Womanity - Women in Unity

This week on Womanity ,  Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka  speaks with Prof Lee-Ann Sadè Modley , from the Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies at the University of Johannesburg . With a background spanning zoology, environmental management, sustainability, and community engagement, Prof. Modley shares her journey, shaped by perseverance, purpose, faith, her father’s soft pe...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr Amaleya Goneos-Malka  speaks with Dr Thea Schoeman , Head of Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies at the University of Johannesburg . Dr Schoeman shares a powerful origin story rooted in intention. As a young student, she made a conscious decision that her work would always have real societal and environmental impact. This guiding princip...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka  speaks with Dr. Niké Wesch , Senior Lecturer in Urban and Regional Planning at North-West University . She shares her journey, research, and vision for building more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient urban environments. Her work sits at the intersection of climate science, urban planning, and social transformation, bringing a uniquely integrat...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with South African Ambassador Robina (Ruby) Marks, who has served as Ambassador to Thailand , Sri Lanka (with accreditation to Nepal, Maldives, and Bangladesh) and Benin. Her story is multifaceted. She shows how circumstances (political and social constructs), history, identity, and values intersect to forge a life of impact. She also reflec...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka  speaks to Professor Bernadine Benson about her professional journey, spanning nearly two decades in policing and a transformative transition into academia. Her story is one of resilience, identity, and continuous evolution, shaped by hardship, purpose and faith. A Childhood of Instability and the Drive to Excel Born into a working-class family wit...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka  speaks with Dr. Rosalind Skelton , who is the Managing Director of the South African Astronomical Observatory , and closes out our series on This is the final episode in our series on women in Astronomy. Dr. Skelton’s story begins with a deep-rooted curiosity about the natural world. As a young student, her interests spanned biology, archaeology,...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka  speaks with Professor Catherine Cress who is a Professor of Astronomy at the University of South Africa (UNISA). Her work spans the vast, invisible structures of the universe. Understanding how things work From the outset, Prof Cress reframes astronomy not as distant stargazing, but as a powerful laboratory for understanding the fundamental laws o...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka  speaks with astrophysicist Dr. Kenda Knowles, Senior Research Fellow at Rhodes University and researcher at the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory . She shares the story of how curiosity, resilience, and collaboration can open pathways to understanding the universe. Stargazing the future Dr. Knowles’ fascination with the cosmos began long b...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka  speaks with Prof Thenjiwe Meyiwa – Vice Chancellor and Principal at the University of Mpumalanga . A distinguished feminist scholar, academic leader, and advocate for social justice, Professor Meyiwa shares insights into her remarkable career journey, her vision for transforming higher education, and her unwavering commitment to advancing women’s...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka  speaks with Dr Sarah Pedretti , Principal Scientific Officer at the University of Cape Town Lung Institute. Dr Pedretti traces her academic path from France and Switzerland to South Africa, highlighting how international collaboration, mentorship, and intellectual curiosity led her to Cape Town. What began as a one-year postdoctoral opportunity ev...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka  speaks with Dr Sebastiana Kalula , emeritus associate professor, specialist physician in geriatric medicine, Director of the Albertina and Walter Sisulu Institute of Ageing in Africa , and Co-Director of the International Longevity Centre South Africa at the University of Cape Town. As global life expectancy rises, Dr Kalula unpacks one of the mos...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Dr Kaylin du Plessis , a veterinarian at the Pretoria Zoo whose work combines exotic animal medicine, complex surgery, conservation, and compassion. From the outset, Dr du Plessis reveals that her journey into veterinary science was driven by a childhood love of animals and a deeper calling to advocate for beings who cannot speak for th...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks to Dr Claudia Cardoso from the University of Pretoria .  Dr Claudia Cardoso’s interest in veterinary science was ignited when she was 10 years old, watching a local veterinarian diagnose and treat her sick dog, an ordinary consultation that, for a young girl, revealed something extraordinary. In that moment, she witnessed “knowledge in actio...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka  speaks to Dr Rosemary Dallas ,  a veterinarian in private practice who owns Alphen Veterinary Hospital in Constantia. She shares her journey into a career that embraces her multifaceted interests. Dr Rosemary Dallas traces her path into veterinary science back to her childhood in Botswana, where the absence of veterinary services shaped her sensit...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka  speaks to Dr Asive Luningo, a veterinarian and lecturer in veterinary toxicology at the University of Pretoria , whose journey into animal health is rooted in rural life, cultural tradition, and an unwavering commitment to community wellbeing. Growing up in a royal rural household where animal care was considered “men’s work” and veterinary profes...

Welcome to Womanity Women in Unity, for our special compilation of select programs to inspire the new year. In this episode, we hear from successful women in engineering, wine research and diplomacy. First, Professor Sara Grobbelaar from the Department of Industrial Engineering , in the Faculty of Engineering, at Stellenbosch University has an unmistakable sense of purpose and multi-faceted journe...

Welcome to Womanity Women in Unity, for our special compilation of select programs to open the new year. We hope to inspire you through the words of three remarkable women who have succeeded in their respective fields. Our first guest in this feature is Dr Sarah Babb , who is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science . She discusses embracing ch...

Welcome to Womanity Women in Unity, for our special compilation of select programs over the last year. We hope to inspire you through the words of three pioneering female leaders who have succeeded in their respective fields. Our first guest in this feature is Professor Darelle van Gruenen , who leads a research engagement and innovation group at the Centre for Community Technologies at the Nelson...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka  speaks to Dr Nonhlanhla Vilakazi who specialises in palaeo-herpetology and heritage management in the Zoology Department at the University of Johannesburg. Her work uncovers stories from fossils that contribute to new ways of seeing ourselves and our future. Dr Vilakazi takes us beneath the Earth’s surface to explore forgotten ecosystems, ra...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka  speaks to Dr Azwifaneli Nemushungwa , an economist from the Department of Economics at the University of Venda . We delve into her personal and professional journey, her passion for education, and her commitment to empowering generations of women. A Career in the Male-Dominated Field of Economics Dr. Nemushungwa was drawn to economics by an innate...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks to the Ambassador of Sweden to South Africa , Anna Karin Eneström . With a distinguished diplomatic career spanning three decades, Ambassador Eneström has served in some of the world’s most influential global governance spaces, including the United Nations, the European Union, and senior leadership positions within the Swedish Ministry of Fo...

This week on Womanity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka  speaks to Crista Cullen , Olympic gold-medal field hockey player, businesswoman, conservation innovator, and proud daughter of both Kenya and the United Kingdom. Crista’s story is one of dual identities, grit, reinvention, and a deep commitment to contributing to the world beyond sport. Crista shares insights from her sixteen-year Olympic journey...

In this episode of Womanity-Women in Unity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos- Malka speaks with Professor Darelle Van Greunen Director of the Centre for Community Technologies (CCT) at Nelson Mandela University , this year’s recipient of the Science Diplomacy for Africa Award . We explore how the CCT drives social development through smart, needs-driven technology in low-income communities. A Personal Journey...

In this episode of Womanity-Women in Unity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka   speaks with Dr Lauren Moss , a counselling psychologist in private practice, who closes our Mental Health Awareness series by taking us through the realities, science, and lived human story of trauma. Dr Moss shares how her own journey into psychology began not from a linear career path, but from lived experience. As a sensit...

In this episode of Womanity-Women in Unity ,  Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka   speaks with Dr. Lori Eddy , a counselling psychologist in private practice, as part of Womanity’s commemoration of World Mental Health Day . Our discussion journeys into the heart of what it means to be human, to hurt, to heal, and to grow; offering an illuminating perspective on how the mind recovers, rebuilds, and reclaims...