• Mother Tongue: Echoes of Labour – Women’s Work Songs

• Unearthing the Sonic History of Women's Toil, Resistance, and Resilience

In this episode of Mother Tongue, we explore the powerful legacy of women’s work songs—those often-overlooked sonic expressions rooted in labour, endurance, and defiance. Guided by Nompumelelo Zondi’s Bahlabelelelani – Why Do They Sing?, we journey through soundscapes where women’s voices have shaped collective memory and cultural resistance.

From pounding songs in Malawi and Ghana to Gaelic waulking songs in the Scottish Highlands, from the spirituals of enslaved African-American women to the witty chants of Caribbean market traders and cassava rituals of the Garifuna, we trace a global lineage of rhythm and resilience.

We also consider how these traditions echo in contemporary music—through samples, remixes, and protest chants—and how women have used song in union movements and liberation struggles across the world, from COSATU to May Day marches.

Join us as we listen deeply to the songs that carried generations through labour and longing—and still carry stories today.