This week on Womanity-Women in Unity Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Shahpar Motakef, who is the Clinical Head of the Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) unit at Charlotte Maxete Academic Hospital. She lectures at the University of the Witwatersrand in the Otorhinolaryngology (ENT) department and is an ENT specialist at Fourways Life hospital and is a member of the Rhinoplasty Society.

We note that there is still an underrepresentation of female doctors to male doctors, but gender transformation is taking place. For Example Dr Motekef was the first woman to study ENT at Wits and during the early part of her career there were only four female ENTs in South Africa. However, today in her hospital the majority of registrars are women. To get more women into medicine starts early, in high school, encouraging girls to shine, to be ambitious and not supress their passions.

Medicine is a hard field and sometimes women are put off from pursuing it because of the misconception that it is impossible to feel they are not able to pursue a challenging career and also have a family. Dr Motekef believes that with planning and discipline both are possible but should be approached through staging and patience. Women can have everything, just not necessarily at the same time. Tune in for more

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Delmaine Christians who represents the Democratic Alliance party in parliament and is a member of the select committee on education and technology, sports, arts and culture (NCOP Committee) and the select committee on Health Social and Services (NCOP Committee)

We discuss her journey into politics from the education sector, which laid a strong foundation for her role in parliament. Playing an oversight role in local, provincial and national processes to identify faults in the current system and finding solutions to resolve challenges. For instance, the knock-on effect electricity cuts (loadshedding) have on water access for the Dikgatlong community in the Northern Cape province.

We discuss the economic cost of gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa as well as the social and psychological damage it causes to victims. Although government has allocated funding to address GBV not enough is being done to curb it, including resources in the police, health and social services. Unfortunately, many women get lost in the system and do not receive appropriate care which impacts their recovery.

Ms Christians considers education, grit, perseverance and developing a thick skin as some of the factors that contributed to her success. Tune in for more.

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Yumna Minty, who is a specialist psychiatrist and also lectures in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of the Witwatersrand. Some of her areas of interest include women’s mental health, mental health in adolescents and young adults, depression and anxiety disorders, and older age mental disorders.

She reflects that mental health is not just the absence of illness but should refer to a state of mind and being where people function optimally. She notes that in general women are two to three times more likely to develop a psychiatric disorder when compared to men. Common disorders affecting women include anxiety, stress, eating disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There are both inherent and environmental factors the contribute to psychological difficulties and stresses. Environmental variables can be changed and thereby reduce negative impacts on women. For instance, women are more prone to physical abuse, emotional neglect and less emphasis may be placed on a girl’s education than a boy’s development.

In modern society women bear dual responsibilities of maintaining their homes and pursuing careers, which increases the potential risk for burnout. Her top three tips for women to help manage their mental health are aiming to lead a healthy lifestyle for body and mind, have healthy relationships and ask for help when needed.

Education is an important enabler for women, it gives them the possibility to attain economic freedom and independence to take control over their destiny. In a world that is always changing, our situations change, and new developments arise in our respective fields of interest; if we do not keep up with lifelong learning, we are doing an injustice to ourselves and those we serve through our vocation.

Dr Minty, shares a powerful poem reminding women to be their full selves, Dear Woman, written by Michael Reid

"“DEAR WOMAN, Sometimes You’ll just be too much woman. Too smart, Too beautiful, Too strong. Too much of something That makes a man feel like less of a man, Which will start making you feel like you have to be less of a woman. The biggest mistake you can make Is removing jewels from your crown To make it easier for a man to carry. When this happens, I need you to understand, You do not need a smaller crown— You need a man with bigger hands.”

Tune in for more….

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Ms Judy Hermans, who is a member of parliament representing the African National Congress (ANC) and Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition. We discuss a few focal points of the committee, emanating from events like Covid-19, civil unrest and natural disasters, such as the need to be more responsive, more agile, establishing more resilient supply chains and building an inclusive economy that creates job opportunities for youth and women. Parliament has recently approved a policy that 40% of public procurement should go to women owned businesses. Two development funding institutions; the National Empowerment Fund and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) have specific funds that focus on growing the gender dividend. The IDC for instance provides female entrepreneurs with funding up to R30million per transaction. Ms Hermans shares some of her guiding dictums for becoming a successful #leader be brave, take risks, don’t forget your roots, be honest with yourself and others. Tune in for more….

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to the CEO of Clicks Group Bertina Engelbrecht. Clicks is a leading health and beauty retailer listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with over 800 stores and more than 600 in-store pharmacies and a loyalty programme exceeding 9.7 million active members. Ms Engelbrecht shares some of her career milestones with local and multinational corporates and her three core building blocks of fairness, equity and justice. We remark on common challenges that women experience in the boardroom and solutions; from showing up as an effective contributor to making your voice heard through quality preparation. She sees the role of leaders as removing obstacles that stand in the way of people’s performance, providing the resources for people to do their jobs well and motivating them to derive solutions for themselves. There is an underrepresentation of female CEOs on listed companies, but the women who hold these posts have a great sense of purpose to show that women CEOs are tremendous assets to any organisation and realise that through mentorship more women will rise to the top of corporate hierarchies. On the topic of education Ms Englebrecht notes that education empowers people and is a way of reaffirming and building confidence; furthermore, when a girl child is educated her life and her family’s changes for the better. #Womeninleadership Tune in for more….

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Miss SA 2022, Ndavi Nokeri. We discuss the deliberate steps she took towards her Miss SA 2022 journey by becoming a woman she considers worthy of the title; someone who is educated, is able to lead, stand up for her convictions and give back to her community. Her Gabaza village roots frame her perspective of contrasts and social inequity in South Africa. Poverty affects us all. However, education has the power to disrupt poverty within a generation and change the course of a person’s life, that of their family and society. Ndavi advocates for education equity and recently launched her Ed-Unite campaign, which plans to raise R6million by January 2023 to finance a series of initiatives that extend from human development to upgrading infrastructure and providing financial aid. She shares some of the responsibilities associated with being Miss SA, such as serving as a role model, contributing to changing society and proudly representing South Africa. She reminds us not to see things in our path as obstacles but as opportunities to grow, and to hold ourselves accountable to achieve our respective goals. Tune in for more…

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Lizanne Langenhoven who is a clinical and radiation oncologist with the Panorama Mediclinic in Cape Town.

October is breast cancer awareness month, which serves as an annual international campaign to raise awareness about breast cancer; and 13 October is International Metastatic Breast Cancer Day. In today’s conversation we continue to raise awareness of this important issue that effects many women and their families across the continent.

From a breast cancer awareness perspective Dr. Langenhoven encourages women to take responsibility for themselves and loved ones, being our sisters’ keepers and ensuring we have regular screenings. Early detection of cancer is half the battle.

Dr. Langenhoven shares her team’s multidisciplinary approach to cancer treatment, where experts from their respective disciplines work collaboratively - seeing the same case through different eyes to derive the most suitable treatment for the patient. Cancer research is ongoing and newer treatments have become highly targeted honing into specific cancer cells to deliver therapy at a cellular level.

Medicine is still a male dominated field and this sometimes impacts on the way that female doctors are perceived by patients, the way they put in double the effort required to perform their work, and causes them to mimic male voices rather than embracing their female emotive voices of empathy, care and love. Dr. Langenhoven is actively shifting the narrative to combine male and female voices to deliver the best of both to treat patients and personnel more holistically and humanly.

We note that working women, whether professionals or shift workers, experience universal challenges of fulfilling their work commitments at the expense of their home lives, and consider there is room to change the current status quo to one that allows women to achieve greater balance in their lives, without compromising their responsibilities. Tune in for more…

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Dineo Tshabalala, who is a medical oncologist at the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital (CMJAH) and senior lecturer at the University of Witwatersrand.

October is breast cancer awareness month, which serves as an annual international campaign to raise awareness about breast cancer; and 13 October is International Metastatic Breast Cancer Day. In today’s conversation we unpack some of the stats, early warning signs, risk factors, preventative measures and treatments.

According to the 2019 National Cancer Registry (NCR), apart from non-melanoma skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women of all races, with a lifetime risk of 1 in 27 in South Africa.

Dr. Tshabalala highlights some of the modifiable risk factors that may cause cancer like alcohol, smoking and unhealthy diets. She mentions that diseases like diabetes, obesity and HIV can make women more susceptible to developing breast cancer. She also discusses the role of genetics.

Early detection of breast cancer increases survival outcomes and women play a critical role in checking themselves for abnormalities and seeking out further screenings with healthcare practitioners.

Dr. Tshabalala also shares her journey to medicine and reasons for specialising in oncology. She reminds us of the importance of hard work, perseverance, persistency and constantly driving forward to materialise your dreams to live the life you deserve. Tune in for more…

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Dr. Mimmy Martha Gondwe, who is a member of parliament representing the Democratic Alliance and member of the Portfolio Committee of Public Service as well as Administration and the Joint Constitutional Review Committee.

Dr. Gondwe refers to herself as a reluctant politician. She is driven to make a difference in people’s lives and veered from law to politics as the vehicle that could deliver meaningful impact on people.

We discuss the importance of women playing active roles in politics from voting to participating in political structures. Political decisions have economic consequences which affect the lives of women, and thus its vital that their voices are heard, especially since they represent more than fifty percent of the population.

We acknowledge that gender inequalities still exist and mention patriarchy as an impediment to progress. However, we consider that through socialisation, shifting mindsets, gender sensitivity training, changing legislative frameworks and education as mechanisms to reduce inequality and enable women to play their full roles in society.

Dr. Gondwe emphasises the power of education in the hands of women, reflecting that you don’t have the choice of which family you are born into or the economic circumstances that you are brought up in, but education helps women make the right choices for themselves to become the person they want to be and build the lives they envisioned. Tune in for more…

This week on Womanity-Women in Unity Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka talks to Ms Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba, who is a member of parliament representing the African National Congress (ANC) and Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education. This committee conducts oversight and monitors the work that the executive is doing.

We highlight some of the core focus areas of the Department of Basic Education in 2022/2023, notably the shift of early childhood development from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Basic Education, the Department’s Programme 5 – to end school related gender based violence (GBV), and building strategic relationships in the international arena.

We consider some of the factors that contribute to building female leadership capacity through economic and education mechanisms. The more educated women become the more the country benefits - socially, economically and otherwise. Ms Mbinqo-Gigaba reminds us that “It doesn’t matter how you come, just make sure you arrive”. Tune in for more…