Committed to fighting inequality
EXPERIENCING first hand the inequalities of apartheid as a child, businesswoman Verushka Soma Memdutt committed herself to fight for human rights.
Today, Memdutt, 43, of Seaview, is the director at her business Ubunye Fresh, serves as the general secretary of the Market Users Committee (MUC) and is the provincial sectary of the South African Informal Traders Forum (SAITF) – organisations which fight for the rights of informal traders.
The mother of two also recently gave her voice to the #TotalShutDown march against gender-based violence and femicide.
“I believe women, regardless of who they are, whether they are housewives or part of the corporate sector, have the ability to empower and make a difference in communities. It’s not about status, but about passion and giving a voice to the voiceless,” says Memdutt, who grew up in a community known as Balfour in Mpumalanga with her parents Prawin and Anilla Soma and three sisters.
“We lived in a tin house without piped water and electricity. My father was a builder by trade, and my mom was a school teacher. She also worked as a cashier at a supermarket to earn extra money.”
Memdutt attended Balfour Primary School and Springs Secondary School.
“The primary school was once a bakery and it was converted into school for non-white children. It did not have all the fancy finishes as the white schools and pupils had no choice but to make do with what was given to them.”
When Memdutt reached high school, the issue of segregation and racism became more real to her.
“I was not allowed to go to the local school, which was a few minutes away from home, and had to travel three hours a day to the town of Springs to attend a high school that was suitable for my skin colour.
“My mother, who was an activist and strived to empower and help our community, made us see that people deserved to be treated equally.”
When Memdutt matriculated, her parents relocated to Durban to secure better opportunities for their children.
“We moved to Umbilo and I got a job as a cashier at a supermarket near the Warwick Market.
“While working, I saved my money, and with some help from my parents, I enrolled part-time for a law degree at the University of South Africa.”
As she made her way through the market, past the informal traders to work, she realised that right at her doorstep lie a business opportunity.
“I decided to leave my job as a cashier, so I could start my own business, selling fresh produce at the market.
“I used whatever money I had left from my savings to buy stock. I put my degree on hold to focus on growing my business, and in time, I got married and had my children.”
But while working at the market, she met women who were bullied by men at the workplace, and others were abused by their husbands and boyfriends.
“I empowered these women about their rights by telling them they did not deserve to be treated in such a manner.”
Speaking of an incident where she was almost assaulted, she says: “I had such an experience when one of the male traders tried to assault me, but I was fortunate my husband was there, and he stepped in.
“I reported the incident to the police to show the other women that we have rights and we did not have to tolerate this type of behaviour.”
By being part of the MUC and SAITF, Memdutt says she is able to tackle issues faced by market traders that violated their rights, including making sure they were not mistreated.
“I joined these organisations to ensure issues are resolved in a transparent manner.”
Memdutt says she hopes to complete her law degree “sometime in the future”.