Smirnoff's 'Change Makers' campaign welcomes Jabu Nadia Newman

The campaign, currently running on Smirnoff’s social media platforms, shines the spotlight on local and international creatives who are bringing attention to issues plaguing society and are making a positive change around them. “The aim is to encourage all South Africans to make a difference too,” says Smirnoff marketing manager, Kyle Lesch.

As a participant in the #FeesMustFall protests whilst studying politics at the University of Cape Town, Newman was introduced to intersectional feminism – the understanding of how women's overlapping identities such as race, class, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation impact the way they experience oppression and discrimination.

While feminism aims to move toward gender equality and justice for people of all genders, failure to address intersectionality means that problems, which are unique to specific subsets of women or non-binary people, go unaddressed.

With the protests proving unsuccessful in achieving the desired change, Newman felt frustrated, but inspired, by the women she had met through the movement. She put her degree on pause to focus on her latest project, a semi-autobiographical web series called The Foxy Five.

The series, with its 1970s aesthetic, follows the adventures of five women from Cape Town – Blaq Beauty, Prolly Plebs, Womxn We, Femme Fatale, and Unity Bond – as they fight issues such as sexual harassment, transphobia, homophobia, racism, and inequality. Each character represents a different aspect of intersectionality.

“A lot of people don’t have access to understanding, in an academic way, what intersectional feminism is. So I wanted to focus on looking at it in a practical way that we could understand, through seeing everyday examples,” says Newman.

“Jabu is using her creativity to protest inequality in our society, give a voice to the marginalised, and spur introspection among all South Africans. She is a true 'Change Maker',” adds Lesch.

Newman and the cast and all-woman crew of The Foxy Five have recently celebrated the season finale, and first anniversary, of the web series.

For more information, connect with them on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.