Woman You Rock - Sibongile Chipo Ndhlovu-Siwila - Rocking hair - Naturally...

I am sure if you know me personally, you will know that I wear my hair natural and I have been doing so for the longest time, I do not do this as a form of any statement or to prove any point.  Today I celebrate a woman who has inspired me to discover more of my natural hair, she is my "hair expert" - to tell the truth, since getting to know her, I do not use google anymore because she is our walking hair encyclopedia, please be inspired by my interview with the Amazing Sibongile from Zambia. 

Me: Please describe yourself in five words? 
Sibongile: God fearing, loving, intelligent, caring and focused.
 

Me: Where were you born and what do you love about your country of birth?

Sibongile: I was born in Zambia in a small mining town called Mufulira on the Copperbelt. I love our hospitality as Zambians, we are very welcoming for the most part.

Me: Where do you currently live?

Sibongile: In Kansas, USA.

Me: What do you love about that country?

Sibongile: The USA has this way of encouraging you to have structure and discipline in order to be successful in whatever you attempt.

Me: What does Beauty and Confidence mean to you?

Sibongile: Beauty for me is realising that God created you exactly how he wanted you, accepting yourself and embracing it.  Once that is achieved, you will be comfortable with who you are no matter who is around you and that exudes confidence.

Me: What makes you happy?

Sibongile: The simplest things in life make me happy.
My husband's laughter, our children and our families make me happy.

A good meal.

A good book.

Fellowship with friends.
 

Me: What are some of the activities do you enjoy doing in your free time?

Sibongile: I am a fan of a great number of science fiction works so I watch a lot of movies from that genre.

I also read a lot in between playing Mario bros with my children.

I am a closet chef too...I enjoy cooking and baking a lot.

Pilates and weight training.

Me: Your most fondest memory? 

Sibongile: The birth of my children, there is something miraculous about bringing a child into the world naturally.

Me: Your top five books?
Sibongile:
The Respect Dare.
Americanah.
The Love Dare.
Mastering The Art of French Cooking.
Science of Black Hair.

Me: What are you passionate about?

Sibongile: God and family.

Natural hair.

Breastfeeding.

Pregnancy and related medical care.
 

Me: What does it mean to be a Woman?
Sibongile: For me, womanhood includes being God fearing, respectful, nurturing, strong, confident, loving, authentic, and unselfish.

Me: How important is self - love? 
Sibongile: It is very important, without it one who seeks it elsewhere is left feeling empty as they look to others to love them in order to feel validated.

Me: Where did the journey with natural hair begin?

Sibongile: The moment my daughter asked me to relax her hair as well. I realised that if I wanted to convince her that her natural kinky hair was beautiful, I needed to have the same hair too and show her.As a parent, we are our children's first role models and I had to practice what I preached to her.

Me: Why should women embrace their natural hair?

Sibongile: The bigger question is why not?
It is not a handicap or mistake so why not?

When I learned how unique and versatile my natural hair is, what was originally frustration mixed with ignorance changed to fascination.

The fact that our kinks and coils are come to being so by the shape of our hair follicles is pretty amazing in my opinion.

Me: Why do you think women find it so difficult to manage their natural hair?

Sibongile: Most find it hard due to lack of knowledge on proper care of natural hair and approach it with a relaxed mindset i.e expecting natural curly/coily/kinky hair to behave like relaxed straight hair.Taking the time to learn your natural hair has tremendous benefits which I feel go beyond hair.
 

Me: Does that mean that its wrong for women to wear weaves?

Sibongile: Not at all. I know some women who wear weaves for reasons as simple as protecting their natural hair. However, one should ask themself why they wear weaves and if they find the reasons are because they feel their natural hair isn't good enough or pretty enough, further self searching will be beneficial for them.

Me: Why is it important for women to discover and love their natural hair?

Sibongile: There is something very empowering about discovering who you are as you are.
Be it your body shape, your skin colour or your hair, it is uniquely you. Not a copy, or lab product or cosmetic surgery, it is all you.When I decided to go natural and chopped off my relaxed ends, it felt like I was going back to who I really was.Like an adopted child finding their birth parents.
It is a sentiment shared by many woman who decide to go natural, big chop (BC) and accept, embrace their hair just the way it grows.
 

Me: Who inspires you and why? 
Sibongile: My mother because she is so strong, loving, forgiving, embracing and nurturing.

Me: What are some of the challenges in your opinion do you think that women are facing? 
Sibongile: Guidelines and commandments from the Bible on how a virtuous woman should be are twisted, misconstrued and adapted to fit some cultures' chauvinistic ideals. This has birthed mistreatment, abuse of girls and women alike.

Me: How do we overcome those challenges? 

Sibongile: We can break this cycle by raising daughters to love themselves and our sons to respect women which include their sisters, mothers, aunts, etc.

Me: Best advise you have ever received? 
Sibongile: Love is not an emotion or a feeling but rather a choice made every single day in order it to thrive.

Me: What are some of the virtues you live by? 
Sibongile: In my walk with Christ, I am working on becoming a better wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend.To be more caring, loving, patient, obedient, faithful and respectful.

Me: Thank you so much Sibongile for all the work you so tirelessly invest in women all around the globe.
Sibongile: Malebo, thank you so much for the interview it was a great pleasure to share my story.