"End gender-based violence" - Graça Machel

Distinguished stateswoman Graça Machel addressed SOAS’ graduation ceremony earlier this summer in a powerful speech that called for strong action to end gender-based violence.

Machel, the widow of Nelson Mandela, currently serves as President of SOAS; having previously served as Mozambican Education Minister and First Lady of both South Africa and Mozambique. She urged the audience to make a stand for social justice, saying  “Your personal freedom, that you have been privileged with, will never be complete while others are denied the same kind of freedom.”