Our country is home to a tenacious population. Part of which are women with incredibly brave voices. Voices they have used to break ground, right injustice, shape better communities and inspire future generations. From politics to entertainment, sport to medicine – we have them all! Today on International Women’s Day we look back at some of the iconic South African women who have helped create a better world.
Those of the 1956 Women’s March
Bestselling author on women’s empowerment and feminine leadership, Christine Arylo, wrote:
When a woman has sisterhood with other women, without comparison or competition,
she gains the superpower to soar.
This statement was brought to life on 9th August 1956. It is the day when thousands of South African women marched in peaceful protest to Pretoria’s Union Buildings. Women from all backgrounds and all cultures gathered on this day in solidarity to take a stand against apartheid’s abusive pass laws. Among them were the historic leaders Rahima Moosa, Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph and Sophia Williams. All have been integral to the rise of women’s voices in South Africa.
If it were not for these women and those that joined them, we may not have the iconic South African women we do today. The Women’s March of 1956 played a vital role in making women more visible in the struggle against the government, and a patriarchal system. Most importantly, they did so without comparison or competition, despite their differences.
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Miriam Makeba
She had humble beginnings in a very broken South Africa at the height of apartheid regime. But Miriam Makeba and her voice rose to become known worldwide as ‘Mama Africa’, the empress of African song. Miriam’s voice brought African jazz, the lively sounds of marabi and Afropop to a Western audience. She even recorded with Nina Simone!
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Beyond this, Miriam never shied away from using her renowned voice to protest the gross breach of human rights happening in the country at the time. This is despite the personal consequences it brought. As a UN goodwill ambassador, humanitarian and activist, Miriam Makeba was a beautiful role model on how to be an iconic South African woman.
Penny Heyns
In 1996, Penny Heyns won gold medals for the 100m and 200m breaststroke at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. At the time she was the only woman in history to do. While she was at it, Penny broke the world records for both events too! Three years later, she broke 11 world records in just three months, at events across three different continents. This made the iconic South African woman the holder of five out of six breaststroke world records.
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Throughout her stellar career, Penny continued to champion feats never before achieved. This has made her one of the very best breaststroke swimmers to this day.
Dr Tebello Nyokong
A great force in the world of medicine is one of Africa’s most distinguished chemists Dr Tebello Nyokong. She is most recognised for her discoveries in laser-based cancer treatment methods. Her methods explore providing an alternative to chemotherapy. Dr Nyokong’s research is at the forefront of pioneering safer cancer detection and treatment that doesn’t hold the same debilitating side effects as chemo.
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But this iconic South African woman worked harder than most to get there. Once a little girl who dreamed of owning her own pair of shoes, Tebello alternated her days between school and tending sheep. She is the personification of the new South African woman, using her brilliant and inspiring mind to contribute to a global society.
Nicky Newton-King
In 2012, Nicky Newton-King made history as the first female CEO of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. This is Africa’s largest stock exchange and was in its 125th year at the time of Nicky’s appointment. As CEO of the JSE, Nicky occupied a role central to the national economy. All this during a particularly toxic time in South Africa’s political landscape. Despite the challenges, she guided the JSE through a journey of reform and democracy to be known as an iconic South African woman in business.
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Her focus was on IT investments (ensuring the JSE kept up with modern technology), empowering women in business, and BEE transformation both internally and externally. Nicky was very successful in achieving these goals. Especially in empowering a female workforce. While she was CEO the majority of the JSE’s employees were black women. When Nicky retired in 2019, she was replaced by another female leader – Leila Fourie.
Caster Semenya
Caster Semenya has had an athletic career like no other. She has managed to attain over 15 major gold medals (including two Olympic and three World Championship gold medals) and a few broken records. Unfortunately, despite being a sensational mid-distance runner, it is sensationalism that has given Caster’s career much of its media attention.
Caster is an intersex woman with naturally higher levels of testosterone than the average woman. This natural occurance has seen her unfairly banned from events, treated like a laboratory experiment and unethically slandered. Caster has had to be doubly determined and much braver than her competitors to continue in her sport. And she has!
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Despite what her critics (and competitors!) have put her through, Caster has remained a woman of grace and kindness. She is an influencer our world needs more of. She is an iconic South African woman.
P.S. Have you seen her brilliant campaign with Lux?
Rapelang Rabana
Rapelang Rabana is an internationally applauded technology entrepreneur. She has more than 15 years of experience building innovative technologies to service the South African population. She is the current founder and CEO of Rekindle Learning – a dynamic tech company providing educational and performance support tools to improve learning efficiency. But it doesn’t stop there! Rapelang has also co-created South Africa’s first Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) mobile service.
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Her passion for technology that contributes to real transformation has earned her many titles worldwide. But this true iconic South African woman doesn’t display these on her website. Rather she chooses to show her local pride, displaying our President’s account of her as a South African ‘at the cutting edge of knowledge’ instead. Being iconic is not just about what you do, it is how you do and who you do it for.
Pippa Ehrlich
In 202, a South African documentary aired on Netflix and took the world by storm. It followed the remarkable relationship formed between free-diver Craig Foster and a common octopus from along the Cape coast. Pippa Ehrlich is one half of the directing duo who brought this documentary – My Octopus Teacher – to life. As one of the creative visionaries of My Octopus Teacher, Pippa earned over 20 international awards, including a BAFTA and an Academy Award for Best Documentary Film.
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Pippa is always using her platform to talk about South Africa’s life that often cannot. As an avid free-diver herself, a past environmental journalist and part of the local Sea Change Project, it is evident that this iconic South African woman puts real soul into the work she chooses. We can’t wait for the stories she uncovers next!
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