About
Assalamu alaikum. I’m Waheeda.
I’m an author and educator from Durban, a wife, and a mother of two young men. I write about the parts of a woman’s life that rarely get spoken about: the quiet adjustments of marriage, the weight of motherhood, the steadiness faith can bring, and the things we carry without saying.
Where this began
What WayD Says started as a personal blog. In 2015, after the birth of my second son, it became the place where I wrote honestly about postnatal depression, at a time when few women in our community were willing to name it. Writing about it openly opened a door. Women began writing back, and the blog grew into a space for Muslim women to reflect on marriage, parenting, wellbeing and faith.
In 2025, What WayD Says was named Best Wellness Blog for Women in South Africa by Global Health and Pharma.
In 2022, this post was name Best Blog Post Health and Wellness Winner in the SA Parenting Blog Awards.
My background
I hold an Honours degree in Psychology and a PGCE, and I have spent most of my working life in education. I taught English for ten years, ran my own language school preparing international students for university, and volunteered for seven years teaching English to refugees. Today I work in school leadership.
Psychology taught me how people carry what they carry. Teaching taught me patience, and how to explain things simply. Both shape everything I write.
My writing
My first novel, Kismet: For Roses to Blossom, was published in 2023. I’m currently working on fiction and non-fiction about marriage and family life. Readers of my letters will be the first to hear more.
In 2023, I founded the Association of Muslim Women Authors in South Africa (AMWASA), a non-profit company that supports Muslim women to write, publish and be read.
Beyond the page
When I’m not writing, I’m usually reading, crocheting, home-making, at my sewing machine, or around the table with my family.
Short bio for event organisers
Waheeda Joosab is a Durban-based author and educator. She holds an Honours degree in Psychology and a PGCE and works in school leadership. Her blog, What WayD Says, was named Best Wellness Blog for Women in South Africa 2025. She is the author of Kismet: For Roses to Blossom and the founder of the Association of Muslim Women Authors in South Africa (AMWASA).
As featured on
- Radio Islam – 10 Jan 2023 – The right age to start school
- CII Radio – 04 June 2023 – Exam Stress
- Salaamedia – 10 Sep 2023 – Bookbytes with Shafinaaz Hassim
- CII Radio – 23 Oct 2023 – Final term and exam preparation
- Radio Islam International – 06 July 2022 – Hayatan Tayyibah with Muallimah Shakirah Hunter
- Radio Islam – 13 Aug 2022 – Mental Health Labels – What social media needs to consider
- Al Ansaar Radio – 5 Oct 2022 – Kismet – For roses to blossom… (Live in studio)
- CII Radio – 6 Oct 2022 – Kismet – For roses to blossom…
- The Niqabi Diaries podcase – S3 Ep 147
- CII Radio – 18 Dec 2022 – Children who don’t make the grade
- CII radio – 29 Feb 2021 – Afternoon Beat – Back to school adjustment tips
- CII radio – 05 Mar 2021 – In the Spotlight with Dr. Anwar Jeewa
- AlAnsaar Radio – 21 Mar 2021 – Mindful Matters with Nazia Iram Osman
- CII radio – 08 Oct 2021 – Challenges faced by teachers (Covid)