Spokesperson: ANC Women’s League

Air-force pilot and social worker are just two of the professions Troy Martens wanted to follow growing up. But instead this former journalist is breathing life into the ANC Women’s League’s communications machine, helping to amplify the voice of this historic organisation.

“The Women’s League is the custodian of the women’s liberation movement in the country and is at the forefront of shaping policy relating to women.” Martens says she became “politically aware” while studying journalism at the Durban University of Technology, where she contested the student representative council elections and became the first and only white member and its deputy president.

Today, 26-year-old Martens continues to serve the public by “educating men and women about their rights and responsibilities with regard to women’s issues”, especially the “astronomically high” rate of violence against women. “The louder the Women’s League gets on these issues the more people will listen and, hopefully, start acting.”

— Andisiwe Makinana

Twitter: @Troy_Martens