Keketso Maema is the chief executive of the commission for gender equality, a chapter 9 institution established to promote and protect gender equality. She’s been a trailblazer in legislation reform and policy development and is passionate about human rights, gender justice, community development and imparting legal knowledge to marginalised groups. In addition to running an institution with nine regional offices, she represents South Africa on international platforms and is passionate about developing leaders.

“I would like to one day, as one walks through the hallways in Parliament, glance at a portrait of a woman among the portraits of past presidents,” she says when asked about change she’d like to bring about in South Africa. “And I’m confident that as a country we are heading towards that.”

If this is indeed the case, it’s in part thanks to the likes of Maema, who from early in her career has fought for equal rights. “As a young lawyer working for Nicholls Cambanis and Associates, I was part of the legal team that worked on a number of landmark cases that broke new ground by significantly developing the law and recognising individual people’s rights and liberties,” she recalls. “Most of the matters that we dealt with at the time related to rights of the LGBTQIA+ communities and matters on issues that reinforced their discrimination and human rights violations.”

It would be difficult to overestimate the impact of legal and structural change, and for Keketso this has become clearest when she’s seen how her work affects individuals. One example she recalls is a case of unfair discriminatory rule on basis of gender: a ban against women wearing pants in a particular area, which resulted in a young woman being stripped for breaking this rule, and her homestead was burned. Maema’s team succeeded in having the rule abolished and pursuing a criminal case, while the matter become public knowledge and people mobilised to get the young woman a place to live. “This was one of those moments where we were able to touch the life of a person,” Maema says.

Among her advice for those looking to pursue a career with similar weight and meaning is a suggestion that could be applied to all areas of life: “Look to and learn from men and women who paved a way, to ensure that the opportunities they created for us do not go to waste.”
— Cayleigh Bright

Facebook: @Keketso Maema