This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Dr Refiloe Lepere, an award-winning gender scholar, storyteller, performer, community-accountable theatre maker, and lecturer at the Wits School of Education. Dr. Lepere uses storytelling and performance to explore Black feminist aesthetics, racial justice, identity, and joy.

Growing Up in a Community that Created Artists

Dr Lepere reflects on her childhood in Soweto, where neighbours, teachers, artists and family members collectively nurtured creativity. She shares how dance, storytelling, music and books became the foundation of her career, demonstrating the role that communities played in shaping her development.

Black Feminist Aesthetics and the Importance of Black Joy

We explore Dr Lepere's pioneering work on Black feminist aesthetics and why she believes the everyday creativity of Black women deserves greater recognition. Rather than defining Black experiences solely through struggle and lamentation, she advocates celebrating joy, imagination, beauty, and the richness of everyday life as equally powerful forms of expression and truths.

Breaking Out of Society's Boxes

One of the topics raised in this interview is how education and institutions often encourage conformity instead of individuality. Dr Lepere challenges conventional ideas of success and specialisation, arguing that people are naturally multi-dimensional and should not have to sacrifice parts of themselves to fit into predetermined categories.

Creating Theatre that Heals Communities

Drawing on more than forty original performance works staged across Africa, Europe and North America, Dr Lepere explains how storytelling can become an act of healing. She discusses creating theatre with communities rather than simply for audiences, giving voice to women, domestic workers and young people while using performance to explore gender, justice, memory and collective healing.

Redefining Leadership Through Collective Care

Moving beyond traditional models of leadership, Dr Lepere introduces the concept of collective leadership; one rooted in collaboration, consultation and humanity rather than hierarchy. She also shares her powerful philosophy of "livability", arguing that successful organisations should create space for people's lives, families and wellbeing alongside professional achievement.

Education as a Tool for Building New Worlds

For Dr Lepere, education extends far beyond qualifications. She describes reading and learning as acts of world-building that expose us to new possibilities, broaden our perspectives and remind us that our experiences are shared by others. Education, she believes, empowers us not only with knowledge but with entirely new ways of seeing ourselves and the world.

Choosing Yourself

The interview concludes with a memorable message for girls and women everywhere: stop waiting to be chosen. Dr Lepere encourages women to volunteer, ask questions, take up space, speak confidently and make themselves visible. Her closing challenge is to choose yourself and not wait for others to choose you.

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This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Felicia Msiza, CEO of the Raubex Group, a JSE-listed company, to explore aspects of her leadership journey, the impact of infrastructure development on communities, and her passion for empowering future generations.

From Governance Expert to CEO

Ms Msiza reflects on her journey from serving as a non-executive director on the Raubex board in 2011 to becoming CEO in 2022. She shares how years of experience in governance, risk management, auditing, and executive leadership equipped her to transition from oversight into operational leadership.

For Ms Msiza, leadership is about more than strategy and performance; it is about setting direction, inspiring confidence, and bringing people along on the journey. She discusses how experiences across both the public and private sectors taught her the importance of accountability, adaptability, and making decisions under pressure.

Integrity: The Foundation of Leadership

A recurring theme throughout the conversation is integrity. Ms Msiza explains that true leadership requires doing the right thing, even when no one is watching; the truth always holds.

Drawing from her experience in both government and corporate environments, she argues that integrity is essential to rebuilding trust, strengthening institutions, and driving sustainable progress. She also highlights the importance of servant leadership, emphasising that leaders exist to serve employees, stakeholders, communities, and society.

Staying True to Yourself as a Leader

Ms Msiza shares her personal leadership philosophy: remain authentic and grounded in your values.

She speaks candidly about the pressures of entering environments, where you may feel compelled to conform to existing cultures and expectations. Her message is clear, women do not need to sacrifice who they are to succeed. Instead, they should lead with confidence, create clarity, empower teams, and remain true to their own identities.

The Power of Infrastructure

Ms Msiza paints a compelling picture of infrastructure as a catalyst for economic growth and social transformation.

She discusses opportunities in roads, rail, water, logistics, energy, and public-private partnerships across Southern Africa. She also highlights landmark projects that Raubex has developed, including the Senqu Bridge in Lesotho and the Beitbridge Border Post development on the Zimbabwe side, illustrating how infrastructure improves trade, reduces inefficiencies, creates jobs, and strengthens economies. For example, the Beitbridge Border Post has reduced processing trucks from days to within four hours.

Her vision for Raubex is to continue building a resilient, diversified, and high-performing infrastructure group that delivers lasting value across the continent.

Creating Opportunities for Young People

Youth development is a subject close to Ms Msiza’s heart.

She explains how the infrastructure sector serves as a powerful job creator and economic multiplier. Through initiatives such as the Raubex Academy, bursary programmes, mentorship opportunities, and subcontractor development, the company is actively creating pathways for young people to enter the workforce and build sustainable careers. In a country where youth unemployment sits at 60.9% for 15-24 year olds and 40.6% for 25-34 year olds, these initiatives are critical to South Africa’s economy and its people’s livelihoods.

Ms Msiza’s believes that addressing youth unemployment requires collaboration between industry, government, and educational institutions, with infrastructure investment playing a central role.

Encouraging More Women into Construction

As a female CEO in a traditionally male-dominated sector, Ms Msizais passionate about attracting more women into engineering, construction, and infrastructure careers.

She challenges young women to pursue mathematics, science, engineering, and technical disciplines, stressing that construction is no longer a space reserved for men. With evolving workplace policies and increasing opportunities, she believes women can thrive, lead, and make a meaningful impact in the sector.

Her message is simple: “We need more women in these spaces.”

Education as a Pathway to Empowerment

Ms Msiza credits education as one of the most important foundations of her success.

From her undergraduate studies to postgraduate qualifications and a master’s degree, education provided her with knowledge, confidence, and a platform to build her career. She encourages young people to invest in learning, pursue excellence, and combine academic achievement with practical experience. She remarks that education opens doors and gives individuals a voice and the ability to shape their futures.

The Women Who Shaped Her

When reflecting on the women who influenced her life, Ms Msiza pays tribute to her late grandmother and her mother. She describes her grandmother as a community leader who demonstrated that leadership is about service rather than titles. Her mother modelled hard work, resilience, and the ability to balance career, family, and community responsibilities.

Together, these women instilled in her a commitment to purpose, dignity, service, and leaving a positive legacy wherever she goes.

Your Opportunity Opens the Door Wide for Others

In her closing message, Ms Msiza encourages girls and young women to reject limitations placed upon them by others.

She reminds listeners that being the first woman in a space does not mean they do not belong; it means they have an opportunity to create pathways for those who follow. Through courage, preparation, continuous learning, and a commitment to excellence, women can transform industries, communities, and nations.

“Africa needs women's voices, leadership, courage, and excellence. Lead with purpose, hold on to your values, and never underestimate the power of a woman who knows who she is and is willing to work for the future she believes in.” Felicia Msiza

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This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Prof. Sharlene Khan, an acclaimed South African visual artist, writer, researcher and Associate Professor from the Wits School of the Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand. Through a deeply personal and inspiring conversation, Prof. Khan shares how creativity, storytelling and critical thinking have shaped her journey from a childhood marked by hardship to becoming a respected artist, academic and advocate for African feminisms.

Finding Freedom Through Creativity

Prof. Khan reflects on growing up in Durban in a money-scarce home marked by violence, where art, books and imagination became powerful tools for survival and self-expression. She recounts how drawing, storytelling and literature offered an escape from difficult circumstances, giving her a vehicle to express retribution against perpetrators. What emerged was not only a passion for creativity, but a lifelong commitment to understanding the world through art and using that understanding to challenge inequality, gender-based violence and injustice.

Art That Tells the Stories We Often Overlook

Much of Prof. Khan’s artistic work focuses on identity, race, gender, class and belonging in post-apartheid South Africa. Rather than creating decorative art, she uses her practice to explore complex social realities and amplify stories that are often overlooked.

Drawing from her own family history, she discusses how themes of poverty, informal trade, migration, resilience and gender-based violence have informed her work. Her art shines a light on the dignity, courage and humanity of ordinary people whose experiences are rarely represented in mainstream narratives.

Honouring Women’s Voices Across Generations

One of the most moving aspects of the conversation centres on the stories of Prof. Khan’s mother (Devi Khan) and grandmother. Through artworks inspired by family memories, letters and archival materials, she has created powerful tributes to women whose lives were shaped by hardship, cruelty, resilience and determination (Watch “When the Moon Waxes…”)

These authentic, deeply personal narratives become universal stories, revealing how the intersections of gender, race, class and history continue to shape the lives of women today. In sharing these experiences, Prof. Khan demonstrates the transformative power of storytelling as both remembrance and resistance.

When Art Creates Human Connection

Prof. Khan shares remarkable experiences of exhibiting her work internationally, describing how audiences from vastly different cultural backgrounds have connected emotionally with her stories. Whether in galleries, museums, conferences or biennales, her work has inspired people to reflect on their own experiences and engage in conversations about identity, trauma, healing and belonging.

In her opinion, the value of art lies not in commercial success, but in its ability to create empathy, foster dialogue and remind us of our shared humanity.

Why the Humanities Matter More Than Ever

In an era increasingly dominated by technology, artificial intelligence and STEM disciplines, Prof. Khan makes a compelling case for the continued importance of the humanities.

She argues that the humanities cultivate critical thinking, imagination and empathy; skills that are essential for understanding ourselves and others. Through literature, art, history and cultural studies, we learn to question assumptions, appreciate diverse perspectives and imagine alternative futures. She spotlights how the humanities challenge the status quo and help societies grapple with complex ethical, social and political issues.

Opportunities and Challenges in the Arts

The discussion also explores the realities of pursuing a career in the arts. Prof. Khan speaks candidly about the challenges artists face in South Africa, including limited funding, a contracting arts market and the difficulties of sustaining a creative career.

At the same time, she highlights the diverse opportunities available to arts graduates. The skills developed through artistic training, such as creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, communication and empathy, are valuable across a wide range of professions, from education and research to media, culture, business and beyond.

A Message of Hope for Women and Girls

As the interview draws to a close, Prof. Khan offers a heartfelt message to women and girls across Africa. Acknowledging the difficulties many face, she encourages listeners to trust their journeys, embrace uncertainty and remain open to life's unexpected possibilities.

Her powerful reminder is that while life can be challenging, it is also filled with opportunities for growth, connection and transformation. By believing in their abilities and continuing to move forward, women can create meaningful lives and contribute to positive change in their communities and beyond.

"Life is hard, but life is also unbearably kind."

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This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Professor Sophie Von Der Heyden from the Department of Botany and Zoology at Stellenbosch University and the Von Der Heyden Laboratory. She is a leading marine molecular ecologist, renowned for her pioneering work in aquatic biodiversity, conservation genomics, and climate change research.

From East Berlin to the Oceans of Africa

Professor von der Heyden’s story begins far from the shores and aquatic ecosystems that would eventually define her career. Growing up in East Berlin, she credits her early fascination with nature to family influences, particularly her brother, who introduced her to exploring and observing wildlife. She reflects on the freedom she experienced as a child; freedom to explore, question, and discover, which she believes laid the foundations for her curiosity-driven approach to science.

Why Aquatic Ecosystems Matter

Professor von der Heyden explains why aquatic ecosystems continue to captivate her. Oceans, rivers, estuaries, and wetlands remain among the least understood environments on Earth, despite their immense importance to biodiversity, climate regulation, and human livelihoods.

She describes Africa as a continent rich with scientific opportunity because so much remains undiscovered. While limited funding and research capacity present challenges, they also create extraordinary opportunities for innovation and discovery. Her work is driven by a desire to contribute pieces to the larger scientific puzzle that ultimately supports better conservation, management, and restoration of vulnerable ecosystems.

Building Knowledge Through the Von der Heyden Lab

As founder and leader of the Von der Heyden Lab, Professor von der Heyden is passionate about developing the next generation of scientists. While groundbreaking discoveries are important, she emphasises that one of her most significant contributions has been building scientific capacity in Africa.

Her laboratory has helped introduce and advance molecular ecology and genomic techniques across the continent, enabling African researchers to address environmental challenges using cutting-edge scientific tools. Through mentorship, teaching, and collaboration, she seeks to create opportunities for emerging scientists while strengthening Africa’s ability to conduct world-class biodiversity research.

Climate Change Beneath the Surface

While climate change is often discussed in terms of weather events, agriculture, and rising temperatures on land, Professor von der Heyden highlights the profound effects occurring beneath the water's surface. She explains how rising ocean temperatures, ocean acidification, sea-level rise, and changing environmental conditions are affecting marine and freshwater species. Many organisms are being forced to shift their geographical ranges in search of suitable habitats, while others, particularly species restricted to estuaries or isolated ecosystems, have nowhere to go.

The conversation also explores concepts such as "coastal squeeze," where natural habitats like salt marshes and seagrass meadows become trapped between rising seas and human development. These combined pressures illustrate the complex and interconnected nature of environmental challenges.

Finding Hope Through Action

Despite the seriousness of climate change, Professor von der Heyden stresses the importance of focusing on solutions rather than despair. She encourages individuals to consider practical actions that reduce their environmental footprint, including:

Reducing unnecessary travel

Walking and using sustainable transport where possible

Supporting locally produced food (food has travel miles too)

Being conscious of consumption habits

Reducing waste and packaging

Understanding personal carbon footprints

She shares a memorable teaching exercise where students compared their carbon footprints with those of their grandparents, often discovering that previous generations lived significantly more sustainable lifestyles despite having fewer resources.

Her message is clear: meaningful change begins with informed, conscious choices

Women in Science: Progress and Remaining Challenges

Professor von der Heyden reflects positively on the growing participation of women in marine sciences and STEM fields. Over the course of her career, she has witnessed significant increases in female representation and leadership within scientific disciplines.

However, she notes that important challenges remain, particularly around retaining talented women in research careers. Balancing professional ambitions with family responsibilities, caregiving, and personal wellbeing continues to be a reality for many women.

She advocates for supportive environments, mentorship, and institutional cultures that enable women to flourish at different stages of their careers.

Preparing Young People for an Uncertain Future

The discussion also turns to education and the future of work. Professor von der Heyden argues that today's careers are far less linear than in previous generations. In a world increasingly shaped by technology and artificial intelligence, she believes the most valuable skills are:

Critical thinking

Problem-solving

Numerical literacy

Adaptability

Communication and interpersonal skills

While technical knowledge remains important, she suggests that the ability to evaluate information, think independently, and build meaningful human connections will become even more critical in the future.

Balancing Science, Family and Life

As a mother of three and a successful academic leader, Professor von der Heyden speaks candidly about the realities of balancing family life with a demanding career.

She acknowledges the guilt and uncertainty she experienced as a young researcher and parent, but emphasises that balance evolves over time rather than being perfectly achieved. One of her pieces of advice is to accept help when it is offered.

She credits much of her success and well-being to the community she has built around her; family, friends, colleagues, and mentors who have provided support throughout different stages of her life.

Her perspective challenges the notion that success is achieved alone, highlighting the importance of relationships, collaboration, and mutual support.

A Message to Women and Girls

Closing the interview, Professor von der Heyden offers heartfelt advice to women and girls pursuing their ambitions:

Be comfortable with who you are.

Trust yourself and your abilities.

Build meaningful relationships.

Accept support when it is offered.

Stay open to learning from others.

Be adaptable when circumstances change.

Work hard, but also be kind—to yourself and to others.

Her final message beautifully captures the spirit of the conversation:

"Be kind, work hard, and believe in who you are."

This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Professor Mashiko Setshedi, Head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, she is a leading gastroenterologist, educator, and researcher shaping the future of healthcare in South Africa and developing the next generation of healthcare professionals.

From Aspiring Lawyer to Medical Leader

Prof. Setshedi shares the unexpected path that led her into medicine. Initially intending to pursue a career in law, a medical school acceptance changed the course of her life. What followed was a deep passion for medicine and a career-defining moment when two influential female professors recognised her potential and encouraged her to pursue internal medicine.

Exploring the “Second Brain”: The Fascinating World of Gastroenterology

Prof. Setshedi explains why the gastrointestinal system is often referred to as the body's "second brain," emphasising its critical role in immunity, nutrition, disease prevention and overall wellbeing.

She discusses groundbreaking advances in the field, including:

Precision medicine tailored to individual patients.

New treatments for inflammatory bowel disease.

Minimally invasive procedures replacing traditional surgery.

AI-assisted diagnostic technologies that improve accuracy and patient outcomes.

Choosing Leadership Over Comfort

Prof. Setshedi's reflects on the difficult decision to step away from some of her direct clinical and research ambitions to lead an entire department. While the move required sacrifice, it ultimately aligned with a deeper sense of purpose: creating lasting impact through education, staff development, culture-building and institutional transformation. Her experience illustrates that leadership often requires embracing opportunities before we feel fully ready for them.

Rebuilding Culture Through Compassion and Collaboration

Having inherited a high-performing department, Prof. Setshedi chose not to focus solely on technical excellence. Instead, she identified a deeper need: healing and reconnecting a community affected by years of disruption, including student protests, leadership losses, the COVID-19 pandemic and resource constraints. Her leadership philosophy centres on:

Collaboration over hierarchy.

Listening before directing.

Creating environments where people feel valued and heard.

Building cultures of belonging, trust and inclusion.

She argues that when people feel supported and connected, excellence naturally follows.

Transforming Medical Education for a New Generation

Teaching remains one of Prof. Setshedi's greatest passions. She speaks candidly about the need to rethink how doctors are trained, moving away from outdated teaching methods based on intimidation and hierarchy.

Her vision for medical education includes:

Human-centred learning.

Greater empathy and cultural competence.

Stronger partnerships between doctors and patients.

Curriculum reform that reflects African realities.

Using AI to streamline learning and reduce information overload.

She believes future healthcare professionals must not only be clinically competent but also deeply compassionate, understanding that medicine is fundamentally a profession of service.

Women in Leadership: Progress and Persistent Challenges

In our discussion on gender representation in medicine, Prof. Setshedi notes that women often equal or outnumber men at undergraduate level, yet remain underrepresented in senior leadership positions. She explores several contributing factors:

Limited succession planning.

Lack of sponsorship and advocacy.

Structural barriers.

Women's tendency to underestimate their own readiness for leadership roles.

Importantly, she calls for intentional efforts to identify, support and develop future women leaders, emphasising that talent alone is not enough without opportunity and encouragement.

Defining Success on Your Own Terms

When asked about the keys to her success, Prof. Setshedi offers a powerful perspective: success must be personally defined. Rather than measuring achievement through external markers, she encourages individuals to ask:

"Am I a better person today than I was yesterday?"

For her, true success lies in continuous growth, meaningful contribution and service to others. She cautions against comparing oneself to others and instead advocates "running your own race" while remaining true to your values and purpose.

A Message to Young Women Across Africa

Closing the conversation, Prof. Setshedi delivers an uplifting message to girls and young women:

Believe in your abilities.

Do not allow self-doubt to define your future.

Learn from the experiences of others.

Embrace your individuality.

Focus on becoming the best version of yourself.

Seek support when needed and remain open to growth.

Every woman possesses unique gifts and perspectives that the world needs. Success begins when we stop comparing ourselves to others and start believing in our own potential.

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This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Professor Stephanie Cawood, an interdisciplinary scholar and former Director of the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies at the University of the Free State. This conversation journeys into the intersections of African identity, feminism, education, leadership, memory, and social transformation

Drawing from her experiences as a founding member and former director of the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies at the University of the Free State, Professor Cawood shares the personal and academic experiences that shaped her lifelong commitment to Africa-centred scholarship and gender justice.

Originally founded in 2007 as the Centre for Africa Studies, the institution focused on postgraduate research and social justice scholarship relating to Africa’s politics, cultures, histories, and global relationships. Over time, gender studies became increasingly integrated into its work, leading to a formal repositioning of the centre to foreground both African and gender scholarship.

A Childhood Spark that Grew into a Scholarly Mission

Professor Cawood reflects on how her awareness of gender inequality began in childhood, long before she had the language to explain it. Growing up with a strong pride in being African, she recalls feeling uncomfortable when witnessing women being treated differently and recognising early on that inequality was deeply embedded in society.

These formative experiences later evolved into a scholarly journey focused on both Africa Studies and Gender Studies. Two fields she describes as “cognate allies” because both challenge historical prejudices, inequalities, and inherited systems of exclusion.

Breaking Academic Silos Through Interdisciplinary Thinking

Professor Cawood describes herself as an “interdisciplinarian” and “epistemic traveller”; someone who crosses disciplines, methodologies, and intellectual boundaries in pursuit of deeper understanding. She shares how innovation often emerges when scholars move beyond traditional silos and embrace cross-disciplinary thinking. Professor Cawood explains that understanding how people create meaning in their lives requires insights from multiple fields including culture, memory, heritage, gender, geography, ecology, and politics.

This openness to intellectual exploration has shaped her work on sacred sites, ecological memory, and spatial identity, all connected through what she describes as “pragmatic constructivism”, the idea of placing the body back into the environment and understanding human experiences within specific spatial and social contexts

Leadership Rooted in Consensus and Humanity

Reflecting on her years as director, Professor Cawood discusses her philosophy of leadership, inspired in part by her doctoral research on Nelson Mandela.

She speaks about Mandela’s concept of leadership as “a shepherd leading from behind”; a style grounded in consensus-building, collaboration, and bringing people along rather than dominating them.

The discussion explores the challenges of leading within academic environments that often remain highly masculine in structure and culture. Rather than adopting authoritarian approaches, Professor Cawood explains how she learned to strategically position ideas, build academic and business cases, and cultivate support for transformative institutional change.

Under this leadership approach, the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies became one of the university’s most successful and productive research centres.

Reframing Feminism in African Contexts

In this conversation, we discuss African feminism and the complexities surrounding the term “feminist.” Defining feminism fundamentally as a belief in equality. However, Professor Cawood also explains why many younger African women remain hesitant to identify as feminists due to perceptions that feminism is Western, anti-men, or disconnected from African traditions and family structures. African feminist thought is diverse. It includes concepts such as womanism, motherism, and stiwanism; African-centred frameworks that emphasise complementarity, social transformation, culture, motherhood, and communal wellbeing.

Rather than presenting feminism as a singular ideology, we highlight the richness and plurality of African feminisms, each shaped by different cultural and social realities across the continent.

Importantly, Professor Cawood notes that many women already live deeply feminist lives through their actions, resilience, leadership, and agency, even if they do not use the term itself.

Education as the Key to Gender Equality

Turning toward global gender equality, the discussion references findings from the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, which estimates that economic and political gender parity remain generations away.

Professor Cawood identifies education as the single most important intervention for accelerating gender equality, particularly ensuring equal educational access for girls across Africa. At the same time, she acknowledges the immense structural challenges facing the continent, including instability, insecurity, poverty, food insecurity, and conflict in regions such as the Sahel and the DRC. While education has transformative potential, sustainable change requires peace, stability, dignity, and coordinated continental responses.

A Message of Integrity, Kindness and Hope

Closing the conversation, Professor Cawood offers an inspiring message to girls and women across Africa. In a world often marked by division and uncertainty, she encourages listeners to remain grounded in integrity, kindness, tolerance, and respect; even when confronted by disagreement or adversity. Meaningful change begins when ordinary individuals consistently choose to do the right thing.

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This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Professor Tracy-Lynn Field, who is a leading environmental law scholar and the Claude Leon Foundation Chair in Earth Justice and Stewardship held by the University of the Witwatersrand, with over two decades of experience in climate, water, and environmental justice. She serves on several advisory boards, including the Presidential Climate Change Commission. Her work bridges research, policy, and advocacy, shaping more equitable and sustainable responses to the climate and biodiversity crises.

Professor Field reflects on how her journey into environmental justice began in childhood, driven by a profound empathy for animals and a deep awareness of humanity’s interconnectedness with nature. From secretly writing letters to magazines as an 11-year-old about animal welfare to becoming one of South Africa’s foremost environmental legal scholars, she explains how activism, compassion, and a sense of responsibility shaped her life’s work.

Understanding Earth Justice and Stewardship

Professor Field unpacks the work of the Claude Leon Foundation Chair in Earth Justice and Stewardship, a multidisciplinary initiative focused on climate law, water justice, energy transitions, mining, and environmental governance. She discusses how collaboration across disciplines, particularly between law, geography, engineering, and policy is essential in responding to today’s environmental crises.

A major focus of the discussion centres on a groundbreaking five-year research project conducted in partnership with the South African Human Rights Commission, examining the progressive realisation of the constitutional right to water across South Africa.

Water Justice, Accountability and the Hidden Reality of Water Access

Professor Field highlights one of the realities behind water access in South Africa. While statistics often show that households have taps within close proximity, Professor Field explains that the real issue is whether water actually flows consistently from those taps.

She highlights the lack of reliable data on water stoppages and interruptions, arguing that communities, especially women, continue to bear the burden when water systems fail. The discussion reveals how women are disproportionately affected by unreliable water access through increased caregiving responsibilities, physical labour, safety concerns, and emotional stress.

The conversation also draws attention to smaller towns and municipalities that are frequently overlooked in national water debates, despite facing severe infrastructure and service delivery challenges.

Climate Change Is Already Reshaping Law and Society

Professor Field introduces the concept of “climate risk litigation,” arguing that climate litigation in Africa is already happening, but often in forms that global legal databases fail to recognise.

Rather than focusing only on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, African climate litigation is increasingly emerging through cases linked to floods, droughts, wildfires, insurance disputes, and climate-related disasters.

She shares fascinating insights into her research on wildfire litigation in South Africa, explaining how courts are already adapting legal principles to account for worsening climate risks and environmental instability. The interview highlights how climate change is no longer a future threat but a present reality already influencing governance, infrastructure, insurance systems, ecosystems, and community survival.

The Interconnected Nature of Environmental Crises

Throughout the discussion, Professor Field repeatedly emphasises the interconnectedness of environmental, economic, and social systems. She uses the example of rising global copper prices following climate-related disruptions at a mine in Indonesia to illustrate how climate events can trigger global economic ripple effects that impact infrastructure, development, energy transitions, and even theft and criminal activity.

She illustrates a systems-thinking perspective on climate change, demonstrating how water, mining, energy, law, economics, biodiversity, and social justice cannot be addressed in isolation.

Women, Leadership and Challenging Patriarchal Systems

In a deeply honest and reflective segment, Professor Field speaks candidly about navigating patriarchal environments both personally and professionally. She discusses the importance of women trusting their instincts, supporting one another, and refusing to normalise aggressive or dismissive behaviour in professional spaces.

She shares a particularly difficult experience involving gendered hostility within a professional project environment, explaining how she confronted the unacceptable behaviour and continued leading with integrity. Her example demonstrates reflection on mentorship, emotional intelligence, resilience, and the importance of women creating supportive ecosystems for future generations of female leaders.

Opportunities for Women in Climate Justice and Green Innovation

Professor Field expresses great optimism about the opportunities emerging for women and young people in climate adaptation, environmental entrepreneurship, and sustainability innovation.

One especially inspiring story features a group of women from Sebokeng who designed machinery to recycle waste polystyrene into energy-saving “Wonder Bags” used for cooking. Their innovation not only reduces waste pollution but also dramatically lowers household gas usage, demonstrating how grassroots women-led innovation can drive both environmental and economic transformation.

The discussion highlights how many climate adaptation roles already exist informally within communities and why recognising these as legitimate economic opportunities could transform livelihoods across Africa.

South Africa’s Climate Change Act and the Future of Environmental Governance

The interview also examines South Africa’s new Climate Change Act and its significance for policy, accountability, and long-term institutional change. Professor Field explains how the legislation establishes important planning obligations for adaptation and mitigation, while also embedding environmental dependency principles into law — recognising that economic systems ultimately depend on healthy ecosystems.

She argues that the law represents a critical shift away from development models that prioritize economic growth at the expense of environmental sustainability.

Lessons in Leadership, Purpose and Tenacity

Towards the close of the conversation, Professor Field reflects on the personal experiences that shaped her success, including her decision to move beyond traditional academic work into environmental activism and advocacy. She emphasises the importance of relationships, mentorship, focused thinking, service, and purpose-driven leadership. She also shares how personal challenges, including her child’s severe health struggles, taught her resilience, tenacity, belief, not letting go and never walking away.

“Women of Africa, You Are Divine”

Ending on a deeply uplifting note, Professor Field shares inspiration drawn from Miriam Makeba and her song Amaliya, reminding women across Africa to recognize your divinity and to see yourself not just as an intellectual being, but as a spiritual being, an emotional being, an intellectual being.

Her final message is both poetic and empowering:

“Women of Africa, you are divine.”

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This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Prof Jane Battersby from the Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences at the University of Cape Town, whose pioneering work bridges geography, food security, urban development, and social justice. Drawing from decades of academic research, policy engagement, and grassroots collaboration, Prof Battersby offers a cross-cutting perspective on how food systems shape and are shaped by cities, infrastructure, climate change, governance, and gender dynamics.

Why Urban Food Systems Matter

Food insecurity is an urban issue. Prof Battersby explains that while global conversations often focus on food production, many people experiencing hunger today live in urban and peri-urban spaces. She highlights how access to housing, transport, infrastructure, and services directly affects people’s ability to obtain, prepare, and consume nutritious food. Even when food is physically available, urban conditions can make healthy eating inaccessible.

Community Projects Driving Real Change

Prof. Battersby is involved in several impactful projects that explore how infrastructure, governance, and social systems intersect with food access in low-income communities. For example, Living Off-Grid Food and Infrastructure, AFRI Food Links, Urban Food Futures, Food Systems Countdown Initiative, and Nourished Child Project. The Nourished Child Project is an initiative where community-driven research led to the creation of nutrition ambassador programmes, breastfeeding support initiatives, and partnerships with early childhood development centres.

Women, Food Security and Household Survival

Prof Battersby explains that women often bear the invisible burden of household food management. In many homes, women sacrifice their own nutrition to ensure children and other family members are fed. Female-headed households are also statistically more vulnerable to food insecurity. However, she emphasises that although women may be victims of systemic inequality in some circumstances, they are also leaders, innovators, and community organisers capable of driving meaningful transformation. She highlights women’s economic participation in informal food systems; the role of mothers and grandmothers in nutrition education; the impact of gender-based violence on household food insecurity; and how women leverage social networks to help families survive

Challenging Perceptions About Informal Food Systems

Prof Battersby draws attention to the informal food sector, including spaza shops, roadside traders, fresh produce vendors, and informal meat markets. She challenges assumptions that informal food systems are inherently unsafe or inferior. She explains that many informal traders source fresh produce through the same formal supply chains as supermarkets, often delivering food that is fresher, cheaper, and more accessible to communities.

Women in Academia and Leadership

Prof Battersby shares positive personal experiences of working in a discipline with strong female leadership, but acknowledges that as a young academic in male-dominated meetings, there were occasions that called for confronting assumptions about women’s roles. She highlights balancing professional leadership with caregiving responsibilities, especially for the sandwich generation who attend to the well-being of ageing parents on the one hand and children on the other. She offers valuable advice to women entering leadership spaces:

Ensure your voice is heard early in meetings

Amplify the contributions of other women

Turn underestimated roles into opportunities for influence and leadership. E.g., if you are appointed as the note taker, turn that into power, and take ownership of writing the report

Success, Identity and Living Fully

As the interview draws to a close, Prof Battersby reflects on the influences that shaped her journey — from attending an all-girls school that normalised women’s leadership to working with vulnerable youth during her gap year, which allowed her to see the world from very different perspectives. She speaks frankly about balancing multiple identities: academic, mother, partner, daughter, activist, and researcher. Rather than seeing these roles as conflicting, she describes them as enriching her understanding of the world and strengthening her work.

Her closing message to girls and young women is empowering and affirming: women do not need to reduce themselves to one identity in order to succeed. Their full humanity, lived experiences, and emotional intelligence are powerful assets that enhance your work, allowing you to be innovative and lead a new direction in your space.

“So if you're going to be the note taker, make sure you turn that into power.”

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This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Prof Lee-Ann Sadè Modley, from the Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies at the University of Johannesburg. With a background spanning zoology, environmental management, sustainability, and community engagement, Prof. Modley shares her journey, shaped by perseverance, purpose, faith, her father’s soft persistence, and an unwavering commitment to creating opportunities for others.

A major driving force throughout her journey was her father, who strongly believed in the transformative power of education. From her very first graduation, he continually encouraged her to pursue a doctorate, instilling in her the belief that education was not only a personal achievement but also a responsibility to uplift others in her community.

Effective Solutions Require Stakeholder Buy-In

One of the most pivotal moments in Prof. Modley’s career came while conducting water monitoring research in the Kaalspruit River in Tembisa. While scientists were focused on measuring pollution levels, she witnessed a resident casually throwing rubbish into the river. She realised that environmental science alone could never solve environmental problems without engaging the people living within those environments. The experience moved her from being purely laboratory and field-science focused into a more community-centred approach, where understanding human behaviour became just as important as understanding ecosystems.

Prof. Modley explains how difficult this transition was for her as a “thoroughbred scientist,” but it ultimately taught her that sustainability depends on trust, participation, and community ownership.

Building Trust in Communities

Throughout the discussion, Prof. Modley shares insights from her work in communities such as Tembisa, Soweto, Eldorado Park, and rural Limpopo. Her projects focus heavily on water quality, water security, and environmental stewardship, but always through a collaborative lens.

She highlights that, contrary to popular assumptions, communities often want to participate in environmental solutions. The challenge lies in building trust and ensuring people feel heard, respected, and included in decision-making processes. Rather than imposing solutions, her approach centres on co-creation, which includes asking communities what they believe will work best in their own environments. Communities are different. For example, in rural Limpopo, communities tend to see themselves as custodians of their water resources, protecting and preserving them collectively. In urban spaces, however, people frequently view environmental management as solely the government’s responsibility. Prof. Modley explains that one of the key challenges is helping communities reclaim a sense of ownership over their local environment.

Climate Change Is Personal

The conversation reinforces that climate change and environmental degradation are not distant abstract issues, they directly affect people’s homes, health, safety, and futures. Prof. Modley discusses how improper waste disposal and poor environmental practices contribute to flooding, water contamination, and worsening infrastructure problems.

She advocates strongly for integrated water resource management, where everyone, from government and scientists to ordinary residents, plays a role in protecting water systems. Even small behavioural shifts, such as proper waste disposal, can collectively create meaningful environmental change.

Empowering Girls Through Education and Mentorship

Prof. Modley engages in several community initiatives, including the I Am Girls Programme and Eco Scouts. These initiatives aim to empower girls and young children through mentorship, environmental education, and personal development.

Driven by her father’s vision of “lifting another girl up,” she invests her time in helping young women from underserved communities believe in broader possibilities for their lives. Her programmes seek to challenge cycles of poverty, substance abuse, and limited opportunities by changing mindsets and exposing girls to education, science, and leadership pathways.

Making Science Accessible and Exciting

Prof. Modley speaks passionately about changing perceptions around science careers, especially for girls from underrepresented communities. She notes that many learners are discouraged from pursuing science because it is viewed as difficult, inaccessible, or reserved for a select few.

She actively works to make science feel exciting, relatable, and achievable by exposing learners to the university environment and demonstrating the diverse possibilities within scientific fields. Her mission is to show girls that science extends far beyond laboratories and microscopes; it can be creative, impactful, and transformative.

Women Leading Sustainability Conversations

As the discussion turns to gender, Prof. Modley reflects on her career experience. Interestingly, she describes how working in zoology often meant being treated equally to her male peers, which ultimately strengthened her confidence and resilience. Prof. Modley also opens up about balancing an intensive academic career with motherhood, marriage, and community engagement. She credits her strong support system, including her husband, extended family, and faith, for enabling her to pursue her ambitions while maintaining family stability.

She believes women are increasingly leading sustainability conversations because of qualities such as empathy, collaboration, community-mindedness, and holistic thinking. Sustainability, she explains, is not only about ecosystems and data; it is also about people, relationships, and care.

Her message to women entering the field is to be true to yourself. Women do not need to imitate men to succeed. Instead, their authentic perspectives and leadership styles are essential to building more sustainable futures.

A Message of Limitless Possibility

Drawing from her own experiences of being underestimated, Prof Modley encourages young women to view barriers and doubt as opportunities to prove what is possible: never allow other people’s limitations or labels to define your future.

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This week on Womanity, Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Dr Thea Schoeman, Head of Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies at the University of Johannesburg. Dr Schoeman shares a powerful origin story rooted in intention. As a young student, she made a conscious decision that her work would always have real societal and environmental impact. This guiding principle led her from early research in ecotourism to pioneering work in waste management, a field that was largely under-researched in South Africa at the time, especially by women.

Uncovering the Hidden Heroes: The Informal Waste Sector

Waste is a major contributor to climate change, ranking third in methane emissions globally. Part of Dr Schoeman’s research delves into waste reclaimers, individuals who play a vital role in South Africa’s recycling ecosystem. She highlights:

The economic and social challenges faced by waste pickers

Their role as the “true recyclers” in society and the contribution they make to waste management

The urgent need for recognition, fair compensation, and integration into formal waste systems

Breaking Barriers: A Woman in Science

Reflecting on her early career, Dr Schoeman candidly shares experiences of gender bias, including being told that waste research was “not suitable for women.”

However, the landscape has shifted:

Women now play a leading role in waste and environmental research

Strong networks of female professionals provide mentorship and collaboration

Representation is helping to reshape perceptions and open doors for future generations

Her journey underscores the importance of resilience, recognition, and community support in building confidence and leadership. The episode shines a light on the rapidly growing green economy, presenting vast opportunities for women across disciplines.

Leadership with Purpose: Building Inclusive Academic Spaces

As a leader, Dr Schoeman embraces a transformational leadership style, focused on:

Inspiring and motivating her team

Creating a supportive and inclusive environment

Prioritising mentorship for young academics

She also highlights the complex realities students face in South Africa, encompassing financial, social, and emotional challenges, and the importance of holistic support systems. From mentoring programmes to psychological services, her department actively works to ensure that no student is left behind.

Dr Schoeman doesn’t personally subscribe to conventional ideas of work-life balance, describing herself as deeply passionate and fully immersed in her work. She has a genuine love for what she does, a strong sense of purpose and curiosity and is committed to continuous learning and growth.

Dr Schoeman’s closing words remind us that there is space for women in every field, especially in shaping a sustainable future.

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