Hi, I'm Arlana

In 2024, I became pregnant and began what I thought would be an exciting journey into motherhood. But along the way, I learned some harsh truths. Those lessons inspired me to create Working Womb.

This space explores motherhood stripped of its fairytales, offering reflections on pregnancy, maternity rights, the workplace, and what it really means to navigate womanhood today. It’s for anyone who believes our bodies, our work, and our choices deserve better.

About me:

I’m a journalist and communications practitioner from Windhoek, Namibia. Over the past decade, my work has intersected with human rights, gender justice, climate change, and LGBTIQ+ advocacy across Africa.

Beyond the professional, I’m deeply interested in how systems shape our everyday lives. My writing often explores where the personal meets the political. Working Womb is an extension of that curiosity: an attempt to make sense of how womanhood, motherhood, and labour intertwine.

Here, I examine the body and the workplace, the beauty and the brutality of it all. It’s an honest exploration of what it means to live and labour within structures that were never built for us.

Fresh content, delivered

I’m new to newsletters, but excited to share my essays and reflections directly with you; dropped straight into your inbox, ready to read in your own time. So, please subscribe to stay up to date, and I hope these writings offer both insight and fresh perspective on motherhood, work, and the systems we're forced to navigate.