"Who told you that driving hearses is a job for men only?" asks Mihloti Mabunda of Dzingidzingi Village, near Giyani, who challenges other women to make names for themselves in male-dominated jobs.

People never stop staring at her when she conducts funerals across the whole of Limpopo because there is still a perception that funeral conduction is a male-only job. The hardworking Mihloti said she started driving a hearse in 2001 when she worked for the SA Burial Society in Giyani. "I acquired my driver’s licence in 1993 and never thought that I would one day drive a hearse. I had to venture into the male-dominated industry because I believe in myself. I would also like to encourage other women to follow suit because life is what you make it to be."

Mihloti now works for MTG Funerals, near Thohoyandou. "I joined MTG Funerals in 2005 as a hearse driver and people were surprised to see a woman driving a hearse. My job also includes conducting funerals where I lower the coffins and assist my male counterparts during the funeral proceedings."

Mihloti says working with the dead is just like any other job that one might think of. She said she was nervous at first, but she now enjoys the job because it is part of her daily life. "My first assignment was to work on an unknown man in 2001, whose body was kept in the mortuary for three months. I was working for the SA Burial Society by then. I was very nervous because it was impossible to look at the body twice but I gathered enough courage to do the job – and the rest is now part of history."

During the week, Mihloti works as a sales official for Professional Insurance Brokers in the Giyani area and she only conducts funerals over the weekends. She explains the secret of her success in the male-dominated industry: "I never look down upon myself because I know that I am capable of doing what men can do. The same God created both of us and he gave us physical strength and brains indiscriminately. I also make sure that I put 100% performance into everything that I do. I call on other women to stop waiting for manna to fall from heaven. The time for sleeping is over and we have to get down into this competitive world with our male counterparts."

The manager of MTG Funerals, Mr Shudufhadzo Magwabeni, says it is within the policy framework of his company to empower women. "We are bound to empower women because they have been oppressed for a long time. The company is very proud to have someone like Mihloti and she is the ambassador of our women empowerment programme. She is a dedicated employee who always strives for perfection. She is our shining example who is successfully proving that women are also abled members of our community. We are highly impressed by her commitment and we hope that other women will learn from her."