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27 August 2018 Photo Sonia Small
Prof Thuli Madonsela persuades women to pursue their purpose
Discovering that she was “pretty” for her purpose gave Prof-Adv Thuli Madonsela’s life direction.

What does embracing womanhood mean? For Prof Thuli Madonsela it is about loving yourself and whatever you believe is your purpose in life. 

“All of us are designed for our purpose and are fit for our purpose, you should embrace that and make the best of it,” said South Africa’s former Public Protector in her keynote address to the Women’s Breakfast. In commemoration of Women’s Month, the University of the Free State (UFS)’s Employee Wellness Division hosted the annual event on 21 August 2018 where 900 women gathered under the theme: ‘Embrace your womanhood.’ 

Being a woman today


Law Professor and Law Trust Chair in Social Justice at Stellenbosch University, Prof Madonsela, urged the audience to look beyond the exterior and recognise “that we as individuals have a lot in common”. Speaking of unity in diversity, she praised some of the giants on whose shoulders modern women stand, such as Charlotte Maxeke, Olive Schreiner, Una Wookey, Albertina Sisulu, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Helen Joseph, Pam Golding, Bessie Head, and Ellen Khuzwayo.

These leaders are the epitome of following the purpose of “embracing everyone’s humanity and challenging things that diminish the humanity of others”, according to Prof Madonsela.

Remaining resilient and resolute 

Despite having to contend with a patriarchal system and face challenges such as gender-based violence, femicide, poverty, inequity, media stereotypes, as well as poverty, women continue to rise. Prof Madonsela called for women to capitalise on positives such as freedom and possessing a certain degree of power, legal equality, playing a role in political spaces, economic progress, and owning a public voice.

Drawing inspiration from her humble beginnings and the lessons learnt in leadership, Prof Madonsela conveyed a simple message to all women: “You are exactly as you should be. You are a perfect expression of your creator’s magnificence. You were created for a purpose and whatever you do, just step up and pursue your purpose.”

A word from an inspired woman

It was a memorable event for Burneline Kaars, Head of Employee Wellness. “This year it was an honour to host Prof Madonsela who could share both her academic background and professional experience. She accomplished this by skilfully incorporating lessons from our country’s history and her passion for justice,” she said.

News Archive

Kovsies among top SADC debaters
2014-11-26

From the left are: Matlhodi Leteane and Lehakoe Masedi.

The UFS Debate Society is definitely not all talk and no action. They ranked 10th at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Debate Open held in Gaborone, Botswana, from 14 – 16 November 2014.

Kovsie students Lehakoe Masedi (second-year BCom Law) and Matlhodi Leteane (first-year LLB Law) teamed up to represent our university at the prestigious SADC event hosted by the University of Botswana Speaking Union. Eight Southern African countries were represented as well as six universities from South Africa.

“Attending a tournament focused on the debating of regional issues and solutions was a great reward and we wish to take part in more of these tournaments in future,” says Lehakoe.

Out of a pool of 40 of the best individual speakers in Southern Africa, Lehakoe and Matlhodi were jointly awarded 18th place.

“Debate continues to help the growth of the student community and the attendance of such debate tournaments lends a lot of help to the internal growth of not only our partnership but our debate society as a whole,” says Lehakoe. “We take great pride in our performance, especially as first-year *British Parliamentary speakers. We wish to improve and grow as we progress further in our debate careers.”

*British Parliametary speaking is the style of debating used by university institutions.

 

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