Musa Gwebani is a seasoned public affairs and governance specialist with over a decade of experience in civil society, philanthropy, and activism. Currently, she serves as a Policy Officer at the European Union Delegation to South Africa, focusing on civil society and decentralised governance.
Driven by impact investing and regenerative systems, she centres her work on decentralised food systems rooted in indigenous knowledge.
Musa is one of our Aura Fellows, having completed our holistic nine-module programme designed to nurture and empower female leaders. In this Aura Spotlight interview, we delve into her experience.
How has Aura changed your relationship with yourself?
In the first year, we explored facilitating the feminine in an online circle every two weeks. It was such a welcome pause from my daily routine — a beautiful disruption. It forced me to think outside my day-to-day life and connect with my body in ways that I hadn't before.
This year, I was invited to seed my own women’s circle, and I chose “rediscovering play” as our theme — a return to playfulness and true frivolity. What resonated most with everyone in our circle was that we’re all Black women who shared this big feeling that we hadn’t been children for long enough. That our bodies were sexualised very early, and so our playing was disrupted with an awareness of what it means to have your legs in the air as a girl child. What it means to not sit properly.
The climbing of trees, getting dirty, hanging on the monkey bars had a shorter lifespan for us; if at all.
Many of us grew up in working-class homes where chores were a big part of our upbringing — also taking away our playtime. We weren't riding our bikes for hours after school; we had to peel the onions.
So, as part of our Aura circle, we went to the park and we played.
We had picnics, we hula-hooped — we played our childhood games that we wished had lasted longer. We did pottery and painting, and even went to a trampoline park! We opened our circle to mothers and their children. It turned out that everyone had a daughter — so there were 6 little girls and 10 adults — playing together like kids. It was fantastic! I’ve rediscovered my need for play.
How did you choose the women within your Aura circle?
I sent a text to a few friends at first. I thought they’d think I’d gone bonkers — that I’d suddenly turned into the “white woman” asking them to do yoga, breathe, stop all the important work they’re doing. I thought they’d say “Musa, we should be figuring out world hunger, not playing in the park!” I sent the text anyway.
The responses were overwhelmingly positive. I didn’t realise that my friends were looking for the same things that I was.
It felt like a part of me that I always had to hide: because I was a “very serious" person, doing “very serious” work.
My friends are chartered accountants, engineers, economists and lawyers. Yet there was a resounding desire for connection and play — it really surprised me. For our next gathering we’re planning a sleepover and karaoke night!
One experience from Aura that felt particularly transformative?
I remember the pottery class where I used a pottery wheel for the first time. The instructor said to me, “You're too preoccupied about your hands being dirty”. At every moment I’d dip my hands in the bucket and start again.
It struck me: to truly learn anything, you have to get over your fear of messiness and mistakes. That moment stayed with me long after. I realised how perfectionism and the way we show up professionally — without mistake, without error, without blemish — is such a barrier to true learning.
Then I cried — I want to cry now — and grieved all the years I was trying to be perfect instead of just trying to be present.
That’s what play is about: making and embracing mistakes — you should look forward to them.
It made me wonder, “What else have I not done for fear of making a mistake?” I thought about the Brazilian women in Aura learning English, and I thought, “What a brave thing to learn a language — making a fool of yourself learning how to speak again”. The most humiliating experience you could probably do as an adult is to learn a language. It takes you right back to being a child.
What does feminine wisdom mean to you?
To me, feminine wisdom is deeply rooted in secrets and the unseen — the things that thrive in the dark. Babies grow in the dark, are sometimes made in the dark, and their mysteries unfold only when they’re born into the light.
Women have always held secrets amongst themselves that have saved civilisations and strengthened bloodlines. It’s about being in cahoots with one another.
In today’s culture that overshares and promotes hyper-visibility, feminine wisdom feels like the art of working in the shadows, of resisting the temptation to be seen, of moving quietly. It’s about being present without the need for attention. To exist without a hashtag.
That’s been one of the most profound lessons for me.
I'm a big believer now in just sitting with things and feeling them, even if you don't yet have words for it. Not all things have to be said. Some things are just felt and live in the body. We know them to be true.
Our Aura circles offered such a refuge from the public self; a safe place where we could embrace our truest selves. I’ve completely reconsidered what it means to hold something sacred.
I've always been a feminist with a capital F: everything boys can do, I can do. I no longer have an appetite to compete with men.
I don't want to participate in the Cruelty Olympics — who can get away with more. I’m driven to do what’s needed for my community and the women in my life.
One piece of advice you'd give to another woman starting her Aura journey?
Focus on the body. Quiet the mind. Feel it on your skin, taste it on your tongue — hear it. Put your bare feet in the mud. Focus on your posture, on how your waist feels, on the tightness in your shoulders. Hear your body. Switch off the cerebral: focus on your body's reactions to life.