Focus: As we commemorate International Women’s Day, 21 Women highlight and celebrate women Icons who have made a mark in various sectors of South African society: women who have influenced generations after them and whose work continues to live, carving a path for us today. In a new book, the Women Before Us documents the leadership of women in

our history dating back to the first black graduate, Charlotte Makgomo Mannya-Maxeke.

The contributors of this book have an intergenerational reflections on these leading figures and share how they have shaped their own journeys. According to the Institute, it is in remembering their names we get to learn about their perspectives and ideas that will inspire the current and future leaders of society. The book features chapters written by Dr. Brigalia Bam, former Speaker of Parliament - Baleka Mbete, Acting Public Protector - Adv. Kholeka Gcaleka, Young Activist Zulaikha Patel, Historian Dr. Thozama April, Stalwart - Febe Potgieter-Gqubule, Ms. Shaeera Kalla and Deputy Minister of CoGTA - Thembi Nkadimeng.

est: Ms Zulaikha Patel - Activist, Author, LLB student and Founder of Dare to Change

Guest: Dr. Thozama April - Senior Curator at the National Heritage and Cultural Studies Centre at the University of Fort Hare (she wrote a thesis on Charlotte Maxeke titled - Theorising Women: the intellectual contributions of Charlotte Maxeke to the struggle for liberation in South Africa)

Guest (ZOOM): Amb. Madiepetsane Charlotte Lobe - High Commissioner of the Republic of South Africa in Singapore