotho, takes its place among the most urgent works of contemporary African literature.