Girl power reimagined

It would be weird of me to say that I have a crush on a business, wouldn’t it? 

You don’t have to answer that. I know it would. 

It’s just that I’m not sure how else to summarise my feelings toward Zena – the female-led, non-profit, environmentally friendly jewellery and accessory brand. 

I stalk the company’s social media. I feel the need to bring Zena up in conversations. I get butterflies when I come face-to-face with a product. So how else would you describe it? 

I’m crushing. Hard. 

Perhaps I can redeem myself slightly by explaining why I can’t help but wax lyrical about this brand. When it comes to Zena, there’s an awful lot to love. But I think there are two things that make the company particularly special. 

Celebrating girlhood

Firstly, Zena’s products (earrings being the signature offering) – featured in Vogue, Marie Claire and Harvey Nichols – seem to have been made with this cultural moment in sight. Have you noticed that, historically speaking, women have been encouraged to grow out of any sense of ‘playfulness’ or ‘girliness’ much quicker than men have been expected to stop being playful or boyish? 

Well, that seems to have shifted lately. 

I’m not sure who we have to thank for it; perhaps we’re still living in the cultural afterglow of Barbie, or maybe it has more to do with this being the year of Taylor Swift’s unapologetically nostalgic Era’s tour– or perhaps it’s the new wave of ultra-girly popstars. Who knows why it’s happened, but celebrating girlhood has become one of the internet’s favourite trends. 

Suddenly, here we are, celebrating ‘girl math’, ‘girl dinner’, ‘girl language’ and the ‘feminine urge’ to do things that soften up our lives. Here we are, making friendship bracelets and digging out our ballet pumps. Here we are, wanting florals, ribbon, lace, glitter, light-pink hues and more florals.  

And while it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I must admit I’m enjoying it. I have a particular hope that bows and

hair scrunchies will never fall back out of fashion’s favour. 

Anyway, I digress. 

Zena, with its eye for all things pink, glittery and heart-shaped, has been sitting ahead of this curve for a little while. The aesthetic perfectly encapsulates the celebration of female playfulness and the reclaiming of ‘girliness’ as something to embrace and enjoy.

So, there’s the first thing: the products delight the female gaze. But, more importantly than that, the products sow into female entrepreneurship and agency. Yup, there’s even more to Zena than meets the eye. 

Empowering women

So far, Zena has empowered 92 female entrepreneurs in Kamuli, Uganda. That translates to over 150 children in school, and nearly 500 lives lifted above the poverty line. As Zena often quips on its Instagram videos: 

“Earrings don’t sound important but…

…you’re currently watching a female entrepreneur

talk about her successful pharmacy business that she started from scratch with the money she made making those earrings

…you’re currently watching a female entrepreneur set up

her chicken farm with the money she made from making

those earrings

…you’re currently watching a female entrepreneur train four hairstylists in the salon that she started with the money she made from making those earrings.”

Yep. Those are real-life examples of the impact that Zena is having. Astonishing, isn’t it? So, how is the company doing this?

Well, every single product offered by Zena, which has its headquarters in Kamuli, is hand-crafted by women who were previously living below the poverty line. Through the Zena apprenticeships, these women are able to support themselves and their families while also saving the capital they need to launch their own businesses once the apprenticeship comes to an end. 

Secondly, through an entrepreneurship programme, Zena is giving its apprentices both the theoretical and practical tools that they need to launch and sustain their own businesses. Women are graduating from this programme with literacy and numeracy skills, a viable business plan, industry-specific knowledge, as well as leadership and development skills.  

These women are empowered to earn their own capital, to see the unfolding of their own ideas, to know that their dreams matter. These women are not beneficiaries, they are benefactors – and that’s a beautiful distinction. It means that they are hiring other women, their businesses are birthing more businesses and the provision of education is generating more education.

The empowerment is contagious. 

So, do you agree with me yet? Zena is something special. 

What challenges me is that it’s Christian feminism on display – but it’s not just feminism for feminism’s sake, which I can sometimes be guilty of. It’s a reminder that feminism, fighting for the social, political, economic and spiritual equality of the sexes, can be a solution to some of the world’s biggest problems. 

It’s simply incredible. 

Oh man. I’m definitely crushing on a business here. 

Shop at thezenabrand.com