What it really takes to advise the president

The Debrief with Advocate Nokukhanya Jele

There is something about Women’s Month in South Africa that has always left me feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Not because I don’t believe we should celebrate women. Quite the opposite, actually.

The women of 1956, who marched to the Union Buildings against apartheid’s pass laws, deserve every ounce of recognition they receive.

But somewhere along the way, our conversations about women became predictable.

Every August, we seem to recycle the same themes. The same panel discussions. The same questions. The same idea of what a successful woman looks like.

How do you balance it all? Can women have it all? What’s it like being a woman in leadership?

Those conversations matter. But they rarely leave me feeling like I’ve learned anything new.

South Africa is an interesting country.

On paper, we’ve made extraordinary progress. Women occupy some of the highest offices in the land. They lead courts, businesses, government departments and institutions.

Yet something feels different today. Not just in politics, but in culture too.

The influence of women feels quieter and less visible than it once did.

When we started planning the official launch of The Debrief with Qaanitah Hunter, I kept asking myself one question.

Who do I actually want to spend an hour talking to?

The obvious answer would have been politicians, CEOs or people who dominate the headlines.

But power and influence doesn’t always look like that.

Some of the most influential people I’ve met are women whose names most South Africans would never recognise.

Women who sit in rooms where decisions are made, who shape policy and who change lives.

These women, who carry enormous responsibility without ever seeking the spotlight.

Then I looked at my own life.

I realised I have been fortunate enough to know many of those women personally.

So the decision became easy.

The first month of The Debrief with Qaanitah Hunter will be dedicated to conversations with women who have profoundly shaped my life and, in many ways, continue to shape South Africa.

Not because they are women. But because they have something worth saying.

I don’t want “pink” conversations. I’m not interested in rehearsing the same tired questions about work-life balance.

I want to understand influence. How do these women think? What drives them?

How do they make difficult decisions? How do they see South Africa? What keeps them awake at night?

This week, we begin with Advocate Nokukhanya Jele.

She occupies one of the most important, yet least visible positions in South Africa.

As a legal adviser to President Cyril Ramaphosa, she helps shape decisions on constitutional, legal and international matters. She has sat behind the President at major global forums, including the G20, and played a significant role in South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

But that’s not what fascinated me most. What fascinated me was her, her story and the experiences that shaped her.

And, perhaps surprisingly, the achievement she speaks about with the greatest pride isn’t an international legal battle.

It’s her role in helping shape South Africa’s national minimum wage.

That conversation reminded me why I wanted to start this podcast in the first place.

I hope you’ll watch the episode. More importantly, I hope you’ll tell me what you think.

The Debrief with Qaanitah Hunter is exactly what its name suggests.

A chance to sit with influential people, unpack their stories and understand how they see the world.

I hope you’ll join us.

Until next week,

Qaanitah