WRITING AS A PARTICIPANT AND OBSERVER

Shafinaaz Hassim sheds light on taboo subjects and her diary is still her touchstone, writes

AUTHOR and sociologist Shafinaaz Hassim loves writing stories and over the years her craft has earned her a number of literary nominations and awards.

But nothing has been more rewarding for her than using her gift to bring to light taboo topics that most people would rather not talk about.

Hassim, 41, who lives in Polokwane, Limpopo, says she used to dream about writing books when she was growing up. But she didn’t think this would be possible for a small-town girl. So instead she concentrated on her maths and science and applied to further her studies in dentistry and architecture.

“I grew up in Polokwane, previously known as Pietersburg,” she said. “My most cherished childhood memories were walking home from school with friends, or to the library to get books. It was a sparse selection, but a treasure trove for thirsty readers. Indian people were relegated to an apartheid ghetto called Nirvana. We lived as an extended family, knowing everyone on first name terms – even which aunty made the tastiest delights for festivals like Eid.”

Hassim was born in the 1970s. She said her school and teen years were shrouded in the melancholic echo of apartheid laws and what was happening in the bigger cities to people of colour. Somehow, she said, they felt safer in their tiny homes in the small towns.

“I remember stopping for a picnic on the roadside between Pietersburg and Pretoria on our way to visit my gran in the 1980s. The cops stopped and demanded we pack up our things and leave,” said Hassim. “I also remember being told we couldn’t swim in the Mayfair community pool in the mid-1980s. At the time I was still a child but the sign commanding dogs and blacks to stay out burned an impression on my mind.”

But it wasn’t so bad in her corner of the world – growing up in Nirvana in the 1980s and 1990s. She said she enjoyed attending weddings and qawwali (Sufi devotional music) events filled with festive cheer and colour, traditional sweets and large pots of briyani cooked over open fires.

Her close-knit community made her feel secure in the knowledge that whether they were celebrating or mourning, they would be outside their homes making merry or holding out their hand and offering solace or support.

She first left the comforts of her home in 1995 when she enrolled to study architecture at the University of the Witwatersrand. Three years later, she changed her course and studied towards a Bachelor of Arts degree,