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COSMO announces 2011’s Fun, Fearless Females

25 November 2011

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The Cosmopolitan Fun, Fearless Female list, an annual feature in the December issue of Cosmopolitan, celebrates 24 South African women who have made their way to the top of their respective fields with strength and determination. These women epitomise everything that is fun and fearless. 

 

 

 

 

Cosmo’s list of Fun Fearless Females for 2011:

Humairah Jassat

  • 20, founder of Pink Hijab Day
  • Won the 2010 African Leadership Academy Innovation Prize
  • Journalism student; hosts Women’s Weekly on Radio Islam

 

Lee Swan 

  • 30, manager at Deloitte Sustainability & Climate Change consulting team
  • Mission to get companies in South Africa to pay more attention to the issue of climate change
  • First African woman to complete the Polar Race across the Arctic to the Magnetic North Pole. Participated in aid of raising funds for the Leap Science and Maths School

 

Videshree Rooplall

  • 36, manager of the financial markets department of the South African Reserve Bank
  • In 2009, one of 15 women selected for Bankseta Women’s Development Programme; won a Reserve Bank Governor’s Award

 

Vicki Fourie 

  • 22, motivational speaker, writer
  • Writing her autobiography and about to shoot her first international movie
  • First Princess, Miss Deaf International 2010

 

Lerato Malekutu

  • 24, media officer at Cricket SA 

 

Thato Moeng 

  • 25, sports journalist
  • Part of 5FM’s weekend breakfast show team
  • Co-presenter of Thursday Night Live With Marawa with Robert Marawa

 

Dineo Moeketsi

  • 22, Channel O’s O-Access presenter, singer and actress
  • Has appeared in various theatre productions and television series; recently made her film debut in Skyf, The Movie
  • Co-hosted the 2010 and 2011 Channel O Music Awards

 

Cynthia Jele

  • 35, writer
  • Debut novel Happiness Is A Four-Letter Word won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize 2011
  • Won the 2008 BTA/Anglo Platinum short-story competition

 

Jess Sutherland 

  • 22, fashion designer
  • Invited to showcase her range at Jo’burg Fashion Week 2011
  • Featured in Marie Claire as designer to watch
  • Graduated from LISOF, won the award for best range

 

Shana Kay 

  • 33, co-founder and MD of Infointeg
  • Won SAB Kickstart Award in the Start-up Development category
  • Second place in the ICT sector of the Cape Town Entrepreneuship Competition
  • Nominated for South Africa’s most Influential Women in Business and Government Awards in 2010 

 

Melanie Ramjee 

  • 34, PR executive
  • Founder of PR firm Tutone Communications
  • Worked on brands such as Smirnoff Brazil Carnival Events, Keri Hilson Cancer Dinner, Jay-Z’s South African tour, Sprite and the Trey Songz concert 

 

Lelo Boyana 

  • Blogger
  • Runs successful gossip blog Just Curious
  • Launching Just Curious TV
  • Cosmo Twitter Queen

 

Nomakhomazi Dyosopu

  • 31, director
  • Recent documentary released Libya: Winds Of Change
  • Worked on Zola 7 and directed commercials for MTN, Vodacom, Virgin Mobile and Metro FM, and various music videos 

 

Minnie Dlamini 

  • 21, actress, TV presenter
  • Hosts SABC1’s Live music show and Mzansi Insider; has appeared in Generations and The Wild
  • Named one of FHM’s 100 Sexist Women in the World 2011

 

Zukie Siyotula

  • 27, chartered accountant
  • Head of mass franchise development at Old Mutual; mentor at African Leadership Network and member of New Faces, New Voices network
  • Won Top Emerging Talent Award at 2009 ABSIP Financial Services Awards

 

Lauren Beukes 

  • 35, writer
  • Winner of Arthur C Clarke Award for science fiction in 2011 and nominated for the World Fantasy best novel award 2011 for Zoo City 

 

Tanika Hoffman

  • 19, surfer
  • Three times South African Champion in various age divisions

 

Dr Kitty Foxon

  • 35, chemical engineer and senior lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal
  • Researcher with the Pollution Research Group at UKZN
  • Heads projects relating to waste-water treatment and sanitation

 

Tammy Govender

  • 30, drag-racing star
  • Won 2010 KZN Motor Racing legal drag-racing competition 

 

Thabisa Xhalisa

  • 29, lecturer at the University of Cape Town, teaching Xhosa to medical students
  • Born into poverty and a cleaner at the age of 15, arrived in Cape Town in 2002 with R50 in her purse; enrolled at UCT with help from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme
  • Obtained her BA in 2005, honours in 2007, master’s in 2011 and is now a PhD candidate 

 

Zandile Mpanza

  • 29, women’s rights activist
  • Stood up to those harassing her because of what she wore; had T-Section Umlazi’s ban on women wearing trousers declared unconstitutional, and four years later saw her attackers sentenced to jail
  • Helps abused women who are ‘voiceless'

 

Nokuthula Mchunu-Nxumalo

  • 29, microbiologist
  • Produced ground-breaking research into the sequencing of a thermophilic fungal genome that could eliminate the use of chlorine in the food and paper industries

 

Karen Pillay

  • 25, biochemist
  • Awarded Department of Science and Technology Women in Science doctoral fellowship
  • Researching inhibitors of Type 2 diabetes in the hopes of finding an agent that could slow or arrest the progression of the disease

 

Angela Larkan

  • 28, founder and director of Thanda and Thanda Zulu
  • Aids activist
  • Pioneer for Levi’s ‘Go Forth’ campaign

 

For the complete profiles, see the December issue of Cosmopolitan, on sale now.