On this round route discover stories of women, both past and present, who’ve made their mark on the Mother City. While you walk, take the opportunity to talk to some of the women along the way, listen to what they have to say about being a woman in Cape Town today.
Nancy is a freelance radio and print journalist and founder of WOMAN ZONE, an organisation designed to bring together women of all cultures of Cape Town and highlight the wonderful things they’ve done and continue to do. She absolutely loves this city where she has lived and worked for many years.
It was on the balcony of this landmark building where the late President Nelson Mandela made his famous speech when he was released from prison in 1990. It was built in 1905 amazingly out of limestone imported from England! It was also here where Queen Elizabeth II had her 21st birthday party when she was visiting Cape Town back in Read more...
Great place to get a cup of coffee under your belt before you start! This family run business is headed by Jacqui Biess and daughters Alex and Dani. In their crazy icing sugar pink building they produce cakes beyond the imagination for every possible occasion. Specialities include Double Chocolate Cheesecake and their famous chocolate and vanilla ‘I love CT’ cup Read more...
During the 19th century, this gracious old building, known as The Granary was a ‘House of Correction’, a women’s gaol! A grim place where women had little rest, no exercise and spent most of their days washing or sewing. Young Irish inmate woman Mary Cowrie, held charged with theft, described it as a ‘den of infamy’ and describes how she Read more...
In 1938, Zainunnisa ‘Cissie’ Gool was elected to the Cape Town City Council, becoming the first black woman in the country to serve in local government. In 1962 she became the first black woman to be called to the Cape Bar. She became known as the ‘jewel of District Six’ where she lived for all her contributions to the city Read more...
At the intersection between St George’s Mall and Castle St, was once a beautiful mosaic bench installed in honour of Kratoa or Eva of the Goringhaikona tribe. Born in 1642 the young Krotoa was taken under the wing of Jan van Riebeeck and his wife Maria and taught to speak Dutch. She went on to become an unofficial interpreter for Read more...
Crammed with wares from all Africa, this is surely the place to buy gifts and mementoes. It would be hard to count how many vendors there are selling here on the cobbles – but no prizes for guessing that a large proportion are women. Women from all over the continent – DRC, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Ghana, Nigeria who’ve come to the Read more...
First stop on this bustling strip is The Gallery Shop. It’s owned by Lorin Strieman who has an unfailing eye for beautiful and orginal hand made goodies – jewellery, accessories, artefacts made mainly by women’s groups from South Africa and Africa. The rest of the street has a great mix of art galleries and street traders amongst them queen of Read more...
Despite the male name, St George’s Cathedral, opened for service since 1934, has been a special place for women both politically as well as in a pastoral way. The Black Sash, women’s activist group in the apartheid era, used the steps of the cathedral as a place to protest the then regime. It was also a refuge for the mainly Read more...
Across the entrance to the Company’s Garden, see one of only two statues of women in the city, Queen Victoria. The other is Maria van Riebeeck, wife of the colonist Jan down on the foreshore. The marble queen stands in a leafy spot o the side of Parliament. Traditionally the Mother City has always been home to Parliament with Pretoria Read more...
More than sixty thousand people were brought to the Cape to be sold into slavery during 1652 – 1807. Between 1679 and 1811, this windowless building was filled to the brim with slaves – many of them women and mothers. The ‘lodge’ was also used as a prison, mental asylum and unofficial brothel. It is said that back then ‘women Read more...
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It’s a vibrant township known for its entrepreneurial spirit and social development projects. A truly South African experience that will stay with you forever.
