Sebabatso Tsaoane

Youth in Uniform

Nominee's Province:
Free State

Age:
27

Project Name/Description:
Midwife activist

More info:
https://www.facebook.com/makafane.sebabatsoconnie

Sebabatso Tsaoane, 27, a registered nurse and midwife from the Free State, is a tireless activist for the promotion of women’s sexual reproductive health and rights and alleviating the burden of cervical cancer. She has made it her mission to spread the gospel of health education to women in disadvantaged areas across her province through awareness campaigns, including cervical cancer screenings, under the auspices of her organisation Black Woman Arise Women’s Health Foundation. Health education also targets traditional, faith-based, and political leaders. Tsaoane’s activism began after she was diagnosed with endometriosis after being sent from pillar to post by healthcare professionals who did not take her seriously. “Because of my knowledge as a nurse I was able to persist and finally get proper medical attention,” she says. “Endometriosis is often misdiagnosed for up to 12 years in many women.” In 2019, she was one of the 10 midwives who were invited to attend the International Confederation of Midwives for The Young Midwifery Leaders Programme which is based in the Netherlands.