Dr Naledi Pandor’s leadership in South Africa

AUGUST in South Africa is not just another month on the calendar.

- AWAM MAVIMBELA

It is Women’s Month, a time to remember the courage, defiance, and vision of the more than 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on August 9, 1956, to protest the infamous pass laws under apartheid.

It is also a time to reflect on the legacies of great women like Albertina Sisulu, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, and Charlotte Maxeke, who embodied resistance and justice in their lifetimes.

In 2025, we find ourselves again at a crossroads. The struggles of these women still echo in new forms, such as femicide, youth female poverty, and chronic unemployment. Yet, in this modern battlefield, one woman stands out for her quiet but unyielding strength: Dr Naledi Pandor.

Dr Pandor, a South African politician, educator, and academic, continues to represent the essence of Women's Month. She is a symbol of intellectual depth, moral courage, and political defiance in a space dominated by men and muddied by global hypocrisy.

In a world that often patronises women in leadership, she has become an unshakable force not only within the ANC but also on international stages. She reminds the world that African women are not mere footnotes to history; they are makers of it.