Coming from humble beginnings – Melene Rossouw, co-founder of the Women Lead Movement, has evoked change within South Africa. She spoke to MatieMedia’s Tamara Wicomb about her journey to becoming an activist and how she makes a difference.
Melene Rossouw, co-founder of Women Lead Movement, established the organisation in 2017. The organisation focuses on promoting and advocating for gender equality, said Rossouw. Photo: Supplied/Melene Rossouw
At the age of 8, a young Melene Rossouw realised that with hard work and dedication you can achieve anything. It was 1994, just after South Africa had become a democracy, and Rossouw was competing in the national athletics championships in Pretoria.
She ended up winning gold in the 60m sprint and bronze in the 80m for her age group. While pondering on the hard work she had invested she recalls not even having running shoes.
“I didn’t have the things that you would think an athlete on that level would have. I was very simple, there was nothing extraordinary about me,” says Rossouw. “It’s your willingness to work that will get you far.”
Rossouw was born and raised in Bellville South. While the circumstances surrounding her life were not always favourable, “that didn’t stop my energetic go-getter”, says her mother, Desiree Rossouw.
Growing up in a single-parent household, Rossouw credits her mother for doing the best she could under those circumstances to fulfill her parenting needs. “She enabled this idea in my mind that I can do and be anything I want to,” says Rossouw.
“Melene was relentless in everything she does […] and always ready to do whatever comes her way,” says Desiree Rossouw.
Melene Rossouw works for the advancement of gender equality and has been invited to speak on the matter at international forums. PHOTO: Supplied/Melene Rossouw
From lawyer to activist
Rossouw graduated from the University of the Western Cape (UWC) with an LLB, and a masters in Law.
“I knew I was going to be a very poor lawyer, because I could not charge people for my services,” she says. There was something within her that did not allow her to quote people for her services because that would mean charging people “for access to justice”, says Rossouw.
There were many times the only payment she received was through her clients buying her groceries. “I was not going to be that lawyer that charged people ridiculous amounts of money for justice that they need,” she says.
Rossouw spent some time working for Judge Albie Sachs at the Constitutional Court, and it was through that experience that she knew “human rights was going to be my focus”.
“I never saw myself working in an NGO [non-governmental organisation],” says Rossouw. However, in 2017 she co-founded the Women Lead Movement, an NGO that focuses on promoting and advocating for human rights.
“It’s amazing to know that I am part of a process of mobilising a strong and engaged citizen within SA,” says Rossouw. “When we started the movement, an objective was educating people about their fundamental human rights,” she adds.
According to Rossouw, one cannot speak on human rights if you don’t include gender equality. For her, gender-based violence falls under that subsection. “It’s all interconnected,” she explains.
“My biggest work is going to come from community engagement,” she says.
While working at the Constitutional Court along Judge Albie Sachs, Melene Rossouw realised that it is important to involve those who are disadvantaged into the conversation as it goes a long way in ensuring social cohesion. “I am in favour of engagement,” says Rossouw. AUDIO: Tamara Wicomb
Faith, courage and empathy
For Rossouw, faith is what encapsulates her life and what is most important to her. Her relationship with God provides her with the source to life, she says.
“I didn’t grow up thinking God decides your future, or that he will protect and guide you,” she says. It was during a tough period in her life, that she rediscovered God, she says.
Courage is the second word that encapsulates her life, says Rossouw. For many years, she experienced a fear of failure, and of not achieving things. To overcome those feelings she needed to have courage.
“Courage is the most important virtue of all other virtues. You cannot have any other virtue without courage, because courage unlocks other virtues in life,” she says.
She believes that leading with empathy has brought her the best and worst experiences in life. “I actually learned more through my disappointments and my failures in life than what I’ve learned through successes,” says Rossouw.
“God, courage and empathy – that defines me as an individual,” she adds.
According to Rossouw, it is important not to limit oneself, and to remain authentic.
“Once you tap into your authenticity, the universe will align for you. Because you will be your truest self and will find it so liberating,”
Accolades and Awards
Melene Rossouw has a long list of accolades and awards, including being selected by the Obama Foundation as an Obama Leader in Africa in 2018. She was also chosen by the Junior Chamber International (JCI) as one of the top ten outstanding young persons of the world honourees in the category for World Peace/Human Rights in 2020. In the same year, she was recognised by Avance Media as one of the 100 most influential women in Africa.