The Earring That Fights Back: How 16-Year-Old Bohlale Mphahlele Turned Her Fear Into a Weapon Against Gender-Based Violence.
At just 16, Bohlale Mphahlele from Limpopo stunned the world by building a discrete device to combat gender-based violence (GBV). In a country with some of the highest GBV (Gender-Based Violence) rates globally, she chose action over silence and designed an earpiece that could be a real-life superhero tool.
Watching the nightly news with her dad, Bohlale saw headlines of assault, trafficking, and disappearance endlessly repeat. She recalls feeling helpless and decided: if technology can accuse, why not protect? That seed grew into her invention.
The Game-Changing Tech
Called the Alerting Earpiece, it looks like a stylish earring but taps into powerful safety features:
- A hidden camera snaps images of an attacker
- Sends locations + photos instantly to trusted contacts or authorities
- Works discretely—no screams, no panic, just a quick lifeline.
Her creation won a bronze medal at South Africa’s prestigious Eskom Expo for Young Scientists.
Recognition & Beyond
Limpopo Education MEC Polly Boshielo praised her as a “role model and change-maker” who fills scholarship and pride with her brilliance. Since then, Bohlale’s scaled up grabbing attention from media and pursuing plans to commercialize her tech.
With GBV lingering like a shadow over countless lives, Bohlale’s invention offers more than tech; it offers hope, control, and fight-back power. It’s a youth-driven reminder that solutions don’t need to be loud, just brilliant.
Bohlale’s journey teaches us that courage has no age, innovation can be everyday, and one voice—no matter how young—can echo change.