Tracey Malawana

Tracey Malawana is a Legal Studies graduate of Oxbridge Academy and a Public Relations Management graduate from the University of South Africa.

Tracey Malawana is a 29 years old, Tembisa born Social Justice Activist focusing on health equity, gender equity through the lens of menstruation – climate justice and economy, education, nutrition, leadership and governance. She stands out as one of the under-40 nominees because of her activism which is rooted in her life experiences. She comes from a working-class community and spent her whole ‘young’ life challenging systems that perpetuate poverty.

She has led and founded a number of respected social movements and organisations in South Africa. From Equal Education, Healthy Living Alliance to I_Menstruate. She is a Global Fellow/Alumni at Atlantic Institute, Mandela Washington Fellowship and Common Purpose Africa Venture.

During the Covid-19 lockdown she raised funds to provide food parcels in informal settlements across Tembisa and also established primary school gardens to teach children how to grow their favorite vegetables while learning outdoors.

Tracey is a powerhouse wherever she finds herself. She is guided by her uncompromising values and principles which enable equity. When she was in the United States of America for the Mandela Washington Fellowship, she appeared on Fox News teaching children in Wellington, Delaware how to hoop dance. She also publicly called for the US president and deputy president to overturn the judgment of the abortion bill during an exclusive engagement of about 100 Fellows based at Delaware University with Senator Chris Coons.

Tracey Malawana is a 29 years old, Tembisa born Social Justice and Human Rights Activist. She is a Founder and Director of I_Menstruate – a movement that works to eradicate period poverty in South Africa through movement building, awareness raising, education, advocacy and direct service. She is a Founding Coordinator of the Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) where she led a campaign to legislate a Sugar Tax now known as the Health Promotion Levy; Former Deputy Chairperson and Deputy General Secretary of Equal Education where she meaningfully contributed to the struggle towards achieving quality and equal education in South African public schools. She is a Global Fellow/Alumni at Atlantic Fellows, Mandela Washington Fellowship, and Common Purpose Africa Venture among other fellowships.

She holds an award with the title of 2019 M&G 200 Young South Africans; 2019 Avance Media 100 Most Influential South Africa and the 2018 PHILA Award by the Public Health Association of South Africa (PHASA).

As stated above. Tracey has founded, led and worked for a number of respected social movements and organisations in South Africa. She founded I_Menstruate – a movement that works to eradicate period poverty in South Africa to mobilise young people especially girls who are affected by period poverty to organise themselves to advocate for free menstrual hygiene products and education; I_Menstruate raises awareness about menstruation to eradicate the stigma surrounding it; Educate it’s members and schools on how to openly talk and education others about menstruation; Advocacy to influence policy and budgeting; self-service through donating sanitary pads to schools as an immediate solution to get girls at school while teaching them how to produce environmentally friendly menstrual hygiene products.

She has written a research paper on access to menstrual hygiene products where she interviewed learners who menstruate in public schools across the country to understand their experiences of menstruation at school and also at home. She also interviewed principals and teachers to under the support they provide to those who menstruate. She wrote an op-ed on Daily Maverick focusing on what Freedom Day means for young people in South Africa especially those who miss school because of their periods. She was also on Daily Thetha to speak on this issue in May 2023. Menstrual Equity and Menstrual well-being is very important to her.

As the Founding Coordinator of the Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA), she established an alliance of like-minded organizations focusing on health equity and nutrition; conducted community workshops on nutrition in public health care centres in the township and rural areas; she also led media work to raise public awareness on TV, radio, billboards and newspapers about dangers of Sugar beverages; She has presented on sugar tax in parliament where she taught MPs about sugar tax and why they should support it. Tracey led the South African campaign to legislate Sugar Tax now known as the Health Promotion Levy in 2017.

Tracey is one of the success stories of Equal Education – a movement that advocates for quality and equality in the South African education system through analysis and activism. She joined the organisation as a school-going member became a volunteer facilitator, community leader, junior organiser, and democratically elected Deputy Chairperson for a term of 3 years then later served as the Deputy General Secretary for a period of 4 years. Through Equal Education, she has led work on school sanitary, feeder zones and school overcrowding in Gauteng; Scholar Transport and adoption of its policy in KZN; water and sanitation in Limpopo; the legislation of Minimum Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure in 2013, school nutrition and access to menstrual hygiene products which led to the distribution of dignity packs in schools.

Tracey was able to achieve all of this in her 20s. She is an inspiration to so many young people who are a product of the public school education system.

Tracey Malawana once said “Girls and womxn continue to be the face of numerous concerns on our continent and around the world. As young womxn leaders in the African continent, it is our responsibility to see to it that girls and womxn receive not just the essential services they require, but also that they are integrated into the economy so they can supply the services and assert their independence.” I am confident that her work towards eradicating period poverty in South Africa will have a meaningful impact on the struggle to achieve gender equity and also in safeguarding our democracy. Tracey is a young person you are looking for and this award would be part of history in the making.