LOCAL HEROES

We're all about celebrating South African women. And to mark Women's Day on 9 August, we share the stories of four who have turned challenges into action and are changing lives for the better.

- Debbie Hathway

Transforming pain into purpose

Asonele Melapi's mission began with the brutal murder of her sister, Nokwanda, by a boyfriend of four months in 2021. 'I realised I had a choice,' says the social justice advocate and founder of the Nokwanda Patocka GBVF Foundation. 'I could allow grief to consume me, or I could let the pain push me into purpose.'

That decision changed everything. Today, operating out of a victim-friendly room at a police station in Qonce (King William's Town), Asonele works to assist survivors of gender-based violence, educate communities and advocate for systemic change. Her organisation is entirely self-funded. She sold her car, used her pension and poured all her resources into ensuring the foundation continues. Without transport, her reach is limited.

'I could have gone back to a normal job,' she says. 'People ask me that all the time. But I'd feel like I failed my sister's legacy if I stopped.'

The family endured further loss in the years that followed, deepening Asonele’s resolve to fight for women trapped in cycles of abuse, and address the social conditions that allow it to flourish: poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, child neglect and silence.

‘The biggest challenge is dependency,’ she says. ‘So many women stay trapped in abusive situations because they are financially dependent on the people hurting them.’

As a result, her programmes focus on empowerment through education, mentorship, moral regeneration and skills development. She works with vulnerable children (girls as well as boys), the elderly, the poor living with disabilities, and with men. ‘We cannot leave them behind,’ she says.