Susan Chenai Mutambasere is a 2020 South Africa Program grantee and PhD student studying Law at University of Pretoria. Susan is Zimbabwean and a lawyer whose focus has been on human rights working in both the public and private sector and serving as a Board/Founding Member of Cradle of Hope Trust. Her passion is driven by seeing girls drop out because of the belief that their only value was in marriage. Her thesis is looking at how culture, customs, and traditions affect the implementation of the Maputo Protocol on reproductive rights of married women in Zimbabwe. She plans on carrying out research, and consultancies, as well as teaching with a view to supporting sexual and reproductive rights on the Africa content. She has a dream of assisting in the establishment of a specialist Master’s program in sexual and reproductive rights at a university in Zimbabwe.

“I have more than a decade experience as a human rights lawyer, and i have worked on civil and political rights in a non-profit set up, as well as different types of rights in a private sector set-up. I have also engaged in consultancy, working with different types of organisations whose mandates focus on an array of rights. In all these activities which i undertook in my country, I realized that sexual and reproductive rights remain an underdeveloped area of human rights. Given that i have worked in various sectors, my next career goal is to enter the academic arena as a researcher and teacher.”

Francoise Rubega is pursuing a Master’s degree in Medicine/Nursing at the University of Pretoria. Francoise grew up in a small town called Lobatse in Botswana. She learnt the value of hard work, discipline and education though her upbringing. She began developing a strong sense of independence when she left home to attend university. At university she witnessed a number of young girls experiencing unwanted pregnancies and saw first-hand the health and emotional challenges they experienced. This strengthened her resolve to work in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (OBGYN). She “fell in love” with Obstetrics and Gynaecology in her third year as a medical student. She felt excited every morning as she woke to begin her daily training and was unequivocal that she wanted to commit her life to caring for women and their unborn children as well as women with gynaecological problems. On the completion of her specialisation in South Africa she will return to Botswana and the Ministry of Health where she will join the very small number of OBGYNs in the country (currently 6). Her work will be located in the public hospitals and district clinics in Botswana.

“On completion of my training, I plan to return to Botswana to serve my nation. There is indeed a great need for Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. I believe every woman who needs specialist care deserves to have it, regardless of their colour, economic status, or geographical area.”