Proteas Women encourage bravery as they continue to raise GBV awareness, says Sinalo Jafta

Proteas Women's wicket-keeper batter Sinalo Jafta, with the Black Day One Day International (ODI) coming up against Pakistan Women in Durban, says the team wants to encourage the women in the country to be brave enough to speak out and seek help. 

Having won the T20I series against Pakistan 2-1, South Africa are scheduled to play three ODIs against the same outfit. 

The first match is set to get underway on Sunday in Bloemfontein, with the second scheduled to be staged in Centurion on 25 February, while the third and final match of the series will take place in Durban on 01 March. 

With the next ODI World Cup a long way away, the main focus of the ODI series is the Black Day ODI in Durban, where the Proteas Women play their part in alleviating Gender Based Violence (BV) in the country. 

In an exclusive interview with Independent Media, Sinalo Jafta says the team wants to encourage the women of South Africa to be brave. 

"I think if you look at just holistically what's been going on around the country, there's been a lot of awareness around it (GBV), and I mean, for us, we've kind of say, 'well, you know what, we want to be brave and black'," Jafta said. 

"With bravery comes a sportswoman saying, 'You know what, it's okay not to be okay'. You're stepping out on the field regardless of what's going on at home.

"So, I think when you speak about bravery, the brand of cricket that we've been asked to play by the coach, you're coming from a tough background and forgetting about that. You're coming from tough circumstances, and you're literally saying, 'You know what, I'm going to brave it out.'

"There's no shame in speaking out and saying I'm struggling. I mean, it all ties together. If you don't say anything, you can't get help.

"So I think for me, it's just being brave and speaking out, and also being brave and just going out there and executing what you need to do." she added. 

Despite having missed an opportunity to whitewash Pakistan Women in the T20I series, Jafta believes they are on the right path as a team, especially with the ICC Women's T20 World Cup coming in the United Kingdom this coming winter. 

I think when you look at where we come from as a team, it's been pretty tough for us to actually win a series at home. So obviously, there is no such thing as perfection. If anything, there are improvements," Jafta said. 

"We always want to constantly improve and tick boxes. You could say from a Pakistan point of view, they've played a very brave brand of cricket.

"I think when you come and play the first series of the year, you are going to be rusty here and there. But for us, we know that the bigger goal is England in June, July."