Vishwani Cahoolessur: A Voice That Refuses to Be Silenced
Former journalist and presenter turned activist, she has faced prejudice and resumed her studies at the age of 40. This is a portrait of a woman of conviction who transforms exclusion into assumed authority.
One day, the editor of a newspaper refused to publish an interview with her. Not because of her work or skills, but because of her background. "It’s sad, but revealing of certain mindsets," says Vishwani Cahoolessur.
She does not crumble. She does not harden either. She responds with hard work, just as she always has since the beginning, long before television studios and radio stations, from the time when no one knew her and life demanded a lot from her.
To understand this woman, one must look back to the young girl who dreamed of being a voice. "I did odd jobs like many. I got married very young, became a mother early, and had to take on significant responsibilities. It was not easy," she recounts. That’s where she built herself up.
She says this simply, but her words carry a whole world: that of women who build their lives without safety nets, without the luxury of time, without the freedom to make mistakes.
Her dream, however, never left her. As a child, she spent her time mimicking the great presenters she admired – Maanda Boolell, Pamela Patten, Michelle Etienne, Marie-Josée Baudot – in front of any mirror that would serve as her audience. This dream, she would hold onto.
In the 90s, she joined the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation as a journalist and presenter. She entered a demanding world where rigor is non-negotiable. There, she learned discipline, precision, and self-control. And she met men who, instead of closing doors, encouraged her to surpass herself. "They pushed me to give my best. I was determined, disciplined, and worked hard. Doors opened."
Life then led her to South Africa, to Cape Town. A new start in a city that did not know her, that had not seen her grow up, that knew nothing of what she had endured. She taught French at the Alliance Française in Cape Town, collaborated with the South African Navy, and worked with students involved in a satellite project with the French state. She participated in the Francophonie summit and appeared on SABC News, presenting an edition of "Étonnants Voyageurs" dedicated to great Francophone writers.
Far from Mauritius, far from everything she knew, something shifted within her. "This experience made me more confident and independent." It’s not just a phrase; it’s the realization of someone who discovered, alone in a foreign country, that she was stronger than she had thought.
In 2014, she returned to Mauritius. First to Radio One, then to Top FM. But this return tasted more bitter than she had anticipated. "Being a woman from a modern Hindu family, who speaks French well and does not hide her personality, displeased some people." Criticism came. Hasty judgments. Personal attacks. She responded with hard work, again and again.
At the age of 40, while raising four children, two of whom are very young, she resumed her studies. At night. When the children are asleep, when the house is quiet, when it would be so much easier to sleep too. "I am proud of having made this effort. It allowed me to earn more respect." The quiet pride of someone who knows what it has cost her.
But Vishwani Cahoolessur is not a woman of one piece. She openly embraces her political convictions - a convinced Labour supporter, she marches, protests, and engages for democracy. Passionate, she advocates for animal welfare. She helps young people out of drugs. She finds a foster home for a stray puppy and sees it as a victory. "Success is not just about material aspects," she insists.
Her strength comes from the morning sun, the full moon, her garden, her butterflies. And from the women who have been there through every difficult moment: her grandmother, her mother, her sister, her friends Sarah Persand-Payen, Lovena Sowkhee, and Geeneesha Mohun.
On this March 8, she speaks of vulnerable women who need better protection. Young girls who do not need to excel academically to deserve a path laid out for them. Mothers who, when they have the means to stand tall, raise children who will build a stronger society.
She does not claim to be a feminist in the militant sense of the term. "I simply want women to be respected and treated with dignity."
And if she had to sum it all up in one sentence: "Women must help each other, support one another, and accept each other to progress together."
Decades of odd jobs and grand stages. Of open doors and doors slammed shut. Of nights studying and mornings watching her butterflies. To arrive here, at this simple, earned, irreducible serenity. That of a woman who knows exactly who she is. And who will never again let anyone decide for her.