As the sun sets over one of Johannesburg’s most affluent suburbs a group of domestic workers gather. The ladies emerge from posh houses in the surrounding neighborhood in Greenside where they’ve spent their day washing dishes, ironing and vacuuming. They hug and joke with each other as they arrive with water bottles and sweat towels ready to pump some iron.
Florence Rasaseala has been coming to the gym almost everyday since it was opened by the city over a year ago. “I have never felt so fit and young”, she says between breaths as she strains while on the chest press machine.
Around a dozen women have formed an informal gym club, most wearing their domestic worker uniforms from their long day’s work. “We have not formed an official gym club, but there are regulars. We have all become friends and I look forward to seeing them every day”, she continues.
“I clean a house in the area and I live there. The gym is close to my house so I can gym easily”, says Rasaseala. “Most of us work closeby and some walk a few kilometers to come here”, she continues.
“Some people make jokes and some stop their cars to take photos of us us gyming”, says Rasaseala.
“We want to be fit and healthy, just because we’re domestic workers it doesn’t mean that we can’t go to gym”, she continues.
