Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng flies SA flag high with BBC 100 Women nod

One of SA’s most celebrated medical professionals and activists, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, has been named in the BBC’s 100 Women List for 2021.

The UN special rapporteur on right to health is among the 100 inspiring and influential women featured on this year’s list “which celebrates the women from every corner of the world who are hitting the reset button”.

Mofokeng is the only South African featured on the list and is among 11 African women included. 

She joins fashion designer Vera Wang, actress and producer Rebel Wilson, philanthropist Melinda French Gates and Nigerian author and activist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie among those honoured.

The BBC said: “From climate activists and grassroots leaders to international CEOs and global megastars, the list acknowledges those women playing their part to reinvent our society, our culture and our world, with half of this year’s list made up of women from Afghanistan.

“The resurgence of the Taliban in August 2021 has changed the lives of millions of Afghan women, with girls banned from receiving secondary education, the ministry for women’s affairs disbanded, and women in many cases told not to return to work. This year’s list recognises their stories, the scope of their bravery and their achievements as they reset their lives.”

• Visit the BBC website for the full BBC 100 Women List for 2021.