South African playwright, academic, novelist and short story writer Nadia Davids is the winner of the 2024 Caine Prize for African Writing. It’s an important award that has played a significant role in shaping the career trajectories of numerous African writers. She received the prize for her exquisitely written and disturbing short story Bridling.
The title refers to a scold’s bridle, also known as a witch’s bridle, a cruel metal muzzle placed on a defiant (or even gossiping) woman’s face in an act of public humiliation in centuries past. A bridle must be worn on stage by the narrator of Bridling, who is performing in a theatre piece that aims to examine how men have viewed women through history. Not all the women cast in the production will stay until opening night, taking different forms of rebellion against its demands. We asked Davids about her winning story.
