Mokaila takes the road less travelled
In celebration of Women’s Month we are profiling females in male-dominated fields. This feature will run every Wednesday for the month of August. Reports by and Mom of two a boxing referee and judge
Boxing appears to be the least sport that women can think of because of its violent nature, but for Sylvia Mokaila, a married mother of two, it was what she wanted to do.
Born in Lomanyaneng village in Mahikeng, North West, 43 years ago, Mokaila, pictured right, is an international professional boxing referee and judge.
She travels the world representing SA as a referee. She has made her mark as the first and only woman to achieve this feat in the country and the continent.
Mokaila said she grew up playing with boys and had a father who loved boxing.
In 1997, she wanted to become a boxer, but the constitution did not allow women to be boxers. So she joined Boxing SA (BSA) as a ring official instead.
In 2001, the constitution was amended to allow women to box, but at that time she was already a ring official and age was not on her side to start as a boxer.
Mokaila agreed that nature created women more softer than men, but said boxing was not as bad as it used to be years ago.
“Boxing is a different contact sport with application of excessive strength on the part of participants to weaken each other ... but it is really not as violent as perceived. In boxing we play, not fight. It is a sport like any other [sport] you can think of.”
Mokaila said in the beginning it was extremely awkward and difficult to transcend gender boundaries in the male-dominated industry and still make a mark. She said when she first joined the boxing world some men were receptive and provided the necessary support, while others rejected her as an intruder in their mist.
“The [two] biggest problems faced by women in the boxing industry – women doubting themselves in their approach and dealings on professional matters as persons.
“Sometime we do not take it upon ourselves to acquire as much knowledge and information as possible about all-important and necessary technical skills, expertise and knowledge to be competitive at the best of times.”
Mokaila said there was enough support for women in this field even though systemic structural imbalances existed.
She qualified as a World Boxing Council (WBC) referee and judge in 2006 and can now officiate at fights sanctioned by the organisation anywhere in the world. She represented South Africa when she went to Bangkok, Thailand, as the international boxing referee and judge in November 2013. She also represented the country at the WBC in Mexico from November 30 to December 9 2012.
She won the Female Ring Official of the Year Award in February at the BSA awards at Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban.