IN PICTURES | Iconic 'Sarafina' makes a comeback in theatres just in time for Women's Day

Iconic Broadway play Sarafina by Mbongeni Ngema about the 1976 Soweto uprising opened at the Playhouse Company in Durban in July.

Delisile Gumbi, 22, from Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal plays the lead role of Sarafina.

Gumbi says women should unite so they can fight gender-based violence. “As women we must unite and emulate the women of 1965 who fought for the liberation of this country.

“Our struggle is different, but we must unite to fight against gender-based violence.”

Gumbi added that the incident at Mangosuthu University of Technology, where a male student stabbed to death a female student, is a wake-up call for women to stand up for their rights.

“We cannot be quiet about this when a student kills a fellow student,” Gumbi said.

Sarafina is a proudly South African musical set during the 1976 uprisings in Soweto and deals with the “radicalisation of a young schoolgirl who becomes embroiled in the riots and is tortured by the apartheid police”.

The musical is set at the Morris Isaacson High School against the backdrop of students protesting against racial domination and being forced to use Afrikaans as a medium of instruction.

The play also has scenes showing the struggle of women during apartheid, some raped and detained.

Sarafina is on at the Playhouse Company in Durban until September 3

TimesLIVE