Six great women and one great man, were conferred with Honorary Doctorates from the University of the Western Cape (UWC) as Women’s Month drew to a close.

Among the women were human rights advocates and activists Dr Naledi Pandor, Advocate Adila Hassim and Mary Robinson. All three expressed surprise at the honour, saying that they were deeply humbled.

Humility and gratitude

Dr Pandor, one of South Africa’s most accomplished educators, parliamentarians and diplomats, said the honour carried special meaning because of UWC’s character and history.

Advocate Hassim said she was “completely overwhelmed” and “taken by surprise” when she was contacted by the university. She currently serves as an evidence leader for the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, which is investigating allegations of corruption, criminality and political interference in South Africa’s criminal justice system.

A careful tradition

The special ceremony was attended by family, dignitaries, students and academics. UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Robert Balfour, reminded the audience that the university confers few honours, and does so with care.

“Our honorary graduates include figures closely connected to South Africa’s struggle for democracy. Among them are Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Albertina Sisulu and Albie Sachs. An honorary degree from this university has therefore long expressed solidarity, as well as inspired admiration,” said Prof Balfour.

He said each of the recipients had made an exceptional contribution.

“Advocate Adila Hassim and Dr Naledi Pandor have advanced South Africa’s engagement with international law. Ms Mary Robinson and Ms Francesca Albanese have kept the world’s attention on human rights and accountability. The late Ms Charlotte Maxeke and Ms Mandisa Monakali devoted their lives to the education and protection of women and children. Professor Emeritus Loyiso Nongxa widened access to the mathematical sciences and to leadership in higher education.”

Wisdom on stage

After the ceremony, the honorees took part in a panel conversation.

UWC registrar Dr Nita Lawson said during her introduction to the panel dialogue “Honouring Lives and Legacies” that the history was mostly told from the perspective of the hunters.

“Tonight, we are telling some of those histories from the perspective of the lions. Lions need to tell the story of the hunt, why they are being hunted in the first place, and what is the way to stop the hunt.”

The panel discussed the work and history of those who were being honoured, beginning with Charlotte Maxeke. Lawson noted that UWC had recovered her not simply as an activist but as an intellectual and a thinker of liberation.

Roots and resolve

Mary Robinson spoke about growing up “wedged between four brothers” in the west of Ireland. She said her apolitical parents were medical doctors who told her that:

“Mary, you have the same opportunity as your brothers.”

Buoyed by her parents’ idealism, she found the reality to be very different, she said, and this inequality inspired her life’s work.

Pandor also described her childhood of growing up in activism. Her father, Joe Matthews, and her grandfather ZK Matthews, both renowned activists during the struggle period, held frequent political discussions in her childhood home.

She recalled how refugees came to the home and she and the other children were shuffled away from the discussions they were not meant to hear. This, however, only sparked her curiosity more.

“The interest drove me right into it,” she said.

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