By Phaphama Tshisikhawe
In concluding TUT’s Women’s Month celebrations, the Tshwane School of Business and Society (TSB) and the Faculty of Arts and Design celebrated Women’s Month in an arty and unforgettable event on 29 August. The highlight was Prof Tinyiko Maluleke, Vice-Chancellor and Principal’s powerful keynote address, whose reflections on the 1956 Women’s March included a passionate call to action.
In his speech, Prof Maluleke vividly reconstructed the historic march, when 20,000 women converged on the Union Buildings to protest oppressive pass laws. He noted their resolve, discipline and mastery of non-violent protest – a strategy which became the cornerstone of the South African struggle. “Our generation of South Africans has a tough act to follow; the 1956 generation of women leaders was diverse and it was inclusive,” he noted.
Prof Tinyiko Maluleke, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, delivering a powerful keynote address in celebration of Women's Month.
Bridging the past and present, Prof Maluleke encouraged women leaders to follow the example of the 1956 generation of women in tackling today’s challenges. He said: “Seventy years later, as we lean on these struggle veterans, there is so much to glean and to learn from the 1956 leadership collective.”
He asked, “How best can we commemorate such a diverse, visionary and inclusive women’s leadership group? We have to redouble our efforts in pursuit of the goal of gender parity in all spheres. At the current pace, gender parity will only be achieved 133 years from now.”
Hosted at the Tshwane University of Technology’s Pretoria Campus, the event underscored TSB and the Faculty of Art and Design’s dedication to excellence, transformation and the nurturing leaders who uplift communities and champion equity.
The celebration concluded with attendees invigorated, ready to carry forward the legacy of the 1956 women with a renewed commitment to purposeful leadership.
A number of the artists and speakers who participated in the Women in Leadership event in celebration of Women's Month.
