MOVING VERWOERD— MELANIE VERWOERD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UNICEF IRELAND

WORDS: ZOE COMYNS

A lecturer once wrote a reference for Melanie Verwoerd (pronounced (Mel-awe-nee V-vord) saying that she has a “very strong, maybe over developed sense of justice.” That opinion has been repeatedly validated throughout her career, which has included becoming the first woman in the South African Parliament, South African Ambassador to Ireland and now Executive Director of UNICEF Ireland. She has been at the helm of UNICEF Ireland for only a couple of months, and for a woman with such a prestigious career history she does not hide her excitement at the possibilities for her new role.

“It is a continuation of everything I have ever done. When I saw the job I thought what a perfect fit for me — first I was member of parliament in South Africa... I have always had this passion for women and children right through for many years, I did a Masters in feminist theology, I helped launch a feminist magazine — women were always very high on my agenda.”

Verwoerd grew up in Stellenbosch, a university town in South Africa in the 1970s. From a white middle class family, the young Melanie broke with expectations: she married young, became a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and then became the first woman in the South African Parliament. More extraordinary still and contradicting the
anti-apartheid stance of the ANC, was that the man she married was Wilhelm Verwoerd, the grandson of Hendrik Verwoerd, who is widely regarded as the architect of apartheid.

In a now famous speech, her husband’s grandfather said: “What is the use of teaching the Bantu child mathematics which it cannot use in practice? There is no place for him above the level of certain forms of labour... we should not give the native an academic education... we should so conduct school that the native will know that he must be a labourer in this country.” These words provide a sense of the environment in which Melanie grew up and it is precisely these words that the young Wilhelm and Melanie reacted vehemently against.

Her marriage to the well known grandson of an avowed white supremacist was, for many, an uncomfortable union. The surname “helped in the sense that it gave profile, but it was also a bit of a curse, as it is not a popular surname... Obviously, in the white community they were furious because we joined the ANC and in the black community they were suspicious. I was in the ANC for almost 3 years before the media found out about it.” “I would always have been an activist, whether I would have got quite the public profile that is another question.” Her political and personal opposition to the injustices of South African society drove her to carve out her own career path. Neither she, nor her husband, accepted their ancestors’ beliefs and refused to be complicit in keeping the divisions. Joining the ANC, a radically anti-apartheid organisation (with its most famous president being Nelson Mandela) was an important step for Melanie.

Read more about Melanie Verwoerd in the August | September 2007 issue of WMB, subscribe now.