Honouring extraordinary South African women with new Google Arts & Culture exhibition
24 significant South African women are honoured through this initiative.
On Women’s Day this year, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Google are commemorating 24 significant South African female voices through unveiling a new Google Arts & Culture exhibit – Voices of Empowerment: 24 South African Women. The exhibit is profiling ‘ordinary’ women with extraordinary stories and focuses on 24 South African women featured in 200 Women by Blackwell & Ruth (2017).
From anti-apartheid activist and politician Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Olympic champion Caster Semenya, stateswoman Graça Machel to fashion designer Collette Dinnegan, Voices of Empowerment: 24 South African Women is showcasing 24 game-changers who have helped elevate the status of women in South African society.
In profiling these women, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and Google Arts & Culture are looking to highlight their contributions to contemporary history, amplify female voices (which are often drowned out, even now), and showcase how fierce, determined and awe-inspiring South African women are.
“The struggle against patriarchy continues in our country,” says Foundation Chief Executive Sello Hatang. “COVID-19 has both highlighted and magnified the deeply-rooted and systemic oppression women still experience. We want this exhibit to inspire both women and men to keep working for the change that we need.”
Says Google South Africa head of communications and public affairs, Mich Atagana, “Winnie Madikizela-Mandela put it perfectly when she said, ‘It’s still a struggle to uplift the lives of women. As a result, our generation and the generation that followed us are still not as educated as our men; we’re still fighting for total equality.’ We’re hoping this exhibit will elevate the voices and achievements of the women we are profiling and aid in that fight.”
The exhibit can be viewed here.
The women being profiled are:
- Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
- Graça Machel
- Nicky Asher-Pedro
- Audrey Brown
- Collette Dinnigan
- Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela
- Joanne Fedler
- Qaqamba Gubanca
- Zelda la Grange
- Ronni Kahn
- Gail Kelly
- Zaziwe Manaway
- Zoleka Mandela
- Nokwanele Mbewu
- Hlubi Mboya Arnold
- Shanthie Naidoo
- Masako Osada
- Ingrid le Roux
- Caster Semenya
- Nomvula Sikhakhane
- Gillian Slovo
- June Steenkamp
- Mpho Tutu van Furth
- Sahm Venter
