WHY AUNTS MATTER JUST AS MUCH AS MOTHERS IN RAISING GIRLS

WHEN I left the Eastern Cape for Cape Town all those years ago, I thought I was just coming here to study.

- VUYILE MADWANTSI

FOR many girls, an aunt becomes a confidante – someone they can trust with everything, from school dilemmas to their deepest worries.

(I Pexels)

I didn't know I was also walking straight into the arms of a woman who would one day become my daughter's chosen family, her "Aunty Zim", among many more aunts.

Back then, I was shy (still am), standing in a queue full of students, trying my best to blend into the background. But she turned around, looked me dead in the eye, and said, "You're going to be my friend."

Almost a decade later, here we are, two women navigating city life, raising a child between us, and proving that family isn't always defined by blood.

Now, when I watch my daughter share her firsts with my sister and her cool aunts from school, her "heartbreaks", her silly TikToks, I can't help but smile. This web of care connects us all, blending tenderness, chaos, and genuine, unfiltered love.

My sister is the more traditional one. She's the "teacher aunt", the one who checks homework over video calls, gives virtual maths lessons, and delivers those lovingly stern pep talks when school gets tough.

She's miles away, but somehow, still right here.