August is Women’s Month in South Africa, a time to recognise and celebrate the women of the country. This month commemorates the historic 1956 march when over 20,000 brave women protested against apartheid-era pass laws. Honouring this legacy, the Heart of SA Community Recognition Awards recently celebrated women who are making a positive impact in their communities. The grand event was held at the KwaDukuza Town Hall on Saturday, 2 August.
The awards aim to recognise and empower individuals involved in their communities, celebrating their achievements. Many notable women from around Durban attended the event, including Mrs KwaZulu-Natal 2025 Rekha Singh, Miss SA India 1st Princess Karuna Eraman, Mrs Supranational SA Lee-Ann Naidoo and Glenhills Secondary School Principal Nerisha Naidoo.
Sharon Harripersadh, the CEO of African Spear Trading and director of the Heart of SA Pageant and Heart of SA Community Recognition Awards, is a survivor of gender-based violence. She uses her platform to advocate for awareness and support. Harripersadh was a finalist for the 2024 Fabulos Woman End Gender-Based Violence Award, a Majestic Royalty SA finalist, and was also recognised as an influential woman of the year. She was Mrs Role Model KwaDukuza 2023 and Shakti Beats 2nd Princess 2023.
Harripersadh’s personal philosophy on strength was clear: “Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength. A strong woman knows she has the strength to journey solo, but a woman of strength knows she’d have a better time with a tribe.”
Tongaat resident Karuna Eraman, who is also ZEE TV Miss India First Princess, is a professional model and choreographer who recently graduated with an LLB honours degree. Despite the hard work of earning a law degree, Eraman still found time for beauty pageants, community work and various hobbies, including earning a black belt in Shotokan karate. With 19 titles since she started in the beauty pageant industry at the age of 14, charity and volunteer work remain her main passion. She volunteers at various organisations including the Haven of Rest, Feedy Needy, Bufflesdale Senior Citizens Club, the Durban SPCA and Phoenix Animal Care and Treatment.
Eraman was one of the women recognised for their contributions to the community at the Heart of SA awards, where she received the Philanthropist award.
Another award recipient, Asheena Laven Govender, was recognised in the Unsung Heroine category. Govender is a paraplegic and uses a wheelchair but does not let this deter her from living a full life and helping others.
Govender’s words on receiving the honour were emotional: “I feel truly honoured and humbled to be part of something so meaningful. As a paraplegic woman, being seen, celebrated and included in such a powerful way reminds me of my worth and value in society. It fills me with a deep sense of purpose and belonging, proof that our limitations do not define us, but our light does.”
Harripersadh commented on Govender’s impact: “Asheena Laven Govender is a true embodiment of strength and resilience. As a proud woman living with a disability, she inspires us all with her unwavering determination and faith.”
These women, and many others across South Africa, have displayed their strength, resilience and courage not only during Women’s Month but throughout their lives. The management and staff at Tabloid Newspapers wish all our readers and advertisers a joyous Women’s Day.
