Unisa Womens Day Celebrations/Unisa Press& Inst for Gender Studies

Daughters are Diamonds was invited to a showcasing at the annual Unisa Womens Day luncheon in tamdum with projects by the Institute for Gender Studies and Unisa Press. I must admit, I was fascinated by the immense positive regard and the energy generated by speakers, participant musicians and the women in attendance! What a vibe! The Annual Feroza Adams Memorial Lecture was fittingly presented by an emotive Ms Motsei (of Kanga and the Kangaroo Court fame). Guests were treated to gifts of colourful thought and rose-scented turkish delight. All in all a fabulous event! My thanks to Unisa Press and the Inst for Gender Studies for the invitation to represent Daughters..

Entertainment: Basadi le Meropa Marimba Band

Hosted by:
Institute for Gender Studies
Unisa Women's Forum
Department of Corporate Communication and Marketing

PROFILE of FEROZA ADAM (as per UNISA Programme Detail)
-* 16Aug 1961 - 9 Aug1994*-

The Feroza Adam Memorial lecture was initiated by the Institute for Gender Studies in 1994, and is now collaboratively organised annually by the Institute for Gender Studies and the Unisa Women's Forum.
Feroza Adam was born on the 16th August 1961 and died tragically and ironically on National Women's Day, 9th August 1994 shortly after becoming a member of South Africa's first democratically elected government where she served as a member of parliament for the African National Congress (ANC). When we first began working with Feroza as part of the National Coalition for Women's Equality she was the deputy-head of Public Relations for the ANC. She was a spirited and dynamic leader who quickly began to be a key driver in the Women's National Coalition in the Gauteng Region.
Feroza was a women with enormous courage, commitment and passion. She worked hard, and played hard. She had a long history of political activism and advocacy, becoming a political activist in 1976 while she was still a scholar at Lenasia Nirvana High. Later, while studying for the Bachelor of Arts at WITS she became even more active in student politics. During these years she served on many executive committees in the movement to end apartheid in South Africa. She taught for 5years, but between 1988 and 1990 she began to work full time as national co-ordinator of the UDF. Following the unbanning of the ANC, she was seconded to the PWV region of the ANC to assist in setting up the office. After the unbanning of the ANCWL Feroza worked as publicity secretary for the FEDRAW executive (1984-1990).With the first democratic election of a new ANC led government in 1994, Feroza moved to Cape Town to serve as one of the youngest members of Parliament. Her considerable personal power, ability to communicate, organise and speak with conviction in public meant that she was a force to be reckoned with. She identified as a feminist and political activist with pride and an irrepressible optimism.
She died as a result of a car accident in Cape Town on 9th August 1994 at the age of 33. In a statement the ANC said that Feroza had been "a fierce opponent of apartheid and a tenacious fighter against gender discrimination" and that "she was a living embodiment of the struggle that brought a democratic government to this country". It is always with enormous gratitude and humility that Unisa remembers this remarkable woman, who left an indelible mark on every person whose life she touched. Her willingness to speak her mind, to honour her beliefs and live her values made her a very powerful role model for women across all sectors of South African society. To this end, we again honour her life and contribution.