From physical security to emotional, financial and professional wellbeing, South African women are redefining what it means to feel safe
Acording to First for Women’s Her and Now: Insights into the Women of South Africa 2025 report, only 6% of South African women say they feel comfortable going out at night, while 90% say they are afraid to be home alone. These figures are alarming, but they also reveal something deeper: for women, safety is not simply about protection from physical harm. It can shape how freely we move through the world, the choices we make and the extent to which we feel able to live, work and thrive on our own terms.
The findings prompted us to look beyond the statistics and ask: What does safety actually look and feel like to South African women today? Is it being able to walk home without fear? Or does it also mean having financial independence, emotionally safe relationships, supportive workplaces and the freedom to set boundaries and be fully yourself? To explore the question, we invited South African women to share their perspectives. Below, Aneeqah Fataar, Masooda V, Sesethu Moni, Abulele Ndamase and Aobakwe Sibiya reflect on what safety means to them, and why feeling safe is about so much more than physical protection
Aneeqah Fataar
For me, safety is no longer just about feeling physically protected. It’s about having peace in every part of my life … emotionally, financially, in my marriage and in my career.
• Emotional safety: is being able to be vulnerable, to say “I’m not okay” and still feel heard, loved and respected.
• Financial safety: is having stability and independence, knowing I can provide for my son while continuing to build a future of my own.
• Relationship safety: is feeling at home with your husband. It’s trust, honesty, respect and knowing that love should allow you to grow without losing yourself. Career safety: is being valued for who I am and what I bring to the table. Being a wife and a mother are two of the most beautiful parts of my life, but I’m also a woman with dreams, ambitions and a purpose of my own
Masooda V
As a young South African businesswoman, safety means more to me than simply being protected from physical harm. It means having the freedom, confidence, resources and support to build a life and career on my own terms. I want to feel emotionally safe enough to express myself, set boundaries, be vulnerable and pursue my ambitions without being manipulated, belittled or made to feel like I need to shrink myself to make others comfortable. Financial safety means having independence and control over my own financial future. It means understanding my money, protecting my personal and business finances, building savings and wealth, and having enough financial resilience to make decisions from a place of choice rather than dependence. As a businesswoman, I want to know that if a relationship, partnership or business situation becomes unhealthy, I have the means and confidence to walk away.
Sesethu Moni
As someone who advocates for emotional justice, a sustainable lifestyle best describes my sense of safety across all areas of my life. Emotionally, safety means boundary setting, emotional sustainability, and creating spaces where feelings are honoured and processed constructively without fear of judgment or burn out. Financially, while I may not be entirely where I want to be yet, safety means maintaining a healthy relationship with money through forward planning, intentional budgeting, and the discipline to clearly separate needs and wants from immediate necessities.
In relationships, safety is built on mutual trust, open communication, emotional respect, and healthy boundaries that allow everyone to thrive authentically. Finally, career and work safety means having psychological safety in the workplace, clear work life boundaries, job stability, and an organisational culture that respects personal well-being, growth, and fair treatment. For me, safety is not simply about feeling comfortable; it’s about having the freedom, confidence and stability to navigate life without constantly operating from a place of fear. As I've grown personally and professionally, I’ve realised that safety can look very different across different areas of our lives, but at its core, it comes down to trust, boundaries, stability and the freedom to be authentically yourself.
A big part of understanding this has been intentionally investing in my own personal development. I’ve been reading books such as The Money Wealth Can’t Buy by Robin Sharma, The Life That’s Waiting, The Pivot Year and The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest. They’ve challenged me to think differently about self-worth, money, identity, fear, purpose and the choices we make. They’ve also reminded me that growth isn’t always about becoming someone completely different; sometimes it’s about unlearning the beliefs and behaviours that are keeping us from becoming who we already have the potential to be. That perspective has really influenced how I think about safety in my own life.
Abulele Ndamase
Emotional safety
Emotional safety is having relationships and spaces where you can be vulnerable without feeling like your emotions will be used against you. It’s being able to communicate openly, express your needs and have difficult conversations without fear of being dismissed, ridiculed or punished for how you feel. I also believe emotional safety requires self-awareness. It means understanding your own triggers, taking accountability for your emotions and learning how to communicate them in a healthy way. For me, it’s about creating an environment where both people feel heard, respected and emotionally considered.
Financial safety
Financial safety is having enough independence and financial literacy to make decisions from a place of choice rather than desperation. As a woman, I think financial independence is incredibly empowering. It doesn’t mean you have to do everything alone; it means knowing that you are capable of taking care of yourself, understanding your finances, planning for the future and having a safety net. My reading has also shifted the way I view wealth. The Money Wealth Can’t Buy particularly reinforced the idea that wealth is much bigger than a bank balance. There is wealth in your health, relationships, time, experiences, purpose and peace of mind. Financial security is important, but I don’t believe it should come at the expense of every other form of wealth. In a relationship, I also believe financial safety comes from transparency,being able to have honest conversations about income, spending, saving, responsibilities and long-term goals without shame or secrecy.
Relationship safety
Relationship safety is rooted in trust, consistency, honesty and mutual respect. It’s knowing that you don’t have to constantly question where you stand with someone or second-guess their intentions. I believe a healthy relationship should give you room to be an individual while still building something meaningful together. You should be able to communicate your boundaries, disagree and navigate challenges without manipulation, intimidation or the fear that expressing yourself will cost you the relationship. Love should feel like a partnership, a space where you can grow, be challenged, celebrated and supported. The Mountain Is You has particularly resonated with me because it explores how some of the biggest barriers we face can actually be internal — our fears, limiting beliefs, patterns and the ways we sometimes self-sabotage. It has made me more conscious of the importance of doing my own inner work rather than expecting another person to provide the emotional security that I also need to cultivate within myself.
Career and work safety
Career and work safety is particularly important to me because my career is a significant part of my identity and personal growth. As a PR professional, I work in an industry that requires creativity, strategic thinking, strong communication and the ability to navigate different personalities and high-pressure environments. For me, workplace safety means being in an environment where my expertise is respected, where I can contribute my ideas without fear of being diminished, and where there is room to learn, make mistakes and grow. It also means having healthy boundaries, being recognised and compensated fairly for my contribution, and knowing that I don’t have to compromise my values or wellbeing to be successful. I want to build a career that is ambitious and meaningful, but I also want it to be sustainable. Success shouldn’t require you to lose yourself in the process. Reading The Pivot Year and The Life That’s Waiting has also encouraged me to think more intentionally about transitions, timing and the different seasons of our lives. They’ve reminded me that changing direction isn’t necessarily failure and that sometimes we have to give ourselves permission to outgrow situations, expectations and even versions of ourselves that once felt familiar. That has been particularly valuable professionally because growth often requires the courage to pivot, reassess and pursue what genuinely aligns with where you’re going.
Overall perspective
Ultimately, I think safety is about having a strong enough foundation to pursue growth without feeling like you’re risking everything you’ve built. It’s knowing when to protect yourself, when to ask for support and when to step outside of your comfort zone. And perhaps most importantly, I’ve learned that creating that sense of safety isn’t only something we receive from other people, our careers or our circumstances, it’s also something we build within ourselves. The more self-aware, financially responsible, emotionally grounded and intentional we become, the better equipped we are to create lives and relationships that feel safe, fulfilling and aligned with who we are becoming.
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